Kuroinu Dawnbreaker - A light shining in darkness - Chapter 1
Thorson Brightsong born in the Nord city of Solitude at 4E 178, he was the son of an Imperial father who served as an officer in the Imperial Legion and a Nord mother who worked as a traveling bard. Unfortunately, the boy's childhood would be forever tainted after a Forsworn raid while they visited a small village in the Reach.
A day after the raid, a group of fanatic Stendarr worshippers found the boy crying next to the corpses of his parents and took the boy into their ranks where they trained him as a healer and exorcist. At the age of 17 he received martial training by his mentor Isran and later at the age of 20 he managed to escape from of the Vigilantes of Stendarr with the help of his mentor, who believed that the organisation was flawed and was not taking certain threats seriously like vampire's.
Isran took Thorson to the College of Winterhold in Skyrim and left him there where he further developed his magical skills with the help of the teachers there as he quickly advanced to the rank of Expert in the college.
Thorson who was now 23 visited his remaining family in the Imperial city until Isran contacted him about a 'project' he was working on near the city Riften in Skyrim and asked him to join his Dawnguard organisation against a rising vampire threat.
Wanting to help his previous mentor and aching for adventure, Thorson returned to Skyrim but here he was caught in an Imperial ambush that changed his life forever. Before his head would have been chopped off by an Imperial executioner, the World-Eater Alduin attacked Helgen at 4E 201…
Now in age 4E 204 in the Nord city of Solitude, a black-haired man wearing ornate arch-mage robes was meditating in front of 8 shrines in the Temple of the Divines while also secretly offering a prayer to Talos. A week ago, he returned from a 3 year long trip around the northern part of Tamriel helping its people wherever he could as a healer. Now he was back in Skyrim, the province where he grew up for most of his life looking forward to some deserving rest.
Some distance behind the man a small crowd seemed to have gathered in the temple, most of them were children curious to see the legendary Dragonborn who just arrived in their city. Wherever he went, he was sure to attract a lot of attention as the people of Skyrim were certainly proud of their Dragonborn protector, confident he will be there to save them if needed again.
In the Temple of the Divines, a group of young children sat on the front benches as they watched the Dragonborn who was kneeling in front of its shrines. "Is it true the Dragonborn saved us from that evil black dragon?" A young boy asked to the other children in his group.
A girl responded to that "Not only that, but he also ended the Stormcloak rebellion singlehandedly. I heard my father say he just summoned lightning storms to defeat all the rebels!"
"My mother told me that he healed over 100 soldiers at once during a siege of a fort, no one died at that day when he was with them!" another youngster exclaimed.
Watching the young group several priests of the temple chuckled at the children who came here to have a glimpse of their hero. Normally they would dislike such loud presence in their temple, but they let it slide for now as its heart-warming to see the next generation find inspiration from their national hero.
The head priest Rorlund smiled at the scene in front of him "Seems our Dragonborn attracts a lot of attention wherever he goes" as he pointed towards a group of young women who have gathered at the back of the temple as they talked among themselves while watching the Dragonborn.
His wife Freir turned around and shook her head in amusement "Well, he certainly made quite the mark these past years. Everyone in Cyrodiil, High Rock and Hammerfell knows of his heroic deeds"
The priests were then alerted by the shouts of the children who were pointing towards the shrines as they started to glow in front of the Dragonborn.
"By the eight Divines, what is happening to the shrines?!" Rorlund shouted as he ran towards the front of the temple.
Offering a prayer to the Divines would be uneventful however for the Dragonborn named Thorson but this time things would be different as he finished his last prayer to the Divine Mara.
"What is this?" He asked out loud as his mindscape started to warp and after a minute he found himself in a dark room.
"Is this some kind of vision? Of what tough?" he wondered.
He heard a faint voice behind him "W-Who are you? N-no… I-It can't be… y-you are not real…"
When he turned around, he was greeted by an unsightly scene. "No… by the nine Divines..." he exclaimed.
In front of him on the floor was a naked blonde elf woman in the fetal position covered in sweat and what appears to be semen. Her almost lifeless green eye's stared straight at him.
"D-Divines? N-No… it can't be… The phase… has been d-dispelled… people… are in … danger…"
"Wait, danger? Who are you? What happened to you?" asked the Dragonborn as he stood up from his meditative position and turned towards the broken Elf.
"C-Celestine..." the Elf answered "Nation…enslaved... broken …. no hope…"as she instantly held out one arm towards the Dragonborn as her tears kept pouring from her green eyes. "p-please no more... I can't stand it any longer… end me…"
The man realised the horror of her request. No, this was not a cry for help. This was a cry for mercy… who could be responsible for this?
His blood started to boil at this inhumane sight "Who has done this to you? Where are you?" He asked while slowly walking towards the broken Elf.
"P-Please!" she then desperately cried out "Help us! Save… m-my people from… m-my… failure…"
Thorson could not bear any more to hear her heart-breaking plea, he gently grasped her hand "No please stop, save your strength… I need to know where you are, let me help…"
A weak replay came from her lips "No…N-no hope for me… I can't be redeemed… friend's…. broken … now n-no hope for us… no hope for… Eostia…"
Eostia? He never heard of such a place and before he could ask for more information his vision started to warp again.
"P-please… end me… no more…" Hearing this Thorson's blood almost reached its boiling point another hearing her desperation, this all brought up unpleased memories of his past he wished he could just forget…
The last words he would hear from her shocked him "The D-Daedra…they…."
Thorson's response was immediate "W-Wait Daedra?! Wha…"
He never managed to finish his question as he woke up again in Solitude…
Thorson opened his eyes and was greeted by the three temple priests who were visibly worried. "Well, that was certainly different" he grunted "What happened?"
