Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Skyrim, the characters from the awesome mod Skyrim Romance by Maralightfeather, Kaidan 2 by livtempleton, or any other mod-related content referred to in this story. This story is purely fan-made and I only claim ownership of the character I'm playing as.

Update 3/15/2020: Hey guys, sorry to do this to you if you've already read the previous version of this chapter but it needed some serious tuning up. Guess that's what I get for cranking that one out at 4am! And one more thing, I was feeling a bit discouraged about the low view count so I've changed the rating back to T. But I should be able to still write most of what I had planned since it'll probably be pretty tame given the limits I set for myself anyway! Lastly, just so you all know this story mainly focuses on the character's from the Skyrim Romance Mod so if you don't know what that is there are plenty of playthroughs of it over on Youtube, they have a website, and it's on Nexus so be sure to check it out!

Prologue: Firelight

Noir's POV

An old friend once told me that destiny has a funny way of bringing the most unlikely people together. And I believe that's absolutely true. The Divines have an odd sense of humor too because somehow I ALWAYS seem to end up in the most bizarre situations, even when I'm trying to be careful. Although now that I look back on everything that's happened I can't help but laugh at the irony of it all...

I suppose I do tend to get a bit too nosy for my own good whenever something interesting is going on or when someone needs help. It's hard for me to resist getting involved either way and that's usually where the trouble starts. But the thing is, I really enjoy the thrill of a good adventure and causing a bit of harmless mischief now and again just to stir things up. So it's not always a bad thing how unpredictable life can be.

It all started a few months ago after I saved a man named Ralof from a nearby cave while searching for survivors in Helgen. I was camping just outside of the village when I heard a deafening roar and saw a real dragon fly right overhead from the direction of Helgen. One with dark gleaming scales that were as black as a moonless sky and eyes as red as the flames of Oblivion itself.

I have no idea where it came from, but wherever it was, danger was sure to follow. So once it was safe to come out into the open again, I hastily extinguished my campfire, grabbed my belongings, and ran up the hillside as fast as I could to see what I could do to help even though I already knew they probably wouldn't accept it that easily. But given how devastating the dragon attack was I had a strong feeling that the guards wouldn't bother trying to kick me out even though my kind, the Khajiit, aren't welcome inside of the city walls very often.

By the time I managed to find a way inside, everyone was dead. It was a horrible sight. The only things that were still warm where the dimly glowing embers of what was once a thriving village and the burnt bodies that were strewn all around me. I would have tried to bury them, but their charred skin turned to ash at the slightest touch, so all I could do was pray for their souls.

I was just about to leave when I came across the journal of an adventurer who was mistaken for a Stormcloak rebel. It was poking out from under a rock I tripped over while searching through my satchel. A fallen stone from one of the walls must have protected the journal from the flames that engulfed pretty much everything else.

Ralof is actually pretty lucky I found that journal after I finished salvaging what I could from the ruins of Helgen because I honestly had no intention of coming back this way for a while. I found him in the cave the journal mentioned and after I dragged Ralof all the way back to my campsite he told me what happened while I was tending to his wounds. Apparently they were caught during an ambush near Darkwater Crossing and were brought to Helgen in a couple of carts where they were all supposed to be lined up for the headsman's ax.

Even the leader of the rebellion here in Skyrim, Ulfric Stormcloak, was captured too and about to go up to the chopping block when that black dragon appeared and started destroying everything in sight. But the only reason I paid any attention to politics was so I'd know who to avoid crossing paths with out in the wild. I'm surprised they managed to capture Ulfric so easily though when he's supposed to be this powerful Nord warrior...

Now I understood why I didn't notice what was going on much sooner. I never saw these carts so they must have entered the village from one of the other roads on the opposite side of Helgen. Not to mention that dragon must have also flown down from somewhere located on the other side of the mountains since I didn't see anything until the village was already in flames.

