Percy watched, his heart hammering, as she fell to the earth. The bolt shot from Octavian lodged between her ribs. It was strange, watching her expression as she fell to the ground. It was an odd mix of incredulity, and abject horror. As though she couldn't comprehend what was actually happening to her.

Absently, Percy reached down and grabbed Annabeth from off the ground. She got her feet shakily, wrapping her hand around his. They watched, tense and silent.

Then he felt it.

The tremendous build up of raw, divine power. The kind of power he had grown painfully accustomed to. It was welling up from inside of Gaia.

"No…no, no, no, no, no…" He muttered the words like a chant. It couldn't be happening. She couldn't be regenerating. It wasn't possible. She should have been dead. After everything she'd been hit with, with how weak she still was, there shouldn't have been any possibility of her getting back up again.

Then, the power exploded outward. Percy and Annabeth were thrown across the ground, rolling end over end as the power erupted from Gaia in wave after wave. She screamed, whether in terror or in misery, he didn't know. He didn't care. All he knew was that the strange pressure in the air was growing only more intense. More vibrant. Flames, different from Leo's, cascaded along her body. Spewing forth from her wounds in white-hot flashes.

This wasn't normal. This shouldn't have been happening. This wasn't how fading worked. He'd seen it before. Experienced it. It was nothing like this, and there was definitely not this strange, omnipresent like power pushing down on him from all angles like it was now.

He got to his feet, fighting through the pain of his wounded and weary body, and focused on the being in front of him. Something was happening, something that shouldn't be happening. He didn't know what. Whether it was her doing, or something else. But he would be prepared.

Gaia collapsed to the floor, writhing and screaming in misery.

And then she exploded. Gold dust sprayed through the air, coating Percy and the others in a thick layer of the fine powder. But the pressure didn't disappear with her. It grew more intense. Swirling and spinning, winding around and around where her body had been, like a vortex. A strange purple mist descended down on them. Coalescing around where Gaia had been a moment before. The pressure mounted, and Percy was forced to his knees. He struggled to bring his weapon to bear. Whatever this feeling was…it was unlike anything he'd ever felt or experienced before. It wasn't like holding up the sky. Holding up the sky had been difficult, but it hadn't caused this kind of overwhelming, all-encompassing pressure that he was experiencing now.

This was…he didn't even know what this was. It was like every one of his limbs had been trapped in a vice that was slowly closing in on itself. Every step was an agonizing trek through a quagmire, but he couldn't stop himself as he inched closer and closer to the circling purple mist.

Then, a second explosion. Not as volatile as the first, and there was no force behind it. No concussive blast. Instead, all of the mounting pressure seemed to coalesce into one infinitesimally small point right where Gaia had fallen, before erupting outwards. The wind around them picked up, as the circling vortex of purple mist condensed and solidified into one corporeal mass. An enormous hole, roughly the size of a large truck, swirled and undulated where the mist had been circling.

Percy tried to move. Every thought, every animalistic instinct was telling him to run. To get as far away from whatever this was as possible. But he couldn't. His legs refused to move. As though someone had shut down all of his motor functions, and he'd been glued to the stone under his feet. He struggled, fought, and thrashed. At least…that was what he tried to do, but his body didn't move. Didn't budge even an inch.

From the vortex, strange purple tendrils slowly appeared. Rising into the air like the tentacles of an octopus. With speed and dexterity he'd never seen before, the purple energy shot forward, wrapping around him like a noose. He tried to fight back. Tried valiantly to raise his sword and fend off the attack, but nothing worked. His body still refused to move.

The energy was dragging him away. Bringing him closer and closer to the mouth of the vortex. He watched in vain as his friends tried to rush after him, but they couldn't move. They could only scream and cry out in terror as he was brought ever closer to the abyss.

His eyes met Annabeth's. Wide in shock, fear, and panic.

This was wrong. This wasn't supposed to be happening. This wasn't how it was supposed to end.

His foot passed through the veil, and as he sank through the nightmarish construct, he could only scream.

"ANNABETH!"

He jerked up, his breath coming deep, heaving pants. He shuddered as the cool wind of the late evening blew through the open window of the barracks, freezing the sweat dripping down his chest and back. He shivered and collapsed back into his cot, pulling the scratchy cloth blanket up around his chin.