Rorlund let out a breath of relief "Thank the Divines, you are all right! The shrines here began to light up and you started to mutter in the dragon language"
As the Dragonborn stood up, he observed his surroundings checking for any damage. It seems they were the only ones in the temple. "Did I cause any damage?"
The head priest shook his head at the question "No, the ground shook a bit but nothing seemed to have been damaged in here... I never thought I would witness the Thu'um up so close…"
The Dragonborn then looked towards the shrines trying to piece together was he has just witnessed in his latest vision.
"Why did the shrines light up?" Rorlund asked the Dragonborn "did they spoke to you? Gave you a sign?"
Priestess Silana then too joined the conversation "Perhaps the Divines wanted to warn up about something? What did you see?"
The Dragonborn looked at Silana as he recalled what he had experienced "I had a vision of some kind when finishing my prayer to Mara... A very desperate plea for help" He then told the priests what he has seen in his vision. The priest's mood turned bleak when he recalled the desperate pleas of the Elf and a possible invasion of Daedric origins"
"No matter" Thorson ended as he drew Dawnbreaker from its scabbard and looked at the shining light in its hilt "I will go there, and I won't be alone…"
The priests immediately recognised it as the legendary longsword Dawnbreaker, they were visibly surprised knowing that their hero was also assosiated with the Daedric prince of Life.
"The Dragonborn is also a champion of Meridia? H-How is this possible?" Rorlund carefully asked the tall man, wanting to know why the Dragonborn would work with her in the first place.
For a minute, the Dragonborn did not respond the priest's question as he seemed to be starting at the shrine of Mara, until another voice broke the silence.
"Dragonborn, the tremors was your doing?" A male voice announced himself.
The Dragonborn turned around and saw a figure wearing Solitude guard armor "Guard commander Aldis, my apologies, it seemed I unconsciously spoke with the Thu'um during a vision…"
The Nord nodded at his answer "I'll inform the citizens what happened here, they are quite spooked at the moment…" he said and left the temple.
"A life of a Dragonborn never gets dull, heh?" said Rorlund.
The Dragonborn had a small smile while he shook his head "No, I guess not… seems I'll never get some rest any time soon… But for now, I need to locate this Eostia and find out what the Daedra are doing there"
Rorlund gave a small bow to the Dragonborn "May the 8 guide your path Thorson and keep you safe during your travels…" he said as he saw the Dragonborn leaving the temple "And may they protect you from Meridia..."
In a distant and unknown land an Elven woman woke up disoriented from her dream in a dark dungeon. She faintly remembered having a dream or vision where she talked to another man about something…
However, she never had a chance to reflect on this. She was once again surrounded by a group grinning men and their leader for their "daily routine" as they called it.
"N-no… how long must I endure this… kill me... please…." As she was not looking forward being broken again at the end of the day… like the rest of her friends… those she failed to protect…
Thorson was once asked to become the Arch-Mage by the Psijic Order after he ended a magical crisis involving an ancient Nord artifact. An event where the previous Arch-mage Savos Aren died from its devastating effects. But the Dragonborn declined the position as he would feel restricted and wished to travel the world instead of wasting behind a desk. From that day his alteration teacher Tolfdir took the role of Arch-Mage and the College of Winterhold seemed to have prospered under his care. However, the Psijic Order told Thorson that they would be watching his progress in the years to come but he never heard from them since…
With the help of his red dragon Odahviing the Dragonborn was able to quickly reach the College of Winterhold, the dragon himself could not help him in identifying the mysterious place from his vision but would faithfully help him in his quest.
With the help of the Orc librarian Urag in the Arcanaeum they managed to find an old map and a book referring to the word Eostia. After thanking the Orcish librarian, he sat down at one of the many chairs in the arcane library and began reading. The book itself was more of less a diary of a female Bosmer merchant who sailed between the various island nations surrounding Tamriel during the year 2E 567 of the second era, one of these was Eostia located east of the Sea elves continent of Pyandonea.
It is also mentioned that the southern provinces of Tamriel had a healthy trade relationship with Eostia for centuries however around the year 2E 581 the entire continent disappeared without a trace, many believed that Eostia suffered the same fate as the continent of Yukuda in the first era. However, they found no landmass, bodies, or any kind of rubble under the surface of the ocean. The following entries contains many baseless conjectures what may have caused Eostia to disappear from the face of Nirn however no further useful information could be found.
"An entire continent disappearing… that may explain the lack of information about this place, many centuries have passed ever since". The Elf from his vision did say something about a 'phase spell,' perhaps a powerful mage shifted that place out of phase during the second ere, before the whole 'Planemeld' invasion perhaps to save themselves" the Dragonborn mused while looking at an old map of this mysterious continent. Eostia seemed to have been an Elven colony of some sort as Thorson recognised several locations on the centre of the map as being Elven in name , perhaps a group of exiles from the Summerset Isle's lived there or they came from the fabled Elven homeland of Aldmeris in ancient times.
After learning all he could, the Dragonborn returned the book and map, now that he had the information to find his way to this mysterious continent. And after receiving a copy of the map from Urag he was held up by the Nord Arch-mage Tolfdir who greeted him in the Arcanaeum "Good to see you Thorson, have you found what you are looking for?"
He nodded "Indeed Arch-mage but I'm afraid I'll be leaving Skyrim again" he said as he showed the old map to the old Nord and told him about his recent vision. "How troubling indeed, finding this missing continent is one thing but dealing with a possible Daedric invasion is very worrying to say at least. And I thought that Nirn was sealed from Oblivion after that crisis several centuries ago…"
"Daedric forces can still come to Nirn in small amounts, enough to make trouble for sure in a long-term situation. But I'll be going with Odahviing in case I need some help" Thorson explained to his Nord mentor "And once I am there, I should be able to use portal magic to return back to Tamriel if needed"
Tolfdir was visibly surprised at this, magical teleportation was a very old school of magic known to be exceedingly difficult school to master and even harder to find anyone willing to train. "If I am not mistaken, you will need special portal seeds to open one. Right?"
