It was a dark day for Skyrim, the land suffered enough from its traumatic history, with the rise of evil there were those who took a stand. Soldiers who fought for what they believed in, who only desired the best for their homeland but had to suffer for it. That is what a Stormcloak soldier thought as he rushed towards the battlefield with nothing but his sword and courage.

It was a massacre, the Imperials ambushed them as they traveled through Darkwater Crossing, many lives were lost as the enemy's might came down upon the Stormcloak. What reason for Ulfric to lead them there is beyond the soldier, all he could do now is hope that his leader would have a plan of escape.

Now bound and helpless, the captured Stormcloak awaited for whatever fate had planned for the rebels. Helgen was where their heads shall roll, curious was the soldier, he could not grasp the idea of bringing prisoners to some settlement instead of Solitude. Especially when they caught Jarl Ulfric. But he cared not, he simply wished that this ride would end so he could finally stretch his legs.

"Hey, you. You're finally awake."

The soldier was pulled out of his thoughts as his attention was caught by Ralof's voice. It would seem that the extra head in the wagon was finally conscious, specifically the one who sat next to the soldier the whole ride. An Argonian, poor girl had run into them at a terrible time, and from the looks of it, she was not even acquainted with Skyrim and its people.

The Argonian gasped to life as she realized her predicament, her wrists were tied and she was surrounded by unfamiliar faces. Ralof may have not noticed it, but the soldier next to the lizard could feel how frightened she was.

"You were trying to cross the border, right?" Ralof simply guessed. "Walked into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that-"

"W-where are you taking Nasha!?" If the soldier had not reacted quick enough, the Argonian, now named Nasha, would have jumped out of the wagon. "No, let Nasha go!"

"Hold still!" He told her as Ralof and the thief could only watch with pity.

"Nasha innocent! Nasha is not bad!"

"Quiet back there!" The Imperial that drove the wagon scolded them.

If the soldier had paid Ulfric attention, he would've seen the disgust in his eyes as this Argonian squirmed like a dying worm. She would've fallen to the side of the road if it were not for the Nord beside her.

"Calm down, lizard, no one's going to hurt you." He tried his best to calm her down.

And thankfully, it would seem to have worked. "Nasha safe?"

The Nord honestly wanted to avoid her, one thing was to ride with some lizard from a dirty swamp, talking to one was another. By Talos, even her breath smelled like a latrine. "Yes," The soldier recoiled back to his seat. "If anything, they would deport you back to your filthy swamp, the horse thief on the other hand, I'm not sure."

"Nasha does not wish to go home…"

"It's alright," Ralof spoke with a hushed tone. "Perhaps they would let you free, you are not part of the Stormcloak, so it is safe to say that you will receive a lesser punishment than us."

"What is Stormcloak?"

Ralof chuckled. "If Talos heard our prayers, hopefully alive."

The soldier remained silent as the caravan neared its destination, he could feel the breath of death upon his neck, he wanted to suffer in silence but his neighbor was not one for a quiet ride. She continued to converse with Ralof, they both spoke as if they were long-time friends, at least one of the four men on this wagon was happy. He had even told her about his home near Helgen, Ralof joked about how cheap it would be to send his corpse back thanks to how close they were. Dark humor, something the soldier found very amusing.

When Nasha was done with Ralof, she had begun pestering the soldier next to her, a barrage of questions laid upon him, but he did not answer.

Finally, they arrived at the settlement, the soldier couldn't really say the welcome was warm… it was cold, the civilians stared with a mix of pity and intrigue. It would seem that word of Ulfric's capture had already reached the masses, and some had come to his execution. That's when the soldier noticed a familiar face, General Tullius, and a bunch of disgusting elves, the Thalmor. He wanted nothing more than to break out of his binds and kill every single one of them, but it was a fool's dream, one wrong move, and the archers would bury him in a hail of arrows quicker than a thieving Khajiit. His rage only grew when one of that Thalmor filth approached their wagon specifically.

"My," He spoke with a hint of curiosity as he followed. "They really did it, they caught the mighty leader of the Stormcloaks! I am impressed!"

"Best to be on your way, elf, or else you'd lose your pretty little nose." The soldier sneered at the elf with bared teeth.

"Hmm, I like this one…" A grin formed on his lips. "Sadly, I don't think we can get a chance to know each other on the account of… well you get the picture."

"Raven!"

He turned away from the Nord. "Guess this is goodbye, I am truly sorry that I could not prevent your demise. But I hope that you would at least part with your name so I can remember you, I am Raven Celiist."

Much to his disappointment, the Nord gave no name, he simply opted to leave the elf unsatisfied.

"Shame…"

The elf walked off and returned to his superior, but somehow he left the group in a sour mood, especially the soldier. There were plenty of chances for him to kill that elf, but he knew that it would be useless, the soldier wanted to die standing with whatever pride he had left.

Finally, the moment arrived, the wagon stopped and one by one they climbed off of it. And as expected, the thief made the wrong choice and ran for his life, only to be gunned down by an archer. The soldier at least had some self-respect, otherwise, he'd ended up the same as that pitiful thief. The only thing that caught his interest as they counted them was the fact that Ralof and this man named Hadvar knew each other. It was apparent with their short little interaction.

Then finally they set their eyes on the Argonian. At least one life was saved.

"Forget the list. She goes to the block!"

His eyes widened upon hearing Nasha's fate, just as he was about to join his brothers in arms, he turned around just in time to see the horrified look on Nasha's face. "Wait, Nasha innocent!"

