Another chapter! Yay! This is the chapter where we get a small little peak into Emalia's backstory! I'm just gonna say know that I didn't know much about Bosmer traditions and stuff, so it's a little wonky and twisted a little bit to suit Emalia a little more (I did not realize that Bosmer had to eat whatever they killed and weren't allowed to eat plants or pick them for that matter until literally two days ago) I also wasn't very well versed in the history of Valenwood and stuff, I know that it's part of the Aldmeri Dominion or something (I think...) but I wasn't really sure on how to put it in exactly... So yeah, just bear with the wonky history. Oh! One more thing, I kinda made Emalia a bard (ish) because I've gotten this annoying habit of memorizing the songs from the game, so she will start going all Disney and start singing randomly :P But Vilkas will never sing. Ever.

Emalia shut the journal and thought about what she had just read. Her, the Harbinger? She shook her head and left the book inside the drawer, Emalia picked the fragment of Wuuthrad up from the floor and slowly walked back to the Skyforge. Eorlund was waiting for her up there. "Ah! You found it! Thank you very much." The blacksmith turned to the forge, which had been cleared up. "The forge glows brighter from the flames of Kodlak's spirit... Perhaps..." Eorlund shook his head. "Ah, no matter. You should head to the Underforge, beneath the Skyforge, the Circle is having a meeting there."

Emalia nodded and walked down the steps. She felt the rocks for the door shaped crack, when she found it, Emalia held a hand to the door and it rumbled open. Emalia walked in, and the door shut again. From deep within, Emalia could hear a heated argument. She silently slipped through the tunnel and entered the main chamber. Vilkas stood in front of Aela, his hands curled into tight fists. Farkas stood in the corner, out of the way of his brother's anger. "Kodlak wished for Sovengard! Not to be the... The play thing for a daedra! He wished for the Hall of Valor, not an eternal hunt! Kodlak was a true Nord with a wish, a wish he didn't get!" Vilkas thundered.

Aela crossed her arms, "I don't care of this so called 'curse'. To my eyes it is a gift. Has it not given us strength and made us the greatest warriors of the land?"

"You... Call it... A gift? You know, I curse the day I took the blood! How can you call yourself a Nord, Shield Sister, if you do not wish for Sovngarde?" Vilkas bellowed, his expression was twisted into one of terrible anger.

"I am at peace with my beast within, what of you, Vilkas? You've ignored it, but it has been calling to you. I would want nothing more than to hunt with our lord Hircine."

"Not our lord, your Lord! I, for one, am a true Nord! You may want to hunt with Hircine, but Kodlak. Wanted. Sovngarde."

Vilkas's eyes blazed with anger as he and Aela argued back and forth, the tone of his voice becoming darker and more furious with his Shield Sister. Emalia knew it was time to step in and stop the fight before it became serious. "Silence!" She yelled, her voice thrumming with power.

All eyes were on her. "Aela, I know that you have embraced the beast, but some of us wish to rid ourselves of it. Kodlak really did wish for Sovngarde so very much, we should at least grant him that..." She said in a calmer voice.

Emalia always had an aptitude for persuading and convincing people, it was one of her many skills which had been enhanced when she had found out she was the Dragonborn. Aela's expression immediately softened and she lowered her head. "Forgive me, you are right. Kodlak wanted Sovngarde, and as his Shield Siblings, we should give him that." Aela muttered. "But how do we cure him if he's already..."

Silence hung in the chamber, until Vilkas spoke of the solution. "We must take a Glenmoril witch head to the tomb of Ysgramor, but... The way to the tomb is locked and we don't have Glenmoril witch heads."

The voice of Eorlund Gray-mane came from the shadows. "The way into the tomb is blocked because Wuuthrad isn't with Ysgramor."

Emalia tilted her head in confusion. "So... How do we give Ysgramor his battle axe back? It's in pieces!"

The old blacksmith laughed. "Tools are meant to be broken, and repaired."

Eorlund pulled out a huge battle axe, it's patterns all matched the ones she saw on the fragments, Vilkas gasped. "Wuuthrad... It hasn't been reforged since... Actually, it has never been reforged before!"

"Wuuthrad was reforged by the embers of Skyforge and the flames of Kodlak's spirit, now the way is clear."

Eorlund came over to Emalia and gave her Wuuthrad, the axe was heavy, but she would still be able to wield it. "Now it's just the problem of the witch heads..." Vilkas muttered.

Emalia laughed and pulled the Glenmoril witch head she had collected out of a sack which she had held on to since Kodlak's death. "For Ysgramor! For the glory of the Companions!For Kodlak!" She yelled.