Thorson pointed at a small sack at the side of his robe "I got several of these seeds during a mission in High Rock as a reward for stopping a deadly plague from the Daedric prince Peryite" he then took out of one the green stones and showed it to the Nord mage "And when I saved an Alter historian from that same plague he rewarded me with a copy of several tomes on teleporting magic" after showing the stone to his Alteration teacher he closed the bag "And once I memorized my destination I should be able to travel quickly from one place to another"
Tolfdir could only feel proud of his former student, when he first arrived in the college as a young man, he already showed proficiency in the restoration school and during his stay here he was quick to learn the other schools in a rapid pace. When thinking back about this, he could have concluded that his Dragonborn blood was also responsible for his growth. "Good luck in your search and If you need anything else, our doors are always open for you" the older Nord said to his former student.
"Thanks, Tolfdir" Thorson replied as both men shook hands and said their farewells, and as the Dragonborn left the college he called for Odahviing to return him home.
Lakeview Manor, a longhouse build next to Lake Ilinala by the Dragonborn. He managed to buy the land from the Jarl of Falkreath after dealing with a dangerous orc raid leader who plagued the hold for months. It was a place he would call home, isolated from the holds of Skyrim where he would find peace if he needed it.
Once he arrived at his homestead, he started preparing supplies and other essentials for his trip with the help of his Redguard steward and housecarl Rayya. She had once told him that she wished to return to her homeland of Hammerfellin one of the years to come. Thorson had no issues with her wishes and told her to take her time in planning such an important step in her life.
While preparing for his journey his best friend, the blue coloured Khajiit Inigo entered the small manor. "My friend, you are going somewhere?" he asked as he noticed Thorson preparing some satchels "But you just arrived in Skyrim, can't it wait?"
Thorson then turned to his trusted friend "My help is needed in an unknown region of Nirn so it's possible I won't be back for a good while…" he told his friend as he began to attach satchels on his robe. "Seems the Divines have one more task for me… just when I returned from my years long trip…" he ended with a sigh "I'll be alright Inigo, Odahviing will be with me so I won't be alone…"
The tall man then turned to his steward and housecarl "Rayya, if any of my friends ask where I am, tell them everything and make sure they are welcome here" The female steward nodded at his request "Of course my Thane, ill guard your home and make sure your companions are welcome should they visit"
"Goodbye my friend, I hope you safely return soon. It gets quite boring around here without you" said Inigo as both friends exchanged a handshake "I'll be sure to return Inigo, don't worry good friend and good luck with your bard training in Solitude"
Thorson then turned towards Rayya "And good luck with our resident bard Llewellyn" Thorson teased with a small smile, the only response he got from the flustering Redguard was a painful punch to his right arm before flying away on Odahviing.
After an hour of flight above the Imperial province, they passed the city of Bravil and Cheydinhal as they neared the edge of the Topal Sea where they then turned eastwards, flying over the province of Black Marsh.
"If you need a break Odahviing, let me know. We could land on the small islands on the way if we need to"
A few uneventful hours later after flying above the Padomaic ocean at high speeds "We should be arriving soon. We already passed Pyandonea and I recognise those small islands on the way based on the map, we should see the northern part of Eostia in a moment."
Odahviing then called out "Dovahkiin, Lu Lost Bo. In front of us"
Thorson saw a large landmass appearing in front of him "Looks like this is it, try flying a bit higher Odahviing so I can try to pinpoint our location"
As the red dragon then flew at a higher altitude, the Dragonborn ordered Odahviing to circle around the northern part of the continent as he tried to look for landmarks until he saw a strange phenomenon below him "strange… that fortress down there. It looks quite unnatural from up here"
"Do you also see what I'm seeing Odahviing?" he asked his dragon companion "looks like some kind some kind of corruption is present down there…"
"Geh, I don't have a good Haalvut about this" the red dragon replied.
"Me too… If possible, fly a bit closer to it but keep it at a safe altitude…"
While flying above the wasteland surrounding the fortress, the Dragonborn repeatedly checked his map "Yes, several geographical locations match up from the looks of it. This is certainly the place; we have arrived on the continent of Eostia" Thorson stated while checking for several geographical landmarks "However, this fortress does not appear on my map, it must have been built at a later date… But this whole place feels wrong… It feels so oppressive for some reason…"
He focused on the dark fortress that laid in the middle of a dark wasteland "I have never seen such a sight; it is like the whole surrounding area is being corrupted of some kind. No tree's, no plants no wildlife… What kind of magic makes this possible…" Thorson saw some shapes moving in the vicinity of the fortress "Seems, something is still active down there, seems whatever is down there they are unaffected by this"
The red dragon who hovered above the fortress then asked the Dragonborn "Is that Golt where we need to be?"
"Well, this might be the place… Let us first see if this works…" Thorson then started casting his "Clairvoyance" spell, after several seconds a blue line appeared in his vision showing the route towards his current objective "Seems we need to head further south…"
Thorson then looked back towards the wasteland surrounding the dark structure, his curious mind wondering what kind of magic is at work here. "Fly me to its boundaries Odahviing, I want to quickly check it out"
"Ol Hi Hind Dovahkiin" The dragon obeyed as he flew towards their destination.
After a few minutes of flight, they landed at the edge of the sickly wasteland next to a lush forest. The Dragonborn had a quick look around before turning towards the wasteland in front of him.
"I could go in there myself and expose myself, but I think I have a better idea" thought Thorson as his right-hand glowed purple and next to the Dragonborn a large horned humanoid emerged from a portal wearing black spiked armor and wielding a large great sword.
