I want to thank everyone for their patience and understanding. These two chapters are back up, melded as one, and fully revised to make the plot as intricate as ever! A new chapter is coming very, very soon ;P
Yo! Check out these two scratches I did of Tosh, on my deviantart account! You can find most fanart I will come up with over there :)
(I'm not the best at drawing with photoshop, so if some awesome artist decides to draw for me, they're welcome to it!)
My deviant username is "artemide68", check my gallery for the pics!
To:
voltagelisa, Elisabeth Hollow, Krystylsky, Baby Fawn
Thanks!
To: Elisabeth Hollow especially:
I think you just found out his true essence XD
To: Krystylsky especially:
NOOOO! NOT THE JELLO! hehe I see we have some daedra worship over here, keep up the good work XD (BTW Sheogorath IS going to appear sooner or later in the story...)
To: Valentine03:
Nope... You are AWESOME for reading this story and posting such good reviews! Made my heart melt! (ok that was cheesy and I'm joking but seriously... truly appreciated that ;P)
"Stupid Faendal and stupid dragon powers" I muttered grumpily while walking down the path to Whiterun
The elf wouldn't budge, no matter how much I had tried to persuade him. The only reason he wasn't currently sticking with me was because he was one of the few defenses Riverwood had left. I couldn't even ditch him! I had to pass through Riverwood again later on, to get to High Hrothgar…
And Faendal was the last of my problems!
I revised from memory what was probably going to happen. In the game, I would get to Whiterun and talk to Jarl Balgruuff. Then I was going to fetch the Dragonstone for Farengar the mage until Irileth the housecarl would run into his office yelling about a dragon sighting. The Jarl would ask me to join the fight, I would probably fight the dragon, hopefully win, and absorb it's soul, shocking everyone who saw me. (The thought made me shiver). By doing so, the Greybeards would be noticed of my presence and they would summon me to their frozen keep of High Hrothgar, for some Zen training or whatever their philosophy was….
Thank god I knew the plot. At least I knew I had an imminent dragon fight to face. If my luck was anything like lately , I was probably going to face the same dragon who had burned Riverwood down and kidnapped me…
…Was I strong enough to face him?
…Could I face him alone?
That was another thing that bugged me.. I didn't want people to know there was a Dragonborn, and I especially did not want them to find out it was me! And yet, how was I ever going to manage not showing off? As soon as the dragon died, my soul would absorb his in a multicolored lightshow! The best thing would have been for me to face the dragon alone, but could I pull it off? I didn't want to risk dying again…. Not to mention, I wasn't even sure when he would make his appearance… It could be days… or weeks…
…Maybe I could present myself to the Jarl with a mask, like a superhero!
I physically choked at the idea… I guess I matched the description but.. superheroes in Skyrim just didn't fit. And how was I meant to meet the Jarl without even uncovering my face? Certainly the guards would think me a little too suspicious…
Although, I definitely could devise a plan to make my face less known… It was a medieval world after all, there were no papers or newscasts… Even if someone saw my face, It would be hard to spread the word so that others could recognize me, and I could ask those who knew me to keep my presence as secret as possible.
I might also need to change my name….
…..Gaaaaaah! This is ridiculous!
Suddenly I wished I could talk to Tosh… ask him if there was something he could do.. If he had some weird thingamabob to prevent people who saw my power from remembering.. ask if I could skip the entire game process and go straight towards my goal, learning the shout Dragonrend and defeating his idiotic son….
But if there was going to be an attack soon, and If I left Whiterun alone.. I shuddered. I needed to be in the city. I needed to face that dragon. It wasn't just to take revenge for Riverwood, it was a test I had to go through…
I definitely wasn't powerful enough to face a dragon that could summon the apocalypse from the sky with a swipe of its wings… I needed practice first, lots of practice, and I needed training… more training with my swords and with my bow… and with my shouts…. I guess this was the purpose of adventuring and completing quests in the game... I mentally laughed at the concept of me, having to 'level up'
I just hoped I had enough time. Time before Alduin realized his plan had been bypassed, and went personally for the kill…. That was a scary thought
Even though I still hated him, I wished Tosh would show up and help me out… He could tell me what to do… he was freaking omniscient for time's sake!
