First off... MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I hope everyone enjoys the holiday and is able to take some me time. Very important to take care of yourselves! Any way, here we are. Finally at the Skyrim timeline. I hope this chapter isn't too boring, but I thought about this for along time. I decided it was important to include what introduced everyone to Skyrim. That being said, I didn't want this chapter to go on for too long (since I'm sure most people reading this are intimately familiar with the Skyrim intro), hence I cut the journey through the keep. If anyone feels the strong desire for me to include the keep, let me know and I can add it to this chapter eventually. Thank you sooo much for favs and follows, I really do appreciate them.
Note: I do not own Skyrim or its characters. I have only thought up my own OCs for this story. This is rated M for a reason and will have mature themes. I will try to remember to put a warning before every chapter but if one is missing or you think something should be added please let me know. Also, here is a small guide to help with my writing style.
Italicized with no quotes is the character's thoughts
"No italics with quotes," is the characters speaking the common tongue.
"Italicized with quotes," is the character speaking another language, most likely falmer.
Hope that helps.
WARNINGS: Cursing, death, and general destruction
Ysrae feels a sharp pain on the back of her head. She groans softly and opens her eyes. Her vision is blurry and black around the edges. She squeezes her eyes shut and tries to rub them, but finds her hands are bound together. Ysrae slowly sits up, blinking.
"Hey you, you're finally awake," a male voice sounds surprised.
Ysrae looks at the fuzzy blue blob across from her. Her vision clears, revealing a dirty, blond Nord.
He continues, "You were trying to cross the border, right?" Ysrae barely nods before he continues. "Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there," he tilts his head at the man next to him.
The man sneers. "Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along."
Ysrae looks around as the thief continues to rant. There is one other man in the back of the wagon who is sitting next to her. Curiously, he is gagged as well as having his hands bound. She looks at the wagon in front of them. There are four prisoners in the back, same as them.
Ysrae frowns as she realizes how out of place her and the thief are. All the other prisoners are wearing Stormcloak armor, whereas the thief is wearing a rough spun tunic and Ysrae is wearing simple traveling clothes. How were we mistaken for rebels?
"You there."
Ysrae brings her attention back to the thief.
"You and me, we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants."
"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief," the blonde rumbles.
"Shut up back there!" the Imperial soldier driving their cart shouts.
"And what's wrong with him?" the thief askes the gagged man.
"Watch your tongue! You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King."
Ysrae's eyes widen. The thief starts to panic. He starts spouting off questions, but Ysrae isn't listening. Her eyes dart around, looking for anything to help her escape. There must a way out of this. She sees nothing with them that will help. She carefully stands a little to see if there is anything next to the driver. Again, she sees nothing.
Ysrae falls back in her seat, feeling defeated. She strains at her bindings. They are solid and only creak. There is no way out. Even if she managed to free her hands, she is in a wagon with Ulfric Stormcloak. There is no way the Imperial soldiers will miss her jumping from the wagon.
Ysrae brings her shaking hands to her chest and traces the ridges and grooves of her amulet. She watches as they approach a village.
A soldier calls out, "General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!"
Ysrae clutches her amulet as her heart clenches. She misses the general's response as a tear slips out. She wipes it away and takes a deep breath. May Auri-El's will be done.
Ysrae is pulled back into the moment by the blonde Nord waving his hands at the Thalmor. "Damn elves. I bet they had something to do with this."
Ysrae grits her teeth. He most likely blames me as well. Realization flickers across his face as he meets her eyes. The silence that follows is heavy, but short lived.
"This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here." He babbles on, "Wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with the juniper berries mixed in."
"It sounds good," Ysrae whispers. The Nord shoots her a confused look. "The mead," she says a little louder, "It sounds good."
He gives her a sad smile. "It was." He looks at the high walls surrounding them. "It's funny…Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe."
Their wagon falls back into silence. Ysrae watches as a young boy is shooed home by his anxious father. Good. No child should see death.
"Get these prisoners out of the carts," a woman barks. "Move it!"
"Why are we stopping?" The thief sounds terrified.
"Why do you think? End of the line." The wagon comes to a stop. "Let's go. Shouldn't keep the Gods waiting for us."
Ysrae stands with the three men, resigned to her fate.
"No! Wait! We're not rebels!" The thief is shaking and stumbles as he steps down from the cart.
"Face your death with some courage, thief."
"You've got to tell them!" he shoots back. "We weren't with you! This is a mistake!"
Ysrae carefully steps down and stands behind Ulfric.
The woman who ordered them out of the carts shoots off another order, "Step towards the block when we call your name. One at a time."
"Empire loves their damn lists," the blonde grumbles, stepping next to Ysrae.
A brunette Nord with shoulder length hair steps up, holding a list. "Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm."
"It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric," the blonde says.