"Mortal, what is it this time?" The imposing Daedra asked his summoner.
"Well, hi to you too Gavius" Thorson replied with a smile "Can you step into this area in front of me and tell us how you feel within it?"
"Are you serious mortal?" the Deadra replied, "You summoned me to be part of some experiment?"
"Oh, you will be fine, you are after all immortal" The Dragonborn joked towards his conjured Dremora Lord.
Odahviing also seemed amused that this "Are you Faas demon?"
"Fine… but only this time mortal" The Daedra Lord said as he started walking into the corrupted area.
But they were then interrupted by movement behind them…
A group of unsavoury individuals composed of a handful humans and several large creatures were patrolling south the Dark Fortress.
"This sucks…" one complained "The boss and his friends are having their 'fun' in the kingdoms and here we are, stuck here looking for signs of Elven rebels."
"Think about this way tough Morn, if we find more Elven bitches then we already have first dibs on them" The appeared leader of the group reassured the complaining man.
"True, true… I just thought we all would live like kings like Vult promised. Yet here we are chasing some Elves…"
The group heard a loud thump near their position "Hey, do you hear that?" Morn asked the group.
The leader of the small group responded "Yeah, like something big crashed on the ground. Let's move out"
As the group neared the source of the sound, they were greeted by a sight that seem to take their breath away.
"D-Dragon? I thought they were just a myth" one asked the group.
They then noticed a large humanoid standing at the edge of the wasteland "The larger one looks like a demon, look at the horns."
"Next to the dragon" another one pointed out "It looks human"
"Who is this guy? he's as tall as Vult"
The tall, hooded man wore an ornate grey robe combined with boots and gauntlets that looked like it is made from dragon scale's and he had a glowing golden sword on his left hip that appeared to shine brightly.
"Doesn't matter, he must carry some good gear if he's decked up like that" The leader responded with a sinister smile.
"Let's go, we can take them" the leader then commanded his group, brimming with overconfidence. After all they conquered Eostia and what is one more man, a demon and dragon compared to them.
The Dragonborn, Dremora Lord and Dovah looked behind them as a small group approached them. Thorson was curious about the several large humanoids in this group who wielded large clubs, their blue skin tones and glowing eyes seem familiar to him. While the humans in the group seemed to wield various bladed weapons and wore cloths that showed a distinctive emblem.
"Well, things are getting interesting… the men look like bandits, not sure about those large one's tough. They looked like some deformed orcs…" Thorson thought out loud "and with is with their eyes…"
The Dremora brandished his Daedric great sword as he stepped next to Thorson "I smell weakness…"
"You always smell weakness Gavius" Thorson quipped as he gave a nod to Odahviing to be on guard, the Dragonborn then made first contact with the group.
The Dragonborn stepped forward and humorously addressed the group "Greetings 'gentlemen,' we are a bit lost here. Can you help us?"
"No, but you can help us by dying and giving us your gear" The apparent leader of the group responded after which he signalled his party to begin their attack "Get them!"
Odahviing immediately shouted "FUS RO DAH" towards the group causing several of them to be blown away towards the treeline.
"What was that?! Did that dragon just shout at us?!"
Thorson casted Ebonyflesh on himself gave some quick orders to his two companions as he brandished Dawnbreaker in his right hand "Gavius and me will handle the big ones, Odahviing the men, keep a few alive for me..."
Both Dremora and Dragonborn engaged their large opponents who were now dazed by Odahviing shout, Thorson dodged out of the way from a clumsy attack his opponent made and stabbed the creature in the neck with Dawnbreaker. The wound around his opponent neck started to glow yellow and Dawnbreaker's purifying fire started to spread around the creature's body. Thorson then quickly decapitates his attacker before focusing on this second attacker. "Dawnbreaker is reacting to them… What are these creatures…" he thought to himself as he engaged his second attacker.
Odahviing seemed amused by the fearful expressions of his human attackers as he lumbers towards them "Come on, we can slay the beast!" one of the human's declared as he rushed towards the dragon. His other companions could only watch in horror as the dragon crushed the man in his jaws before tossing the broken body away. "Mu Los Mul" the dragon remarked before shouting "YOL TOOR SHUL" towards the rest of the group burning them all to cinders.
While Thorson's favoured a more agile style of combat, his Daedric summon chose a more direct approach as he engaged the two larger humanoids with his great sword. After parrying an attack, the Dremora stabbed the creature in the midsection after which he sliced upwards splitting its head. "Bah, no challenge. Weaklings all of you!"
"Having fun there Gavius?" the Dragonborn joked towards the Dremora Lord as he moved out of the way of an attack.
"Oh, be quiet mortal. Your attempt at humour has no place on the battlefield"
"To each their own, eh?" Thorson replied before blocking a strike using a magical ward before stabbing his opponent in the chest triggering a large explosion that disintegrated his attacker and other abominations in the area. "Those blue eye's… could it be…"
The man turned towards the treeline where several of the bandits were blown away from Odahviing's Thu'um "I'll handle those three, watch my back" he commanded his group.
The three men including their leader slowly stood up, groaning in pain after being tossed around by the dragon's shout. As they turned their attention towards the battlefield, they all turned pale when they saw the charred corpses of their human companions.
And they also saw a hooded figure walking towards them, wielding his golden sword. One of the men then addressed his leader "We need to get out of here! Warn Vult about this! We need to…"
"WULD NAH KEST" they heard as they were suddenly confronted with the robbed man as he stood in front of them. "What is wrong? Leaving already? Why leave the party you people started?" the man taunted the three raiders while showing a visible smirk at the end.
In panic, the leader of the group tried to stab the Dragonborn with his blade however he was quickly struck by a lightning spell. The two remaining raiders could only watch in horror as the man disintegrated into dust in front of their eyes. "Now then… who is willing to give me the information I need?"
