The Hero of the North
"So tell me, I hear you know something about these recent alleged dragon attacks." A tall Nord sat on a wooden throne in the middle of a great hall in Whiterun, located near the center plains of Skyrim.
Jarl Balgruff was not one to suffer fools, but he knew to listen any aid he could muster, especially when it came to aiding his people in the hold. Zakira looked on to the jarl, knowing Nords are sometimes ill tempered, bit she liked to get her jokes in whenever she could.
"Of course my Jarl. I came face to face with such a dragon mere days ago…" Zakira smiled but not enough to show her fangs. "Before the empire was to depart my head from my beloved body that is." She made a hand gesture of cutting her throat, and rolled her eyes toward her head, only showing white.
The dark elf that accompanied the Jarl didn't seem amused, nor did the Jarl himself seem humored by the vampires display. The deadpan looks on their faces told Zakira that they were not in the mood for games.
"Fine, a dragon destroyed Helgen, and I think it was flying over toward the north." Zakira put her hand on her hip next to her newly crafted steel axe, and she dropped her large back satchel she carried with her, forcing a loud clang echoing throughout the halls. She was tired, considering she traveled from Bleak Falls burrow, to Riverwood and all the way to Whiterun without a moments rest. At this point, all she could do to stave off the sun was to wear a ragged hood over her head.
"Well I'm glad you brought this to my attention, and to come straight here after that nasty business, speaks volumes of your character." Balgrufs aid that stood by his side spoke before the Jarl, wanting to at least thank the weary traveler for this bit of news.
"Right... I came over as soon as that incident occurred. You bet." Zakira looked around with a sly grin, thinking about her time in the cave, the town and the burrow. Not to mention brining that golden claw back to those town merchants who initially lost it. She was thinking of keeping the claw for herself, but she finally went against that thought as she began to think of her past life.
"You're a good and noble person. The world would be so much better with you to defend it." That unfamiliar voice would play in her head over and over until she thought to give the claw back. As she thought to herself, the Jarl began to speak once again.
"Regardless, I have a city to protect, and a hold to care for. I will deploy extra troops to Riverwood at once." The Jarl spoke with a thunderous tone as his aid protested. He cared little of his aids' political schemes, and he requested the help of Zakira as well.
Once the talking was over and the jarl gave each of his retainers' instructions, he walked over to the vampire, walking her over to his court wizard. The man was young yet sported a scruffy beard and blue mage robes. Curious, Zakira listened to what the man had to say.
"Oh yes, thank you my Jarl that is quite alright." The man greeted his master's presence, and began to speak to Zakira.
"There is a matter of importance I wanted to discuss with him, but I haven't found anyone to do it. I need someone to find a stone tablet from a place called Bleak Falls burrow."
"Wait…" Zakira, taken back from what the mage just said.
"If you needed something from that tomb of bones, then you are in luck my friend." The vampire dropped her satchel to the wooden floor with a low thud, eager to bring out what she had discovered for the man. She was worried that she may never get rid of the heavy stone tablet, but imagine her luck in what this court wizard needed.
"Oh my, you are quite resourceful aren't you? Well, I'm afraid that this is where your job ends and mine begins." The cloaked man spoke with enthusiasm after Zakira handed him the stone tablet, seething with excitement as he eyed the gray old piece of stone.
Just as Zakira left the mage, and began to take a seat at the halls table to pour herself a mug of mead, Irileth, the Jarls' houscarl, busted through the door in a fit. Her body language screamed danger, and her sweat ran down her face in a torrent of water.
"You!" Irileth pointed to Zakira with a stern finger and a parched face. "You need to come at once; a dragon was spotted near the northern watchtower. We need to speak to the Jarl, now move it."
Zakira and Irelith moved with haste with an exhausted guard, and they finally reached Jarl Bulgruff. After listening to the tired guard and what the jarl wanted to do, Zakira rushed down with the dark elf to the guard station in front of the city, running past worried citizens and town guardsmen.
"Listen up men, we have reason to believe the watch tower was attacked… by a dragon." Irelith stated with a mere calmness in her voice, but with an apparent dismay about her demeanor.
"What!?"
"Oh now we are dead…"
Various reactions rang from the gathered guard as Irelith spilled the news. Zakira drowned out the remaining speech the dark elf gave, and became distracted with a all too familiar feeling. Excitement. For she does not remember much before her time in that dreadful cave, she does remember she was battle hardened, and she loved a good fight.
"A chance to fight a dragon…" Zakira, imagining to herself slaying a giant fire breathing beast, had her thoughts cut short as she was shoved toward the city's' gates.
"After a brisk run to the distant watch tower, Zakira, Irelith and the others looked on in the aftermath of the scaled monsters' wrath. The tower itself still stood, but the land and structures surrounding it weren't so lucky. Blooms of smoke and raging fire remained, and as the company of warriors came closer, a guard quickly ran out of the smoldering ruin.
"NO, stay back. It's still here somewhere!" An older man wrapped in Whiterun tattered guard regiments spoke, trying to worn the approaching group. "It grabbed Torik as he made a run for it.