I had no idea what a dragon was supposed to smell like either because they're all supposed to be extinct, so there's that too. I just couldn't imagine why a dragon would target Helgen specifically if it was just searching for food. After all, most of the bodies were burnt and then left like instead of being torn apart and eaten, as morbid as that is...

Anyway, once Ralof regained his strength, even though he said it might be safer for us to travel separately so no one suspected me of being involved with the Stormcloaks I decided to accompany him to Riverwood anyway since I was worried he might collapse somewhere along the way. When he asked me why I cared so much I smiled and said it would have been completely pointless to save his life only to find his corpse somewhere along the road after a wolf or a bear caught his scent. He laughed in response and seemed to appreciate the gesture.

As soon as we arrived Ralof asked his sister Gerdur to give me some supplies to repay me for my kindness. After that Gerdur asked me if I would go tell Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun about the dragon attack so he could send some soldiers to help protect Riverwood. I'm sure Ralof would have tried to do it himself, but at the time he hadn't slept for days and was still recovering from his wounds. Not to mention Ralof wasn't sure if they'd believe anything a Stormcloak soldier had to say. They might think it was all part of an elaborate trap.

I wasn't sure if I'd have any better luck convincing them given the fact that I'm a Dagi-Raht which may look slightly more human but I'm still a Khajiit. And being accepted for who I am is a rare privilege in this land. I was happy they were willing to entrust me with such an important task, so it was anyone's guess if the Jarl would listen to me either. But since I wasn't able to save anyone else from the destruction in Helgen I wanted to make sure Riverwood would be able to protect itself if that dragon struck again.

That's why I agreed to do it in the end.

As long as I did my part to help keep them safe, that's all that mattered! But like I said earlier, my life here in Skyrim has been full of surprises. Although finding out I'm the Dragonborn is probably the biggest surprise of all because nothing has been the same for me ever since...or was likely to ever be again.

Not long after I made it to Whiterun, once I finished explaining what I saw in Helgen, the Jarl gave me the task of retrieving something called a Dragonstone from a Nordic ruin near Riverwood. He was hoping we could learn more about these ancient creatures from it and said I looked up to the challenge which is why he sent me to do it. If I'm being completely honest though it's more likely that Balgruuf was just unwilling to send one of his own men to take care of this for the same reason Ralof didn't come here himself...

With the civil war between the Empire and these Stormcloaks it's hard to know for sure who to trust. As far as the Jarl of Whiterun is concerned, he only cares about protecting the common people of his hold so he's been trying to remain neutral. I could respect him for that. So since I'm just a hunter and adventurer with no obvious ties to either side of this civil war, it makes sense that he would ask for my help in place of his own men. Not that I'm complaining, after all, I enjoyed a challenge!

As luck would have it I had already explored that ruin his court mage mentioned, Bleak Falls Barrow, earlier that same week so it saved me a trip back to Riverwood. I was originally planning on selling that Dragonstone to a historian or something the first chance I got which is the only reason I still had it with me. I had no idea how important the stone was at the time, so the fact that it was made me feel like this was part of something greater than I could have imagined. I didn't know what exactly, but I couldn't wait to find out!

It all seemed so exciting at first, but as you can imagine, things escalated from there when another dragon was seen attacking one of the watchtowers just outside of Whiterun and they asked for my help fighting it. Why they started to believe I was some kind of a dragon expert after "surviving Helgen" and finding the Dragonstone I have absolutely NO idea. I mean, it wasn't as if I actually fought the first one. I only saw it from a distance as it was flying past my campsite.

I was nervous about this since I've never fought anything that large before, but at the same time, I wanted to use this chance to prove to everyone that not all Khajiit enjoy resorting to thievery, assassination, or becoming sell-swords to make a living. That's why I thought that maybe this was a way for me to change all that, to show everyone that I was serious about wanting to help. This wasn't about gold or glory, it was about doing the right thing!

