If you're still reading this, then truly I am impressed; you've made it through all of the dry back story of the character. Now, on to the all too familiar entrance into Skyrim. Enjoy...

Darkness again, though not the void this time. Though Ailiea was not yet conscious, she could still hear the sounds of a wagon moving down a stone road. Then, the more aware she became, the more she realized that she was riding in this wagon. She could feel it moving beneath her, feel all the bumps and the stones it was hitting. She was starting to become fully aware, so she slowly opened her eyes and looked all about. She was somewhere in the mountains, riding in a wagon which was actually descending from a rocky road. As her vision became less blurry, she saw an Imperial Soldier was leading the wagon, and in front of her there sat a soldier who was wearing a uniform which she did not recognize. As she tied to move, she fastly discovered that her hands were bound behind her back. she then realized that she must have been an Imperial prisoner, though under what charge and where they were headed was anyone's guess.

"Hey you, Elf. Finally awake. You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush; the same as us, and that thief over there.", the soldier spoke to her. As she slowly looked to the man who was seated next to him, she saw that he was dressed only in a rough tunic. He was not wearing a uniform at all.

"Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. The Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could have stolen that horse and been half way to Hammerfell.", he looked to Ailiea before he continued on. "You there, Elf. You and me; we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants.". Ah, so these must be the Stormcloak Rebels which Ailiea had heard so much about recently. Ailiea's only question by that point was how she got mixed up with them as she had been traveling alone.

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief.", the soldier answered the thief's words.

In front of them, the Imperial Soldier had grown annoyed with all the bickering which was happening behind his back, so he briefly turned and ordered them to silence. The Thief simply ignored the Imperial Soldier and talked on.

"What's wrong with him?", he gestured to the man sitting next to Ailiea, the man she hadn't yet seen. She saw that he was better dressed than any of them, likely Nobility of some kind. She also noticed that he was gagged for reasons unknown. Strangely, as Ailiea stared him down, he looked familiar to her, like she'd seen him somewhere. He, for his part, was staring through the thief and he refused to look at her.

"Watch your tongue, you're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak; the true High King!", Ulfric Stormcloak. That name also seemed awfully familiar to her. It was a name which she had heard somewhere before, not too long ago.

"Ulfric, the Jarl of Windhelm! You're the leader of the rebellion; but if they've captured you... oh, Gods; where are they taking us!", the thief cried out in terror. And it was at this point that Ailiea remembered. She remembered Ulfric from many years ago. She remembered how she had tormented him so, and she was sure that he, for his part, no doubt remembered her too; which likely explained why he had refused to acknowledge her so far.

"I don't know where we're going, but Sovengarde awaits.", the soldier had far more baring than the thief, and seemed ready to meet his fate, come what may.

"No, this can't be happening, this isn't happening!"

"Hey; what village are you from, horse thief.", though Ailiea was sitting amongst them, they generally treated her as if she were not there. They never talked to her, and save for the thief, they never looked at her either.

"Why do you care?", the thief answered the Soldier.

"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home.", came the soldier's calm reply. Though he had asked the thief a question, his own mind seemed to be dwelling on other thoughts, likely of his own home and family.

"Rorikstead; I'm... I'm from Rorikstead.", the thief spoke as the wagon neared the ancient stone walls of a city. As they grew closer to the city, she heard one of the Imperials calling out towards the city.

" General Tullius, sir; the headsman is waiting."

"Good, let's get this over with.", he answered.

At the sight of the city, the thief became increasingly paniced, "Stendarr, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh; Divines, please help me!". For a brief time after this, there was only silence as the wagon entered the city. As they passed, the Stormcloak soldier saw someone behind her, someone which she could not see.

"General Tullius, the military Governor; and it looks like the Thalmer are with him.", as he said this, his gaze fell on her, his eyes conveying the greatest sentiments of disgust. The Thalmer were there, and she knew why. Suddenly her entire situation made sense. Apparently, even after twenty six years, the Dominion had yet to forget the murder of Prince Elenmiar. It also seemed likely that she was still the most sought after criminal within the Dominion as a result of this. The Thalmer likely spotted her crossing the mountains into Skyrim and were quick to alert the Imperials as to her movements. Now that they had her, she could hear the Thalmer agents arguing with the one called General Tullius over custody of her. "Damn Elves,", the Stormcloak soldier spit at her, " I bet they had something to do with this!", then for a while he was silent before he continued on, "This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here. Wonder if Veloud is still making that Mead with Juniper Berries mixed in. Funny; when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe. Back before you and your kind came along.". In his disgust, he spit at her again.