That's when I felt a familiar pulling forming inside my chest and a flash of bright light closed my eyes momentarily….
"You wanted to talk?"
I blinked a couple of times to get the white out of my eyes, only to reveal myself inside a shady old barn. Sunlight filtered from closed door and windows, revealing particles of dust floating in the air. The surrounding hay left a pungent smell everywhere. A certain dragon god was napping on a timber beam, in the barn's loft, arms behind his head, facing the ceiling.
"How are you adapting to my blood?" he asked nonchalantly after a moment of silence, eyes still closed, as if it was the most common thing in the world.
Suddenly I regretted wishing I could talk to him. Why did he always have to put up this arrogant façade? And why the hell where we in a barn?
"Interesting place to nap" I noted sourly, avoiding his question about my new powers… the fact it was 'his blood' made it sound way too creepy….
The god opened his fiery slitted eyes and finally turned his gaze on me with his trademark smirk
"Someday, you'll find out that the best things are often the simplest " He replied in his mocking tone.
I ignored his answer and asked something else that was bugging me at the moment.
"How did you know I needed to talk to you?"
Tosh smiled
"We share the same blood don't we? How could I not know…"
"You can read my thoughts now?!" I asked, shocked… I should have expected this
"Calm down, sheesh!" Tosh yelled with a sigh "No, not really, but we do share a connection. I know when something bad is happening to you, or when you ask for my help... I don't even see what's the problem! If you were not from another world, I'd know every single thing about you, ever since you were born!" He scoffed, annoyed.
I relaxed a little "Yes but since I'm not, I'd rather keep my privacy, thank you" I ended with a little grin
The god huffed before a smile crept up his face. "So why so hostile when you need my help? Not a very good tactic is it?"
This made me blush a little. Curses! Why can't I keep a civil conversation going with him….
Tosh went on
"Let me guess, you want me to help you find out a way to conceal your existence to people.."
I raised an eyebrow
"Are you sure you can't read my mind?"
The god chuckled
"Of course not, Scrolls bless me with this little favor! No, I merely saw your talk with Faendal. I may not see your future, or your past before you came here, but once you trigger an event inside Nirn, well, then It becomes part of this world's timeline, so…"
"…you can see all the things I've done since I got into Skyrim…" I replied thoughtfully, and a little warily.
"Indeed" He winked, then got up to business "Though I must ask you a question… Why don't you want people in Skyrim to know of your existence? Does it have to do with those comic books I found in your world about heroes? Fascinating things by the way, they were definitely entertaining, wish I could have retrieved some samples…"
"..No of course not!" I nervously interrupted his mumbling.
Wait a second...Did Tosh just tell me I'm a comic book geek and that is the reason I don't want my identity known?! Is he a comic book geek?!
Fortunately, even though my reluctance to gain honor and glory was mostly instinctual, I knew very well the causes behind it…
"First, I don't like attention… Second, I would hate to give people false hopes… And Third, my plan, once I deal with your son, is to set a peaceful life somewhere, and maybe research some other way to return home… I can't do it if your world thinks I'm some legendary emperor reborn, bound to clear them of all their problems… I'm pretty sure things will not be like in the game, when after defeating Alduin, people utterly ignore the poor Dovahkin… I don't even want to think about what they might do once I'm found out…"
Tosh smiled "Ah… Talos, I remember him! Nice chap… People still adore him as a god, and I guess He had enough power to be so… But alas, he was a mortal, and Death just had to claim his soul…. I still grant people his blessings though… He deserves it after all.. "
I felt there was more to that story, but shrugged, as it wasn't what I came here for.. I actually felt a little irritated of his dozing off from the matter at hand…
"Why would you give people false hopes? Have you no confidence in your abilities?" He asked smugly
I glared at him, but ended up staring at the ground, ashamed "…How much confidence do I need to believe I can take down a winged monster of apocalypse…."
Tosh chuckled "Hey! You're talking about my son!"
For once I felt like smiling back at him "Yeah, so?"
Tosh somehow was gleaming after my reaction. Instead of provoking me even more he just settled with a "Ouch, right at my heart, lady!"