"For Kodlak!" Her Shield Siblings responded.

"We journey to Ysgramor's tomb and bring honour to the Companions!" She yelled, holding Wuuthrad high.

Emalia hastily made a make shift strap for the huge battle axe and gestured for the members of the Circle to follow her. She ran out of the Underforge followed by her Shield Sibling, Emalia had visited the tomb of Ysgramor before... Long ago. She knew it would take at least a week to get there, so they would have to run till dark and wake up at the crack of dawn. She sprinted across the plains of Whiterun, the Circle by her side. All travelers that crossed their path made way for the great warriors. By nightfall, Emalia was drenched in sweat and panting. She flopped down into soft heather and lay there, her eyes drooping in exhaustion. Emalia propped herself upright and helped Aela start a fire, the twins were setting up the sleeping rolls close to them. With her tired fingers, Aela couldn't get any sparks to start a fire. Emalia sighed and leaned close to the pile of wood, she whispered a word of ancient dragon tongue which she had used countless times in a similar situation. "Yol..."

A gout of flame crackled from her mouth, setting the wood on fire. Aela stared wide eyed at her. "So you really are Dragonborn..."

Emalia nodded, not saying anything else. She hated it when people treated her as if she was a goddess when she mentioned her title.

Aela rummaged through her knapsack and tossed a small piece of cooked beef to Emalia. "Here, eat this. You need to keep up your strength."

Emalia mumbled her thanks and chewed slowly on her food. She stared into the fire, hypnotized by the way it danced and glowed. Then, she heard screams in the distance. Immediately she jumped up and scanned the plains. "What was that?"

"Necromancers..." Vilkas snarled. "On a moonless night like this, that's when they prey on the living. Take them to perform rituals and sacrifices. Put the fire out, I don't want any of those bastards anywhere near us. I'll tear them to pieces if they get anywhere near me."

Emalia was quite shocked, she had never heard Vilkas speak with such a tone of hatred before. "Why do you hate necromancers so much? Not that I don't..."

"I don't want to talk about it." Vilkas growled.

"But-"

"I. Don't. Want. To. Talk. About. It."

With that, Vilkas walked to the edge of the camp, his back to everyone. Emalia turned to Aela for answers, knowing she could get some information out of her. "Why is he acting like that?"

Aela sighed. "Almost all of the Companions know their story."

"Their story?"

"Vilkas and Farkas. According to what I was told when I was younger, one of the Companions named Jergen and his Shield Brother Arnbjorn were sent on a mission to clear a cave from the mages who had apparently been killing and kidnapping people in Whiterun. They killed all of them and discovered they were necromancers. They wandered around the cave for a while until they found two boys, twins, huddled in a corner. Scared, lonely and crying. The two boys had dark hair and silver eyes, though one had a slightly bluer shade of silver, making his eyes more like ice. Jergen decided he was going to take them back to Jorrvaskr. Later on, when the boys had calmed down, one of the twins told them his name. Vilkas. He told them that his brother was Farkas. They had been taken from their home, which they couldn't remember, and were forced to participate in blood rituals and experiments. If the refused, they were beaten brutally. Jergen never found out where Vilkas and Farkas came from or who their parents were, so he decided to let them stay in Jorrvaskr. Tilma, the housekeeper, took care of them most of the time. But Jergen was like a father to them. One day, Jergen went out to war and... He never came back. He'd been killed. That was a blow to the twins. Vilkas then became the stubborn, broody man that we all know and love. Farkas stayed mostly the same. Soon after that, I joined the ranks of the Companions after my mother died. My mother and her mother and her mother's mother and so on were all Companions, which is why I joined. That's when I met them for the first time, they were at least seventeen at the time... I was twenty three. They took a the test to see if they could join the ranks of the Companions and were accepted. Vilkas and Farkas were known as the youngest Companions ever in history. Soon after that, they ascended to the Circle just after me. Do you now understand why Vilkas hates necromancers so much?"

Emalia nodded slowly, now she understood more. Aela's voice broke her thoughts. "I've told you much of us, what of you? To be honest, I only know that you are a Bosmer, you are Dragonborn and your name is Emalia. Who are you really?"

