.: Believe, Believe :.
The setting sun colored the sky in shades of red and gold. Njada Stonearm sat on the wooden bench in front of Jorrvaskr and let her gaze wander over the roofs of Whiterun. It was the Tenth of Hearthfire, and the evenings were already cool in this part of Skyrim. Njada had spent the day performing combat exercises and was now mentally going through strategic procedures. A figure stepped out the door and sat next to the warrior.
"Greetings, my dark elf friend," said Njada.
"Greetings to you, too, my faithful comrade-in-arms," replied Athis the Dunmer. "How did you spend your day?"
"I practiced fighting. I look forward to tomorrow when we will set out on another journey of destiny." Tomorrow, on the Eleventh of Hearthfire, the two companions would embark on a longer journey to Riften.
Athis smiled. "I have to admit, I have done far less useful things. I spent the day idling around the tavern fireplace."
"Oh! "Njada looked up. "Then you have probably had conversations with the other Companions and can answer a question for me."
Athis nodded. "Yes indeed. What is your desire?"
Njada hesitated. "Well, who was that stranger whom I saw entering Kodlak Whitemane's rooms last night, accompanied by Vilkas? It was getting late, and I was on my way to my camp. When I went to the hearth that morning, she must have already left."
"Yes," replied Athis. "There was a lot of talk today about this stranger. I met her, too. She must have been with Kodlak Whitemane for an hour before she sat around the hearth with us. Her name is KVeronicaP. We heard and talked a lot about her in Whiterun over the past few weeks."
Njada shook her head. "I've heard of neither a man nor a woman with such a name."
"And yet you know her," answered the dark elf. "She was here in town four weeks ago. She brought news to the Jarl from Riverwood and Helgen. It was she who killed the dragon outside the city. It is she whom many tongues claim to be the Dragonborn."
"But that was something completely different! I saw the dragon slayer when she came to Whiterun. She wore simple, even shabby, fur armor and a steel sword. The stranger yesterday was dressed in enchanted Daedric Armor, and she had two weapons on her back! The legends in Skyrim tell of both such weapons, probably in all of Tamriel. I recognized them: Mephala's Ebony Blade and Sanguine's Rose! How can she have won such trophies in the course of a lunar circle?"
"I assure you it's the same warrior," said Athis. "She's probably seen a lot during this time. She told of her adventures. She toured all of Skyrim. She took over the tasks of the magician's academy in Winterhold and of the Jarl of Falkreath. She fought the Foresworn in the Reach. She climbed High Hrothgar and let the Greybeards teach her the doctrine of Thu'um. She enrolled in the Bards College in Solitude and built a property on Lake Ilinalta with her own hands."
Njada looked at the Dunmer in disbelief. "All this in four weeks? What is she? A magician, a being from another world?"
Athis replied, "She is the Dragonborn, a Nord like you. She spoke strangely about her past. She was already the Nerevarine of Morrowind and the Hero of Kvatch. I do not know what that means. She took off her armor and was strangely dressed underneath. A shirt made of a very soft fabric, the color of the sunset with the image of a small blue tower-like structure on the chest. Over it, the Amulet from Mara. She called her garment a 'T-Shirt.' She asked all of us if we had any 'mods' here. Whatever they are.
"She went into every room in Jorrvaskr, looked into every chest and cupboard. She announced that she wanted to become a member of the Companions and defeated Vilkas in a fist fight in the middle of that night. She got a commission from Vilkas: sharpen a sword by Eorlund Gray-Mane at the Skyforge. But I heard she didn't! She put the weapon in one of her two huge, bulging knapsacks and said goodbye with the words: 'Hey guys, I'm going to Markarth. Sayonara.'"
The sun had already disappeared behind the roofs of Whiterun. Njada Stonearm and Athis sat on the wooden bench in front of Jorrvaskr and pondered the odd stranger for the rest of the night.
A/N: As always, reviews are appreciated and replied to. Or, if you'd prefer to comment more privately, feel free to shoot me a PM. Cheers, + KVP