The Dragon's Song: Scarlet Rising The Awakening

Fire writhed inside the woman's soul; it shrieked and clawed at her heart as she gazed into the blood and flames burning in front of her. She didn't even notice the man that walked inside the room and quietly made his way over the rubble and dead bodies piled upon the floor, terrified of disturbing her majesty.

The man gripped his Akatosh amulet from his neck, muttering silent prayers. He prayed that he would come home safely, and that he would be able to see his wife and children, for he could feel the heat of the woman's fire breathing dangerously on his neck.

Her silhouette was stark and powerful against the harsh red light that stretched upon the walls and reached out its claws to the rest of the dark room; like it thought the darkness a pest and needed to be killed.

"Akatosh, please protect me," he whispered shakily. His heart pounded in his head and his legs trembled. He walked up to the woman, leaning forward slowly, careful to not get skimmed by the screaming fire.

It took everything in the man's power not to shout, or to even release a breath out of his mouth. The woman's face- it was horrifying. Against the harsh shadows and the fire, her face looked anything but human, with her dark pools for eyes gleaming brightly with a harsh red tint. Blood was leaking down from her face and her ebony armor, dripping from her arms and running down her sword which she gripped tightly in both hands.

Someone could've easily mistaken her for a daedra, and yet people still called her a woman, but the man knew in his heart she wasn't truly a human, for he had heard of the things she's done: the madness she's created, and the horror and terror she's struck in everything that has heard of her or seen of her.

It was truly a shame. He had seen her captivating beauty and the raw power of her presence.

She was the hope for the people, but now she is a monster.

"M'lady, are you alright?" the man asked. He noticed movement and looked down at her hands. They were trembling.

The woman inhaled shakily. He tensed when he saw her lips move. The words that breathed from them were filled with brokenness and regret, it cut through his heart.

"...What have I done?"

The Awakening

4th Era, 201, Morning Star

Asena's eyes shot open in shock. "What did you say?" She gasped.

"There's no time to stand on ceremony, my friend. I need your help again. I want you to go with Irileth and help her fight this dragon. You survived Helgen, so you have more experience with dragons than anyone else here."

"You want me to…" Asena gulped. "Help kill a dragon…?"

Jarl Balgruuf nodded. He put a hand on Asena's shoulder. "I understand that you're afraid and trust me I am too. This is our people we are talking about. All these men, women, and children are now at risk of dragon attack. But you..." His brown eyes gleamed. "You have experience, and you retrieved the dragonstone for Farengar. I trust that you will help Irileth greatly."

Asena smiled nervously, glancing at Irileth who had a shocked expression.

"I really don't think I'm capable-"

"Asena," said Balgruuf gruffly.

Asena stopped her sentence and nodded. "I will, my Lord."

The Jarl tightened his grip on her shoulder, then let go and turned away to look at the map, his robe swaying behind him and the guards around him acknowledging him with a slight bow.

"My lord, what should we do?" They asked.

"You three guard the gates, the others will split in half and watch over each side of the wall. Be prepared for anything."

The guards nodded and immediately ran to their duties.

The wizard, Farengar, burst from his lair in excitement.

"I would very much like to join their fight, my Jarl. Seeing a dragon so up close would be an experience of a lifetime."

"No. I cannot afford to risk both you and Irileth," said Balgruuf sternly. "I need you working on ways to defend the city against dragons."

Farengar sighed. "As you command..."

Asena watched Baalgruuf in amazement. The amount of power and command he had...even his presence radiated leadership.

Asena wished to become like that one day, but she knew she never could. She didn't like to admit it, but she knew it was the truth. The cold hard truth. She had always thought that, perhaps, if something were to be granted to her, like a power, or a blessing, then things would be different. Her heart quivered at the thought.

Asena's daydream was broken when Irileth shoved a sword at her face. She gingerly grabbed it and almost fell under its weight, stumbling to keep her balance stable with a yelp.

Irileth sighed tiredly.

Anxiety pulsed through Asena as she shuffled down to Whiterun's gates.

"I won't be able to do this," she whispered. "I'm going to fail, and I'm going to hate myself for it."

She yelled as something ran in front of her. The creature stopped and turned to look up at her with large brown eyes.

Asena sighed in relief. It was just a child.

"I'm not afraid of you," the child sneered. "Dogs, boys, elders, there's nobody I won't fight!"

"...good for you, kid," said Asena with a pause. She admittedly felt jealous that a child was braver than her and shoved the child out of the way, perhaps harder than she needed to, and continued walking down to the gates.

"A dragon is attacking the Western Watchtower and is certain to return. It is our duty to go and fight this dragon and kill it!" Irileth shouted.

The guards murmured to each other nervously.

"We've never fought a dragon before."

"Is she serious?"

"We're all going to die…"

Asena agreed. She trusted the Jarl, but where did he get the idea that a group of guards and a novice warrior could fight a dragon? All she wanted to do was leave but now she was dragged into this situation.

"You heard what I said, milk drinkers! A dragon is coming! I don't care if it came from the depths of Oblivion or was sent from Akatosh himself, it made a mistake messing with Whiterun!"

"But Housecarl," Asena protested. "How could we fight a dragon?"

Irileth narrowed her eyes. "I can sense everyone's uneasiness. But her question is right! How can we defeat a beast like a dragon? We've never expected to see one, and especially fight one in battle. But we are honorbound to fight it, even if we fail. This dragon is threatening our homes and our families! Could you call yourselves a nord or a soldier if you ran from this monster? Are you going to let me face this thing alone?"

Asena swallowed hard, grasping the helm of her steel sword with a trembling hand.

"I expect more from you than anyone in this city, and just imagine what Ulfric Stormcloak would think when he hears the news that Whiterun's warriors dared to fight a beast they've never had before."

The guards were silent.

"So," Irileth continued. "Who is going to be a coward, and who is going to be a warrior that will die bravely for their people? Who's with me?"
All the guards yelled in unison, aiming their swords into their air. They straightened their shoulders and gripped their swords tightly, their eyes burning with determination.

Irileth held up her sword with a fierce gaze that pierced through the soldiers in front of her. She looked proudly at every one of the guards.

Her expression turned sour when she saw Asena in the middle, who was slumped forward from the weight of the armor and had shaking legs. She perked up a little when she noticed Irileth was looking at her and murmured a weak "Y-yeah."

The dunmer heaved an exasperated sigh.

"Asena…" she began.

"I'm ready, trust me!" Asena straightened her posture and held up her sword, but two seconds later she began to lean backwards, and she quickly grabbed onto the guard next to her.

Aesena felt sick to her stomach when she heard the snickers from the other guards and their gazes barring on her, especially Ireleth's, which were cold and unblinking. She turned her face to the ground and prayed to all the Divines that she would just turn invisible.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not used to this," Asena said. "I come back from a cave and all of sudden I'm thrown with having to kill a drago-"

"Don't be sorry!" Ireleth yelled, which made her wince. "Just do your job and fight! Or at least look the part!"

The dumner brought out a dagger and threw it at her. Asena screamed, leaping back. Before she knew it she was falling, and then her body met the concrete ground with the loud bang of steel. She groaned and rubbed her head as it began to pound.

"She can't even catch a dagger. So much for reflexes," Ireleth scoffed.

The guards began to laugh quietly amongst themselves.

Asena breathed heavily. She was trying her best not to shed any tears and she didn't, but the water clouded up in her eyes and she couldn't see anything

Asena struggled to sit up and rolled onto her knees with a sigh. Maybe it was good that she couldn't see, because she knew that the image of the guards and Ireleth's face would haunt her forever. Their mocking already rang in her head like bells.

"Alright, let's move," commanded Irileth urgently. The murmurs of the guards died down like wind, and their footsteps became quiet.

Asena shut her eyed. Not only was she embarrassed but she failed her…

Frea. Her words echoed in her mind, but instead of comforting her mind they stabbed and punched her in the stomach.

Asena let out a sob despite her efforts to hold it and fumbled to find her sword on the ground as she stood up. She then heard the sound of footsteps nearing and her stomach twisted.

The steps stopped, and Asena looked up. It was Irileth, but instead of seeing a disappointed face, it was surprisingly soft.

Ireleth held out her hand. Asena looked at it but didn't move.

"Well? How else are you supposed to get up?"

Asena sighed and gingerly took her hand, glancing up at Ireleth's looming figure. Her silhouette was sharp and large against the morning sky. She was strong, and she could only dream of becoming like her.

The dumner lifted the breton onto her feet.

"I would recommend staying here," said Irileth. "I don't want you to get hurt or wear down any of the guards." Her voice still remained fierce but had a soft tone to it, like she was disciplining a child. Asena didn't know whether to feel comforted or insulted by it.

Ireleth cursed herself for being so generous, but she couldn't help it. The young breton was a pain to train and a hassle to work with, but she wasn't a poor soldier. She could sense that there is fire in her just waiting to be released, but her own mind is holding it down. She could see it in her eyes which glared back at her in anger and admiration.

The dunmer patted her shoulders, gave her a slight smile, and then turned around and ran to catch up with the guards.

Asena stood in the middle of the busy roads of Whiterun, her hand loosely grasping her sword and her eyes wide and red as she watched Ireleth march with the guards to the Western Watchtower. She heaved a tired sigh and wiped her tears away.

In her heart she felt humility, but that grows, changes, and is forgotten in the history of memories. The two that mostly fought for her attention were a scream that pleaded that she give in. The other was a voice: Frea's voice.

"Of course," said Asena quietly.

Frea's voice always came back to her during times like this. The voice told her to keep on fighting. The challenge was if she was willing to listen. Words are empty unless you are willing to see what they carry, which Asena knew by heart.

Asena closed her eyes. Her shoulders dropped and a quiet sigh escaped from her mouth. It was the easiest thing to do; to throw off the armor that stabbed into her frail skin and take a drink of mead; it was as tempting as a skooma addict in a room filled with moon sugar.

Her fingers twitched. Even her flesh called her to rest, but the guilt she would have afterwards would be choking.

Frea.

Asena waved the thought away as she felt tears build up again. The thought of her sent her mind spiraling into a pit that she didn't want to fall in. And she didn't want to watch on the side as people were slaughtered by something she could've helped stop.

Asena opened her eyes, looking out into the distance and sighing. "You're right once again, Frea".

She gripped her sword tightly and walked slowly to the gates, her head up high, and her unwavering gaze focused in front of her.

Asena's legs began to pick up pace, and they didn't stop moving.

The fresh morning wind blew gently on the vast plains of Whiterun. White puffy clouds danced across the blue sky and the looming snowy mountains painted the landscape with their majesty. Golden light spilled over the buildings and the trees and woke the many creatures of Skyrim from their slumber.