A small chuckle came out before I could realize what was going on. I straightened up, utterly confused at how I was slipping into friendliness. Tosh seemed to notice my reluctance and became serious once again, with a little pain hidden behind his mesmerizing eyes. He stood up from his makeshift bed, and approached me.
"Anyhow, the fact you want your identity unknown is going to be troublesome.."
"…tell me about it…" I grumbled
"Dibella could cook up something to alter your appearance, Any of us could help, that's for sure, but you must realize that sooner or later your secret will be found out anyways… "
"And how do you know? I thought you couldn't see my future" I asked, skeptical. Wasn't he even going to give me a chance?
"I can't… This doesn't mean I can't estimate what will happen. I have eons of experience with this, remember?"
I frowned
"Well last time I checked estimates aren't actual facts" I scoffed. I wanted to have my way.. I didn't care if the odds were against me, he had been manipulating me enough already…
Tosh paused, apparently deep in thought. "Perhaps you have a faint chance.. but is it worth it? It might make things more complicated than they should… Think about it, Diana: Keeping the Dragonborn's existence hidden is out of the question. The people need hope in this time of chaos, and I'm sure, knowing your hero complex, you won't deny them such hope…"
"…Hero complex? I don't have a hero complex…" I stuttered
"Sure you don't, that's why you committed suicide to save an old man, got yourself kidnapped to save a village, sacrificed half your fortunes to repay said village, almost got poisoned to death to protect a comrade, threw yourself into a fire to save a potential criminal…"
"Okay! Okay! I get it!" I yelped. Tosh seemed to be quite amused
"So, as I was saying, the Dragonborn has to make its appearance, to quell people's fears, unless you want Skyrim to be plunged into chaos, a chaos that will with no doubt have the civil war escalate even further… "
"Fine! I get it! Presence known…" I yelled, frustrated
Tosh smirked in victory… Damn, I hated when he was right…
"Good, so that leaves us with your dual identity. Are you sure you want to be remembered in the legends with another name, and another face?" He asked, somehow preoccupied.
I shivered at the thought of me, being remembered in legends… I knew my answer..
"I don't care about being remembered.. really… but if I had to, I was thinking more on the lines of being mysterious, you know… with an unknown name and an unknown face…."
Tosh was somehow surprised.
"Well that definitely is more intriguing than the average legend, I have to say, but…"
I groaned. Tosh raised an eyebrow
"….You think people would trust an unknown figure into battle? You think the Jarl would give you access to his keep if he didn't even know your face? You do realize you will need their help, sooner or later… That little game of yours makes it quite clear…"
I knew he was right, this was bound to give me a hard time, but I wasn't about to give up "I can still try though! I could use another method to defeat Alduin, without having to depend on the Jarl or the Empire… I've seen what happens from the game, I think I can just… skip… some parts"
Tosh wasn't very convinced
"Maybe, but I would suggest you stay close to the original plot from your 'game'. Not only does it give you a chance to train appropriately before you face my son, it also allows you to at least predict certain events… events you wouldn't suspect if you went off with another plan… Not even I can see your future, that has to count as something…."
I mentally cursed. The god was right, it was more convenient this way. But this meant getting to do exactly what I wished to avoid… What was better? Living anonymously , without burdens, but risking way more than what was expected of me.. Or revealing myself, sacrificing my freedom to end up with a sense of security… Tosh continued, his tone becoming comprehensive and … apologetic?
"Diana… you can't hide like this.. especially when an entire world counts on your help…"
I cringed. Tosh sighed
"Look, I know you don't want this… I know you don't feel like you're up to the task… but hiding behind a mask won't help you, not in this world. It will only complicate things and sow distrust…"
Damn…. I hated when he was right… I really did… What was I going to do?
My mind went back to the horrible decision I had to take a couple of days ago.. that HE made me take a couple of days ago… Just like then, I had almost no choice in the matter… I always ended up doing what he wanted…
Well not anymore.. My life had already been scrambled enough by outside sources… I needed to take everything back under my will. So what if it was harder? It was my own decision and I would accept whatever consequences! I felt angry for even seeking the god's advice in the first place… I should have known better… If I wanted to be unknown, I was going to be unknown, no matter how hard it would get… I was going to pull through it with my own two hands…
My face frowned. I almost snarled.