"Ralof of Riverwood." The blonde straightens his back and walks to the block. "Lokir of Rorikstead."
The thief yells, "No, I'm not a rebel. You can't do this!" He bolts.
The woman yells, "Halt!"
Lokir yells back, "You're not going to kill me!"
"Archers!" An arrow strikes Lokir from behind, sending him flying forward. He doesn't get up. "Anyone else feel like running?"
Ysrae stares straight ahead, jaw clenched.
"Wait," the list holder sounds puzzled. "You there," he points at Ysrae, "step forward. Who are you?"
Ysrae softly clears her throat and steps forward. She pauses before saying, "Ysrae."
The man hums. "You're not with the Thalmor Embassy, are you, high elf? No, that can't be right…" He looks at the bossy woman, "Captain. What should we do? She's not on the list."
"Forget the list," the captain crosses her arms. "She goes to the block."
"By your orders, Captain. I'm sorry," he sounds genuinely sorry. "We'll make sure your remains are returned to the Summerset Isle. Follow the Captain, Ysrae."
The woman walks off and Ysrae follows her. Ysrae stops when she's between Ralof and another Stormcloak. The captain moves off to stand near the executioner, the brunette list holder moving to the opposite side of the executioner.
Ysrae stares at the bulky man and swallows hard. Hope he can get the job done in one go.
"Ulfric Stormcloak," the general's sharp voice pulls Ysrae from her thoughts. "Some here in Helgen call you a hero. But a hero doesn't use a power like The Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne."
Ulfric grunts a response.
"You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down, and restore the peace."
A distant roar rips through the air. Everyone looks around.
"What was that?"
"It was nothing," the general hastily says. "Carry on."
Ysrae looks at the mountains beyond the tower. That did not seem like nothing. She scans the mountain. There's nothing she can see, but she somehow feels more uneasy about the roar they heard than her eminent execution.
The man next to her suddenly says something and walks away. It startles Ysrae back to paying attention.
The man stands in front of the executioner's block. "Come on, I haven't got all morning." The captain comes up behind him and firmly pushes him to his knees. "My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?" He lies on the block.
The executioner doesn't hesitate and lifts his axe high over his head, swinging down in a fluid motion. The axe slices through the Stormcloak with a meaty thunk. Blood gushes from his neck as his head falls into a crate. The captain pushes his body over. His death is followed by cries of outrage as well as approval.
"As fearless in death as he was in life."
Ysrae swallows hard and nods at Ralof.
"Next, the elf!" the captain waves at Ysrae.
Another roar rips through the air.
"There it is again. Did you hear that?" The brunette sounds nervous.
"I said, next prisoner."
The man sighs. "To the block, Ysrae. Nice and easy."
Ysrae takes a deep, steadying breath. She holds her head high as she walks to the block. Her heart is trying to pound out of her chest, but she keeps her face blank. The brunette gives her a sympathetic look as she kneels. She feels the captain's hand on her back, pushing her onto the block. Ysrae stares past the executioner and tower at the bit of mountain she can see. Another roar breaks the somber silence and something huge flies over the mountain. Ysrae gasps, frozen in shock.
"What in Oblivian is that?!"
"What do you see?"
"It's in the clouds!"
A huge black dragon lands on the tower, knocking over the executioner.
Shocked shouts of "Dragon!" ring out, as well as the sound of weapons being unsheathed. Just as the executioner gets to his feet, the dragon 'shouts', knocking the man back down. Dark clouds swirl around the dragon. Balls of fire begin to fall from the sky. The black horned thing shouts again, a translucent force erupting from its mouth and over Ysrae. The force doesn't directly hit Ysrae, but it sends her flying back. Ysrae's vision swims as she picks herself up.
Someone tugs on her arm, "Hey, elf. Get up!"
Ysrae's vision clears enough to reveal Ralof tugging on her arm.
"Come on, the Gods won't give us another chance!" He waves at Ysrae and sprints for the tower that was at their backs during the execution.
Ysrae follows closely behind, running harder than she ever has in her life. Once she's inside, Ralof closes the door behind her. Ysrae takes deep, shuddering breaths and looks around. There are five other Stormcloaks. The first bolts up the stairs. There are two who are injured and lying on the ground, a third Stormcloak is tending to the injured men. The fifth is the leader of the rebellion, Ulfric, no longer bound and gagged. Ysrae can't help but stare at him.
"Jarl Ulfric. What is that thing? Could the legends be true?" Ralof sounds terrified.
"Legends don't burn down villages," Ulfric rumbles in a deep voice.
Ysrae approaches the two men, holding her bound hands up, "Can you free-" she's interrupted by the dragon roaring.
"We need to move. Now!" Ulfric commands.
"Up through the tower, let's go!" Ralof starts up the stairs. Ysrae follows close behind, but they stop when they see a pile of rubble blocking the stairs.
