Here Be Dragons
My head pounds as I open my eyes, the moonlight seeming impossibly bright, I barely remember to grab the Dragon Stone as I try to refocus my mind and fight through the pain radiating through my entire body. As I exit through the back of the Barrow, I'm amazed at how quiet the night is despite being able to see Riverwood in the distance. Torn between resting for the night and making haste to Whiterun, my body decides for me and my legs grow weak once more. I manage to haphazardly construct a tent and get a fire going before I'm hit with another wave of weariness. As I lay next to the fire a million questions surge through my mind, "What happened in there, What was that power, Why was I able to understand the arcane carvings of that stone wall, but most of all, Why do I feel so weak?" The twin moons hang high in the sky before I'm able to quiet my mind enough to sleep and I soon wake to the rising sun. With my strength mostly restored I pack up my tent and break down the fire before making my way through Riverwood, stopping only to deliver the Golden Claw that I recovered from the Dunmer within Bleak Falls. I make it to Whiterun shortly before the various shopkeepers begin to open their doors, the fatigue I feel after making my way up the stone steps to Dragonsreach reminds me that I must not be fully recovered from whatever happened within the Barrow. As I come up the stairs and turn the corner into Farengar's domain a hooded woman tells him "Good, I'm glad you're making progress. My employers are anxious to have some tangible answers." As he begins to respond I place the Dragon Stone on his table "I'd love some answers myself. Chief among them being who you are." I say gesturing to the hooded woman. "This is my… Associate. She was the one who told me about the Dragon Stone in the first place. Now that I have it, I'm sure the Jarl will want to speak to you." He says dismissively, "Keep talking down at me mage at your own risk. I know thousands of recipes for poisons many of which are unnoticeable until it's too late." I say as I take a half step forward. "Farengar! Farengar, you need to come at once a Dragon has been sighted nearby." Ireleth says, "The Jarl will want you to come too." She adds pointing to me. We head upstairs to a secluded loft when Balgruuf waits impatiently. "So Ireleth tells me you came from the Western Watchtower." The Jarl says, "Tell him what you told me about the Dragon." Ireleth adds "We saw it coming from the south, over the mountains. It was… fast, faster than anything I've ever seen. It just started circling overhead, I thought I'd be dead for sure." The guard says he's exhausted, taking deep lungful's of air as he tries desperately to catch his breath. The Jarl strokes his golden beard in contemplation before saying "Good work, we'll take it from here. Head down to the Barracks for some food and rest. You've earned it." The guard gives a quick bow and heads down to the main floor "Ireleth, you'd better gather some guards and get down there." He says turns to face the Dunmer, "My men have already mustered near the gate." She replies before heading down the stairs as well, "Good. Don't fail me and come back alive. This isn't some death or Glory mission." The Jarl calls after her before turning to me, "I wish there was time to rest and revel in your accomplishments, but I need your help in this, Whiterun needs your help. Go with Ireleth and help her fight this Dragon. You survived Helgen, so you have more experience with Dragons than anyone else here. I know what I'm asking of you, but Whiterun will owe a great debt if you succeed. Please I implore you, help us." He says, concern and desperation evident in his voice, "I… am still indebted to you, so I don't really have a choice. If, if I don't make it back there will be a Bosmer and a young Redguard girl in Kynesgrove. The Bosmer's name is Ardriel, he is like a brother to me, take care of them." I say reluctantly, before turning towards the stairs, "Add if we pull this off, there'd better be one hell of a purse waiting for me." I say over my shoulder as I descend the stairs.
As I get to the Wind district of Whiterun, Aela calls out to me, "Wolf, is it true? Is a Dragon really attacking Whiterun?" She asks, more excited than concerned, "Yes, or rather it's attacking the Western Watchtower. The Jarl is sending Ireleth and her guards and myself to kill it." I tell her plainly, "By the Gods." She says, "I'll go gather the Companions, you'll need all the help you can get!" she adds, "No! No, listen, gather the Companions, yes but stay here. Get everyone to safety Take shelter in the Hall of the Dead or in Dragonsreach, anywhere underground. Be ready to start drawing water to combat fires and get anyone who knows healing or alchemy to start preparing to help any wounded. If we fail, The Companions are the last line of defense. Agreed?" I tell her, trying to appear confident, "I don't like this, but fine. Gods watch over you." She says as I start heading down to the gates.