As the wagon rolled evermore into town, from somewhere in the background, Ailiea heard a young boy, "Who are they, Daddy. Where are they going?"

"You need to go inside.", came a man's response. He knew what was about to happen and he didn't want his son to see it.

"Why? I wanna watch the soldiers.", the boy retorted.

"Inside the house, Now!", she heard the man yell.

"Yes, Papa."

Then she looked forward and saw as another wagon stopped ahead of them. As their own wagon came up to it, they stopped as well. Then Ailiea heard a woman's voice, likely an Imperial Officer of some sort, ordering her men to unload the wagons.

"Why are we stopping!", asked the paniced thief.

The soldier, who was as calm as ever, gave his answer to the thief, "Why do you think? End of the line."

Imperial Soldiers stormed the wagon, helping each of them to their feet and bringing them from the wagon to stand them before a woman, likely the officer in charge. Yet still the Stormcloak soldier was calm.

"Let's go, shouldn't keep the Gods waiting for us."

The thief was more than just paniced now, she could see it in his eyes; he was about to make a run for it. "No, wait! We're not Rebels!", he yelled out.

As he heard this, the Stormcloak rolled his eyes and spoke once more to the thief in a voice which was still eerily calm, "Face your death with some courage, thief!"

"You've got to tell them, we weren't with you; this is a mistake!", the thief yelled to him. It didn't matter in the end though. The Woman continued on as though she hadn't even heard the debate.

"Step towards the block when we call your names, one at a time!"

As the Stormcloak soldier was brought to stand before her, he commented once more, "Empire loves their damn lists.".

Again ignoring their comments, another Imperial Soldier came forth and began to read names off of a list, "Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm." Upon hearing his name, Ulfric stepped forward. As he did so, he came up from behind Ailiea, and as he passed her, he bumped her hard with his broad shoulder which caused her to drop to the ground before him. Once she was there, he began to kick her again and again, until two Imperial Soldiers pulled him away from her and escorted him to the Headsman. Even as he was dragged away, she could swear that she could still hear obscenities being yelled to her from behind his bounds. It was as if he wished to convey onto her that he had not forgotten her.

As he passed the Stormcloak soldier, she heard the soldier call out, " It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric.". Once he was pulled away, two more soldiers came and lifted Ailiea from the ground and returned her to standing before the soldier with the lists. Once she was there, he continued on like nothing had even happened.

"Relof of Riverwood.", upon hearing his name, the Stormcloak soldier stepped forward and was in turn escorted to the Headsman. The Imperial Solider read on.

"Lokir of Rorikstead.". At hearing his own name called, the thief finally broke down.

"No, I'm not a Rebel! You can't do this!", then he ran, just as Ailiea knew he would. Then she heard the female Officer yelling at him as he did so, ordering him to stop where he stood. At this, the thief simply yelled the they were not about to kill him, so she ordered archers to engage him. Within a matter of seconds, the thief lay dead in the streets, with at least a dozen arrows lodged in his corpse.

"Anyone else feel like running?", the captain asked, gazing down the remainder of the prisoners. Again, the soldier took to his list as if nothing had even transpired. When he saw Ailiea, the only Elfin prisoner, he checked his list. Upon finding no Elfin name listed there, he called out to her.

"Wait, you there; step forward. Who are you?"

Before she could answer, General Tullius came to him, with Thalmer agents hot on his heels.

"Forget this one, Legionnaire; she belongs to the Thalmer. As soon as she's gone to the block, the Thalmer will be taking her body from us.".

"By your orders, Sir.", with that, General Tullius and the Thalmer agents backed away from her. With this said, the female Officer took a hold of Ailiea's arm and escorted her to the line of prisoners waiting for their turn upon the block. As she was pushed into the line of doomed men, she watched as General Tullius walked up to Ulfric Stormcloak and begin to speak.

"Ulfric Stormcloak; some here in Helgen call you a hero. But a hero does not use a power like the voice to murder his King and Usurp his throne.", at the General's sentiment, Ulfric just grunted. At this, the General simply continued on with his words. "You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos. And now the Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace.".

Just as General Tullius finished with his words, there came a loud roar from beyond the mountains. Upon hearing it, all who were there stopped where they were and looked to the sky. From somewhere in the crowd, Ailiea heard someone asking about the strange sound.