The man who ran up earlier is trying to move rocks. "We just need to move-"
The wall in-front and to the right of them explodes inward, knocking Ralof back. The dragon's nose pokes in and it roars, flames bursting from its mouth. The fire is so hot, Ysrae shrinks back and throws her arms up to protect her face. The dragon flies off, roaring more. Ysrae lowers her arms. The black scorched stones leave no doubt that the Stormcloak soldier was killed.
Ralof runs by her and looks out the hole the dragon punched in the wall. Ysrae follows and looks out. Thick black smoke is billowing out from below them.
Ralof points, "See the inn on the other side? Jump through the roof and keep going!"
Ysrae squints through the smoke and sees the inn; a fallen tree has destroyed most the roof and the parts that aren't destroyed are on fire.
Ralof clasps her on the shoulder, "Go! We'll follow when we can."
Ysrae takes a deep breath, then launches herself toward the inn. She overestimated how far the inn was, causing her to stumble forward. She sighs in relief. She quickly moves to a hole in the floor and jumps down to the first floor. She hears yelling outside. She exists the inn to see two men, an Imperial soldier and an older citizen, between a burning building and the rubble of a tower, trying to get a child to come to them.
The dragon roars, circling overhead. The child runs to the men, grabbing on to the old man. The dragon lands just beyond the building, causing the ground to rumble. The man guides the child away from the dragon to the back of the building. Meanwhile, the soldier shouts a name and falls back, just as the dragon lets out a roaring burst of flame.
"Gods, everyone get back!" He retreats farther back where the man and child are.
Ysrae joins the three. This has to be a dream. She's in such disbelief she almost misses what the soldier says.
"Still alive, Ysrae?"
She looks at him and realizes he's the soldier who asked her who she was.
He grits his teeth, "Stay close to me if you want to stay that way." He turns his attention to the older man, "Gunnar, take care of the boy. I have to find General Tullius and join the defense."
The old man replies in a gravely voice, "Gods guide you, Hadvar."
So that's his name. Hadvar waves at her to follow him. He runs back to where the child was, Ysrae following close behind. She hesitates and swallows hard when she sees a scorched body. Wonder if that was the boy's parent? She shakes her head and catches back up to Hadvar, who is hugging a wall going along the side of a ruined building.
"Stay close to the wall," he commands, his eyes to the sky.
Ysrae looks up as well. She doesn't see anything, but she can hear the dragon's wings flapping and it sounds close. She crouches against the wall just as the dragon lands on the back off the wall, a great black wing blocking Hadvar from view. Ysrae gapes up at the monster as it screeches out more fire, seemingly oblivious to her and the soldier. It flies off, revealing Hadvar also escaped the close encounter unharmed.
Hadvar leaps up, "Quickly, follow me!"
Ysrae follows Hadvar up some stairs and into the skeleton of a small building. Ysrae looks up and sees fire shooting towards her. She shoves Hadvar forward before quickly ducking behind half a wall and covering her head with her arms. The fire hits the wall. The heat is so intense, Ysrae can't breathe. The fire blast stops and she falls away from the wall, coughing. She checks herself and sees some minor burns, but is otherwise unharmed. Hadvar clasps her back and helps her to her feet, nodding his appreciation to her. She nods back and follows him out of the house.
Outside the house, is chaos. There are soldiers with bows trying to shoot down the dragon, despite the fact they are on fire. A citizen is sitting in a puddle of blood in-front of the gates. One soldier runs to the injured man while several others stand with their swords drawn.
The Imperial general yells, "Hadvar! Into the keep, soldier, we're leaving!"
Hadvar starts down the path leading away from the gates. "It's just you and me, Ysrae. Stay close!"
Ysrae follows Hadvar down the path through a stone archway. The large keep brings on a mixture of relief and anxiety, Can that thing withstand the dragon's attack? Ysrae is pulled from her thought from Ralof approaching them.
"Ralof! You damned traitor. Out of my way!"
Ysrae is so surprised by Hadvar's hostility, she almost misses Ralof's just as hostile retort.
"We're escaping, Hadvar. You're not stopping us this time!"
"Stop!" Ysrae screams, causing both men to freeze. She glares at them, "There is a fucking dragon destroying everything and you want to fight over what side you are on!" The dragon roars. If she wasn't so angry, she could laugh at the timing of the dragon's roar. She takes a deep breath and says as calmly as she can, "We need to work together to get out of here alive." Both men look uneasy. Ysrae sighs, "Just call a truce for the rest of today. I will make sure neither of you will kill the other or take the other captive. Ok?"
"Fine," both men huff.
"Let's go," Hadvar says, running to the keep.
Ralof waves at Ysrae to follow. She jogs after him, shaking her head. Auri-El, help me keep these two from killing each other. She enters the keep with the two men.