One tried to escape but could not get far as he was struck by a giant ice spear that embedded itself in his head and his lifeless body dropped on the ground.
Thorson held Dawnbreaker in front of the last bandit "And you? Still eager follow your comrades?"
"W-what do you want?" The man asked his captor, fearing for his life while he stared at the glowing sword in front of him.
"It's simple, I will ask you a couple of questions and you may leave. Simple right?" The prisoner could only nod in fear.
The Dragonborn pointed Dawnbreaker at the prisoner's neck as he started his questioning"Who are you and why did you attack us?"
"M-Morn… we are the Black Dogs… Our group leader wanted your possessions but I did not want any part of it…"
Thorson rolled his eyes at his pathetic attempt to deflect blame "Black Dogs huh? That's some kind of bandit clan?"
"We are no mere bandits! We were a powerful mercenary group in control over the whole of Eostia!" he exclaimed showing some pride in his words.
A mercenary group taking over an entire nation? it seemed very unlikely for the Thorson to believe. The Dragonborn then pointed Dawnbreaker at Morn's forehead as he continued his questioning "Celestine, who is she? And where is she?"
Morn was surprised by his question, everyone on Eostia knew of the former Elven queen but complied with his interrogators strange question "That Elven bitch was Eostia's former queen, and where she is, I don't know… He's our boss's 'personal' trophy after all"
Thorson was not amused by his tone but needed to know more "Who is your boss? What does he want?"
"Our leader is Vult, he managed to overthrow the Elven queen and her Shield Alliance princesses, and now he is leading a new empire, were we get what we deserve!"
His interrogator started charging a lightning spell in his left hand "tell me. Everything. You know" he threatened his Black dog prisoner in a low voice.
The prisoner looked at the arcs of lightning that appeared from his interrogators left hand, fearing that he would be disintegrated like his team leader he told him everything.
His prisoners story revealed that the Black Dogs were once in service to the Shield Alliance to defend their lands from hordes of creatures they called 'demons' and their Dark Elven masters in the north. They were once tasked to deal a finishing blow to their forces at the Dark Fortress as they called it but instead of returning home as heroes, they decided to betray their previous masters and work together with these 'demons' to take over the entire nation. Vult also used deception and the greed of the Shield Alliance's trusted men to cause discord in their own ranks and ultimately betray their own people and the Shield Princesses that served Celestine to Vult's group. "Corruption, subterfuge, and treachery… That's one way to force capitulation of a nation" Thorson thought to himself.
He looked then towards the ashes of the large humanoids he slayed on this battlefield. Those things were orcs? They are certainly not what Thorson would qualify for the Orsimer he was more familiar with. And it seemed that Dawnbreaker reacted to their presence like they are some form of undead, corruption or false life. Morn explained that they willingly joined their group after they took over the Dark Fortress, where they would be used as foot soldiers against their previous employers.
When asked where they come from, he could not answer that, only his leader Vult would know that. Thorson then asked him if there are any other kind of 'demon's they had to their disposal and what they wanted in return.
"Imps and goblins, they make up the bulk of our forces together with the orc's. But what they want? I don't know… Only Vult would know that… He seemed content to let them join his new empire in return for the loot and the women…"
Thorson knew about goblins when he travelled around Cyrodiil but the term 'Imps' were often used to describe Daedric Scamps, could they be related? And why would they want the women, for some ritual or for something else? His interrogation at this point created more questions than answers for the Dragonborn. What kind of empire does this Vult want with these beasts? There is nothing he could compare it to from past empires he knew about.
Thorson continued his questioning fearing where this was heading "What kind of empire does your leader want to establish then?"
"A sex empire of course! We Black Dogs deserve that privilege for ending the previous war!"
The Dragonborn did not want to hear that at all "W-What?" was only thing he could say. What kind of madness is he hearing now, a sex empire? The more information he gathered about Eostia's situation the more this place looks like a playing ground for all the Daedric princess like Sanguine, Molag Bal and Boethiah. By the Divines, those women...
"Y-you could join us! You are also a man!" his prisoner exclaimed, attempting to recruit him to safe his own life "Women are nothing but slaves to us men! They only exist to serve us in all ways and nothing else! That Elven whore and her princesses are now our sex slaves! If you want, they…" Morn never got the chance to finish his speech as Dawnbreaker decapitated the Black dog mercenary.
Above them in the clouds the rumbling of thunder could be heard and the ground beneath them seemed to tremble as Thorson whispered "Sunvaar's" towards the decapitated corpse in the Dragon language. He had a dark expression on his face as distant memories seem to flood his mind until he sheathed Dawnbreaker as he tried not to lose control. "Sunvaar's… all of you"
As the Dragonborn walked back to his two companions he tried to piece together what he has learned now, not sure if the words of such an 'animal' are to be trusted, his thoughts were then interrupted as his Dremora summon approached him "The area is clear, and my time is up, next time bring me to a real fight" the Dremora Lord mildly threatened Thorson before returning to Oblivion.
Odahviing greeted his master as he approached him "Ahhh Thuri, what have you learned?"
"Nothing good, I'll tell you on the way." he hastily responded, "we can worry about this strange wasteland at a later time, but time is of the essence now and we need to head south now!"
At the centre of the continent were multiple fortress cities that seem to form a barrier against threats from the north and as dusk started to settle on Eostia, a red dragon flew high above one of these cities. "Yes, this is the place… Clairvoyance points towards that city down there" Thorson stated as he looked his map "Try hovering high above that clearing in the north-west part of the city, ill drop down and infiltrate the city with my cloak"
"Ol Hi Hind Dovahkiin, call for me if you need my aid"
Still high above the skies, Thorson dismounted from Odahviing as he dove through the air towards his destination, at the last moment he shouted "FEIM" as his body turned ethereal before hitting the ground. After which he quickly casted an Invisibility spell on himself to hide himself. While cloaked he moved slowly inside the city looking for any trace of his objective.