Asena looked around her, subconsciously admiring the beautiful view as the wind brushed back her short brown hair. No one could ever imagine a dragon attacking on this peaceful morning.

She looked behind her. She saw the Whiterun gates become smaller and villagers watching them. Some were children, eyes wide and curious, while some were older with sorrowful and hopeless faces, their murky eyes staring into the distance.

Asena turned around and took a deep breath, knowing that they were probably the guards' families or friends, waiting in fear and hoping and praying that they were going to leave this mission alive.

Then, the thick smell of smoke hit her nose, and she began to cough. Her eyes darted to the ruined watchtower.

The tower was surrounded by rubble and pieces of stone, scattered and thrown across the place like a child with its toys, and the pathways and stairs were split in half and crushed. Some parts of the grass and stone were still burning as tall dark smoke rose into the sky. The scent of burnt flesh hung in the still air.

Asena walked up to the group of guards with stinging eyes. They didn't even glance at her but gaped at the horrific scene before them. There was complete silence except for the crackling and popping of fire and embers. Even Irileth was staring at it all like she was stuck in some sort of trance.

"Shor's bones," murmured a guard. "Did it kill them all…?"

Asena looked around with them. She couldn't blame their silent reactions; this was a finality to the notion of dragons returning an official sign. They weren't legends anymore, nor something that could've been waved off as a myth, but the beasts that nearly enslaved all of humanity centuries ago are returning, and they're returning with blood and fire.

It gave Asena chills down her spine.

"Alright everyone!" Irileth shouted, snapping out of her state. Asena jumped and dropped her sword, which fell to the ground with a steel clank.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," she said hastily. She fumbled the sword into her hands and bolted up.

"No signs of any dragon right now," said Irileth. "But it sure looks like he's been here. I know it looks bad, but we've got to figure out what happened. And if that dragon is still skulking around somewhere. Spread and look for survivors. We need to know what we're dealing with."

The dark elf turned to Asena. "And you..."

Asena gulped nervously. "I promise that I can fight-"

"Captain, what is she doing here? She should go back to Whiterun," one of the guards protested. "She'll just weigh down our progress and is a waste of armor that could be worn by an actual soldier."

Asena gritted her teeth together. She began to feel her temper boil. She knew that she always had a quick temper, even Frea even told her all the time, but the guard was making it hard to control.

"As I was saying-"

"Irileth, are you really going to let her stay? I trust you are more sensible about this than Jarl Balgruuf was-"

"Silence!" Irileth hissed. The dunmer gave her a cold gaze, and Asena in turn gave her a pleading look. 'I promise that I can do this', was what she was chanting in her mind, and despite it being unrealistic, she hoped that Irileth would hear it.

Asena, in a painful moment, understood why they doubted her. She wished that they could understand her sudden desire to fight, how she could see Frea's eyes looking back at her in anticipation. She knew that if she said it aloud, they would all mock her again. They wouldn't understand, but what else could she say to prove to Irileth?

Asena gripped her sword tightly, even tighter than before, to where she could feel the steel digging into her flesh.

"How can I prove myself to you?" she asked.

Irileth narrowed her red eyes. "Prove it to me in battle."

"Irileth, this is nonsense! Don't tell me you just considered her in?" The same guard as before paused his way past the group, his eyes wide. He glared at Asena.

"She's weak, her strength will do nothing against a dragon, this a waste of our ti-"

The man's words were cut with the loud sound of hand against flesh. The guard took a step back and rubbed his cheek.

"What in Oblivion was that for?" He yelled.

Asena narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why you little-" the guard began to draw out his sword.

"Halt, soldier," Irileth commanded. "There is no time to fight, especially over petty matters like this. You two shall respect each other during the rest of your time together, and Asena," the dunmer looked at her with amusement.

"No hitting people on our side."

Both Asena and the guard nodded.

"Good. Now, go look around and prepare for battle. Remember, the dragon can come at any time."

All the guards quickly spread apart, with the one she slapped sneaking a spiteful glance at her.

"Thank you," Asena said.

Irileth acknowledged her with a tilt of her chin and walked around the tower.

Asena breathed shakily. She knew what she had gotten herself into. She was afraid, as anyone would've been, and slightly reconsidered what she had promised to Irileth, but as she was walking through the tower and saw its ruined shape, she knew that Frea would be proud of her.

Somebody then nudged her shoulder, and a guard was standing right beside her.

"Don't fall again," she said smugly.

Asena ignored the comment and walked up the stairs. She couldn't help but reach out a hand to touch the stone walls, so filled with history and now with terror. She could only imagine the fear the guards had when they saw the dragon flying near, or the things they prayed or cried out when they looked death itself in the eyes.

Asena was also curious about what the dragons were like, their power, their size. Could they speak human languages? And they can't just breathe fire or frost, can't they? They can summon power unimaginable to regular folk. Asena was certain that the damage of the tower was the dragon being merciful. She realized how horrible the dragon war must've been...

Asena finally arrived at the top of the tower, and if she wasn't anticipating death, it would've been a very peaceful and relaxing moment.

The breton inhaled deeply. She was getting nervous again, and the many thoughts of dying and running away circled around her mind like hawks. Watching, waiting for the right time to tear apart her mind and consume it.

She wiped her sweating palms on her armor, afraid of looking fearful in front of anyone.

A nice, long gust of wind blew, but then suddenly it was snuffed out like a candle. The air became eerily still, and Asena could feel the hair on the back of her neck rise.

She put her hand on her sword, aware that there was no danger but couldn't help but be nervous.

"Do you see anything?" Irileth yelled.

"Nothing yet," said a guard who just walked up near Asena. The guard crossed his arms and sighed.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" He said as if they were having a calm lunch on the tower.

Asena furrowed her brow. "Are you not afraid?" She asked.

The guard shrugged, sighing peacefully as he gazed at the majestic view. Asena was astonished at how he was so calm.

"Of course. I think we all are. But I'd rather die in the beautiful lands of Skyrim than anywhere else."

Asena nodded slowly and turned around. What an interesting man, she thought. To be so still at a time like this.

Asena's eyes then caught a small dot in the sky. She tilted her head curiously.

The dot circled the tops of the mountain like a bird. It hovered above the mountains and switched its direction downwards. Asena thought it disappeared until she saw its figure swoop down, straight towards her.

Asena quickly felt her armor straps, making sure that it was on tight enough, and then drew out her sword.

"Do you guys see that?"

The guards turned their heads to the sky.

"By the gods...it's here," gasped Irileth.

"Talos save us! It's a dragon!"

The ringing of swords and the pulling of bows sliced the air. Asena's breath became shallow as she gripped the helm of her sword.

She then realized how stupid she was to decide to go on top of the tower. No wonder why the only other person up there with her was an unsettlingly calm man who welcomed death. Joining this battle was a death wish.

The dragon was huge, bigger than how everyone else described them and how she imagined. The wingspan was as big as the watchtower, the body being the same size. Its shadow had its own soul as it slithered forward on the grass like a wolf, wild and hungry.

Asena felt as if she were being pulled back by a thousand ropes. She narrowed her brow and tensed her muscles, preparing, but then- her eyes widened.

Asena took a step back. It continued flying closer, growing larger. She felt like her heart was lodged inside her throat and it would slip out any second.

Suddenly, Asena heard words being spoken, powerful ones that gave her chills despite not knowing what they were. It wasn't human, nor magic, it was something entirely different.

In the blink of an eye the dragon teleported to the tower. Asena barely had time to react and stared, wide eyed, at the gaping jaws opening up before her. She began to accept her fate in a split second before the world turned sideways.

The wind blew against her back and her hands barely held onto the stone walls of the tower. She was falling, but slowly, inching downwards as the stone crumbled under her feet. The guard pushed me off, she realized.

Suddenly something fell past her.

The object landed on the ground with a wet thump. Asena looked below her and let out a cry. The guard's mauled body stared back up at her with a pair of blank lifeless eyes. His body… She turned away.

The ground was too far for her to land, so she desperately clung onto the old dusty walls of the watchtower, slipping down faster by the second as if the gods were pushing her away from the sky.

Asena dug her fingers into every groove and crack in the stone that she could and gritted her teeth together. She would have to get rid of the armor to stay alive, but the dragon would kill her.

Asena desperately wished to be anywhere else at the moment, she would do everything she could to escape. She could hear the screams and cries of the guards and the heat of fire dangerously brushing against her skin.

The dragon flew over and shook the ground. Asena screamed and fell. She clawed at the walls, falling and falling, and then landed hard on the roof of the entrance. The ground shook again as the dragon circled around.

Asena fell over the rim and face planted onto the stone stairs. She cried out as pain shot through her face and crawled all over through the rest of her body. She looked down and saw red droplets of blood on the stairs and touched her nose, which was wet.

The dragon landed and Asena and everybody else were shaken to the ground.

Asena was paralyzed. She couldn't move a muscle; she couldn't even breathe.

You have to move, she told herself. But she couldn't.

The dragon's massive head turned in her direction. Its face was narrow and sharp, eyes gleaming, glaring at Asena as if it knew of all the things that could bring her to her knees, all her deepest fears and secrets. It licked it's snout; painted with the crimson of innocent soldiers, with a long and blackish purple tongue.

Asena knew that this dragon had killed hundreds, even thousands of humans, probably remembering it as if it was yesterday.

The thought sent a frightening pulse through Asena that tightened a knot in her stomach and turned her skin pale. She looked for her sword, but in a throb of panic she realized that it was gone. She skimmed her hands over the stone wildly, but it was nowhere to be found.

Asena turned back to the dragon. What was her meek spirit, her weak body, going to do against the soul and body of a thousand warriors and the united forces of Akatosh and nature?

The dragon lifted its neck, murmuring with a deep earthy voice. "Yol…"

Asena closed her eyes. "I'm sorry Frea," she said under her breath, knowing that she had failed her. She prepared to feel the searing heat of the dragon's fire.

Asena heard the dragon's ear-piercing shout but didn't feel anything. She opened her eyes and saw a man standing in front of her, blocking the fire with a magicka spell. The man's armor was torn and his helmet was missing along with his gauntlets.

He turned around to look at Asena, who she recognized as the one she hit. His face was strained; he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.

"Here take this," said the guard, throwing her an extra sword.

Asena caught it and stared at him in shock.

"Move!" He screamed.

Asena leaped onto her feet, running away from the dragon's line of attack. She ran near the farthest piece of a broken pathway and hid behind it.