With a loud and thunderous roar, Zakira and the others looked to the sky, seeing a large green dragon fast approaching. With wings spanning so wide, it blocked out the sun from where they stood. As the beast reared its head, Zakira knew it was about to attack. She brought out her steel axe, and readied her empty hand with a ward spell, blocking the ensuing flame spat by the winged beast.
Zakira brought her hand down as the dragon fly away, seeing it make another turn. Thinking on her feet, she looked around for an advantage, and it presented itself on top of the tower. She ran as fast as she could before the dragon made its complete circle, and perched herself on top of the towers edge. As soon as the scaly monster fly past close enough, the vampire leapt from the over crop, and landed onto the dragons back as she sunk her axe blade into the creases of its scales.
With a loud roar in protest, the dragon flew erratically, trying to shake loose the woman who latched themselves onto him. In vain, the dragon slowly began to descend onto the ground, and was met with the remaining company of mortals who began to slash and stab its thick hide. With anger, the dragon reared its head, and latched its toothed mouth on one of the guards, thrashing the man about and tossing him far away as the man died.
Zakira knew this was her chance, and pulled her blade from the beast, and jumped toward its head with a fury she kept from within. With a loud yell and her axe raised, she brought the glinting axe down with such force, the cold steel cut deep in the back of the dragons' neck. With loud whimpers of protest, the dragon let out a spew of flame as its head slowly fell to the ground, its body along with it.
As the light in its' eyes fade, the dragon looked directly into Zakiras', finding the light that stared back at it all too familiar. With its dying breath, it utters in silent whisper to the woman who slew him "Dovahk…"
Before it could finish its words, the fell beast died, and a bright light began to twirl around Zakira. Soon after the light began, thunderous winds and sounds accompanied the colors that flowed thru her, and the dragons body was slowly deteriorating, save for the dragons bones. Shock and awe ran thought the company of soldiers, as they witnessed something beyond anything any of them had ever seen before.
"By the eight, you are… Dragonborn." A Whiterun guard spoke to her, still reeling in shock. He and the rest of the guards, along with Irelith, began to close in around her.
"You need to get back to the Jarl, and tell him what happened here. Ignore all this nonsense of this… Dragonborn." Irelith, fed up with the other guards continuing on about dragons and old tales, signaled for Zakira to leave and make way back to the city.
"What just happened?" Along the way, Zakira grew confused at why that flashing light surrounded her after she killed that dragon. As she made her way back toward the city, along the road were two bandits, and she knew what they wanted.
"Hey there missy, give us your gold." A tall and slim bandit demanded while pulling out a long iron blade.
"Sorry boys, I don't have any gold to spare."
"Well…" the bandit walked closer to Zakira, looking up and down at her. "Perhaps there is another way you can pay us to leave you alone." The bandits smirked and giggled to themselves.
Zakira smiled, but then felt a surge of energy course within her. She reared her head back, and she shouted "FUS" and a thunderous boom echoed. As she spoke, a force of wind pushed passed her body, and forced the bandits to stagger as the wind impacted their bodies. She didn't hesitate, and she leapt to one of the bandits, shoving her hand deep in his belly. She ripped her hand out of the mans' stomach, and turned to the tall and slender man. His sword was already coming down for a blow, but she whipped her axe before him, severing his arm. The man fell to the ground in agony, and Zakira closed in.
Zakira grabbed a chunk of hair on the mans' head, and yanked his head back, exposing his neck. She looked around to make sure nobody else was around to see, and she plunged her fangs deep in his jugular, gorging herself on his sweet red nectar. Once she was finally done, she dropped the man's now lifeless body, and she continued on to Whiterun.
As Zakira passed the first set of walls for the city, a loud thunderous boom of voices echoed throughout the walls and air. It sounded like mens voices, and she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. She knew this was important in some way, so she hurried up the steps to the keep, and spoke with the Jarl.
"Oh yes, that thunderous sound you heard, it was none other than them… the Greybeards." Jarl Bulgruff spoke with excitement, not knowing exactly how to play this out himself.
"So it is true what you say, they really were summoning you. The guards called you this Dragonborn." He continued on about the Nords' stories of old and Tiber Septim.
As the men continued talking, Zakira zoned herself out after she heard the Jarl mention to go to Iverstead to climb up a mountain. She could only imagine what that would entail, climbing up a massive mountain? But her attention was cut off with the Jarl mentioning her name once again.
"So, Zakira. After what you have done for me and my city, I would like to bestow the title of Thane to you. It is the least I can do for all you have done for me and my people. You will be given your own personal houscarl, and this blade to carry with you as a symbol of you new title." The Jarl spoke with pride, and gave Zakira a shimmering blade that glowed a slight green. She humbly accepted, and proceeded down to the main hall.
Zakira met a Nord women clad in steel armor at the main door, her hair charcoal black and a strong face. "Good day my thane, I am Lydia and I am going to be your houscarl. It is an honor to serve you." Lydia stood at attention as her Thane approached, not appearing much of how she thought.
"Why thank you Lydia, the pleasure is all mine. So, what do you say? Are you ready to cause a little bit of havoc?" Zakira grinned toward the Nord, and they both walked out into the city, ready to begin their adventure.