"It's nothing, carry on.", she heard the General say to his subordinate. But Ailiea knew better. She knew it was anything but nothing. This was a sound the likes of which she had not heard in many and many thousands of years; not since...

All she heard after this was a Priestess of Arkay giving the condemned men their last rites. Though, no sooner had she started then a man came up to her.

"For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with.", at his words, the Priestess was obviously annoyed, but she did what was asked of her and she walked away, her sermon only half preached.

"Come on, I haven't got all morning!", the condemned man yelled to the Headsman. At that, the female Officer pushed him to the ground, that his head may lay upon the surface of the block. As his head was upon the block, he spoke to them one last time, "My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials; can you say the same!". Then a large axe was brought down upon his neck. At this, his head went one way, his body the other. In the crowd there came much yelling, some condemning the act, some condoning it. Ailiea heard the Stormcloak called Relof commenting on how the deceased man was just as brave in death as in life.

Once this was done, the female Officer next looked to Ailiea, "Next, the Elf in the rags.". As the soldiers took a hold of her and escorted her to the block, there came a monstrous roar from the mountains again. As before, those who were present went to looking to the sky once more, so as to ascertain the origin of the sound. Yet the sky was as clear as when they first heard it. Ailiea knew that it was getting close, so she began to brace herself for its arrival. She was so concentrated on waiting for its arrival that she hadn't even realized that she was on the block until she felt the warm, sweet smelling blood before her. Now, she was looking up at the Headsman, or rather behind him; for the creature on which she was waiting for had finally arrived.

"What in Oblivion is that!", she heard a soldier yell.

"Sentries, what do you see!", the female Officer cried out.

And just as the Headsman brought his axe up over his head, a great and terrible dragon, horns spiking out in all directions and as black as the darkest ebony, landed upon the top of a tower. The sheer force of its landing knocked the Headsman from his stance so that soon he was joined with Ailiea upon the ground. The great beast's back was arched, and his wings were outreached before him, with his head held high, high above all else. The dragon fumed, covering himself in a massive fog of smoke and death, and the sky itself grew dark and seemed to draw itself around the whole of the world. Then the sky itself began to show a terrible sanguine, and fire fell from the skies; the wrath of the World-Eater was upon them. From out of the smoke Ailiea could still see his red eyes, glowing fiercely and with all the intensity of vengeance, and fixated squarely upon her. Everyone around her began flee in terror at the sheer sight of the beast.

The Beast began to yell, and a terrible wind echoed across the whole of the city. Though others only heard the roar, she heard his words, as if in her head.

Ah, there you are, my little Ailiea; I've found you at last. Now I shall avenge myself upon you...

Hearing his terrible words, she gave him her answer.

I am not so easy to kill as this, Alduin.

Angered by her words, the great beast made for her, but in the ensuing chaos, he lost her. So, he flew though the town instead, destroying all in his sight.

As she was still bound, she was quite unable to fight. So, instead, she ran through the streets, making for cover so that the beast may not find her. The screams of the dying and the sickly sweet smell of the dead filled the air, much as it had upon the Imperial City when she was there many and many years ago. She could hear that the beast was still seeking her out, but it had yet to find her. She could hear it as it roared out in frustration, sending fire down upon those hapless people unfortunate to catch his gaze. She could hear the blood curdling cries and the shrieks of those who had been caught in the inferno which he had created; all of the men, and the women, and even the children; Alduin was indiscriminate in who he chose to kill.

As she ran, she saw an Imperial Soldier, helping to insure that a small group of the frightened Townsfolk may make for the city gates, and from there to the safety of the forests beyond. She recognized him from earlier in the day; he was the one with the lists. As he made his way, collecting as many of the living as he could, he came across her, and all at once, his heart went out to her. There, upon the ground, she presented a truly pitiful picture to him. She looked in need of saving. So, as being as good and as honorable a man as he was, he freed her that she may go on living. Once this was done, the beast finally took sight of her, and landed before her and the Soldier.

I have you now...

She could hear his words again. As he made her world bright with fire, the Soldier ran with the people in tow away from the great beast, while Ailiea found her way farther into the ravaged city, that she may continue to hide. Yet the beast was relentless in his chase. He gave Ailiea no rest as he flew about her, crushing building after building around her as he tried in vain to get at her. He chased her straight to the walls of the great city, cornering her that she may no longer run. Now that he had her, he let loose a great wave of fire and death upon her that he may finally end her. True to her word, however, Ailiea would not be that easy to kill. Gathering her mana (as the mer folk called their magic), she cast a ward about her person which absorbed the brunt of his blast, taking the bite out of his vengeance.