Even after five years that damned memory wouldn't fade away. He sighed, rolling over and gazing out the window. The pale light of the half crescent in the sky shone through the window, and he bit back a groan. He would be due to report at the wall soon, and needed to get moving. He reached his bare arm out from the covers of the blanket, and grabbed the socks he'd placed there the night before. His feet covered, he extracted himself from the heat of the bed, and hissed as he stepped onto the stone floor.

It didn't matter how long he spent in Helgen, he didn't think he would ever get used to the sheer cold of the damnable lands. The door to the barracks slammed open as he was pulling on his trousers. Light from the braziers in the hall doused the room in a dull orange glow. Reflecting off the mismatched stone walls of the barracks.

Percy squinted, his eyes slowly becoming accustomed to the darkness. Tasian Petrid clambered into the room. His gaunt brown eyes flitted over to Percy for a moment, before turning back the bunk beside Percy's. The short, rail-thin man hobbled over to his bed and shucked his helmet off. Tossing it onto the cot and revealing his cropped brown hair.

"Missed the announcement," he grunted, sitting on his cot and beginning the process of unbuckling his boots as Percy began putting his on.

"What announcement?" Percy asked,

"Captain Autrilchiotus called the active garrison into the barracks this morning. We're getting a surprise visit. General Tulius."

Percy paused, his undershirt halfway on and only one hand through the sleeve.

"The hell for?"

"Gods if I know," scoffed Petrid as he finished unbuckling his holster and tossing his sheathed weapon onto the ground beside his bed. "Probably just an excuse to leave Solitude if you ask me. Gods only knows why, nothing here but snow and rock." he grumbled to himself.

Percy chuckled, "And yet here you are, so what does that say about you?"

"A damned fool, that's what," grumbled Petrid.

"What's the weather like out there?" Percy asked, and Petrid stared at him as though he had grown a second head.

"The fuck kind of question is that?" He demanded,

"One I'd like an answer to," Percy said,

"This whole damned country only has two kinds of weather you bastard. Blizzard and not a fucking blizzard, and regardless, it's cold enough to freeze a keg of fucking wine." He sighed and shook his head, collapsing onto his cot still mostly dressed. "I'm not going to be surprised if I wake up one morning having to scrape my damned balls off my leg with a dagger."

Percy chuckled as he collected his own weapon, neatly perched on the weapons rack at the foot of his cot and strapped it to his belt.

"Well look on the bright side, if you did have to scrape them off, at least you wouldn't be able to tell the difference." He dodged the poorly aimed boot thrown at his head, chuckling to himself as he snagged his cloak from the hook in the corner and darted from the room. Petrid's foul cursing followed him the entire way out.

He shivered, and drew his cloak a little tighter around him. Not for the first time, he wished that the Legion, in their seemingly nearly bottomless resources, would splurge for winter cloaks that weren't thinner than paper. He slowly made his way out of the barracks. He ran into the occasional comrade, giving them a small nod of recognition as he passed. Even after five years, he wasn't particularly close to these men. Some were nice enough he supposed, but the average Legionnaire didn't choose to join up and be in the far reaches of nowhere like Percy had. Many came from families in the Capital. Influential and powerful families, who saw service in the Legion as a duty. Hence why so many of them ended up here, in the ass-end of nowhere Skyrim.

They weren't here because they wanted to be. They were here because they had to be. It made it challenging to really relate to these men. To form emotional attachments and forge relationships. But at the end of the day, he supposed that he was okay with that. He was content to do his duty. To allow his mind to become occupied with each given task as it was given to him. The sense of structure and order that the Legion gave him…it was comforting.

Leaving the barracks, he tucked into himself as the bitter wind attacked his cheeks. At least it wasn't snowing tonight. Ducking his head against the cold, he turned away from the exit of the barracks, and began the steady climb up the stone stairs to the wall. Guard duty was perhaps Percy's least favorite task. It was usually boring. Endlessly staring out into the pitch darkness, waiting for some eventual horror of the wilds to potentially meander a little too close to the walls.

At least he didn't have to worry about attacks by the Stormcloaks. Helgen wasn't so much a town as it was a fort that happened to contain civilians. Percy had never encountered the men that called themselves the "True Sons of Skyrim," but he'd heard enough from his compatriots who had encountered them. Percy wanted nothing to do with the ongoing war that seemed to be raging across the continent. He was comfortable where he was. Sitting at the seeming edge of the universe and wiling away his time.