"What in Oblivion is wrong with me!" I say as I slam my gloved fist into the wooden column "I can barely walk without getting winded and I volunteer to fight a Dragon!" I pull a small glass phial filled with a pale reddish-purple liquid from my knapsack and quickly down its content and grab another filled with a greenish-blue liquid before downing it as well, "Alchemy, don't fail me now." I say as I catch up to Ireleth and her guards and begin to make our way to the Western Watchtower. Thick black smog billows from the stone watchtower casting a massive shadow "This is not good." I say as we approach with blades and bows drawn, "Any advice?" one of the guards asks me. I think back to Helgen and the gargantuan beast that brought destruction and death, I try to recall how it moved and if there were any weak points or possible weak points. "When it's not attacking with fire, it likes to circle the field like a carrion bird. It was fast too, but only when it was diving, rising, or flying straight. It seemed to slow down before it attacked, so try to pay attention to its speed. The biggest target it had was its body, so if you have a bow, lead from the head by about two feet but try to anticipate its movements, we need to make every arrow count. Oh, and don't count on the stone of the tower to protect you, if it wants to get through it, it will." I say as I count my arrows "Thirty, let's hope it's enough." I remind myself of the spare broadheads I have in my pack, not that they'll do much good. A guard comes running out from the watchtower screaming "No! Get back! It's still out there Hroki and Tor just got grabbed when they tried to make a run for it." Ireleth places a hand on his shoulder "Guardsmen what happened here? Where's the Dragon?" She asks as the other guards begin to spread out and look for a place they might be able to take shelter from the beast. I feel it before I hear it, the same sensation I felt back at Helgen right before that one attacked and my gaze snaps to the horizon, "There! Coming over the mountains!" I yell out as I knock an arrow, "Steel yourselves and make every shot count!" Ireleth yells drawing her bow. I focus my mind and bring my heart rate back to a steady pace, the blood in my veins burns as adrenaline floods my system, "This is it. Focus. Fight. Win. You can do this!" My instincts begin to take over and I run into the stone tower and up the winding stairs, I press my back against the outer lip of the stone wall that lines the top of the tower, "Let it pass. Plan your shots. It should fly right overhead, I can catch it by surprise, maybe cripple a wing if I'm lucky." I half draw my bow and wait for its shadow.
As soon as the beast begins to pass, I snap into action letting arrow after arrow fly, the first shot shreds through its left wing and it banks hard to the right, exposing its back even more, and that's when I see it, a weakness where the wings meet, a small patch of soft-looking leathery skin. I focus on it as I draw back my bow, my instincts and training bringing my perception to a halt as I track its path, I wait until I can see the arrow pierce the mark in my mind. The crack of the bowstring booms in my mind as the arrow flies from its rest and finds its target. The arrow buries deep in the Dragons scaly hide and the beast lets out a pained roar as its wings buckle, before I even see it falling I'm running down the stairs, I leap off the second story balcony and roll through to the open sky as the Dragon crashes hard into the ground, its weight and momentum carve a deep furrow in the flame touched plains, the Dragon comes to a stop only when it crashes headfirst into a stone pillar, the impact flips it over on to its back "The Wings! Cut up the wings, Dammit!" I yell as I charge towards the dragon, dropping my bow and drawing my blade from behind my waist. A rallying cry rings out as the guards charge forward after me. A faint glow rises from its body and into its neck and I dive for cover behind a stone staircase, the anguished cries of the guards are swallowed by the mighty roar of the flame. The Dragon rolls onto its belly and slams a wing into the ground to steady itself, providing me the perfect moment, I stab my blade into the webbing of