"I don't care, get in line!" The captain shoved the Argonian into him. "What are you waiting for, rebel scum?"

"N-Nasha is good, please…" He could hear the Argonian sob into his chest.

It would seem that even the innocent are not free from this oppression. The Nord bit his tongue and remained silent, instead he guided the crying Argonian towards the others, just another prisoner to be served to the angels of death. He only prayed to Arkay that her soul would bring her peace. There was no hope in her eyes, only sorrow as she continued to weep, no one even dared to look at her as she muttered pleas for her life.

They all watched as a foolish Stormcloak soldier decided to cut to the chase, and just like that, blood spilled upon the stone as this man's head filled the basket. And much to the Nord's dismay, the captain chose the Argonian over the others.

He hated himself, the soldier just stood there. The Imperials pulled her away, she held onto him as hard as she could but she was too weak for them. Small, scrawny, barely any strength to even fight, she was nothing more but a victim of this war. He wanted to do something, to help, but he was like a statue. After her, he was next, that is for sure.

No, this was why he fought, this was the drive that he used to face the Imperials. These oppressors, tyrants who left the people of Skyrim nothing to their name. It was time to take one final stand, his rage was unmatched, and his thirst for justice needed to be quenched. He felt every archer in Helgen already eyeing him as he took a step forward, bows ready for the kill. But that did not deter the Nord, he was determined, he wanted to save at least one more life before meeting his ancestors.

A thunderous roar shook the earth, he could not believe his eyes as a beast of darkness perched itself upon a tower, it glared at the humans who gathered below him. Then chaos.

He could not believe his eyes, a mighty dragon wreaking havoc upon the people of Helgen, it did not discriminate, all suffered its wrath. It only took a single minute for the whole town to be reduced into a smoldering ruin. If it were not for Ralof, the soldier would have joined his fallen brothers in the afterlife.

"Wait, the Argonian!"

Ralof stopped him before he could go back outside. "We have better things to be worried about, my friend! A legend lives!"

"Legends don't burn down towns, Ralof." Both men turned towards their fellow Nord, it was Ulfric himself, free of his binds and able to speak. "This is a nightmare manifest, and I have seen nothing like it."

"We need to get out while we have a chance, well, while we still breathe that is."

The soldier nodded.

It was a harsh and cruel journey, this beast was relentless, destruction and suffering wherever the monster went, both Imperials and Stormcloak alike did their best to bring the dragon down. But they were outmatched. Ralof and the nameless soldier took advantage of the chaos to escape, through fire and death as the two ran for their lives. They escaped through an underground passage beneath Helgen, of course there was some resistance from a few Imperial soldiers, but the two were triumphant.

It was not long before they had reached the end of the tunnel, and were finally free from the Imperial hands. So many lives were lost in that ambush, more were taken during the dragon's attack on Helgen.

"I see you're still alive, Ralof."

Both drew their weapons defensively, but the soldier faltered when his eyes landed on a familiar face. He had wondered what happened to the Argonian, and though he showed no emotion, a small part of him was glad that she was safe. And it appeared that it was thanks to Hadvar.

"Can't say I'm not happy to see you, Ralof, at least you can be reasoned with."

"If you were not my friend, I would have gutted you, but we have bigger problems." Ralof said.

The group cowered as the dragon flew over their heads, it was a terrifying experience, but all were happy to escape with their lives.

"A dragon?"

Hadvar drew his bow and the two Stormcloak soldiers brandished their blades, the nameless Nord felt sick to his stomach as the elf from before stood in front of them with a sly smirk.

"My, and it would seem that Helgen suffered greatly."

"What do you want, elf?" Ralof demanded an answer.

"The Thalmor is looking for any stray Stormcloak," He was strangely honest, so much that it scared them. "So I suggest that the two of you have a change of clothing."

This confused them, but none dared to lower their weapons. His eyes scanned every one of them until they landed upon an Argonian with green scales.

"Hmm, a gecko among the apes?" Raven chuckled lightly. "What an odd picture, I would also advise that you send the Argonian away, she will only slow you down."

"N-Nasha has nowhere to go…" The Argonian said.

"Really?" His smirk grew. "Well, I'll be happy to take her off your hands if you'd like."

"Nasha don't like elf," She cowered behind the Nords. "He is strange and too yellow, like fruit."

Much to his disappointment, Raven only sighed. "Oh well, just remember to ditch your uniforms, the Imperials and the Thalmor will have eyes on every road. Shame, we were just about to destroy the whole town…"

"What was that?" The Nord arched his brow.

"Nothing you little apes need to be concerned about, just make sure that you all find a safe place to settle in. And if you ever need my help, don't find me, I'll find you."

With that, the Thalmor agent walked away as if he had not met a group of humans gathered outside a cave entrance. This elf was strange, he was part of the Thalmor and yet was not as aggressive as the rest when encountering a Stormcloak. He was dangerous, that one was clear, so it was best for them to keep their guard up lest they fall for whatever evil the elf had prepared.

One thing was for sure, dragons are returning to Skyrim, and the people should know of this event that transpired in Helgen. This could be the sign of the end, and may the divine guide them through this mission.

AN
This is my first time posting a story in fanfiction, and this little idea just stuck itself in my head.
I have plans that might divert away from the main story of Skyrim. You might have already guessed that the unnamed Nord shall be the Dragonborn, and if you remembered from the summary for the story, that there are three main characters. Already you might have seen that the second will be Nasha the Argonian. But I have yet to confirm the third, I'm sure you could guess.
Thank you for giving the time to read my note.