The wall overlooked a large forest on the southern edge of town. Miles of wilderness and mountains ranged out for as far as the eye could see. Along the edges of the parapets were rows of shields, bows, and fully loaded quivers. Ready to ward off any invader trying to wage war on the town.

Adonino Logalian was already waiting for Percy on the wall. A tall and stocky man with sharp blue eyes and deep auburn hair and the patchy beard of a man who couldn't quite grow proper facial hair, yet tried all the same.

He grunted, not looking away from the inky darkness as Percy approached.

"Boring night?" Percy asked softly, taking his position a few paces away from the man.

"Yes. Bless the Eight," Logalian said, "Too damned cold for anything nefarious to happen tonight."

"You say that every night," Percy chuckled.

"Because it's always too damned cold," grumbled Logalian. "Too cold to fight, too cold to eat, too cold to fuck. Gods be good, I can't wait to leave this place."

Percy grunted. There was little for him to say in response to that. It must have been the single most common phrase said in the town. Might as well have been their unit's damned slogan.

"You hear the news?" Asked Loaglian,

"About Tulius?" Said Percy, "Yeah, Petrid told me as I was getting ready."

"Well?"

"Well what?

"What do you think?"

"About what?"

Logalian released a long-suffering sigh, "About General Tulius coming here. What do you think he wants?"

"Why the hell do you think I would know?"

"Because you've been here the longest. Not even Captain Autrilchiotus has been stationed here as long as you have."

That much was true enough. The turnaround on Legionnaires at Helgen was usually only thirteen months, and then they were either discharged or moved to a different posting back in the Capital.

"Well, I guess that it makes some sense," Percy pondered, "Helgen more or less serves as the safest path to and from Cyrodiil, if the Stormcloaks took Helgen then they'd be able to stop all supply chains and reinforcements to and from the Capital. But still, Helgen is arguably the most well-defended city on the damned continent. It would be suicidal to mount an offensive here so it doesn't make sense to me for Tullius to mount a surprise inspection. Well, that and-" He eyed his comrade on the wall cheekily, "And no offense, but I don't think anyone here is important enough to warrant a visit from the General."

Logalian's lips puckered at that, but let the comment slide. He glanced around them, before closing the distance and speaking to Percy in an undertone, barely audible over the roar of the wind.

"There's a rumor going around that they managed to capture Ulfric Stormcloak."

Percy's eyebrows skyrocketed. Ulfric Stormcloak was the self-proclaimed "King" of Skyrim. At least, as far as Percy understood the political scene to be.

"And they'd be bringing him here? To execute him? The hell for? Why not just kill him where they caught him. Get it over with."

Logalin scoffed at him, as though the idea were ludicrous. "Have you no sense of propriety Jackson? We are Imperials. Not savages." His eyes bounced over to Percy but he quickly looked away, "Though I suppose the same might not be said of you." He'd said it softly enough that Percy had nearly missed it. He rolled his eyes and ignored the jab.

"Explain it to me, oh wise and venerable friend of mine," said Percy, sarcasm dripping from his every word.

"Stormcloak might be a rebel and a traitor, but he is still nobility. He deserves an execution at the hands of the Emperor. And here in Skyrim? General Tulius is the hand of the Emperor."

It seemed silly to Percy, but he refrained from commenting. He'd learned years ago that life here was different. Feudalistic. He didn't understand it, and he doubted he ever would. Therefore, he stopped questioning the way things were, and simply began accepting them, even if he didn't understand it.

"Doesn't matter either way I suppose," said Percy, "Not like it's going to change much for me."

"But it would mean that I finally get to leave," sighed Logalian dreamily.

Percy fell silent, and the conversation lulled to a natural end. The hours whittled away, and Percy tried to occupy himself by counting the trees in his field of view. He'd inevitably lose count and have to start over, but it kept his mind occupied.

After three hours, the moon was high in the sky and the wind had finally died down. An eery calm fell over the still night. The trees rustled in the soft breeze. It was soft. Still. Quiet. Percy frowned. Where was the wildlife? Surely he should have been able to hear something. The soft rustling of varmints in the brush, or the soft crinkle of rabbits and deer or elk in the snow. But…there was nothing.

