Chapter 7- Bryling

"How does the war fair Tullius?" Bryling asked after taking a long savouring sip of her wine. The most respectable thanes and nobles had been invited to a feast, held by Jarl Elisif the Fair in the dining room of the Castle Dour.

"Not too well at the moment, it seems that the Stormcloaks are making the most of their victory at Whiterun. They have been attacking the surrounding forts currently occupied by our troops, and we're having trouble holding them off. We have already lost Fort Greymoor. The steel and other ores we have acquired from Rockwallow mine have been very useful though, and I am certain I have you to thank for letting Morthal use your mine to supply our cause."

"Consider it as a thank-you gift from me to you for protecting my homeland from such a foul creature as Ulfric Stormcloak and for also keeping those terrifying dragons at bay."

...

The party had moved from the dining room to the bridge connecting the marvellous building to the tower that led to ground level. Servants bustled through the nobles serving drinks and small snacks to all everyone as they watched delightfully at the sight of the sun setting off in the distance. Bryling strolled through the crowd looking for her host. She wished to have a few words with about her current need for more guards to be stationed at the Stonehills, with the on-going threat of danger around every corner. Rockwallow mine was a main source of ores for the legion and she knew that Elisif would not withhold any troops from protecting her most valuable asset.

Scanning the crowd she found Elisif happily chatting away with another noble from who-knows-where, all the while her 3 bodyguards stood around her, eyes darting through the guests looking for any threats.

…

Looking up Elisif noticed Bryling making her way towards her rather quickly, looking like she had a purpose.

"Yes thank you Sir Aaron, I will talk to you later about that trade route."

"Thank you for listening my lady", giving a bow and slowly backing away her guest left and began to disappear into the crowd.

…

"Elisif, may I have a word in private please?"

"Certainly Bryling"

Following the Jarl into the tower connected to the bridge, Bryling laughed to herself as her bodyguards formed a tight semi-circle around the Jarl. Entering the tower, two bodyguards stood at the doorway and the other stood at the peak of the stairs.

"What would you like Bryling?"

"It has come to my attention that Stonehills has only currently got two guards. Both of which are supplied by Morthal. And I was hoping that you would be able to supply me with a few guards from Solitude to serve as extra protection from the… well you know… the current dangers that are arising an-"

There was a thundering roar outside of the tower and the whole building shook. There were multiple screams from the nobles on the bridge as everyone looked to the skies. Bryling ran outside spilling wine all over her clothes. Elisif and the bodyguards followed and glanced up to where everyone was looking, and gasped in shock as the great shadow covered them. Another thunderous roar filled everyone's ears. The screams of little children and their parents went up from the streets below and the shouts of guards directing them to safety were heard all over. Recovering from shock, Elisif's bodyguards grabbed her and gently pulled her into Castle Dour, pushing aside the crowd. Bryling followed them, and rushed into the castle without looking back. She knew that without her armour or weapons she would be of little use at the moment. She could hear General Tullius screaming for archers to form on the bridge.

Nobles and thanes ran frantically around looking for a safe corner. Bryling looked out at the bridge through a window to see multiple archers being burnt to crisp by a flame coming down from the skies. She made out the sound of the door slamming shut, and turned to see General Tullius leaning up against it, catching his breathe.

He then straightened himself and bolted through the confused people, crowding the dining room, and straight through the door on the opposite side of the room. Bryling followed in hope of being able to acquire some armour and weapons.

"Tullius!" Bryling shouted chasing after then general struggling to keep up after tripping over her dress multiple times.

Turning his head slightly to see Bryling following him, Tullius called out, "I don't think now is a very good time Bryling."

"I'm a capable warrior and you know that Tullius so don't try and push me away from this fight!"

"You have no armour for starters, and what about a weapon? You have no weapon either! You could not fight in those clothes with no weapon! " Tullius screamed over another roar on the outside of Castle Dour. He was close to the massive swinging doors that led to the courtyard. Legionnaires and city guards were forming in front of the large doors, ready to charge through and take on the threat. Legate Adventus and Legate Rikke paced in front of the forming men, both screaming orders at them and preparing them for the battle ahead.