its massive wings and pull with all my strength, tearing the webbing apart and rendering the wing useless. The Dragon lets loose a deafening roar and shaking the ground, I notice the same leathery skin on the back of its hind legs and stab deep into it, the leg gives completely, and the beast falls to the ground, the wound sends out a gush of deep crimson/black blood as I wrench my blade free. The creature roars in pain and its head falls into the ground with a deep thud, exposing its neck, I raise my blade above my head and stab with all my strength, and as the blade pierces the thick hide I push harder and harder driving the blade deeper and deeper into its tree trunk-like neck, its good remaining wing pinned beneath itself, the creature is helpless as I pull my blade free of its neck, a geyser of thick blood erupts from the wound and splashes across my face and torso, "Dovahkiin" the beast cries with a mangled voice and then falls silent, as the light leaves its eyes the beast's scales begin to shimmer and glow with a brilliant flame which suddenly erupts from the mighty beast and crashes into me. Images flood my mind as the wave of ethereal energy is absorbed into my body, I feel my strength returning and growing as words echo in my mind. My vision blurs when the energy stops and as I try to process what just happened Ireleth comes up to me asking if I'm alright, "I feel… Amazing, better than I've ever felt before! I can't even begin to describe what I feel like right now. This is incredible!" I say, laughing. One of the surviving guards comes up to us and says, "I can't believe it! You're Dragonborn! Like Tiber Septim…" he's suddenly cut off by a thunderous word coming off the mountain "Dovahkiin" "I bet that that was the Graybeards, Legend says that they train the Dragonborn to Shout like Talos. You must be Dragonborn!" Another guard says, Ireleth cuts them both off "Enough, give the man some space. Now, I don't know or care about any of this Dragonborn business, but you'd better go report back to the Jarl, he'll want to know what happened. And maybe clean yourself up first, eh?" She says before barking out orders to the remaining guards.
I race back to Dragonsreach, barely feeling any fatigue at all. I push open the gates to the city and am surprised to see a line of archers just on the other side of the stone bridge, bows drawn and ready to fire, "You do know that a Dragon wouldn't use the gate, right?" I say with a chuckle as they lower their bows. "When Aela told me that a Dragon was attacking Whiterun, I must admit I thought she was joking. And when she told me that the Jarl had sent only a handful of guards and a lone mercenary to kill it, I questioned her grip on sanity. I can't recall the last time I was this wrong." A voice says from behind the line of archers, "I've heard a lot about you, boy. Your reputation proceeds you." It says as a silver-haired man steps forward, "Good to know the rumors of your skill weren't exaggerated. Wolf Shadowblood, I am Kodlak, Harbinger of the Companions. I have a proposition for you. When time permits, meet me in Jorvasker." He says before turning to the archers "Alright, well done everyone. But it seems the situation has been resolved. Let's go let the people of this city know that they're safe again." Aela rises from her firing position, "Well, well, looks like you had some fun, eh?" she says with a smirk "Yeah, I don't even want to think about how long it'll take me to clean my armor off." I say giving myself a once over, "We lost three guards." I tell her, solemnly, "A gout of fire, there wasn't time to warn them. They were dead in an instant." I add, she nods "Try not to think about what was lost. Instead, think about what you preserved, yes three guards died, but how many more were saved because of their sacrifice?" She says encouragingly, "There's another problem. The Dragon we just fought wasn't the one from Helgen. That means that there are more of them out there. That means this is just the beginning." I say grimly, "I need to go talk to the Jarl, I plan to stop by Jorvasker when I'm done. Even I know better than to refuse Kodlak Whitemane. See you later?" I ask, she laughs before stepping aside as I head back to Dragonsreach.