He didn't like it.

"There's something out there," he said softly, his voice carrying like a shout in the silent night.

"The hell are you talking about?" Scoffed Logalian, "I can't hear a damned thing."

"Which is exactly the problem," Percy unsheathed his sword and grabbed a shield perched against the wall of the parapet. Hebegan making his way off the wall.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" called Logalin,

"Wake up the Lieutenant," Percy called back, before disappearing into the darkness below the safety of the wall. The light from the torches along the wall cast an incandescent orange glow behind him, mixing with the pale light of the moon. It served to only cast more shadows into the dark woods surrounding the wall. Screwing up his eyes, Percy tried to force himself to ignore the shadows and focus on the noise around him. There was something out there. He was sure of it.

The hair on the backs of his neck stood on end, and goosebumps erupted up and down his arms. Every fiber of his being was telling him that something was out there. That he was being hunted. It was a familiar feeling. A tingle of adrenaline and excitement shot down his spine. His grip tightened on the hilt as he became fully submerged in the thick brush of the woods.

The thin layer of snow crunched under his boot. In the stillness of the evening, it was as loud as a gunshot in Percy's ears. He focused on his breathing, trying to keep it even, as he glanced around the darkened trees. Something snapped in the trees off to his right and Percy whirled around, but he could see nothing more than inky blackness.

Something snapped behind him, and Percy whirled around again, but as soon as his back was turned he heard the rush of something heavy along the ground. He swiveled, only just managing to bring the shield up in time to protect him from an enormous, fur-covered paw. He grunted under force of the blow, and the wood face of the shield splintered, as the iron frame groaned under the strain of the blow.

Percy snarled, pushing back with the shield and disengaging. His sword shot out, slashing through the air and catching the side of the creature. It howled in pain, as thick droplets of blood splattered to the ground. Percy quickly backpedaled, trying to put distance between him and the creature, but it charged again, running forward on four legs and passing through a gap in the trees and underneath a beam of light from the moon above giving Percy his first real look at the creature.

It was large and bulky. Likely standing at over seven or eight feet on its hind legs. A thick, brown fur covered its mangy and deranged body. It had an odd face. As though it were some horrible lovecraftian combination of a man and bear. Its enormous teeth glimmered in the brief moment it ran through the light, large and powerful.

Percy dove out of the way, barely escaping getting tackled to the ground. The creature skid to a halt, and turned to Percy. It opened its monstrous maw and unleashed a beastial roar of fury. Percy stood his ground. Unbidden, an excited and slightly manic smile formed on his face. A familiar rush of thrill coursed through him. This was where he felt alive. Where he belonged. Trapped in combat, his blade in his hands. His life on the line and nothing to worry about beyond the creature in front of him trying to kill him.

The bear charged forward, bringing a massive paw up and swiping at him. Percy sidestepped the blow, and slashed down. The blade found purchase along the creature's flank. Fur flew through the air, and blood erupted from the wound, but the creature hardly seemed to notice. Growing even more enraged it whirled around and tried to slash at Percy with its other paw. Unable to get out of the way, Percy raised his shield and blocked the blow.

The creature's strength was inhuman, and the cheap shield finally buckled under the force of the blow. Percy fell backwards, the bear falling on top of him. Its jaw shot forward, attempting to latch onto his neck. Percy quickly brought his sword up, and the bear locked its jaws around the iron blade. Holding the bear off with one hand, his left darted out and he dug his thumb up into its eye. Applying as much of his vast strength as possible, the eye ruptured and blood and mucus flowed over Percy's hand.

The bear halted in its assault, rearing back in pain and roaring in misery, releasing its grip on Percy's sword. Using the opening, Percy raised his leg and kicked up at the creature's groin. He didn't know if the thing was a male or not, but even if it wasn't, a kick to the groin was a kick to the groin. It snorted, mist steaming from its snout as Percy's leather boot slammed into the creature.

It staggered back, and Percy raised his other boot and slammed it into the bear's snout. It collapsed to the ground and Percy scrambled away. But the bear was able to recover, and got back to its feet, though it was unsteady. Percy darted forward, and the bear tried to get out of the way. But its movements were slow and haggard, hampered by the injuries it had sustained. With a hefty thrust, Percy buried his sword to the hilt in the neck of the monster. The bear went slack against his blade, blood flowing onto the hilt and coating Percy's hands even further. Grunting, Percy gripped the fur on top of the bear's head and ripped the sword free. With a disgusting, squelching noise, the bear's neck was ripped open, its head nearly torn free from its shoulders.