Asena breathed heavily and she felt like her heart was going to burst from her chest. Her throat burned and her legs and nose ached with a throbbing pain. She then looked into the distance, blowing her messy hair out of her face, and saw the looming figure of Whiterun.

The dragon is distracted, I can make it, she realized.

Asena looked behind her, and despite the smoke clouding her vision she could still see the silhouettes of many guards and the dragon fighting. She swallowed hard, her consciousness hammering down on her heart like an axe.

Asena leaned her back against the stone and gasped for air. She felt like she couldn't do it, her own strength wouldn't be able to sustain her, but how could she leave? She had overcome her dread of fighting for nothing.

Asena watched the ashes that fell from the sky. Every ash that fell, more and more innocent people died, and she did nothing about it.

A slight glimpse of hope burned itself into her mind, urging her on. She clenched her fists together and used the pain to keep her senses high.

Leaping from hiding, she ran straight for the dragon, adrenaline breathing through her body; from her head to her feet, it seemed like the wind itself was guiding her.

She ran through the thick walls of smoke and leaped over bodies; and then crawled on top of the dragon's wing.

Asena lifted up her sword, cracks of sunlight from the dark clouds gleaming against its steel body, and she threw it down and began stabbing and tearing into the dragon's skin. The woman screamed while thick red blood sprayed onto her armor and her sword.

The dragon let out a strained cry and snapped its jaw near her, sending shockwaves that made her ears ring. She leaped off of the dragon and threw her sword at its neck but missed.

The dragon neared the man that saved her, who was on his knees. Asena quickly searched for any sort of weapon next to her. Behind her, she saw Irileth who was walking with a limp. Grasping in a bloody hand was her sword.

"Hurry... take this," Irileth said between coughs.

Asena nodded, her eyes stinging from the thickening smoke, and she ripped the sword from her hands and then sliced open the gums of the dragon.

The dragon shrank back with a yelp. It tried to lift the wing that Asena had stabbed but it fell back to the ground in pain.

Asena almost couldn't believe herself. She swore that this was all a fantasy, that she transformed into a new person.

While the dragon was distracted, she helped the guard up and quickly gave him a cloth to wrap around the wound on his leg.

"What's your name?" Asena asked.

"Valdemar."
"Asena."

Valdemar's blue eyes flashed with admiration. He put his hand near his chest and opened his mouth, like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

The dragon writhed as everyone surrounded it and released all the power that they had. The sky lit up with blood-red fire and bright flashes of violet and icy blue. The ground spilled with blood, flesh was torn open, and many souls lost their bodies, traveling to whatever afterlife they soon called home.

Soon every part of the ground, and every person that was still breathing, was painted in deep crimson.

The dragon bared its sword-like teeth. Its growl sent vibrations through Asena's chest as she aimed her sword at its face. She held her hand up, prepared to launch, but her body was frozen again.

She swallowed dryly. "I'm going to miss this shot," she muttered under her breath. Her eyes were watering as the smoke gathered around them, and she could only see the blurry silhouette of the dragon blending into the canvas of the fire.

"Throw it!" Cried Valdemar.

Asena held her chin up. The dragon began to crawl near her, muttering those strange words that sent an icy fear down her spine. She knew that this was a life or death, that if those words were completed there would be chaos. They would all die.

Asena narrowed her eyes. The dragon's eyes glared back at her, swarming with hatred and fear.

With all her might and power, Asena threw her arm forward and watched in silence as the sword pierced through the air, aiming straight at the dragon.

Everyone that was still alive caught their breath.

Dark brown eyes followed the flying silver gleam.

The dragon didn't have time to react. With a sickly sound, the sword stabbed through its left eye.

The beast threw his head to the sky and screamed. The roar shook the earth beneath it.

Asena gasped from relief and shock and stood back with the rest of the remaining soldiers.

With the neck being vulnerable, everyone took their shot at throwing their swords, and each one of them pierced into its flesh.

The dragon twisted it's serpentine figure and lunged at Asena. Before she could stop him, Valdemar leaped in front of her, and the dragon snapped it's jaws around his waist.

Asena let out a cry. The dragon then mauled him as he screamed, waving it's head madly back and forth before throwing him onto the side.

"You demon!" Asena shrieked.

The beast whirled its head at Asena, glaring down at her, still fighting to keep breathing, its

menacing figure contrasting with the red behind it.

The dragon stumbled under its weight.

"Dovahkiin! No!" It cried with agony, trying to crawl at Asena.

Asena felt a dread come down upon her, but it was a different type of dread. Not the one she felt when she first saw it flying, but this was different. Asena could feel hopelessness eating into her mind, even despite the knowledge that it was almost dead.

She knew she had won the game, but the feeling left a bitter taste in her mouth. It was then that she understood more of the threat of the dragons' return. The creatures were relentless, just like humans in a way, stubborn to not let their pride fall.

Even despite losing an eye, being punctured in the neck, and at its last breaths, it still dared to challenge its murderers. The dragons aren't just animals, they're the embodiment of everything horrid about mankind. And lucky for Nirn, they're one of the most powerful entities in Tamriel.

Asena gulped, praying to the divines that it would die. The thought of desiring a living soul to die gave her a sick feeling, but in the moment, she couldn't help herself.

The dragon growled as it slowly lowered its head and slumped onto the ground. She could feel it's breaths becoming slower. It's chest heaved only a small amount of air.

Asena crawled towards it, not knowing why, and reached out her hand to touch it's head, gently caressing its rough and thick scales. Somehow, she felt it's heartbeat. The heartbeat slowed, then came to a sudden stop, it's emerald eyes becoming dull for eternity.

Silence was all that was heard.

Asena sighed. Her body relaxed. She was ready to sleep forever, but a sudden thought came to her. She threw herself onto her feet, even despite her body aching, and ran into the battlefield.

The air was hard to see with the plumes of smoke and fire, but she pushed through it anyway.

"Valdemar!" She cried. "Valdemar!"

She turned and saw a man that looked familiar lying on the grass in a pool of blood.

Asena rushed over to him. Valdemar was gasping, in what sounded like pain and fear.

"It's alright, you're going to be okay," Asena said, trying to reassure herself. She pushed hard on his wounds, but it was no use, blood continued to pour out of them until it coated Asena's hands.

Asena tore out a piece of leather from her armor and pressed it against his body.

She took a glimpse at the wounds, her breath sucked out of her lungs. She swore she could see some of the organs. A hard lump began to crawl up her throat, her head growing light and her vision spinning.

Before Asena knew it, she threw herself on the ground and vomited. Her arms trembled and her stomach ached. The world spun around her and her body felt like water.

In a blur of a moment, she was laying on the grass. The sun began to peek out from the dark cloudy smoke and stabbed through Asena's eyes.

"I was wrong about you, forgive me," breathed Valdemar shakily."You have to save the rest, Asena." His breathing grew shallower by the second. "You need to help the other men. Quickly!"

"No," Asena started.

"Go! Now!"

Asena gritted her teeth together and lifted herself up, only to wobble and fall back to the ground.

"I'm not able to get up," she gasped. Her body felt like it weighed a thousand soldiers. "I'm sorry…"

Valdemar was silent. He gazed up into the sky, and his eyes began to water.

"Asena,will you please do a favor for me?"

"...sure."

Valdemar dug under his armor and pulled out a small object that gleamed brightly under the sunlight. He swallowed dryly before saying, "will you please give this to Flavia? She lives in Whiterun; her house is located in the wind district."

Asena took the object with trembling fingers. She squinted her eyes and gasped silently. It was an amulet of Mara.

"Valdemar, you're going to be able to give this to her. I promise."

Asena felt him grip her arm tightly. She turned to look at his face, which was filled with great sorrow and fear. A tear trickled down his cheek, its trail being the only part of his face not covered with dirt and blood.

"You cannot run from reality," he said quietly.

Asena was silent. She tried to fumble words into her mouth, but she couldn't.

Valdemar's eyes drooped to the grass and his body became still.

Asena gingerly touched his face. There was no reaction except for a hazy gaze.

She let out a small sob, clenching the amulet to her chest and crumbling onto the grass. Her small form was surrounded by dying warriors and ash.

She could hear their cries and prayers, their whimpers, and the songs they sang to their children to comfort them as they bled.

The terrible sounds of pain anchored themselves in Asena's mind. Her head felt light, and her eyes fell, and her mind began to fall, slowly, into a dark pit.

All Asena could see was darkness. She felt like she was floating in a black void, until a small light and a sound echoed throughout her mind. She twitched her fingers and gasped for air like she's never breathed before. The sound got louder, and the light became brighter.

Asena shook her head back and forth, muttering, "no,no,no."

"Asena!"

The breton's eyes shot open.

"It's alright," said the woman, who had a hand on her forehead. The woman's clothes were ragged and torn, her hair in a chaotic mess and sticking to her face, and her dark skin splattered with dry blood.

In a heartbeat, Asena recognized her.

"Irileth?" she gasped.

Irileth sighed. "Thank the gods you're alive. You passed out earlier, probably from all of the blood loss. Fortunately, our best healers came and stopped the bleeding. We almost thought you were dead."

Asena didn't know how to feel about those words. She remembered her mind slipping into darkness but not much else. She slowly sat up and looked around her, covering her eyes; the sun had emerged from the dark clouds and revealed the entirety of the battlefield.

Other guards helped up soldiers with blank, wide-eyed faces, while their hands shook and their fingers twitched. They were muttering to themselves quietly, like they had too much skooma, it was a sad sight.

"Somebody! Quick- hold her back!" A priest cried.

"No! He's still alive, I know it! Please look at him he's still breathing!"

A woman was being held back by guards and priests. She desperately tried to writhe out of their grasp, reaching her hand out to a soldier with a missing head.

"He's dead!" The guards screamed at her. The woman was then cast with a paralyzing spell and fell flat on the grass with silence.

Asena breathed shakily and tore her eyes away.

Guards were helping each other walk through the field alongside the healers, and priests were praying over the bodies of soldiers wrapped in cloth.

Majority of the grass was burnt and there were plumes of smoke in the sky; burnt corpses and ashes were scattered all throughout the field. It was a horrific sight that sent Asena's stomach twisting. She swallowed dryly, grasping her stomach with a bandaged hand.

Now that the adrenaline was gone, pain began to writhe throughout her legs and her hands throbbed. In a quick moment of fear, she put her hands on her chest, sighing in relief as she felt the coldness of the amulet of Mara in her fingers.

"Valdemar," she said, turning to the side of her. She realized that he was missing and looked around.

"Valdemar? I'm sorry to say that he died," Irileth said solemnly. Her eyes followed Asena's hands. "What is that?"