From what he first saw, this city is more of a religious centre as he saw multiple temple like structures spread around the city surrounded by small gardens that has seen better days. Thorson overheard conversations from noticeably worried citizens mentioning the Black Dogs recent victory and the capture of a group called the "Shield Princesses." Other's mention that they had to hide their female family members from sight to prevent them from being kidnapped by the Black dogs.
As Thorson continued his infiltration in the city, he found himself in a shopping district as he overheard more conversations between its citizens. Some asking each other how they were or if their family were safe while other's talk with the shopkeepers asking them about their current state of their businesses. From several conversations he overheard, he learned that he was in Ken, the capital city of Eostia.
Nearing the centre of the city he began hearing conversations between Black Dog members who patrolled the area, they were discussing their daily activities including kidnapping in neighbouring villages, raping their victims, and boasting about their 'accomplishments.' Thorson's mental state was starting to shift again in a bad way as he recalled memories "Beasts.. worthless beasts… all of them…" he muttered in his mind as he moved on, wishing he could shut their mouths permanently. Once he was in a dark corner he began to pray in his mind while grasping Dawnbreaker in his hand "Lady Meridia, give me strength…" after a minute he silently moved on.
While further infiltrating the city, he could hear several female screams combined with the sounds of male grunting as he witnessed several acts of rape. His instincts and faith demanded him to help these victims, but he knew that it would risk his infiltration if he drew too much attention. The best thing he could do is to cast a few sleep spells on the few men who were assaulting their poor victims. As they fell asleep, their victims quickly ran away from the scene and from the dark, Thorson could only hope he has done enough now to help them as he continued his search for the former Elven queen.
The more Thorson explored the city, the more depravity he witnessed conducted by these Black Dog's and their 'demon' allies as they terrorised the female population of the city. He hated himself for not being able to help them, his unwillingness not to act on this brought up some painful memories when he was young. "Need to focus, can't get distracted…" he silently whispered to himself as he moved forwards.
Thorson then snuck into a section of the city which seemed to be a marketplace of some kind as he notices a large group of unruly Black Dog members that have gathered in the centre for some kind of event. As the Dragonborn moved closer to overhear their conversations. "Man, what kind of 'exotic merchandise' will Zul display today, the last batch he showed last time were too old for my linking…" he overheard from one of them talk. As Thorson snuck into the marketplace he saw something he wished he did not "No… don't tell me this is a…"
As he feared, he saw countless cages that contained the 'merchandise. He saw hundreds of female Elven slaves dressed up in rags who were being sold off while crowds of mercenaries cheered on. Unknown to the rest of them, dark clouds seemed to have gathered above their city combined a low rumbling of thunder signalling an upcoming storm "EVEN YOUNG CHILDEREN?!" Thorson mentally exclaimed "SUNVAAR, ALL OF THEM!"
He then heard screaming from one of the cages as a young tanned Elven girl was being dragged away followed by a desperate plea of an Elven woman "No, m-mommy help me!" the girl screamed as 2 men away dragged her away followed by jeering of several Black Dogs "Oh the fun I'll have with her tonight."
"Please, take me! Don't take her away!" Thorson heard the mother cry out as he then collapsed on his knees, not caring that his invisibility cloak was about to run out. "No… it is happening again…" he whispered to himself as memories of his past began to play inside his head, memories of his own mother before she died at the hand of Forsworn raiders, how they sadistically held him down as they forced him to witness what they did to his mother. The screams, the tears, the depravity he witnessed while he was unable to do anything. Too weak to do anything…
"NID!" he shouted to the heavens as his invisibility spell dispelled revealing himself to the Black Dog group, his shout was so loud that everyone in the city and neighbouring villages heard it.
"W-what was that?!" one of the Black Dog members yelled as everyone looked towards a kneeling man wearing grey robes "Who is that guy?! Is he one of us?!"
"No, he is not. Get him boys!" one shouted as hundreds of mercenaries surrounded the kneeling Dragonborn.
"NO MORE, I WILL NOT WATCH ANYMORE!" shouted Thorson as he stood up unaware of the mercenaries surrounding him "I WON'T BE WEAK ANYMORE!"
Rain started to fall from the skies above Ken as the panting Dragonborn shouted to the heavens again "NO MORE CRYING, MAKE IT STOP!"
After which he drew Dawnbreaker from its scabbard, its light shining brightly around the Dragonborn "TIID FAH DREH, NID SERAAN!" he yelled as then stared at this opponents "HI SUNVAAR LOS NID!"
The force of his Thu'um caused the group surrounding him to fall over from his Thu'um as the clouds above them started to shift violently. "ZU'U LOS FAAL DOVAHSBROM!"
At that day, Thorson abandoned 'the way of the voice' and fully embraced his dragon nature for the first time as the skies and the earth beneath Eostia trembled as he shouted his Thu'um. Taking a deep breath, the 'Dragon of the North' put his very soul into his next shout "MUL QAH DIIV!" as the ground started to shake from the man's shout and onlookers could only watch as the man in front of them began growing glowing spectral armor around his body and his eyes started to glow yellow.
Every breath the man took sounded like a beast instead of a man. "DIR SUNVAAR" the dragon aspect of Thorson growled to the men in front of him as for now every Thu'um he spoke echoed across Eostia followed by tremors.
"STRUN BAH QO!" And with that shout, the heavens made way for a storm of monstrous proportions as the clouds began to shift around violently and countless lightning bolts began to strike down the confused Black Dog members in the while city.