Dead, the creature collapsed to the ground and the forest grew silent once more. Panting heavily, Percy gazed around him, scanning the forest for any additional threats. Not seeing or feeling anything else, Percy turned his attention back to the bear. He didn't know what it was, but he was willing to bet it would catch a hefty price with the Empire. They were always willing to pay for the slaying of something monstrous.

With a sigh, Percy began the process of cutting the head the rest of the way off.

Percy had just finished with his chore, when the sound of footsteps and clattering armor approached from behind him. A moment later, a detachment of Legionnaires led by Lieutenant Jaraso and Logalian.

"Jackson!" Barked out Jaraso, a man only a couple years older than Percy himself. An average looking man about a head shorter than Percy himself. He had clearly been only recently roused from sleep, as he had forgotten to even don his helmet and his black hair was strewn and messy.

"What the hell is the meaning of-" Jaraso trailed off as he finally noticed the dead and decapitated bear at Percy's feet.

"By the Divine…" he breathed, "Is that-is that a werebear?"

Percy almost laughed, "A what?"

"A form of lycanthrope," said Jaraso, kneeling in the snow beside the creature. "Haven't been seen anywhere near here in years…gods, first that outbreak of Drugar and now this. What the hell is happening around here?" He glanced up and looked at Percy.

"You killed this by yourself?"

Percy nodded, "I did."

Jaraso raised an eyebrow, and glanced back at the creature. "Gods if I knew how. These bastards usually require an entire squadron to deal, and even then, not without casualties. I know you're a capable swordsman Jackson, but this-" He shook his head and stood up, pointing at a couple of the others that came with him. "Grab this foul thing and drag it back to the town. You!" He pointed at a third man,

"Head back to the camp, go to the stores and fetch as much Canis Root as you can carry. Grab four or five men and begin rubbing it on the trees in the area, it'll slow them down if there are any more of the bastards lurking around. Jackson!" He rounded on Percy, "Are you positive that this was the only one in the area?"

"Positive," said Percy, "Nothing else. Pretty sure if there were, they would have ganged up on me while I was dealing with our friend here."

Jasaro nodded thoughtfully, "I agree, but it just makes all of this even more damned confusing. Werebears hunt in packs. Usually three to four at a time." He shook his head, "It just doesn't make sense for one to be out here, hunting all on its lonesome." He sighed, running a hand through his hair before turning back to Percy,

"Jackson, Logalian, I'll be stationing a few more men on the walls moving forward. I believe you Jackson that this was the only one in the area, but I'm not taking any chances. First thing in the morning, we're mounting hunting parties and finding any more of these damnable things if there's any more to be found. Or any other hell on earth that's decided to make Helgen its home." He sighed and scratched behind his head,

"Last fucking thing we need is a horde of spiders or some shite swarming the walls when the General arrives." He turned his attention back to Percy, "Well done Sergeant Jackson. I'll see to it that you receive adequate payment for this beast."

"Thank you, Lieutenant,"

With a flourish, Jaraso turned and began trudging back through the snow and back to town. The rest of the Legionnaires following closely behind.

Life in Skyrim might have been different to what he was used to.

But at least it wasn't boring.

AN: So here we go! First and foremost, I want to thank IDKHowtoWritePlzHelp. He had this idea first, and then handed it off to me. He's also a walking encyclopedia for all things Elder Scrolls, so he's been giving as much information as possible to make this story as lore-accurate and real as possible. He's the best, and you should go check out his stuff because it's awesome and so is he! I'm really proud of how this story has been coming along, and it's going to be rather different to my usual fare, but I think you guys are going to like it! As always, thank you to my boy Double for being the best Beta in the world and for dealing with my constant bullshit, like constantly starting new stories. If you're new, check out the Discord link in my profile to the Emerald Library. Lots of awesome authors are there and you can ask me questions or chat if you want! Anyhoo, hope you guys enjoy this, and hope you're ready for a wild one! Stat safe and I love you all!

Love, LilDB