But while we were fighting the second dragon I remember feeling this...strange thrum in my chest every time the dragon closed the distance between us. It felt familiar somehow too. And once we had it pinned down with arrows sticking out of both wings, I dashed to the side, jumped on its head, and began slashing at its eyes with my daggers in an attempt to blind it. Then, using all of my strength I let out a savage cry and plunged one of my daggers directly into the dragon's temple, killing it at last.

It thrashed its head around wildly as it died, knocking me to the ground through sheer force as it uttered a strange word at me with its dying breath that I didn't recognize and yet...I could almost feel what they meant to say. It was like that dragon was calling me by some kind of title I should have recognized but didn't. But now I understand that this feeling was an echo of my nature as the Dragonborn, a mortal born with the soul of a dragon who has the to slay them permanently and absorb their power.

The first time I absorbed a dragon's soul I was so overwhelmed by the sudden surge of power and the dragon's memories that I fell to my knees, gasping. Though to be fair that was a tough fight so I was pretty exhausted. I resisted the feeling at first until I felt drawn to one of those threads of memory like it was resonating with something that already existed inside of me. And as soon as I allowed it to drift into my mind that's how I learned the first word of what one of the Nord guards called a "Shout."

My entire body began tingling and I had never felt more alive in my life, not even when Masser and Secunda are both full and glowing brightly in the night sky. I remember thinking that if I really was this "Dragonborn" then I could help a lot more people with this kind of power. Not only that but maybe others besides Kaidan and the people of Riverwood would start to accept me too.

I know that was a lot to hope for, but it was still the start of a brand new life for me. Because more than anything I wanted to feel like I belonged and the chance to make new friends and allies since I was tired of feeling so alone. And maybe someday, I would find something more too.

Only time would tell though...

When I told the Jarl what happened at the watchtower after we killed the dragon, he insisted that I answer the Graybeard's summons from all the way from on top of the Throat of the World which we heard on our way back. At first, his steward was a bit skeptical about my being the Dragonborn, which I can't really blame him for since I'm not human let alone a Nord, but after giving everyone a small demonstration by Shouting up into the rafters there was no doubt about it. I mean it's not every day a Khajiit woman discovers she can use this ancient Nordic art of Shouting out of the blue!

I wasn't really expecting it but after that, I was even given a Thaneship which honestly didn't interest me that much beyond being a nice title that meant I was welcomed in Whiterun with open arms from now on. I suppose the Jarl wanted to make it easier for me to do travel in and out of the city looking for work with this new rank which was appreciated too. It took a while for most of the townsfolk to accept me as their Thane, but after doing a few jobs for them that helped me build up my reputation and gain their trust.

Once I finished saving enough gold to buy the supplies I needed for the difficult journey to Ivarstead and upgraded my gear though, I made my way up the mounting and climbed the 7000 steps to reach the home of the Graybeards. It was there that I discovered once and for all that I really am the Dragonborn and they taught me many things, including more about the history behind my gifts.

I'm actually very grateful to them for being so patient with me since I couldn't contain my curiosity and kept asking them questions. Especially Arngeir, who was the only Graybeard that could still speak normally without unleashing a small fraction of his power into a Thu'um with every word. That brings us to where we are now...

I enjoyed our lessons together despite his many warnings about the risks of becoming too attached to my newfound power since it was given to me for a greater purpose. But aside from that he seemed amused by my curious nature and was happy that I was so eager to learn from them. I wanted to know what being the Dragonborn really meant and what I was destined to do.

I could see why he was concerned about my intentions in High Hrothgar at first, but I told him that to me this wasn't about trying to gain more power, I had plenty of that already. I just wanted to learn everything I could while I was with them since I wasn't sure how often I would be able to make the journey. It's a difficult journey to make alone.

Arngeir seemed satisfied with my answer and he assured me that as long as I continued to follow this path, the Graybeards would be here to pass on their knowledge and wisdom to me as the Dragonborn. He also hinted that it was entirely possible that there might be others out there who were also like me, other Dragonborn that have yet to be revealed. But for the time being, all we knew for certain was that I am the only one on Skyrim at the moment.