Tosh sighed, he seemed to know where this was going…
"Fine, Diana, do it your way… I have no qualms on how you decide to live your life, I scrambled your destiny enough as it is…."
My anger slightly subsided, replaced by surprise. He continued
" Just do me a favor, will you?"
His eyes locked onto mine
" Don't do anything silly because of that pride of yours.."
The anger completely vanished, and I was left flabbergasted. The words did not suggest it, they really didn't, but somehow I knew… Tosh acknowledged me. He had let me win the argument.. he understood me... If I hadn't gotten so familiar with him, I would have been made humble by a god placing his trust in me. Right now, though, it just felt weird. He wasn't trying to manipulate me, I had realized… he was just concerned for my safety. His sarcastic attitude was a decoy, it had always been. His burning eyes, set deeply set onto mine, spoke all the words that were left unsaid
He kept his gaze on me, almost as if I would disappear as soon as he looked away. I was unable to react, there were too many conflicting emotions inside. Finally, after an untraceable amount of time, he shrugged and came back to his old self, sighing
"I guess I'll try to help you out… whatever shenanigans you're planning…."
I supposed, after that little silent conversation we had, I wasn't even surprised when he said that. I still felt incredulous, and something within me wanted to antagonize him… but the words warmed my heart
Anyhow, I wasn't in the condition of saying anything. Tosh sensed it pretty well.
"So, off you go then?" He asked, to fill in the awkward silence that was filling the dusty barn…
"Ok" I muttered, breaking eye contact for a second before making it once again
"Tosh?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks"
The girl was gone, leaving the god by himself, a little stunned, inside his own creation. Tosh sighed, some unnatural feeling gripping at his heart after hearing that one word muttered by human lips, and went back to his napping spot, bent on resting some more. The blood transfer, from his old choice to his new, had left him drained. He realized this sadly, remembering the days when his power was great and his control absolute. Now, all that strength was scattered into Nirn's earth. He was tempted to get it back, but he knew he never would, and besides, he now had a new distraction to keep him away from this sadness. A stubborn one, unpredictable, but pleasant all the same…
Mara entered the barn from one of the shadows, and took a good look of her 'brother'
"You shouldn't have brought her here so soon, she still needed to recover…"
Tosh opened one eye and scoffed, annoyed
"She asked for it, and it didn't go that bad anyways…"
"She has been crying inside all this time! I can feel her love for her family and home being torn this very instant!"
Tosh seemed a little hurt by that
"She's strong, she'll manage… She is strong enough to question me without fear … She even managed to win an argument! And why do you always suppose I do everything wrong? This time it was different! She even thanked me in the end!" He replied, animatedly, defensively…
Mara was a little shocked. "Did she now…"
"She did" Tosh stated, happiness creeping onto him. It was as if he had truly just realized it himself, that his picture in front of that girl's eyes had begun to change….
Mara watched her brother's reaction, his happiness, and a huge smile showed on her face, until she let out her gentle laughs
"My, Tosh, you're certainly getting affectionate…" She stated in a barrage of chuckles
Tosh felt just a little embarrassed, and tried to shrug it off "Can't help it.. How many mortals have we been able to talk to and touch after our powers went away?…. She makes a nice change for once… "
Mara nodded between laughs, in understanding. Though a glimmer in her eyes suggested she knew more. Realizing all was fine, she spoke
"I better go check on Bella, she's having a fit. Have some rest, brother. I bet you're still tired"
Tosh sighed "That I am"
Mara smiled and turned her back on him, swiftly vanishing into the air. The god closed his eyes and let himself back into his nap, though sleeping now had become somehow way easier than before….
"gggggggrrrrrrrrlllllllllllll llll"
I opened my eyes, quickly awakening from the drowsiness. Some awful smelling beast was behind me. Containing my breath, listening to the growling sound, I pretended to still be asleep as not to alarm it, my whole body tense, ready to sprint.
I had arrived at Whiterun's city gates in the middle of the night. Unexpectedly, unlike in the game, Whiterun worked just like the average medieval city. This meant that, after a certain hour, the gates closed and you couldn't get in. It was fairly reasonable, really, but it didn't prevent me from lashing mental curses at the city walls. I would have tried to climb said walls (an easy feat given my new strength), but I really didn't want to piss off the guards, especially with no one knowing me… yet.