The Dragonborn watched as countless men around him fell to the force of his Thu'um as he roared again "FAAL STRUN FEN BOLAAV NID AAZ!" no place in the city of Ken was safe for any of the Black Dog's as they were struck by lightning bolts.
Holding Dawnbreaker in his right hand he looked at the petrified Elven girl, the same who was about to be dragged away a minute ago. He held up one left hand as a sign of peace "DREM, ZU'U FEN NI AHRAAN HI." To the present slaves, the man in front of them who spoke in a strange language scared them more than their Black Dog captors. The glowing Dragonborn sensed their hesitance and shouted "BEX" causing each of the slave cage's to open by themselves.
"BO" He pointed towards the main gate of the city as he shouted towards the slaves, however no one seemed to understand him or they were just petrified of him.
The Dragonborn then began casting a powerful healing spell with his left hand that healed and revitalised every slave in the marketplace followed by a powerful "Courage" spell to help them regain control of their emotions. He then walked towards to the young Elven girl who seemed less fearful of the mysterious figure in front of her, he gently nudged the girl towards her mother as he then pointed towards Ken's main gate repeating the same message from before "BO."
"L-let's get out of here dear!" he heard the Elven mother call to her daughter as more slaves began escaping the city, some of the Elves including the young mother and her daughter bowed to their savior. The Dragonborn then simply held out one arm "DREM" he shouted as he pointed to the gates again, waiting until they left.
More shout's followed after that, "OD AH VIING!" he shouted to the heavens and after that another shout "DUR NEH VIIR!"
As Durnehviir appeared on Nirn he was greeted by the sight the Dovahkiin's dragon aspect "Ahhh, Dovahkinn. What happened to you?"
Odahviing then landed next to the undead dragon as he then addressed the Dragonborn as he awaited his orders "What Los Hin Uth, Thuri"
Thorson pointed Dawnbreaker towards one of the Black Dog's corpses uniform "KRII NIIN, NID AAZ" he ordered Odahviing to hunt the Black Dogs down.
Odahviing smirked and then took flight following his master's orders "Fen Kos Dreh, Thuri"
The Dragonborn then faced Durnehviir, not caring that he was a champion of Meridia as he gave the following order to the dragon lich "NOS NIIN, WHAL NIIN OL AAN ZOL LAHVU"
The necromancer dragon seemed pleased hearing those words, "It will be done Qahnaarin, Zu'u Fen Thaarn" as he too took flight. Just after his departure the charred corpses around him began to move as a blue light seemed to engulf them causing them to rise up, groaning softly. "DURNEHVIIR, FUN NIIN WAH NOS DAAR FAHDON" he ordered his lich dragon as the army of the dead started to scatter in different directions hunting down their former comrades who tried to find refuge inside Ken's many buildings trying to avoid the storm's wrath.
With both dragons causing more chaos for the Black Dogs in the city, Thorson casted "Clairvoyance" again that led him towards a large temple in the distance, his path was now clear as he began to run towards his objective, slaying anyone in his way who dared to attack him in this storm. Everyone in Eostia could hear the Dragonborn's rage every time he spoke as he advanced towards his goal followed by a group of undead mercenaries. "NID AAZ, FAH ZU'U DOVAHKIIN"
No mercy would be given to these animals, for he was Dovah… and he was stronger than them… as has always been…
In a fortress city at most eastern part of Eostia called Thorn, a former Shield Knight and former shrine maiden Kaguya became aware of the powerful shouts that seemed to cause the entire region to quake from its might. Like her other former Shield Knights, she became a prisoner in her own city as she and her acolytes succumbed to their lust at the hands of their Black Dog captors and their allies as they enslaved nearly every female in her former city.
But today would be different, after she was forced into another session of merciless depravity, she and her captors were surprised when they heard powerful shouts followed by the ground beneath them rumbling, the men and demons that were having their way with their helpless victims became agitated as the shouts continued combined with powerful tremors. Fear took over and all of them quickly let go of their helpless victims as they moved outside, leaving them behind. Their broken minds not aware what was going on outside their prison.
The citizens of Thorn could not apprehend what was happening to them, as they in panic started seeking shelter as they heard shout after shout followed by tremors.
"NID AAZ, FAH ZU'U DOVAHKIIN"
For Kaguya who laid on the cold floor of her dungeon covered in fluids of her abusers, she could make up a few words that came from these shouts. Even when her mind was broken by constant rape, these powerful shouts seemed to clear her mind a bit as she started remembering a tale her parents once told her.
Her distant ancestors who came from a place named Akavir had stories about a mortal who was blessed by a Dragon God and could speak in the dragon language. This mortal would be called a Dragonborn or Dovahkiin in the language of the dragons and had the power to produce powerful shouts that could destroy entire armies and level fortresses in its way.
She became intrigued in these stories at an early age as she read every book on the subject, including the migration of her ancestors from a distant land named Akavir to Eostia and their invasion of another land named Tamriel. For a time, she thought that this Dragonborn figure was just a folklore made for children, but today she could hear the proof of this legendary figure from her prison, she could only pray at this time as she knew her situation was hopeless…
"I-I pray for your blessing…" she began to whimper as tears began to form in her eyes "I pray… for your return… For your mercy… Dovahkiin…"
The only answer she got was more shouts followed by tremors…
Just before a monstrous storm was unleashed on the capital city of Ken, a meeting took place inside its Holy Temple. Inside its grand assembly hall, that once held meetings by the Shield Princess was now in the hands of the Black Dogs as the now self-proclaimed 'Emperor Vult' was having a meeting with a couple of his men and his right handman Hicks.
They discussed the various challenges they now faced before Vult can fully consolidate his power in his new 'sex empire' "We are still getting reports of Elven raids on our slave convoys in the north-west and south-west, but every time we arrive, they vanished without leaving anything to trace them…" one of his men reported to his leader Vult.