"It's nothing," said Asena quickly.

Irileth narrowed her eyes and began to wrap cloth around her hands which were bruised and cut.

"I understand that he wasn't the most well-behaved guard there is, and I apologize for that. You're probably glad he's out of your way now."

Asena gripped the amulet tighter, looking at the dumner with a steady gaze. "I never felt like that, and I never will think anything of it," she said.

There was a piercing silence that followed.

There is an emptiness and dread losing a person in your arms, friend or enemy, and sometimes Asena felt insane because everybody around her seemed to not agree.

"I know this seems like the wrong time to ask this but…" Irileth looked at her. "Are you alright?"

Asena at first was completely silent, until an overwhelming wave of emotion overcame her, and she curled herself into a ball, bursting into tears.

"I'm so sorry," she said, her voice muffled in her knees.

"Don't be."

After a minute of sobbing, Asena pulled herself together and wiped her face. A piercing silence follows after, as sharp as a dagger. Silent tears still fell down Asena's cheeks.

With a thick silence still remaining, Irileth and some healers wrapped Asena in bandages. Bursts of red and shades of dark purple bruises were scattered across her chest and arms, along with dark red cuts that made Asena wince whenever they were touched.

Every part of her body ached, and she zoned out in a distant stare, dreaming longingly to be relaxing by a nice blazing fire; the sweet taste of sweet rolls on her lips and the softness and comfort of a deer blanket falling gently around her thin shoulders.

Where the laughter of people was like songs in the warm air. No death. No blood. Just peacefulness.

The silence was then broken when a guard yelled. Asena and Irileth immediately turned to the sound to see the dragon glowing yellow. Bits of its flesh slithered up into the air and disintegrated, revealing its bones, and wind began to dance around its body.

"Take cover!" cried Irileth. She leaped onto her feet and ran behind a stone pathway.

Asena tried to stand but stumbled and fell. Pain seared through her left leg, and she groaned.

The wind began to scream and whoosh into the air and Asena covered her head and curled up with her knees to her chest, but something strange began to happen. The golden light surrounded her, surging throughout her body, through her veins and wrapping around her bones, her heart, and her soul.

A wave of power unleashed itself upon her. It ran through her like honey, sweet and silky. Every part of her skin flowed and tingled with strength and an ethereal power, like she was flying.

The feeling soon died down like mist, but Asena could still feel it lurking somewhere in her body. It was the strangest feeling she's ever felt in life, like her spirit was being fed something powerful.

Asena also realized; it was like something was being awakened within her soul.

Asena slowly unraveled herself, shocked, and looked at her arms and legs in bewilderment. She then turned to the dragon's corpse and gasped. It was completely barren of flesh and laid on the ground as a skeleton.

Asena had never seen anything like this before. Not even in any legends or stories she's read as a child.

A guard came running up to her and helped her up. His eyes bulging from his face and his mouth struggling to form words.

"I-I can't believe it! You're...Dragonborn…"

Everyone surrounded Asena, gaping at her as if she had just kissed a skeever.

"Dragonborn? What do you mean?" Asena asked.

"In the very oldest tales, back when there were still dragons in Skyrim, the Dragonborn would slay dragons and steal their power. That's what you did, isn't it? Absorbed the dragon's power?"

"Dragonborn? What are you talking about?" The guards exclaimed.

"That's right! My grandfather used to tell stories about the dragonborn. Those born with the Dragon blood in'em. Like old Tiber Septim himself."

"I never heard of Tiber Septim killing any dragons."

"There weren't any dragons then, idiot. They're just coming back for the first time in…" the guard paused and wearily looked at the dragon's corpse. "...Forever. But the old tales tell of a dragonborn who could kill dragons and steal their power. You must be one! You have to be!"

Asena put her hand on her chest. She still felt that odd sensation inside her. Despite it being strange, it felt like it belonged there.

"I don't quite know. It's odd. I do feel like I've absorbed power, but are we sure that I'm dragonborn? It sounds like a lot of power to be given to a person, and I doubt the divines would choose me of all people."

The guard nodded slowly.

"Well, there's only one way to find out. Try to Shout, that would prove it. According to the old legends, only the Dragonborn can shout without training, the way the dragons do."

Asena looked around nervously and began to sweat.

She shook her head. "I'm not sure that I can do it, I don't fully understand what just happened to me, much less be able to 'shout'".

"You ought to try it," the guard said. "If you're truly dragonborn then it should come naturally to you."

Asena inhaled deeply, focusing on herself and the power inside her. She knew that if she were a true dragonborn that it would change her life forever, and she could be the hero she's always wanted to be, but she doubted it. She recalled back to the word wall in Bleak Falls Barrow, the foreign words channeling inside her, and the first thing that came to her mind was 'fus'.

"Fus!" Asena shouted. The power released itself from her and a wall of forceful wind blew back the guards, making them stumble onto the ground.

Asena gasped and took a step back. The guards all murmured to each other in amazement.

"That was Shouting, what you just did! By Talos, you truly are the dragonborn!"

Asena's mouth hung open. She didn't know to say, or even feel, she was the dragonborn now, a person only told in legends and stories. She had to remind herself to breathe and began to feel lightheaded. So many things had just happened: the dragon, the battle and all of its horror, and now this.

"What do you say, Irileth?" A guard asked. "You're being awfully quiet."

"Come on, Irileth, tell us, do you believe in this dragonborn business?"

Irileth turned to Asena and crossed her arms, her brows furrowed.

"Hmph. Some of you would be better off keeping quiet than flapping your gums about matters you don't know anything about," she replied gruffly. She nodded to its corpse.

"Here's a dead dragon, which is something that I definitely understand, now I know that we can kill them. But I don't need some mythical Dragonborn. Someone who can put down a dragon is more than enough for me.

The guard scowled. "You wouldn't understand, Housecarl, you ain't a nord."

"I've been all across Tamriel. I've seen plenty more outlandish things than this," Irileth retorted. "I'd advise you all to trust in your sword arm rather than myths and legends and... Asena? Are you alright?"

Asena's skin was pale, and her breath was shallow. "I'm fine," she gasped, before falling into a pit of darkness once again.

After the guards were able to rouse Asena back into consciousness, healers and guards sent from the Jarl made their way over to the tower and checked to see if they were alright. They then told them to walk back to Whiterun and so they did, limping and trudging through the long winding road back to the safety of Whiterun's walls.

The group was exhausted, and the burning sun glaring down on them wasn't helping.

When Asena entered the door, she was met with the entire city, all of them singing praises and thanking her and the rest of the soldiers with gifts. Apparently, word had already spread that Asena led the attack and helped kill the dragon.

It was a great relief from the suffering just minutes before. Asena was already starting to forget about her pain.

Ireleth was decently surprised and smiled as she walked through the crowd. Asena grinned and accepted their praises with small bows, her heart beginning to swell with warmth and pride. But at the same time the feeling of dread and sorrow lingered in her mind; she couldn't celebrate as loudly or smile as greatly with all the horrors that had just happened.

The people reached out their hands to her and offered food and weapons, which she kindly declined.

This was all so foreign to Asena. All the guilt she carried was lessening bit by bit, and she could almost see Frea cheering her one with a grin on her face and her green eyes sparkling.

As Asena was halfway through the bustling streets, she heard a small voice from the crowd.

"Where's Papa? You said that he would come back."

The breton stopped in her tracks, her body growing cold. She looked behind her and saw a young boy holding his mom's hands tightly, the mom's face still and numb. The boy's eyes began to water at his mother's silence.

Asena gingerly fingered the Mara's Amulet that hung on her neck, closing her eyes. She then looked at her surroundings, seeing many men and women waiting anxiously for their loved ones. Some were hugging the returning soldiers, tears streaking down their faces in happiness, and some others were crying out in sorrow. They fell onto their knees and held their hands up to the sky. "Why?" they screamed.

Asena gripped the amulet close to her and continued walking, trying to ignore the tragedies happening behind her. She sighed shakily and stared down at her feet.

Suddenly a young nord ran into Asena, almost pushing her over.

"I'm so sorry!" she gasped, looking at her wounds to see if she was alright. Her breathing was fast, and her long blonde hair was frizzy. She had probably run all the way from her house to the gates.

"Have you happened to see someone that I know?" she pleaded. "Please. I think he was fighting with you?"

"What's his name?"

"Valdemar."

Asena felt a chill run down her spine "...And your name?"

"Flavia. I-I live in the Wind district. He told me that he was going to fight the dragon and that he had a surprise for me, but I don't know what, and when I saw only a few soldiers return I began to panic and…"

Asena swallowed hard. She wished that she could slap the nord's face as she looked at her with desperation and anxiety. Her bright eyes were wide in fear and her mouth was curved to where it almost seemed like she was about to burst into tears.

Asena inhaled shakily, slowly taking off the bloodstained Mara's amulet, and handed it to her. She prepared for the worst.

Flavia slowly took it from Asena's grasp and stared at it with wide eyes and a pale face. She didn't breathe for a full minute, until her hands began to shake, and her eyes squeezed shut. She slowly crumbled to the ground, letting out a long sob, the amulet pressed tightly against her chest. Flavia began to cry loudly and her tears spilled onto the stone ground.

Asena kneeled down and gently touched her shoulders. She was trying to hold back tears at the tragedy before her, hoping to be a comforting figure, but she knew that a mournful woman wouldn't want comfort immediately. She stayed there for a while as Flavia cried some more.

The woman then stopped, sniffling, and wiped some of her tears away. They still kept falling down her red face as she looked up into Asena's eyes.

"Thank you…" she breathed. "For returning this to me. Please, tell me truthfully, did he did a good death?"

Asena closed her eyes for a moment. "Yes. The most honorable out of them all. Without him, the dragon wouldn't have been killed, nor would've I have lived."
Flavia tried to put on a smile as best as she could, but she lowered her head, sobbing.

Asena knew she couldn't stay here too long. She had more business to do. "I'm sorry for your loss," she said quietly. "Talos guide you." She squeezed Flavia's arm, stood up, and steadily walked away from the mourning woman.

"Thank you again," Flavia said in between breaths.

Asena sighed and pressed forward. Despair churned inside her mind and heart as she closed her eyes. She would've never imagined fighting dragons and watching people die in her arms when she was a young child. She thought that she would grow up to be a useless farmer girl living near Whiterun, gathering crops for the rest of her life as everyone around her moved up to higher places. She believed that Frea would forever be disappointed.

Now that Asena has been through the weight of war, she's rethinking that thought. Maybe life on the farm wasn't so bad after all.