After that, as more of a traditional rite of passage, Arngeir gave me the task of retrieving something called the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. It seemed like an easy enough task at first because even with all the Draugr that infest most Nordic ruins I enjoyed exploring them. I've ventured inside quite a few of them over the years in search of treasure and interesting books that were preserved through magic or were made of more sturdy materials that kept their pages intact.

Sadly that's when my luck suddenly took an unexpected turn for the worse when someone else beat me to it! Someone had stolen the horn before me! I was so angry because it took forever for me to reach the final chamber of the ruin where I found a message that told me to meet "a friend" at the Sleeping Giant Inn. It said I was supposed to let them know it was me by asking to rent the attic room. But I've been there several times now and it didn't even have a basement let alone an attic so this code made NO sense to me. Sadly, it wasn't like I had much of a choice other than to go get it so I didn't have to return to Arngeir empty-handed...

The point is ever since I first met my "friend," who ended up being a woman named Delphine, I've been dragged into more political affairs than I ever planned to be since she was being hunted by the Thalmor. To make things worse, Delphine basically wanted me to kill a dragon JUST so she could see me absorb it's soul in front of her before she trusted me with the whole story behind who she was and what she believed was going on with the dragon situation. As it turns out though, that black dragon I saw back in Helgen reappeared at the burial ground too and proved that her theory about the dragons coming back to life was true since we heard him Shout at the grave and saw the dragon buried there brought back to life.

This fight was even more difficult than the last since the guards in Kynsgrove were too scared to offer us any sort of backup, but once the dragon was slain and I absorbed its soul Delphine finally told me who she really was. She told me that she was one of the last Blades, which were part of an ancient order of Akaviri warriors that once served as the Emperor's personal guards 200 years ago. And they were also known as dragon slayers that served the Dragonborn before that. Personally, though I wasn't really buying the whole "serving the Dragonborn" bit about the Blades, at least not as far as Delphine was concerned since I had a feeling she was just using me to get answers about the dragons.

Still, I suppose in the end Delphine did give me some helpful information, but if I'm being completely honest I wasn't looking forward to seeing her again. Something about that woman gets on my nerves, but I realized pretty quickly that if I was serious about stopping these dragons I needed to listen to what she had to say and go along with her plans at least for now.

That's exactly why I've begun traveling across Skyrim trying to gather more information and accepting more job requests while I was waiting for her to put together this crazy plan of hers to sneak me into the Thalmor Embassy. There's a twisted sort of irony to that since Elsweyr is technically a part of the Aldmeri Dominion. I suppose that's another reason why she suspected me of being a Thalmor spy when we first met.

I've never really been a fan of the Thalmor. Especially after what they did to my friend Kaidan I mentioned earlier, but that's another story. And ever since then I've been avoiding them for the most part which used to be pretty easy to do since their patrols rarely venture outside of the city unless they're escorting a prisoner for questioning and rooting out Talos worshipers. In fact, about a year ago I was even offered a job when a Thalmor wizard leading of one of their patrols noticed my skills while I was sneaking up on a thief who stole my satchel while I was busy fishing. And there was no way I was going to lose my belongings to some random bandit in the wild without doing something about it!

He saw me steal it back without being seen and actually laughed at the fact that I pushed the thief into the river as punishment instead of slitting his throat which I could have easily done too. Not that I would since I tried to only kill as a last resort since you never know who they are or what tragic past led them to this way of life. Not many people would be so understanding and forgiving about having their things stolen. I can laugh about it now, but at the time I was pretty upset about it because my favorite book and a few letters I had received from Kaidan were in that satchel.

At any rate, when the Thalmor wizard saw what happened he told me he was impressed I could move with such silence and grace and offered me an official position with them, but I politely refused. Now that Delphine expects me to sneak into an important Thalmor party to find out if they're responsible for the return of the dragons like it's no big deal and part of me is afraid I might run into that very same wizard. And it was then that I really started to wonder what in Oblivion I've gotten myself into this time letting Delphine talk me into this...