"Yea, and Klaus's so called 'Liberation army' has been raiding supply convoys and freeing slaves near his father's city of Geofu. It is getting so bad that the old man himself has requested us to track them down, seems like his son has some talent for warfare after all…" his right-man rogue Hicks reported to his superior.
While Vult did anticipate that he would face rebellions when he took power, he did not expect that his allies were so incompetent that he and his men were always needed to solve their own problems. But for him it did not matter in the end, with an almost endless supply of 'demonic' manpower from the Dark Fortress and help from his new benefactor's he seemed confident that victory will be his in the end.
"Hicks, tomorrow you will lead a small group of our men to track him down. Try finding any trace of an encampment they use as a base, once located we will surround them with our main force and deal with them"
Hicks nodded at his bosses orders and then began smirking as he then turned to the group "Hey, after this meeting, let us all have some fun again with our 'trophies' in the dungeon"
The whole room cheered while Vult laughed at that, he already had his fun in the morning, but he could squeeze in some time before heading out for a drink "Yeah, sure le-…."
Their meeting was then interrupted by a very loud shout "STRUN BAH QO!" followed by a quake that rocked the foundation of the former Holy Temple "The fuck! What is happening?! Who did that?!" Vult exclaimed while looking around the room for any threats.
Another shout followed "FAAL STRUN FEN BOLAAV NID AAZ!" as the stained glasses in the hall shattered, spilling their contents into the assembly.
"D-Dragons!" Hick's shouted as he saw the forms of two dragons flying around the city through the now destroyed windows.
The Holy temple shook again as they heard another shout "HI FEN PAR DIR!"
"Gather up men, we need to move out!" Vult shouted as he ordered his men to follow him towards the exit while more powerful shouts followed in the background.
"NID AAZ FAH FIN SUNVAAR!"
Two of his merc's ran to into him on the way "Boss, we are being attacked by our own men at the entrance of the Temple, it is like they have become some kind of mindless zombies!
"And these lightning bolts are also hitting our own men on the streets! This storm is targeting us only, it's not natural!"
"STIN NIIN HI SUNVAAR!"
"What?! Do you even know who is attacking us?! Who is leading them?!" Vult demanded as he was getting increasingly nervous hearing more of those shouts combined with reports where they were attacked by his own men, dragons and these tremors. This was something he never faced before during his long experiences as a mercenary leader.
One of his men awnsered him "We have seen two dragons flying around attacking our forces in the streets! While some have seen a glowing man wielding a golden sword entering this temple before we could arrive, heading towards the dungeons!"
"He is here for 'them' "he whispered as he then gave his orders "Gather the rest of our forces and hold position at the entrance to the Temple! Me and Hicks will head down to the dungeons and deal with this guy!"
A last shout combined the roars of dragons brought shivers to all the Black Dogs in the room as they enacted their plan. "NID AAZ, FAH ZU'U DOVAHKIIN"
Inside one of the rooms in Ken's dungeons, a young blonde woman woke up in a nearly empty room after being abused all morning by her Black Dog captors as she felt the tremors in her prison and the roars of beasts that seemed to penetrate the walls. The once proud Knight Princess Alicia Arcturus of Feoh had been reduced to being a plaything for her male captors as she and her Elven queen Celestine were raped daily in this prison, reduced to nothing but their base desires as they were forced into this life of depravity a week ago.
She noticed her former queen on the other side of the room but she seemed unresponsive to her voice as she just stared at the ceiling, moaning faintly from her 'treatment' a few hours ago. As more tremors followed in her prison, she could only hope that she would at least die quickly if her prison would collapse. Then at least she and Celestine won't be forced to live as some worthless sex puppets to the Black dogs for the rest of their lives and they finally can leave this accursed world behind… to forget the things she was forced to do… the people she had betrayed…
Authors note(s): Man, I never knew the first chapter of a story would be the hardest to write… making sure you give your readers enough information about the plot, characters to make it interesting for them to keep reading… And I wanted to write my first chapter that had over 18k words, but I read that such long chapters are not recommended so I split it up for now. (Yes, the 'second chapter' is almost finished but I wanted to 'test the waters' to gauge if people like this plot so far)
But I had this kind of story planned for a month after reading several crossover's that have been posted this year featuring Kuroinu and Elder scrolls but most of them followed the 'Rebellion route' or took place in the past while very few stories dealt with that very depressing world in the aftermath.
So, you could see this as a 'liberation' type of story where we have a very pissed off Dragonborn/protagonist with (lore based) powers of a demi-god bringing his furry upon those who deserve it. Some demographics who like these 'retribution' style of stories would enjoy this, especially when dealing with a depressing world as Kuroinu and their non-likeable antagonists. (Some would classify this as a "feel good" story but I would call this more "bittersweet")
Also, lemons will not be an 'important' factor at this early stage of the story, especially with all the trauma the girls of Kuroinu have to deal with and their mental recovery after that. Not to mention, we have a protagonist who has his own struggles to deal with. But there will be some tender moments between the characters as part of their recovery and character development.
When I began writing this, I wrote this from what I knew of Kuriubu from memory but seeing we are dealing with a 'H-series' were story is almost 'non-existent' I'll be adding more original story elements combined with some inspiration from the expansive lore of the Elder Scrolls. Of course, I welcome any idea's that reviewers could provide.
And seeing this my first attempt of a fanfiction story, I would expect some roughness in some parts of the story (especially for a first chapter) but I tried to minimize it as much as possible. So, I'll welcome any constructive criticism's if it helps me improve things on the way. And if people like this kind of story/plot then I'll be motivated to continue as I have plenty of idea's to write down but if doesn't gain any traction then I'll scrap this idea and move to other things.