I had walked around the gates and the nearby farms, working on a plan to deal with the next weeks to come. Unfortunately, I didn't come up with much, there were far too many variables and not enough I knew about people in the city, so I concluded I would first enter and scan my surroundings, then start to plan. I ended up filling my time by admiring the landscape. It was a nearly moonless night, given the clouds, and it was fairly odd to admire all of this in the dark, but I blamed it on my dragon powers, which apparently included a good night vision and high resistance to cold weather.
Given that I had estimated around three hours to kill before sunrise, I had settled to find someplace to sleep them away, even though in my current state I was quite restless. I grumbled at that.. I kinda liked sleeping, I loved to dream, and now I couldn't really do it much anymore…
Of course, sleeping was what got me into Skyrim in the first place…
Strangely enough, I had taken Tosh's advice, literally. I was passing in front of a farm when I noticed a small but comfy haystack with a wooden roof/cover, a couple of meters away from the main building, looking slightly old and abandoned. I figured I could get out just before sunrise, so people wouldn't notice my freeloading, and settled on the hay, inhaling it's pungent smell with my powered senses. What I didn't count on was falling deeply asleep, almost immediately. Tosh was right, hay really worked for napping…
When I woke up I glanced at the sun's position in the sky, noting that at least one hour had gone past the sun rising, so why were there no incredibly angry farmers trying to kick me out?
Oh right, because of the foul smelling and giant sounding beast, growling behind me.
I moved my arm to the side, grabbing for my axe, slowly, patiently. If I was lucky, the beast wouldn't notice me, and move along…
I'm never that lucky
I perfectly heard the jerk in the thing's muscles, as it was lifting a huge bulk of mass from the ground. A shadow was cast over me. I waited until I felt the air beginning to move.
Now
I rolled to the side as a huge bone almost nailed me to the ground, crushing a part of the small barn's roof. I shivered while staring at my attacker. He was at least three times taller than me, and was currently confused on why he didn't hear any bones smashing.
A giant… A freakin giant
I swallowed this thought as I tightened my grip on the axe, placing myself in a battle stance. My other sword had broken, and I still hadn't managed to get a new one… I was definitely at a disadvantage.
I can do this, I killed that Deathlord in a beat… I can do this… Okay… plan….I can't reach the neck, but I can make him bend if I cut the leg junctures… If worst come to pass, I can aim for more sensitive areas…
Gaining some confidence, I dodged another one of the giant's blows with his 'mace', closing in on his personal space. As soon as my axe planted itself on his right leg juncture, the giant let out a scream of horror. I pulled, ready to retrieve it for another strike…
But the axe wouldn't budge
The giant had bent his leg and clenched his muscles, and my axe was still piercing his flesh and….. it wouldn't move! Before I could apply any more force, he had swung his mace towards me, forcing me to dodge. Now I was away from close quarters, disarmed
Fuck…
I dodged another swing, looking frantically around for my bow and quiver… I had left them in the haystack, removing them from my back because they were uncomfortable to sleep with… I cursed… of all the moments to fall asleep….
And the small wooden roof had crumbled under the giant's mace. No… if I wanted my bow I had to dig beneath hay and wood fragments alike…there was not enough time…
The giant's blows had gone slower, due to his injured right leg, but they had definitely gotten stronger, fueled by rage. Rage towards me.
I kept dodging, frantically, left and right, looking for things to hide behind, looking for things to distract him while I made a run for the bow…
It was an open field… there was nothing of the sort
So I went for a desperate attempt
Trying to move him as further away as possible from the haystack, I made him face the other direction. Then, as he was about to strike me once more, I ducked and ran right between his legs…
…towards that same haystack, as fast as my inhuman speed would let me. Heavy footsteps and a roar behind me
I frantically removed pieces of broken wood to uncover my bow and quiver, grabbing them and turning around while my senses where screaming at me one thing: The mace was coming…
As my eyes saw a flash of bone white, I felt the buzzing, locked deep beneath my skin, get out, enveloping my whole body. I felt my hands drop my new weapons, to stop something, midair, from crashing on my skull.
