Chapter 1: Dungeons and Dragons
So if you're reading this, then it means I have saved the world and fulfilled my destiny. Truth be told however, I was skeptical at first of creating a novel that told of my travels, much less wondered if I would still be alive to write it. Dear reader of Tamriel or beyond, what I write in here is nothing but the truth, as there may be some things in here that may shock you. Just know that I take full responsibility for my actions whether they be good or bad. Without further ado, let me introduce myself, I am Adonis K'hotei, Native Dunmer of Solestheim, son of Klavileno K'hotei; Imperial Battlemage, and Dulsinea K'hotei, Ambassador of House Redoran. I am the Dragonborn, the savior of Skyrim, the slayer of Alduin. I am happily married and the father of two children. This is my story.
It was as if a Daedric Prince knocked the wind out of my lungs as I came to my senses. I felt a sharp pain on my head as I looked upwards to see what kind of trouble I had gotten myself into this time. I was on an Imperial cart, my hands bound in front of me by some rope. I gently reached up to feel a bandage wrapped around my cranium. I therefore assumed that I must've had an accident of sorts, especially since I couldn't remember how I got here in the first place. The last thing I could remember was snow, blood, and the smell of skooma. I had a suspicion that something was very wrong, especially since I didn't feel like myself at all. Deep within me I felt I committed something unforgivable, but I couldn't really place my tongue upon what it was. Then the answer hit me like psychic battering ram; I was a bandit. This didn't make sense at all, as this wasn't me, it shouldn't have been so far as I could remember. 'What a day this turned out to be.' I thought to myself. I looked to the other side of the wagon to see a Stormcloak, a thief, and sitting next to me was Ulfric Stormcloak himself, who had a piece of cloth covering his mouth. It seemed that the Empire has finally managed to capture him. On the downside however, they seemed to have captured me as well in the process.
"You there. Finally awake." Ralof said to me. "You were trying to cross the border right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us." I asked myself if I was trying to cross the border in the first place, as there were huge blank spaces in my mind between current events.
"Damn you Stormcloak rebels." Lokir cursed. "Everything was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If it hadn't been for you I could've stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell." The horse thief then laid his eyes upon me. "You there, you and me, we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Imperials want."
"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now thief." Ralof remarked before Lokir turned his head towards Ulfric. "What's wrong with him?"
"Watch your tongue! You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King!" Ralof announced full of pride. True High King my ass. No king would tear his own land apart over the outlawing of a deity.
"Ulfric? You're the leader of the rebellion!" Lokir exclaimed. "But if they've captured you…oh gods, where are they taking us?"
"I don't know. But Sovngarde awaits." Ralof said in a sorrowful tone.
"No, this can't be happening. This isn't happening!" The horse thief said, trying to deny it.
"Oh it's happening alright." I said, my head hung low as I reflected on the atrocities I have committed as a bandit. "Look, we're almost at the gate."
"What village are you from horse thief?" Ralof asked Lokir.
"Why do you care?"
"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home."
"Roriksted. I'm from…I'm from Roriksted." He said hesitantly.
"I'm from Solstheim. My life there was pretty uneventful." I said as I started to think about home as well. The thoughts weighed heavily upon me. What would my parents say if they saw me right now? I looked upon myself as a disgrace to the family name, and to Azrua. The horse cart soon arrived in Helgen, a town that was under Imperial control.
"General Tullius sir, the headsman is waiting!" A soldier replied from the balcony above the gate.
"Good, let's get this over with." The General replied.
"Shor, Dibella, Mara, Kynareth, Akatsoh! Divines please help me!" Lokir said.
"Do you honestly think the gods care about what happens to us next?" I remarked in a monotone as Ralof turned his head to see who Tullius was meeting up with.
"Look at him, the coward General, and it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damned elves, I bet they had something to do with this." He said. "I used to be sweet on a girl here. Wonder if she is still making that mead with Juniper berries. Funny, when I was a boy, Imperial walls used to make me feel so safe."
"We both probably should've stayed behind Imperial walls anyways." I said as the carriage drew to a halt.
"Why are we stopping?" Lokir asked.
"Why do you think? End of the line." Ralof said as he stood up and looked down upon me. "Let's go. We shouldn't keep the gods waiting."