"You have more than enough armour and weapons to spare!" Bryling shouted back. She was getting annoyed with Tullius and stopped following him when they got to the door. She saw a female soldier checking over her weapons. Quickly running towards the woman she left Tullius to join the two legates in ordering the men.

"Hey you! I need your armour now and your sword! Hurry up!" Bryling screamed at the soldier over all the noise.

Looking up rather confused the soldier yelled back, "Ma'am I order you to stand back immediately! You should return upstairs and stay calm."

"You order me! How dare you! I am Bryling, Thane of Morthal! I order you to give me your armour now! Go and get another set of armour yourself and give me your weapons and armour now!"

"Bryling? I am sorry my thane I didn't recognise you. Here take it. Be careful out there my thane." The soldier said apologetically, as she handed over her armour and sword.

…

Slipping the helmet on last and sheathing the sword, she ran into the crowd of soldiers.

"The danger out there is large, but each of you has sworn to protect Skyrim so that is what you shall do! Solitude is in danger! Serve your duty and protect us from the danger that lurks above! Now men, charge!" Tullius screamed as the doors swung open.

A large mass of legionnaires swarmed out through the doors, most of them stopping once in the courtyard to ready bows. Bryling stopped as well, even though she didn't have a bow, looking up into the sky. The enormous shadow that covered the bridge before passed over the courtyard, blocking out the sun.

The large dragon that must have been the size of a warship landed on the outer wall of the courtyard. Its green scales gleamed in the sunlight on its back. Its huge claws dug into the wall, crumbling parts of the wall into small chunks. The dragon looked down over the small force of soldiers underneath him.

Hundreds of arrows were all let loose at once, flying towards the beast that was attacking their home. Many got disintegrated in a burst of fire but some arrows embedded themselves into the dragon.

Letting out a roar it flew up into the sky and circled around the large city, watching from a distance. The men reformed into their positions and readied for another attack, drawing bows as the dragon slowly progressed his way back towards the courtyard, in hope of killing the beings that had inflicted pain on him.

Bryling watched as a second wave of arrows ripped the creature's wings apart, causing it to come hurtling down from the sky toward them. Panic took everyone over as they pushed and shoved trying to get away from where the dragon would land. Bryling had leapt out of the way just as the dragon readjusted and managed to roughly land on his claws with a large crash.

Coughing up dust she stood, blinking away all the dust in her eyes. But when two large green eyes opened in front of her, glowing in the dust, she screamed in terror.

The eyes stared at her for a minute, waiting for the dust to clear, but when an arrow implanted itself into one of those large green eyes, the dragon jerked his head up letting out another thunderous roar. Bryling took the opportunity to try and shove her sword through the monsters neck, but the blade merely made a small cut to its neck.

"Bryling! What do you think you are doing? Run! Now!" Tullius screamed from behind.

Bryling turned and ran as fast as she could, wanting to get away from the creature that almost crushed her. She ran towards Tullius and his group of men wanting safety.

"Bryling what did you think you were doing getting that close to that creature! I told you to stay in the castle, we can take care of this", Tullius said as Bryling entered his small group of men. All the other legionnaires were scattered around the creature that was still stranded in the middle of the courtyard.

"Yes indeed Tullius, you seem to be taking care of everything just fine!" Bryling remarked back with a snarl out of pure frustration.

The dragon let of another breathe of fire, burning a few legionnaires to crisp. The heat of the flames could be felt from the other side of the courtyard by Bryling.

"Quick men! Regroup! Regroup!"

Both legates and Tullius led their men into a larger group near the exit of the courtyard that led in to the rest of Solitude. The dragon marched towards them snapping his jaws at those who strayed too close to him, but missed most of his targets due to not being able to see out of one eye.

"Men ready your bows!" Legate Rikke screamed. "Nock… draw…"

"LOOSE!" Tullius screamed before Rikke could finish.

The arrows flew towards the beast, each one finding a spot to bury itself into. The dragon let out one last roar in defeat, jerking its head upwards before slumping to the ground.

There was no celebrating once the beast lied dead, only mourning of those whom were lost in battle, trying to protect their people from the dragon.