I enter the main hall of Dragonsreach where the Jarl sits on his throne, head in hand as he tries to rub the headache away from his temples, Proventus paces back and forth and another Nord stands in front the Jarl lobbying questions at him, "It's not been very long Balgruuf, give it time." He says, Balgruuf looks at the man before noticing me and practically leaps from his throne "By the Gods! What has happened?" He asks, "The Dragon is dead, we lost three guards. Ireleth stayed behind to tend to the wounded and see what can be done about the Watchtower." I respond as I climb the stairs, "Thank the Gods! I knew Ireleth wouldn't let me down. But there must be more to it than that." He says as he drops back into his Throne in relief, "I take it you heard that thundering sound from the mountains? When I killed the Dragon, it released some type of energy, and I absorbed it." I respond, "So it's true then, the Graybeards really were summoning you. A Dragonborn, this hasn't happened since Tiber Septim was summoned by them, way back when he was still Talos of Atmora." The Nord to my right says before Proventus says, "Come now, Hrongar. We have no idea if this Nord nonsense has anything to do with our friend here." I cringe as the Nord, Hrongar steps forward menacingly "Nord Nonsense! Why you puffed up ignorant… These are our sacred legends…" he begins to rant, "Hrongar, calm yourself. Take it easy on Proventus, he meant no harm." Balgruuf says in a tone that tells me they've had this conversation before, "Besides, it isn't our place to make that decision. But a can't be a coincidence that he kills a Dragon, Absorbs its power, and the Graybeards call for the Dragonborn. If they see something in him, who are we to judge." Balgruuf says calmly, seemingly pacifying the Nord warrior. "Wolf, walk with me." He adds. Once we're upstairs and away from anyone else he speaks plainly, "IF the Graybeards truly summoned you, you need to go to them at High Hrothgar. It's an incredible honor. However, I haven't forgotten what you've done for Whiterun, we owe you a debt. As such, for helping Farengar recover the Dragonstone, I name you Thane of Whiterun and grant you Lydia and your personal housecarl. And for slaying the Dragon and protecting Whiterun from its wrath I would like to bestow upon you this," he says holding out his hand and giving me a small iron key, "This is the key to Breezehome, here in the city. We would be honored to have the Dragonborn call Whiterun his home. Speak to Proventus about furnishing it when you have the funds. Lastly, take this," He says pulling out a small coin purse and handing it to me along with a sealed letter, "I seem to recall making an arrangement with you to bring a warning to the other Holds, give this to the stablemaster and he'll grant you his finest horse to help speed you along. Thank you, Dragonborn. Whiterun owes you a great debt." He finishes with a slight bow, "Thank you, my Jarl, but if you don't mind, I'd like to rest for a while before I head out." I say with a bow of my own, He places a hand on my shoulder and with a laugh says "Of course! You've more than earned it. May the Gods watch over your battles, my friend." He says before heading down the stairs "May They watch over us all." I add as I follow after him.
Lydia waits outside the door to Breezehome and greets me before we step inside the small house. "The Jarl has recognized you as a person of great importance, a hero, and I as your Housecarl will accompany you on your travels or maintain the safety and security of your home while you are away." She explains. "Thank you, Lydia, you should know, I'm used to working alone or with my brother, who with luck will be here soon along with my daughter. Is there anything that needs to be done to accommodate them?" I ask her. She begins to make the arrangements as I head up to the main bedroom. I close the door and begin to take off my blood-stained armor piling the cloth items in the corner and placing the leather and metal items by the table nearby, I change into some plain, simple clothes and pull some scrap cloth out of my knapsack and begin cleaning and polishing what I can, "The pants, boots, and cloak are ruined. I'll have to send Lydia out to replace them." I say as I finish cleaning off my black wooden mask, "Luckily, the cuirass came clean. I doubt I could find a replacement for that and I'm not in a position to go back to Valenwood to meet up with the Crescents and replace it that way. Small victories." I say, before crawling into the large bed, "It's been ages since I slept in a REAL bed. I'm gonna sleep like the dead." I say before I nod off for the night.
From the Writer
Well, we finally made it to the Dragons! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and continue to follow along! As always feel free to send questions, comments, or tips to me, God knows I could use them. Also feel free to check out my Destiny 2 Fanfic, if you haven't already. Hopefully, I'll see everyone here next month!
Stay Safe and Stay Healthy Everyone! – Gravix