Emalia sighed and turned back to look at the fire. "I guess one person knowing who I truly am is no harm. Okay, I'll tell you. I grew up in Valenwood, as you probably guessed, but my family was poor and we hardly had enough gold to live. I had to turned to thieving for quite some time just to keep my family alive. Then we discovered my skill with the bow, so I hunted and sold the meat to others. After a while, my family was living a good life. Then my mother succumbed to a disease, she was in agony for two months until... One day... She didn't wake up... My father grieved for her death for nearly a year, then he became harsher, not the kind man who had raised me anymore. I lived with him until I turned twenty summers old. I lived alone for some time, until around a year ago, I wanted to go adventuring. My mother had told me tales of places in Tamriel, the place that called to me the most was Skyrim. I journeyed there only to get captured in an Imperial ambush! I was just about to be executed for no reason when the dragon attacked..."

Aela nodded, "I see... Thank you for sharing your story with me. You should rest now, we have a long journey ahead of us."


Emalia woke very early the next morning, the sun hadn't eve rose above the horizon. No one else was awake like her. Aela twitched occasionally in her sleep and Farkas snored loudly. Vilkas muttered and thrashed in his sleep as if he was having some sort of a terrible nightmare. Emalia sighed and lay back down again, she was still tired. Just as her mind was about to drift, Vilkas jolted upright, breathing hard. Emalia slowly raised her head and turned to Vilkas, curious of what night horrors plagued him. "What's wrong Vilkas?" She asked softly.

Whatever he had dreamed of, it had most likely stirred the spirit of the wolf within. His eyes flashed feral yellow, like a wolf, and a snarl etched upon his face. Emalia slowly stood up and knelt by Vilkas, staring into his eyes, holding his gaze. "Calm the fire within you, Vilkas." She whispered softly. "Resist the call... Drem..."

Her voice was known for it's power, in just seconds the dangerous fire in Vilkas's eyes dimmed and his expression softened. "You were muttering and thrashing in your sleep." Emalia explained.

Vilkas sighed and ran his fingers through his dark hair. "The beast blood refuses to give me a restful sleep, I enjoy dreamless sleeps when I get them."

"What were you dreaming about?"

"It was a dark forest, I was running from something when Hircine's wolves leaped out of nowhere. With their claws and sharp teeth, they ripped at my skin... I tried to escape, but the wolves would find me... Calling my name. Hircine stood above me, laughing at my weak attempts to get away from his grasp..."

Emalia cringed, what an awful dream to be plagued by... She knew well that it must be the result of Vilkas resisting the call of the blood, as she had learnt from Kodlak's journal. Then a silly little idea came to her mind. Emalia remembered when she was just a little girl, she had a terrible nightmare. Her mother had come into her room and started to sing softly to her. Emalia could just grasp the words in her memory and started to sing.

When the night falls

And the stars shine

Lay down, under the sky

Dream now

Drift in your mind

Leave all your troubles behind

When darkness falls

Over your sleep

Stay strong

Think of my love

For you,

My dearest one

Let the shadows retreat

Let your hopes reign

Dream of your wishes

Dream of your love

For me

When she ended to song, Vilkas looked surprised. "I didn't know you could sing so well!"

Emalia smiled. "I went to the Bards College for a time, they taught me a little bit. Most of the things I did there were fetching old books and ancient instruments, hardly any time to perfect my voice. But I did learn a few songs that you hear in the taverns, you know "The Dragonborn Comes" and "The Age of Aggression". In fact, I think I even learnt "Age of Oppression"!" Then a thought came to mind. "Vilkas, what side of the war to the Companions support?"

Vilkas huffed in annoyance. "Who cares about the war... The Companions aren't ones to get into politics. Elves, an old god, worship, Imperials, Stormcloaks. To be honest, this war is pointless. None of the sides have a good enough cause to make me raise my sword for one, I've also not been one for wars... Yes, I like a good fight. But war is... Different, I guess I could say..."

Emalia nodded thoughtfully. "I think so too... The war is frustrating me a lot as well, each side wants me to join their side. But I don't believe much in the cause. I'm an elf, but not a Thalmor. I don't give a damn about Talos. I also don't really like the Thalmor."

Vilkas chuckled. "You make a fine Companion, Emalia."

Emalia felt like Vilkas had left that sentence unfinished... But then Aela woke up. "Should we get going?" The Huntress muttered, still half asleep.

Emalia nodded. Vilkas stood up and kicked his brother gently. "Farkas, get up. We're moving."

Farkas moaned and got up after a few more words from Vilkas.

Can you guess why this bit : Then, she heard screams in the distance. Immediately she jumped up and scanned the plains. "What was that?" was written in such a way? Anyway, review or like or follow and I'll put up the next chapter soon! Gosh, I really need to stop listening to the Twilight Princess soundtrack whilst typing Skyrim fanfics!