"Wait, I'm not a rebel!" Lokir exclaimed.
"Face your death with some courage thief." Ralof said before Lokir looked at me, fear in his eyes.
"You've got to tell them we aren't with them! This is a mistake!"
"Does it matter?" I asked, giving out a sigh, hoping my death would be a quick one. "We're both criminals in the eyes of the public."
"Step up when we call your name, one at a time!" And Imperial Captain said. Beside her and holding a list was a soldier named Hadvar. He soon started calling up names one by one. Lokir however wasn't so keen and attempted to flee before archers shot him down.
"You there, step forward." Hadvar said eyeing at me. I gulped before approaching him. "Who are you?" he asked.
"Adonis K'hotei." I replied, choking up on what would likely be my final words. I figured there was no further need to hide the truth of who I was. I felt so humiliated by the burden I carried upon my shoulders, I could've sworn my spine would fracture. "Son of Klavileno K'hotei, I am a Native Dumner of Solstheim and resident to Cyrodiil. I'm...I'm a bandit."
"Captain? What should we do? He's not on the list." Hadvar asked.
"He's a bandit, he goes to the block." The Imperial captain said. I wasn't sure if that was against Imperial protocol, but I felt none of that mattered. I knew I had strayed down a self-destructive path. I had stolen and killed purely in the name of gold. I deserved to die.
"By your orders captain." Hadvar said before turning his face to me. It looked like he was taken aback by the orders she gave as well. "I'm sorry. We'll make sure to return your remains to Solstheim." He said. I walked towards the block as General Tullius walked up towards the pretender and stared him down fearlessly. "Ulfric Stormcloak, 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." The General remarked. Ulfric muttered something under the cloth before Tullius continued. "You started this war, plunged Skyrim into Chaos! Now the Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace!" Just then, we heard a strange sound echoing over the mountains. "What was that?" Hadvar asked.
"That's nothing. Carry on." Tullius commanded. A priestess then spoke our final rights. "As we condemn your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you, for you are the salt and the Earth of Nirn and-"
"For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with!" A Stormcloak said as he walked to the block, seemingly eager to die.
"As you wish." The priestess said.
"C'mon! I haven't got all morning!" The lone Stormcloak said before he kneeled, his head forced onto the block. "My ancestors are smiling at me Imperials. Can you say the same?" He asked. I doubted any ancestors would be proud of anyone in this moment, be it Imperial or Stormcloak. With one swift stroke, the headsman brought down the axe, decapitating the rebel. As much as I disliked the Stormcloaks for their racial profiling and narrow minded thinking, I couldn't help but feel pity for the poor soul.
"You Imperial bastards!" A female Stormcloak shouted.
"Death to the Stormcloaks!" the Imperial Captain bellowed. Either her Imperial pride has made her grow an ego or she really hated prisoners and Stormcloaks alike.
"As fearless in death, as he was in life." Ralof said.
"Next prisoner, the Dark Elf!" The Captain said pointing towards me, before we heard the ominous sound again. Only this time, whatever it was, it sounded like it was much closer.
"There is it again, did you hear that?" Hadvar asked.
"I said, next prisoner!" The Captain ordered.
"To the block prisoner, nice and easy." Hadvar said. I took a deep breath before making my way to what I thought would become my final destination. My breath grew short with every step I took. Clutching my fists, I knelt down, my entire body shaking at the sight of the headsman looming like a shadow over me. I was ready to accept my fate, but fate had other plans for me. Just as the headsman raised his axe, a Dragon black as night and with eyes red as a demon suddenly came into view around the mountainside.
"What in Oblivion is that?!" Tullius asked.
"Dragon!" A female Stormcloak shouted as the Dragon landed on the top of a tower, throwing the headsman off balance. I could hardly believe what I was seeing as it shouted and somehow summoned a rain of meteors down from the sky. Chaos and destruction run rampant as people scattered about trying to find shelter.
"Don't just stand there, kill it! Guards, get the townspeople to safety! Someone get those battlemages out here now!" Tullius hastily ordered as I tried to regain a foothold amidst the raining fire. I turned my head to see Ralof crouching down. "You there, Dark Elf! Get up! C'mon, the gods won't give us another chance!" He shouted. I highly doubted that the doings of this Dragon was the work of the gods as I stumbled my way into one of the towers with him. As soon as Ralof and I passed through the door, my hands still in bindings, Ulfric shut it behind us. "Jarl Ulfric, was that really a Dragon? Could the legends be true?" Ralof asked.