Asena clenched her jaw. Was this life really meant for her? She knew that she was strong enough to kill a dragon, but is it worth all the sacrifice and pain? Asena couldn't tell. Two sides were pulling at her back and forth, just like how it was when she was deciding whether to keep fighting or not.

She looked around her, her gaze on all the men, women, and children. Her people. She wanted to protect them, she really did, but could she?

Suddenly the sky erupted with a shout. The ground shook and ripped everyone off of their feet. The clouds rumbled, and a voice bellowed from the mountains. "Dovahkiin", the voice boomed. It echoed throughout the sky and the entire city, leaving a trace of majesty and dread, and then the shaking slowly came to a stop.

Asena leaped onto her feet. "What in Oblivion was that?" she cried. She turned to a guard who looked like he'd just seen a ghost.

"The greybeards…" he gasped. "They've spoken again. This hasn't happened in hundreds of years. They're calling for you."

"For me?" Asena screamed. "I've already had to deal with so many things that I've never known about today! Who are these people? What do they want with me?"

The guard backed away fearfully. "Relax a little, they're not going to kill you. I-I'd suggest you talk to the Jarl about this. He knows more about the greybeards than I do."

"But who are they?"

"They're people who've mastered the way of the Voice. They can shout, just like you can, but they've been able to master it so well that even when they speak, the ground shakes."

Asena was silent. Before she had no clue on how powerful those 'shouts' were, but now this changed her whole perspective. She almost forgot how to breathe.

"That's how powerful shouting is?" She said slowly. "That's how powerful I am?" The fact that this shouting was something that took years to train and master, and that it could shake the entire ground...

The guard nodded. "That's why, dragonborn, you're our only hope against the return of the dragons." The guard neared her. "Please, fight for our side," he pleaded. "Fight for Skyrim with us!"

His voice sounded desperate and wanting. He too had seen the horrors of war and the dragons; his scars and blood spilled proved it.

Suddenly everybody crowded around Asena, pleading and begging her to save them from the dragons.

Asena felt her muscles tense. She gently touched her chest, convicted, and still felt that raw power inside her, lurking in her soul. Suddenly she felt a weight come down upon her and a tug at her heart. It was a weight that awakened something deep inside her bones. The crowds of people became blurry meshes.

Asena realized that there needed to be someone to stand up for good, even if she didn't want to do it, she needed to be that person right now. It gave Asena hope that she could rise to that level, that she could prove herself and many others wrong, and bring glory to Frea.

The striking images of Valdemar at his last breaths, choking on blood and his wounds bleeding out. They made her feel uneasy and guilty. He sacrificed his life for a weak woman that wasn't guaranteed to kill the dragon. Valdemar was a man with a rare mindset, usually others would cower away, but he didn't, and that's what the dragonborn needs to be.

Asena felt stupid and ashamed that she had thought of giving up earlier. She would have slapped herself, but everyone was watching her. Who was she to deny hundreds of people the chance to live? Who was she to say no to the responsibility set upon her? She knew that Frea would take the challenge and she knew that her life would be miserable knowing that she's doing nothing. It didn't matter how many times she had to fall, as long as she got back up again, there would be hope for the people of Skyrim.

Asena held her chin up and straightened her posture. "I'll fight for you," she said. She then turned to the mountains, gazing at their massive size and presence as a gust of wind blew back her hair that was stained with blood. The mountains's deep blue and gray hues paint a wonderful view of their looming figures against the vast sky.

This is when the true fire was awakened. This was the fire that will never burn out. It will waver and shrink, but it will never disappear.

Asena realized that killing one dragon and saving a few people wouldn't be enough to save the entire world.

She was more than terrified, of course, but she was willing to brave the journey.

I will take the responsibility of having this blessing, and I will use it for not only Tamriel's sake, but for Frea, Valdemar, and every other promise I make, she thought. For the people of Skyrim.

A rage began to grow in her heart. A fire of hatred and disgust for the dragons.

Asena quickly ran to the Jarl's palace. She sighed as she put her hands on its large doors. "Here goes nothing," and she pushed them open, hurrying through the giant corridors and halting to a stop in front for the throne.

The Jarl's face lit up when he saw Asena.

"Thank the divines you're alive!" He exclaimed.

"My lord," Asena acknowledged with a bow. "I've discovered something very interesting. Something that might hold the entire world in balance."

The Jarl looked intrigued. The others paid attention to the conversation.

"Continue."

Asena locked her eyes with him. The fire flared, it's harsh light dancing across her face. "Turns out I might be something called… 'Dragonborn'".

The Way of The Voice

Asena walked through the dense Falkreath forest, her fingers softly brushing against the bushes and ferns swaying in the gentle wind. Light peeked through the branches and leaves, split apart into small pieces like shattered glass and reached out to the forest floor. It spilled on the emerald green of the trees, flashing them golden and other beautiful hues of yellow that Asena could not describe. She sighed peacefully; her body was cool, and the scent of the air was sweet. It was a beautiful evening in Skyrim.

The way the town was surrounded by forests that spread out miles upon miles and the gorgeous view of the mountains like the presence of a campfire, comforting and warming. A crisp breeze blew through the forest, ruffling Asena's hair, gently laying a blanket of peace over the little girl, who took a great inhale to feel the coolness of the wind surrounding her.

A buzzing sound was in her ear, and she whipped her hand around her face angrily. Though it was beautiful, she hated the bugs. She even made a weapon just for them. It was a stick and tied to the top a large piece of wood and some leaves. She used it to kill all the bugs she could find, and it was also a sword in her eyes. After washing it thoroughly she had put it in her belt.

Asena lightly grasped the stick in her hand, reassuring to herself that it was there.

"Hello there!"

Asena jumped. A little girl was looking at her with a grin on her small face. Wrapped neatly on her head was a woven crown made of purple and blue flowers. She cocked her head a little, curious on how the girl got a crown so beautiful. Suddenly she remembered to smile, waiting for a reply, even though she was annoyed at the interruption.

"Hey."

"What's your name?"

"...Asena."

The little girl gasped. "Are you and your parents the one who just moved in? I've been dying for new neighbors!"

"Well, you found the right person."

The girl's bright eyes widened.

"Yay! Thank the gods, there are finally new people in the city! But it means that you've never seen the garden before!"

Asena perked up curiously. "What garden?" she asked.

The little girl looked around her and leaned in closely. "Would you like me to show you?" She whispered, holding out her hand. Asena narrowed her eyes. "Sure, just don't do anything stupid" she said, nodding her head to her "sword," or her "bug stick" as she sometimes liked to call it.

Frea dashed forward, pulling Asena along with her, and the two little girls ran through the forest: their feet pounding on the bright green grass and pushing aside hanging tree branches and vines. Asena's hair flew behind her and the girl's green dress danced wildly around her legs, both of them laughing loudly. Never in her life had Asena ever felt so free. And even though she had no idea who this girl was, she trusted her with her heart.

They stumbled to a halt.

"We're here," the girl breathed.

Asena moved her messy hair out of her face. "Wow," she gasped. Surrounded by tall dark green trees was a great opening of grass. Butterflies fluttered and danced with each other, and the forest creatures swerved their heads to the two girls, blinking, and bound away into the safety of the trees.

The sun shone gently on the field, illuminating the grass stalks with golden light. It hummed a magical song that spoke of freedom and beauty. Asena slowly walked to the middle of the field, gaping at her surroundings with wide eyes and her jaw to her knees.

"This place is...gorgeous. It's almost magical," she said.

"I know right! I'm pretty sure this place was enchanted by a mage," said the girl as she skipped to Asena.

"Now, let me show you why I call it 'the garden'." She bent down and pulled out a bowl of something that looked like white ash.

"Here's some bone meal. And look!" She bent down again and pulled out a canis root.

"Someone buried a ton of alchemy ingredients in this field! Like a garden of ingredients!"

Asena's eyes shot open wide. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah!"

"These all real?"

"Yes!"

Asena scratched her head. "That's really strange. But cool!" Frea nodded, her smile growing into a grin."So far I've found boar tusks, chaurus eggs, creep clusters, deathbells, dragon tongues- the flower of course- ectoplasms, falmer ears, fire salts, frost mirriams, glow dust, glowing mushrooms, and-"

The girl threw the ingredients onto the side and grabbed an object intricately wrapped in grass stalks and leaves. "You won't believe this..." she whispered excitedly, quickly unwrapping the object. Asena leaned in, heart pounding in excitement. Finally, the last strands of grass were removed, and a bright red beating heart was revealed. Its veins pulsed and writhed in the little girl's hands.

"A daedra heart," the two girls whispered in awe.

They both looked up at each other, eyes bulging from their faces. "This is insane! I wonder how it got here," said Asena.

"I know! You have no idea how hard it was to keep this a secret. I swear I wanted to tell at least somebody about this garden, but I felt like I couldn't trust anyone. Especially the boy who works by the river." Her face wrinkled in disgust. "If the news got to him, I don't know what could happen. But anyways, when I saw you walking through the forest, all by yourself, I just..." the girl's eyes sparkled. "You know when you just have those inescapable voices that hammer into your heart without mercy, and you have to follow it or else you'll regret it for the rest of your life? I had one of those feelings"

Asena felt warmth flourish through her body. She couldn't help but smile.

"T-thanks," she stuttered. "Oh! I've never asked you your name."

"Frea," said the girl. "Also..." she leaped to the other side of the field, digging out a dirty satchel and dusting bits of soil off of it. The satchel was made from leather but torn, like it had been through months of being thrown about. On the front pocket was a large tear that was covered by deer hide stitched onto it with the stitches poking out.

"These aren't as fascinating as the daedra heart, but still interesting." Frea said as she flipped the satchel over and poured ingredients onto the palm of her hand that Asena had never seen before.

"Coda flowers, choke weeds, blister pod caps, bog beacons, and some daedroth teeth."

"Daedroth teeth!" exclaimed Asena. "How in Oblivion could someone have daedroth teeth?"

Frea shrugged, holding up a tooth close to her eyes. "I have no idea. But that person must be the bravest in all of Tamriel," she said.

"Bravest? More like the most idiotic. I would never risk my life for something as silly as some teeth. I just hope that they bought it somewhere. It's the smartest and safest option."

"Well, I heard that you could buy ingredients like this from the Khajiit caravans. I've never seen one before, though I wish I could, I've always wondered what those cat-people look like; like if they actually have tails and whiskers!"

"I'm pretty sure they do," said Asena, realizing that she's never seen any either. "But I can't be too sure."

Frea stared at the ingredients in her hand.

"There was also some sload soap in here, but every time I saw it I just thought of how those monsters use their children to create it," She shivered. "So, I threw it far in the forest."