The giant was just as startled as me. We found ourselves at a standoff. Him, trying to crush me with his bone, and me, three times smaller, blocking said bone with my own two hands, showing little to no effort.
In my face formed a devilish grin, augmented by the power coursing through my veins. Without thinking, I grabbed the bone from its tip, and proceeded to yank it off the giant's hands. The giant just stood there, a dumb look on his face.
I didn't leave him time to react. As soon as the other end hit the floor with a loud thump, I pressed further on my power to lift the mace again. My mace.
And I crushed it mercilessly on the creature's legs, watching them break under the pressure. The mace thumped once again, as it met the floor. A larger thump was sign of the giant's downfall. He crashed to the ground like a tree...
I raised the mace, ready to strike one last time… Until my eyes spoke to me again
The giant, realizing his doom, was now staring at me as if his soul had only known despair, ready to meet a miserable death…
..And I didn't have the heart to continue. I felt the buzzing receding back into my skin, slowly, until I had no more strength to keep the huge bone mace lifted. I let it fall on the ground, away from the creature.
The giant just stared in amazement, never flinching. I shot him with a heavy glare, and of all things….
…He passed out!
I paused for a second, staring at the unconscious humanoid, feeling a little dizzy, wondering if this was really happening or if I'd been having a very realistic dream again... Unfortunately, my bruises felt very real.
Then I heard a clapping behind me
Turning around, I saw a red haired woman with ancient north attire and green markings on her face approach me slowly, still clapping. She had a fine looking bow wrapped behind her back.
Checking back on my senses, I noticed there where two more presences nearby, quickly approaching
The woman spoke, in a sincere and no nonsense tone.
"Never in my life have I seen a woman fight off a giant like that, and that is saying much. Who are you, brave warrior?" She asked in a mix of curiosity and amazement.
Suddenly, I remembered... these guys… they were the Companions! The werewolf mercenaries!
Wow… way to blow my cover this early…
I frowned at the mental image of Tosh, somewhere, giggling behind my back
What should I do? I haven't made a plan yet!
Meanwhile the woman was staring at me, expecting something. I guess she wanted my name
What was I going to give her? a real name? a fake name? She seemed to think I was just a good warrior, not some mythical dragon hybrid…..
Damn… I've got no time to think!
In the end I settled for my real name… Sewing lies at this point was just bound to get me in trouble…
And yet, I had problems moving my mouth.
I ended up sputtering something after a push of willpower
"My name is Diana, Diana Perastri" I said, composing myself once again and working on giving off a false impression of confidence.
The huntress seemed thoughtful
"Diana Perastri… a strange name it is…. Though you seem to be of Nord heritage, your name is not of this land. Where do you come from, warrior?"
I winced at her speech. I really should have made up some excuses to explain my origins instead of sleeping last night…. Damn… Oh well… on with the acting… and the pompous speeches… and the ignoring of what just happened a couple of minutes ago, giant and all…
"I come from faraway lands, but, you have guessed well, I do have Nord descendants. You might say I came here to explore my ancestor's heritage"
No need for people to know I'm from another universe... now that would be a little too much...
The woman nodded
She bought it! I mentally gave myself a high five for coming up with such a good excuse in such a short time..
"A fine goal, I might add. My name Is Aela. Say, Diana, would you like to visit the halls of Jorrvaskr? I'm sure the others would enjoy meeting a fine warrior such as yourself"
"And by the others, you mean the rest of the Companions?" I asked in a calm tone, while I actually wanted to walk away and never meet Aela again, else she drag me into her weird werewolf cult and more half thought explanations.. I was already half a dragon, I didn't want to become half a dog…
"I see you are already well informed" Aela said, approving. "So, do you accept the offer?"
I knew my instincts wanted me to leave but… I had to give it half a thought! I really didn't want to become a dog, but if I knew something about the Companions, it was that they were a friendly bunch. It's not like they wanted me to join them and become a furry ball right away.. and if I passed through the city gates escorted by Aela, rather than on my own, I could avoid the attentions and inquiries of the guards… Not to mention, having some contacts with a mercenary guild could come out useful in the end… This wouldn't be too bad, really…
I nodded
"I will gladly follow you"