"Legends don't burn villages." Ulfric said before the whole tower began to shake. "We need to move now!" He shouted.
"Up through the tower, let's go!" Ralof said. I quickly made my way, silently begging to stay alive. All of a sudden, the black Dragon bashed his head through the wall. The debris nearly hit me as I lunged back and pressed myself against the wall, avoiding the fire that it spewed from its mouth. As it flew away, Ralof and I looked through the hole to see the burning roof of the inn. There was an opening which led to the second floor. "Jump through the roof and keep going! Go! We'll follow when we can!" He said. I inhaled a deep breath, and smelled the flames coursing through my body as I leaped from the tower. I did a roll as I landed on the floor of the inn, only for the weakened wooden boards to give way, causing me to fall through and land on my back. For a brief moment, the only thing I could hear was my own breath as well as a painful ringing within my ears. I hastily attempted to stand up, seeing the entire town practically burning before my eyes. I walked out and saw a boy named Haming trying to help his father who was gravely wounded. Hadvar dragged the boy away as the Dragon landed right in front of the dying Nord. Making my way behind a burnt building with Hadvar, I averted my eyes as the beast burned Haming's father alive. "Still alive prisoner? Keep close to me if you want to stay that way!" Hadvar said to me. "Gunnar! Take care of the boy! I have to find General Tullius and join their defense!"
"Gods guide you Hadvar." Gunnar said before Hadvar began to head towards the keep. I followed him as close as I could making sure to avoid the falling rock. "Stay close to the wall!" He commanded. As I pressed my back up against it, the Dragon landed on the wall where I was right underneath its underbelly. I stood like a statue fearing it might see me if I flinched ever so slightly. It flew off again to cause more carnage. I followed Hadvar through the remains of a house. "Hadvar! Into the Keep soldier, we're leaving!" Tullius shouted as he gathered up his guards and started to head out of Helgen.
"How in Oblivion do we kill this thing?" An Imperial guard remarked as we passed under a stone arch which led to the Keep. Just then, I saw Ralof about to pass us by, seemingly having the same plan as well. "Ralof you damned traitor! Out of my way!" Hadvar said.
"We're escaping Hadvar. You cannot stop us this time!" He said.
"Fine. I hope that Dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!" Hadvar remarked before turning his head towards me. "Quickly, into the keep!" As I neared the door, I felt the ground shake causing me to trip and fall. I quickly set myself upright as I noticed the Dragon on the ground. This time, its eyes were aimed at me. I choked up feeling I was his next target. He spoke in an incomprehensible tongue as I hastily sprinted towards the door. I practically dove upon opening it and slammed it shut just as the monster was about to have me for dinner. I tried to catch my breath as I looked around. Hadvar was looking through a chest for supplies. "Good, you're alive. Was that really a Dragon? The bringers of the end times?" He asked.
"For your information, I'm just as dumbfounded as you are." I said.
"We better find a way out of here, and fast before that thing brings the whole place down. Let me get those bindings off of you." He said as he pulled out a dagger and cut them loose. I shook my hands before looking for whatever supplies I could get my hands on. I replaced the ragged and torn clothes I had on with light imperial armor I found in a dresser. I also grabbed from a weapon rack an Iron sword. As brittle as it was, it was still better than nothing. I followed Hadvar through the keep. Behind a gate, we heard some commotion. "Stormcloaks." Hadvar whispered. "Maybe we can reason with them." He said. As much as I wanted to have faith in him, I doubted that any Stormcloak would be willing to reason with anyone who wasn't one of their own. I followed him from behind, readying my weapon in case things went sour. "Now listen, we just want to-". Before he could even finish he sentence, one of them picked up a weapon and started swinging it at us like a barbarian. I dodged the attack and sidestepped when he made a charge at me. Seeing the advantage, I swung my sword at his neck, killing him. I looked over to see Hadvar fending off a female Stormcloak. I rushed towards the enemy and made an attempt to slice at her stomach. The timing was good, as she left her right side exposed. She flinched giving Hadvar enough time to perform a shield bash and end her life. "Nice work." he commented before we moved on. We headed down into the lower chambers of the keep. As we rounded a corner, I saw Ralof fighting the Imperial Captain further down the hall. Just then, the roof above them collapsed, killing both of them instantly. "Damn, that Dragon doesn't give up easy." Hadvar said.