Asena nodded. She remembered her mother telling her tales of how emotionless the sload was, though it never bothered her as much as it did to Frea, who looked deeply unsettled. Asena then looked up at the purple and red sky and gasped. She wasn't even keeping track of the time!

"I have to go home! My mom will scold me if I'm back after sundown."

"Oh," Frea's face dropped a little. She then buried the ingredients.

"Would you mind if I walk you home? I have to admit, it's quite scary walking through the forest during dusk all by yourself, but when you're with someone else it's very mystical!"

Asena shrugged. "Sure."

Frea and Asena began the journey back to Falkreath, walking among the trees with branches that clung at their clothes and vines that tugged at their feet. Asena pulled out her stick, looking warily around her, while Frea was staring at the sunset with sparkling eyes.

"Oh, Asena, look!" she gasped. She grabbed Asena's arm which made her yell, aiming the stick at Frea's face.

Frea stared at it for a moment until she burst into laughter. "Why in Oblivion do you carry that thing around? There's nothing to be worried abo...Wait are those guts on it?"

"Bug guts, that's what," said Asena, straightening her posture. "I keep it around in case there's trouble- why are you looking at me like that? I'm trying to protect you!"

"Well, there shouldn't be any trouble here." She bit her lip, holding back a laugh. "Oh never mind, you have to take a look at the sunset. It's magnificent!"

Asena slowly turned to the sky. "Woah," she murmured.

Above her was a sea of colors; red, pink, dark blue, and violet churning and dancing together as if the sky was their stage, and Tamriel its audience. Clouds with highlights of salmon pink and purples headed towards the setting sun, and birds flew gracefully above them; as if wanting a taste of the sky, as the sun cast its last beams of orange and red on the audience; majestic and welcoming.

"I wish I was as pretty as a sunset," sighed Frea. "Imagine that. Every living thing stops to look at you, their eyes blazing. My dress, as wavy as an ocean, puffy as a cloud, would shower warmth on everyone who gazed upon it. I know I sound quite vain, but I just can't help but imagine it. Actually, nobody has to even acknowledge my beauty, because the knowledge of me being as beautiful as the sunset will let me live happily until the end of my days. Don't you agree?"

"I guess? It's gorgeous for sure, I don't think anything can really come close to it, but in about 30 minutes it'll go away."

"You guess?"

"I don't care for beauty. I want glory! Glory lasts forever; the knowledge that you're a warrior that saves people, that lasts forever," said Asena with her chin high.

"Oh, I understand that! But don't you ever at least dream of being as pretty as a sunset?"

"Hm. I've never thought about it quite much to be honest.

"Hmph," Frea grunted. "I think it's a great dream to have. It's a sunset, for Talos sake! I mean, look at it's glorious majesty!"

"Do you have dreams of this often?"

"Quite often, but no one understands me. People say I've got a wild head and I'm going to get myself killed one day because I'll imagine a hagraven as a bird! Or I'll go chasing after some crows and fall into a ditch! I love crows, by the way."

Asena laughed and said, "You're weird, but I like it."

Frea gave her a look.

"But that doesn't need to be a bad thing. I do get dreams a lot, they're just not similar to yours."

Frea then grinned and walked with a skip in her step. "Well, at least someone understands. You don't have to have the same dreams as me, but you dream, and that's all that matters."

"Mhm. Also, why don't you bring the fire salts from the garden home?" asked Asena. "They would save your family tons of money and you can warm up any food you want."

Frea nodded in consideration. "That sounds like a good idea," she said. "I suppose it's cheaper than the Khajiit caravan."

"Cheaper? It's free!"

"Yeah, but," Frea sighed. "Getting fire salts is a great excuse to go see the Khajiit caravans. You don't understand, Asena, ever since I've heard of their existence, I've always wanted to see them so badly. Are their pupils actually slits? Do their fur look like sabercats? I need to know! With these ingredients, I could possibly convince my mother to trade them. If I'm willing, that is."

"Why are you so curious?"

Frea held up her chin. "Well, as a training alchemist, you have to be curious and adventurous to discover new things. Did you know that crow feathers can be used as an alchemy ingredient? Don't tell anyone, it's our secret."

"You're training in alchemy?"

"Mhm. My mom says I'm pretty good at it for my age."

"Well, I already guessed it, the way you were able to name all of those alchemy ingredients was impressive."

"Asena!"

The two girls froze as a middle-aged woman came walking out to them.

"Asena, it's past your curfew and you need to unpack your things," the woman said. She then looked at Frea.

"Who's your new friend?"

"Her name's Frea," said Asena. "We went exploring through the forest together. She showed me this really cool garden with all these-"

"Pathway in the forest!" Frea interrupted suddenly. She shot Asena a look and Asena slowly nodded.

"Yeah, it was a really gorgeous path. There were a ton of trees and we saw a lot of deers and foxes," Asena continued.

Her mother smiled warmly.

"Well, that sounds fun. It was nice to meet you, Frea. You should probably start heading home too. I bet your parents are worried."

Frea held back the desire to roll her eyes.

"Yeah, probably, but I tell them all the time that the forests are safe! They just don't understand."

"Well..." Asena's mother glanced at the forest nervously." There are plenty of things to be worried about. But it's time for dinner. Would you two like to hang out tomorrow?"

"Yes!" Both of them exclaimed. Asena's mother smiled and turned to walk back to the house. "Your mother is so nice," Frea whispered. "I knew that she was probably your mother because you guys look so similar."

"In what way?" Asena laughed.

"Well, the thick dark brown hair, the large hazel eyes, small face..." she made a hand gesture that meant that she could've gone on.

"Small- are you calling me small?" Gasped Asena. "I'll have you know that I made a weapon, and I'm not afraid to use it!"

"Oh, uh, I didn't mean it that way! Your faces are just rounder, it's cute. Anyways, you should probably go. See you tomorrow!"

Asena waved goodbye and joyfully walked back home.

"Someone called me cute," she said, her eyes lifting in happiness.

I can't believe I made a friend so quickly! She thought. She knew that she would be seeing Frea for a while. She was shy in the beginning but became best friends with her pretty quickly. Soon they made up a bunch of fantasy stories to play out together and went to each others' houses quite often, with Frea imagining that she was the healer all the time which slightly annoyed Asena but she was able to shrug it off.

The two girls were playing in Frea's room when suddenly a breeze of wind made the curtains flail about: casting all sorts of shadows in the dimly lit room. The two girls looked at each other with widened eyes.

"The wind is calling," said Asena.

"You know what that means," whispered Frea ominously.

"It's time for battle!"

They tore out of the room and rushed downstairs where their parents were having an afternoon lunch. The mothers were already preparing themselves when they heard their thundering footsteps and saw Frea's bright hair bouncing.

"Where are you two going?" asked Frea's mother sternly, who seemed disrupted by their noise.

"We're going inside the forest! The spirit of the woods has called to us through the wind," said Frea.

"Where in the forest?" asked Asena's mother warily. "Near the entrance, right? Not anywhere too far?"

"Yes, of course."

"We'll be back soon!" yelled Asena. The two girls both took their bags of sticks and 'potions' and dashed out of the door. Asena and Frea's mother looked at each other, smiling and shaking their heads. "All of Falkreath will hear the sound of those two 9-year-olds being rascals," Frea's mother sighed.

Asena and Frea were coming up near a large river that cut through the forest, and there, impatiently fidgeting was a young boy. Today he was wearing what he thought was good fishing clothing, and he showed it by reeling in fish with his head held high and a smile on his face. Really all it was, was a brown cap, dark green trousers rolled up to his knees, and a plain old shirt, but it helped him feel more like his father who was a well-known fisher and wore the same fit.

The girls were running closer, and he noticed them with a scowl. "Off to play in your weird fantasies again?" He sneered.

Frea ignored him, as she always did, and Asena made a face at him, holding up her bug stick and waving it at him threateningly, as she always did. Asena was starting to get used to Falkreath after staying for 2 months. She never expected it to happen so fast, it's never like that when you were a new kid, but here came a young girl bubbling with adventure and curiosity. Frea had already shown Asena all of her favorite spots for reading and imagining, and her secret places where she writes her deepest feelings inside of her journal. She also showed Asena around Falkreath, and now she knew where the Jarl was, where the graveyard was, where to go for food and of course; alchemy ingredients because every other day Frea insists on checking what new ingredients are on sale.

The wind whispered through the tall oak trees as the two girls ran under them. Leaves crunched under their feet and the forest animals scurried away from their path.

"I'll be the warrior that fights all of the dragons!" Asena yelled.

Frea groaned. "You always choose to be a warrior. How about someone else? Like an alchemist!"

"Do you want to be a warrior this time, then?"

Frea shook her head quickly.

"Never. The thought of killing dragons makes me sad. What if they're nice dragons?"

"A dragon won't be nice," said Asena.

"Well, how do we know? They've been dead for centuries."

"That doesn't mean they would change."

They finally made it to the garden and threw their bags onto the soft grass.

"Well, I'm going to be the healer of the story," said Frea as she began to take out her potions and ingredients.

"I'm going to be the greatest healer ever! Every person that comes to me will rise again; healthy to the fullest!"

Frea always chose to be the healer. Her heart was always filled with empathy, which was something Asena realized pretty quickly about her.

"My biggest dream," she told Asena. "Is to just heal one person. If I can help just one person, I will die happy!"

Asena nodded.

"That sounds like a great dream. My dream is to...well, I haven't quite figured it all out yet, but I know that I'm going to be a great warrior that saves families from monsters and bandits!"

With that she whipped out her bug stick and flailed it in the air. Frea leaped over to Asena and put her hands on her shoulders. "So that's why you always want to be the warrior of our stories. Well, I can't judge you, then I would have to give up my alchemist part. Whatever your dream is, you can't lose hope, or else you're going to make yourself believe that you can't do it, and then you'll live a sad life knowing that you had the chance to do what you've always wanted but didn't, just remember that. I once read a book where that happened to a poor guy; he had doubted himself so much that he perished in his own sadness. It was so sad. But I hope you will never be like that. Oh! And the boy by the river, he has no great dreams besides being a fisherman. That's so boring!"

Asena's eyes gleamed. She was also beginning to realize how poetic Frea was. Perhaps it's all the books she was reading, but it seemed to just come naturally from the girl's heart. Asena smiled.

"Thanks," she said. Frea grinned.

"Of course! You're my best friend, why wouldn't I give you my amazing life advice?" She pulled Asena to the middle of the field where they ran around each other and rolled in the grass with joyful laughs. "Just imagine it," gasped Frea dramatically, as she waved her arm through the sky. "Asena, the warrior of Falkreath- no wait...there! The Warrior of Skyrim! That's much better, don't you think?"