Though the ward had protected her, it also had the undesired affect of weakening her, so that when the great beast made for her with his talons she was unable to fend him off. He took her, and he attempted to fly away with her, but she refused to go along willingly. Gathering her mana once more, she forced an icy spear through his scales. Though this would prove insufficient in truly hurting the great beast, it provided enough of a shock which caused him to drop her back down into the city below. She fell through straw roofing and landed upon the planks of the building's second floor. The hard landing stole the wind from her body, and she felt that she likely broke something in the fall, though she would still prefer this to Alduin's vengeance.

Slowly making her way to her feet, she dropped down onto the ground floor of the building, and all at once, she became aware of shouting. As she made her way back into the street, she came face to face with the same Imperial Soldier from earlier. As he saw her, a look of surprise was evident on his face.

"Still alive, prisoner? Stay close to me if you want to stay that way.", he offered to her. Feeling that if the beast found her again she could likely use him as a sort of human shield, she followed the Soldier along the road as he went. As they ran, she saw the great beast flying not too far from them, and it looked as though he might land. Seeing this, the soldier yelled for her to stick to the walls. As they did so, the great beast landed before them upon the crest of the wall. The beast knew that she was close, yet he could not see her, so he screamed out in frustration, causing the air about him to catch fire. And with that, he left the wall and went once more into the air. With the beast gone, they made for the safety of the keep.

After they had finally made good their escape from Helgen, the stopped just before the wilderness that they may catch their breath. As they did this, they heard the terrible howling of the great beast as he flew high above them, making once more for the mountains. With that, the World-Eater had finally gone. Breathing a great sigh of relief, the soldier took this opportunity to study the Elfin prisoner. She knelt before him, far more fatigued that he for reasons unknown. She was wearing the Imperial Light armor which she had taken from the Armory found within the keep, and on her back she wore a quiver full of steel arrows and an Imperial Light bow. On her side, she wore an Imperial sword. She had taken the liberty of removing her helmet that she may better feel of the cool breeze, which gave him a real good view of her face for the first time that day. She cut a mean figure in the Imperial uniform. It was as if she were made to wear it, as if she were used to wearing uniforms.

She was beautiful, the most beautiful Elfin woman he had ever seen, though in truth he hadn't seen many. And as he thought this through, his mind wondered as to what crimes she had committed to warrant her seeing the Headsman. Seeing as she looked to be an Altmer woman, he asked her the first thing which came to mind, "Are you a Thalmer agent?".

Hearing his question, she merely scoffed at the idea of being associated in such a manner as that, and with them no less. He took this as a resounding no, so he moved on. "Well, you have military training, that much is evident. I can see this clearly by the way you handled yourself back there. Have you served?".

"What business is it of yours?", she asked him bluntly, very nearly cutting him off.

"Well, if you haven't, you should consider joining up with the 6th Legion here in Skyrim. Gods know we could use someone with your abilities.". At the suggestion that she join up with an army she had fought against only recently, she began to laugh a little. As laughter is contagious, he began to laugh a little as well.

"What's so funny?", he asked of her after his laughter subsided.

"What makes you think I would be interested in joining an army which tried to execute me, when I had done nothing wrong?", she felt it better she tell him this rather than let slip that she was a Dominion soldier not too long ago.

The truth in her words was like a bitter thorn in his side as he knew there was logic in her words. So, he said the only thing he could think to say to her, "I am sorry that happened to you, I really am.". Like his apology was supposed to make everything better. She never answered him, so he continued on. "Listen, I'm headed for Riverwood. I've family there. Why don't you come along, it's the very least I could do. We could provide you with food and bedding and help you along to where ever it was you were going.".

"Thanks for the offer, but I've places which I need to be. With that, I'll take my leave of you." As Ailiea turned to walk away from him, he called out to her once more.

"My name's Hadvar, by the way. Can you at the very least tell me yours?", he asked of her.

With her back still to him, she turned her head ever so slightly that she may catch a slight glimpse of him before she left. "My name is Anna Nymous.", she said to him, through pouted lips. And with that, she left him there, mouth aghast at her peculiar answer, and she disappeared into the forests. Now finally in Skyrim and free once more, she started the trek to Falkreath so as to collect her things that she may drop the Imperial Armor as soon as possible.