"It's a Dragon. They don't know when to quit." I remarked as we made our way into another room stocked with potions. Unfortunately some Stormcloaks had beaten us to it, so we made short work of them. I was fortunate enough to come across some food as well. I couldn't remember the last time I ate. No sooner did we reach a torture room. Hadvar remarked how even he wished the Empire didn't need them. I searched throughout the room for better equipment as he tried to convince a stubborn Imperial Torturer to follow us. When he refused, I just kept my course, heading deeper into the dungeon. We soon came across a hole in a wall that had broken, presumably when the dragon attacked. The hole led to what seemed to be a cave system. "Wonder where this leads." I said as Hadvar followed behind me. Coming across the sewers of Helgen, we saw some Stormcloaks attempting to escape the Keep. As soon as they saw us, they came charging like wild animals. Hadvar and I stood our ground as we fended them off one by one. After that, we came across a small bridge which Hadvar lowered. As soon as we crossed it however, the entire place began to shake again. Just then, a heavy stone came down and broke the bridge in half. "Damn it. No going back that way." He said. "I guess we're lucky that didn't come down on top of us."
"Either that, or we're now stuck under Helgen for good." I said before continuing downward. I didn't know exactly where I was going, so I followed Hadvar for the rest of the way. At one point, I stopped dead in my tracks. I saw webs covering the ground in front of us. Spiders. Always the gods-damned spiders. Did I ever mention I hated spiders? I do. It felt all the more intense since part of my memory was completely blank. I slowly made my way into the nest as carefully as I could. If there was anything I knew about Frostbite Spiders, they were masters at ambush and will attempt to eat any living thing they come across. Sure enough, two juvenile spiders came at us. I aimed the tip of my blade at the monster's head before plunging it in, killing it in a single stroke. Hadvar kept his own at bay with the shield before slicing two of its legs off and stabbing it in the neck, ending its life. "What's next? Giant snakes?" He asked.
"I'd much prefer snakes over spiders." I commented as we descended further. Something told me we were on the right path, especially when Hadvar stopped me and crouched down. "Hold up, there's a bear just up ahead. See her?" He asked. I nodded.
"I'd rather not tangle with her right now. We might be able to sneak by and take it nice and slow, and watch where you step." He whispered before handing me his longbow. "Or if you're feeling lucky, you can take this bow, might be able to take her by surprise." He said. Considering the chances, I doubt either of us were very good at sneaking past a bear. So I readied and arrow and drew it back. "Azura guide my arrow." I whispered before releasing my grip and letting the arrow fly. Like the dexterity of a hawk, it found its target, plunging itself into the skull of the bear, killing it instantly. I was surprised I could even land a shot that good. "Nice one." Hadvar said as we stood up.
"Hold on a second. If there is a bear here, that means she must've come from somewhere outside right?" I asked as we proceeded further. I quickened my pace as I felt a breeze coming from deeper in the cave. Soon enough, I saw a light at the end of a tunnel. "That looks like the way out. I was starting to wonder if we'd make it." Hadvar said as we stepped out into the open air. I sighed in relief. I never thought I'd miss the sunlight at all. "Wait!" Hadvar said as he ducked behind a rock. Hearing a flapping of wings, I did the same before I caught a glimpse of the Dragon soaring past us, its next destination unknown.
"Looks like he's gone for good this time." Hadvar said as I stood up. "But I don't think we should stick around to see if he comes back."
"Agreed." I said as we started down the path towards the main road.
"The closets town from here is Riverwood. My uncle is the Blacksmith there. I'm sure he'd help you out. Anyways I think it's best if we split up."
"After what we just went through, I don't think that's a good idea. I'd rather watch your back and you watch mine." I said.
"Fair enough. Thanks for your help. I couldn't have made it without you." He said.
"Likewise." I said continuing to follow, trying to make sense of the matter as to why a Dragon would attack Helgen of all places, not knowing of the events that would soon unfold before me, and the journey I would never forget.