"Much better," agreed Asena. She hopped near Frea and held up her stick. "Asena...the warrior of Skyrim, slaying evil fearlessly and effortlessly. I could be one of the greatest warriors out there!" Asena sighed as she plopped onto the ground, the warm sun beaming down on her. Frea sat right beside her and twirled her fingers around a blade of grass. "So, when are we actually going to play the story?" she asked.

Frea shrugged. "I honestly don't know."

"Hmm, want to play now?"

"Sure!"

"Frea, do not be afraid! I shall save you from the dragon!" Asena put on her armor which was a piece of leather wrapped with thread around her knees and shoulders. She took out her bug stick and whipped it in the air, hitting the imaginary dragon with all of her might.

Asena then took the last blow and dramatically fell onto her knees, grasping her shoulder.

"I've been hit!" She cried out. Frea rushed to her aid, holding Asena's head in her arms.

"I'll save you, Asena, don't worry!" The girl quickly dug out some of the ingredients from the ground, smashing them together in a bowl and quickly mixing them together with a large stick.

Asena's eyes widened. "Are you using them? The ingredients?" She spoke.

"You're not supposed to break character," Frea hissed.

Asena sat up and peered inside the bowl. "Frea, if you're comfortable with using them, then you should sell them!"

"What? No!"

"You should. It'll save your family money."

"My family already has enough money."

Asena scowled. She remembered overhearing Frea's mother talking about how their money was beginning to run low and they had to take from their savings. They probably didn't tell Frea so she wouldn't be fearful. She could understand why. Frea was dramatic; her reaction would surely cause trouble in the house.

"That's a lie. I overheard your mother talking about something like that. Something about having to keep taking from savings."

Frea's eyes slowly widened, and she stopped mixing the ingredients.

"She really said that?"

Asena nodded.

Frea put the bowl on her lap and stared at them somberly.

"Why didn't she tell me? She promised- promised me, Asena, a deep promise, that she wouldn't keep secrets." Asena became somber as well. Frea wasn't very sad, and generally looked on the brighter side of things. But when it's something dealing with family, it's a different story.

"I really like these ingredients. I kind of consider them my own. Does that make sense?"

"But that's not realistic," Asena sighed. "These aren't your own. They didn't actually grow here. The best thing is to help your family, and think about it, now you have an excuse to see the khajiit caravan if you sell them there."

She gave her a comforting smile.

Frea furrowed her brow. Asena knew that it meant she was deep in thought, so she leaned back into the soft grass and entertained herself by gazing at the butterflies fluttering above her head. Frea always had to think hard about things, especially stuff that was sentimental to her. Asena knew that anything sentimental was hard to get rid of only because of her mother and father, but Asena didn't tend to look at physical things that way. For her they were more thoughts or memories.

Frea was silent as she fidgeted with the bowl in her hands. She then heaved a deep sigh and turned to Asena with a bright face.

"I thought about it and you're right. I can't hold on to this forever, and of course I want to help my family! I mean, I don't want my reasoning to only be the khajiit caravans."

The little girl hopped onto her feet and whipped her bright blonde hair from her rosy face. She smiled happily.

"Thank you for giving me your thoughts, Asena. It's always so nice to have other people's input, it really makes you think harder about certain things. They're just some objects, anyways, it's not like they're going to last forever, and what is the point of them rotting here with no purpose? I realize how wrong I was. Gather as many ingredients as you can!"

The Way of The Voice

4th Era, 201, Morning Star, Sun's Dawn

The giant walls of High Hrothgar loomed over Asena. Large and dark gray; threatening against the perfectly dark sky whilst framed by the howling wisps of wind and ice.

The cold wind creeped under the folds of Asena's armor and bit into her skin. She shivered and clenched her jaw as she dragged her feet through the thick snow that clawed at her ankles. For most of her life, she lived in the calm, rarely snowy forests of Falkreath; this was something she had never experienced before. The great Nord ancestors must've been the toughest people on Tamriel, Asena thought.

The Dragonborn trudged through the blizzard and up the stairs, until she finally reached the stone black doors of High Hrothgar. Their dark interior was like a gaping abyss, luring her in. Come in, it whispered. Discover our secrets. Feast on our power. Even the name, High Hrothgar, gave her an impending feeling of mystery.

She sighed, her breath a puff of smoke. She then rubbed her hands together, not knowing whether to be excited or fearful. The sheer anticipation of everything spread warmth from her stomach to all throughout her body, like the presence of a flame atronach.

Asena had only heard tales of the Greybeards from her mother when she couldn't sleep well at night, but now she was standing right in front of their sanctuary. How many stories had she heard in her life where people had this opportunity? Imagine all the people's reactions when she comes down, eyes wide in amazement and their hands thrown into the air in celebration for her. How did she even get to this point? She knew that it was only the freezing cold slashing at her body that kept her from believing this was all a dream.

Frozen blood from the creatures she encountered while climbing up the 7,000 steps still stained her armor. They were mostly from ice wraiths, a few wolves and some skeevers, and the frost troll she took a sliver of flesh off of but decided to just outrun at the last minute.

Asena closed her eyes, with a deep breath, pushed open the heavy door. A groan rang loudly in the cold air. The Dragonborn walked inside as quiet as she could, and yet her footsteps still echoed. The dark walls folded over her like a pair of wings. Inside there was a wide opening with a few statuesand, and lit up torches right across from each other. The room was fairly dim except for the opening, but there were stairs that led to ominously lit corridors, with flickering candlelight.

Even despite the lighting and the walls that surrounded her, it was peaceful. There was a blissful silence. She couldn't even hear the howling wind outside as the door closed shut behind her with a low rumble. She tensed as a shadow crawled along the walls, and a man in long gray robes turned around the corner. His face was pale and wrinkled, his beard was long and gray, and his eyes told many stories.

His robes were long and elegant, with mysterious patterns and designs etched on them, and had a hood similar to other mage attire she had seen in apprentices. His eyes gleamed under the flickering candlelight.

"So, a Dragonborn appears at this moment, in the turning of an age," he said softly. His voice echoed all around her as if many versions of him were speaking all at once, and with the lowly growl that sounded like he was a thousand years old. Perhaps he was a thousand years old. From what she has seen, it was certainly plausible.

"You call me Dragonborn," said Asena slowly. "What does that mean?" The dragon fight still burned in her mind. She felt stronger than ever before, but at a cost. Asena bit her tongue as the greybeard walked closer to her. This was a being only spoken in legends standing only several feet in front of her. What should she say? What can she do? Asena remembered being a young child and looking at the throat of the world. She's always wondered what was up there, or if anyone lived among those dangerous peeks. Her mother had told her stories of voices that could wipe out entire armies and destroy city walls in just a few words. But that's what she thought they were: stories. Stories that she and Frea would pretend to be the heroes in.

The greybeard narrowed his eyes.

"First, let us see if you truly are Dragonborn. Let us taste your voice."

Asena turned paler than she already was. She was about to say "what?" but the greybeard spoke before her.

"Do not be afraid. Your shout will not harm us." He spoke.

Asena nodded slowly. He wasn't stupid. Him and the others' voices shook the entire ground, he's not oblivious to this type of power. Asena inhaled, and with only some of her strength, shouted: "Fus!"

The greybeard stumbled back, and the wind pushed layers of dust into the air. After he caught himself, his face lit up in a welcoming grin.

"Dragonborn!" he declared, opening his arms wide. "It is you! Welcome," he then bowed. "To High Hrothgar."

Asena stared at the man in shock. "Did you just bow to me?"

"You must get used to it now because soon there will be much more than that. You are now bound to a great honor; even Skyrim's greatest heroes will shake in envy at the sight of you."

Those words struck a chord in Asena that sent a spark rushing through her body. People bowing to me. Impossible, she thought. She forgot to breathe again and took a quick breath. No one ever did that so simply. No one. You bow to Jarls, Emperors, praised warriors, or officers in higher power. Not to your average sword-wielder.

But you aren't just an average warrior to the world, Asena, said a voice. Now you're the savior of it. "Thank you," was all that she could say. She could barely hide the shock in her voice.

The greybeard smiled softly. "I am Master Arngeir. I speak for the greybeards. Now tell me, Dragonborn, why have you come here?"

"I answer your summoning," Asena answered with a dip of her chin. She had seen the guards do that before to each other. It wasn't a bow nor a simple nod, but an acknowledgement to return the bow.

"So, who are you? And what is this place?"

"As you should already know, we are the Greybeards. We are followers of the Way of the Voice. Right now, you stand in High Hrothgar, on the slopes of Kynareth's sacred mountain. Here we commune with the voice of the sky and strive to achieve balance between our inner and outer selves."

"Sounds like something that takes a while," murmured Asena.

The corner of Arngeir's lips twitched. "Yes, it does."

"I..." Asena paused, figuring out if she was going to ask an appropriate question. "I want to find out what it means to be dragonborn. I'm sure it's not just shouting at dragons, right?"

"We are here to guide you in that pursuit, just as the Greybeards have sought to guide those of the Dragon Blood that came before you."

Asena's eyes widened. "You mean I'm not the only dragonborn?" For some reason, this was a relief.

"You are not the first. There have been many of the dragonblood since Akatosh first bestowed that gift upon mortal kind. Whether you are the only Dragonborn of this age...that is not ours to know. You are the only one to be revealed thus far. That's all I can say."

Now here came the question that she was most worried about. This question determined the fate of millions of lives and generations before and after. This time, it was different than just a game. During a play of pretend there's a veil that's invisible but everyone knows it's there, the separation between reality and fantasy. But right now, there was no veil. This will determine the very foundation of Tamriel.

"What is my destiny?"

The second after those words were spoken, silence hung in the air. Thick and choking. The greybeard's face softened, and he finally spoke, "That is for you to discover, Dragonborn. We can show you the Way, but not the destination." Asena tried to look at him for more, but his face was hidden and revealed nothing.

That thought sent a shiver down Asena's spine. No. They had to know. She couldn't figure it out for herself, she was just getting used to everything.

When he turned to walk away, she grabbed his robes. "Please, tell me!" She begged.

"Are you willing to learn?" The greybeard asked.

Asena swallowed. "Yes? No, I don't know," she said quickly. "Please, you're the only people who know a lot about this whole Dragonborn thing. I can absorb a dragon's power but not much else, I mean, I don't know half of what's happening to me. I don't even know how to use the thu'um properly! What happens if I accidentally kill someone? And then what if I die? Who's going to kill the dragons? What if I fail? What if I fail to save everyone?"

All of this information was given to her; but how well was she going to use it? I don't trust myself with this, I need his advice now before I make a mistake, she thought.

The greybeard sighed and the softness in his face faded. "As I said earlier, it is you to discover. I know who I am, but I can't discover who you are."

Asena shook her head. "I'm going to do something wrong; I just know it. If you can give me a hint- even a glimpse- or something about my destiny, I'll make no mistakes. I promise."

The greybeard just stared at her in silence. Asena grits her teeth, finally taking the hint, and let go of his robes. The greybeard silently walked away.

"By the gods, this is going to be a long journey," she muttered under her breath. Of course, the answer was vague and mysterious. Now that Asena thought about it, what was she expecting?

"You have shown that you are dragonborn," said Arngeir. "You have the inborn gift. But do you have the discipline and temperament to follow the path laid out for you? That remains to be seen."

Suddenly, all of the greybeards came out of the shadows and gathered around Asena in pure silence. Still as statues.

She tensed and grasped her sword. Their heads were all titled low, eyes covered by their hoods, and arms crossed. It was an ominous sight. Almost like a daedric ritual.

"Why don't they speak?" she asked.

"Their Voices are too powerful for anyone not trained in the Way to withstand."

"So, when they talk..."

Arngeir nodded. "Even a whisper could kill you. That is how powerful the Voice is. Which is why you are the most important person, maybe even the most powerful on this mountain, and even in Tamriel in its current condition."

Asena turned pale and crossed her arms tightly to her chest.

"The dragons returning haven't made the Civil War any better," she agreed. With all of these dragons reappearing it was hard to keep track with the war. People are being slaughtered all around in Skyrim by dragons and by each other. Even just earlier, to her disgust, Asena smelled the stench of smoke and hurried to the side of the road where she saw a burning carriage. Imperial and stormcloak soldiers, lifeless, surrounded the area, with a few citizens sprawled upon burnt and red grass. 10 feet away was a soldier that had his skin burnt off, it seemed like he was crawling away, leaving a trail of blood and melted flesh behind him. Near her were burnt corpses huddled over each other, one was larger than the other; a mother and her child.

Asena had held her breath and shut her eyes as she walked by the horrid sight. It was a grim reminder of the state Skyrim was in.

Nobody was safe.

"What are we going to do now?" Asena asked, shaking the memory away. "Will I be taught about the thu'um?"

Arngeir sighed.

"Patience, Dragonborn. Without training, you have already taken the first steps towards projecting your Voice into a Thu'um, a Shout. Now let us see if you are willing and able to learn. When you Shout, you speak in the language of dragons. Thus, your Dragon Blood gives you an inborn ability to learn Words of Power. All Shouts are made up of three Words of Power. As you master each Word, your Shout will become progressively stronger. Master Einarth will now teach you "Ro," the second Word in the Unrelenting Force. Ro means "Balance" in the dragon tongue. Combine it with Fus - "Force" - to focus your Thu'um more sharply."

One of the greybeards inhaled deeply, lifting his chin up. Asena tensed and took a step back. "Ro..." Einarth whispered.

The shout sent a spark through the air. She could feel the power of the words bounce off of her chest and swirl around her. A loud sizzling noise met her ears, similar to the sound of fire being doused by water, and she looked down with a gasp. The words were carving themselves into the stone, glowing with a fiery orange.

Asena leaned in curiously. The words were written in a different language than English. It was...

"Dragon language," she breathed.

Like the impact of a tidal wave, the meaning and understanding of the word flew into her mind. "Ro'' means balance. The equal amount of power spread. It wasn't a mess of force and wind, but a "balanced" and controlled amount of force shot to a destined area. Like an arrow to its target, the right amount of balance from the arrow gliding through the wind to the balance of the archer, along with the force in which the string is pulled and the arrow is released.

Asena gazed down at the glowing words. She now understood.

"Fus...Ro!"

Force and balance. The shout wasn't a gust of harsh wind or a push anymore, but a controlled amount of magic blasting in front of her, a burst of energy at a specific destination. All Asena could see was a blur as the power protruded from her mouth and straight at the greybeards.

With grunts, they stumbled on their feet and fell lightly on the walls.

"I'm so sorry!" she gasped, covering her mouth. "I didn't mean to do that, that was my fau-"

"You learn a new word like a master," said Arngeir, his face wide in awe as he regained his posture.

"You truly do have the gift. But learning a Word of Power is only the first step... you must unlock its meaning through constant practice in order to use it in a Shout. Well, that is how the rest of us learn Shouts. As Dragonborn, you can absorb a slain dragon's life force and knowledge directly."

"I'm doing this right?" she asked nervously. She heaved a sigh of relief as the greybeards nodded.

"As part of your initiation," Arngeir continued. "Master Einarth will allow you to tap into his understanding of "Ro." Now let us see how quickly you can master your new Thu'um. Use your Unrelenting Force shout to strike the targets as they appear."

"Fik...Lo...Sah!" shouted the greybeard in the middle. With a low roar, a ghostly replicant of him appeared. Asena shot a nervous glance at Arngeir, who gave her a reassuring nod. Asena lifted her shoulders and inhaled deeply. Naturally, the meaning of the words came to her and was the power that burst through her mouth.

"Fus...Ro!"

The ghostly figure stumbled and faded away upon the might of her shout. Narrowing her eyes, she focused her gaze on the greybeards. One by one, she shouted the figures away and quicker at each time. Asena's amazed and perplexed gaze spoke many words.

"Impressive," said Arngeir. "Your Thu'um is precise. You show great promise, Dragonborn. We will perform your next trial in the courtyard. Follow Master Borri."

"Now we will see how quickly you can master a new Shout. Master Wulfgar will demonstrate the Whirlwind Sprint. Then it will be your turn. Master Borri."

"Bex!"

Asena jumped as the gate suddenly opened.

"Wuld...Nah... Kest!" shouted Wulfgar. In a blink of an eye, Wulfgar became a blur, and suddenly he was at the end of the gate. Asena just stared at him, blinking in shock.

"What in Oblivion...?"

"Now it is your turn," said Arngeir, walking to Asena. "Stand next to me. Borri will open the gate. Use your Whirlwind Spirit to pass before it closes."

"Bex!"

The gate opened before her. Asena took a deep breath, closing her eyes, pressing her feet into the snow.

"Wuld..." she could see the image of wind and how it tore through the sky with unimaginable speeds. How the howling winds of storms slithered through mountains and with their force shoving aside trees and buildings.

"Nah..."

She steadied herself.

"Kest!"

A blast of wind slammed into her chest as she was thrown forward, yet her body felt in place. She could feel the wind push back her hair and sting her face, but it felt like she was only levitating. Suddenly, the wind died, and everything became still. Asena squinted her eyes open and looked down. She was near the edge of the cliff.

She gasped and turned around as the gate groaned to a shut behind her.

"I did it!" She exclaimed. "By the gods I did it!"

She walked back to Arngeir with a small triumphant smile. "Did I shout well enough?"

"Your quick master of the new thu'um is...astonishing," he said. "I've heard stories of the abilities of the Dragonborn, but to see it myself...It is truly an honor to train you. I would never change my decision to take part in The Way of The Voice, just so I could witness this in person."

Asena didn't know how to respond. "T…thank you, master. I really thought this was easy for everyone. I mean, I don't even know how I do it. It just happens."

"It is indeed not easy for anyone to do. We have been practicing for decades, and here you are, shouting in the span of seconds. But beware that your skill does not outstrip your wisdom. You were given this gift by the gods for a reason. It is up to you to figure out how to best use it."

"I still wonder, master, why me?" Asena asked. Her life was boring and all about wandering aimlessly and cowering away from every situation, and then Frea. Asena bit her tongue. She would not return to that.

"I cannot answer that for you, Dragonborn," said Arngeir softly. "But I know that it was for a reason. Don't let them down."

"Just don't tell me that…The dragons returning aren't because of me, right?"

"No, but there is no doubt that you are linked to the dragons returning. The appearance of a Dragonborn at this time is no accident." Arngeir walked near the edge of the cliff, waringly looking down at the lands of Skyrim. His face, stricken with worry, was hidden beneath the shadows of his cloak.

"Your destiny is surely bound up with their return. Focus on honing your Voice, and soon your path will be made clear."

Asena sighed nervously. "Surely there is more you can tell me."

"There is indeed much that we know that you do not. That does not mean that you are ready to understand it," Arngeir said. "Do not let your easy mastery of the Voice tempt you into arrogance of power that has been the downfall of many Dragonborn before you."

The Dragonborn grinded her teeth and turned away, holding back the desire to ask more questions. He would be annoyed and then might not even help her at all. She would just be another burden.

"Thank you, master," she said slowly, gazing into the distance. She could almost see a few buildings down there, and they reminded her it was Skryim's people that she was fighting for.

"Now, what's next?"

The howling winds screamed in Asena's ears as she ran up the stairs to High Hrothgar. Her eyes, squinted against the cold, were tinted red and so were her knuckles, her lips were paler than the frost. Asena threw herself at the doors and pushed them open with a groan. The warm shelter of the building sent a peaceful wave on her like a cozy cabin or a mother's presence. Hrothgar wasn't the most comforting place, but it was where she didn't feel totally alone. The greybeards understood her, they knew who she was, and they knew her power. They knew what to teach her, though it didn't mean the same worries had disappeared.

Asena entered Hrothgar and heaved an exhausted sigh. The room was empty. The greybeards were probably out in the courtyard. She rubbed her hands together and spun around the room, the numbness of the cold slowly disappearing from her body.

"Arngeir? I got the horn!" She called. No one answered besides her own voice echoing off the stone walls.

Asena huffed and took off her iron helmet. She looked at it, grimacing at the stained blood, and wiped it down with a cloth she saw on a table. She then set it down and pulled out the horn from her pocket. Asena stared at it curiously. I wonder who this Jurgen Windcaller is and why he's so important, she thought.

"Ah! You've retrieved the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller."

Asena yelped and leaped back onto the table, wincing as a cup fell to the floor with a loud clunk. Arngeir stared at her with a questioning look.

"What is with you guys being so silent?" She said.

Arngeir shrugged.

"I thought the Dragonborn wouldn't be so scared of such things like a quiet old man."

Asena shot him a venomous gaze and gently set the horn on the table.

"I'd argue that's far scarier than a dragon."

"I suppose."

The greybeard narrowed his eyes as he picked up the horn and turned it on all sides.

Asena watched him. It should've been the real horn. It had to be. She trusted Delphine, but you couldn't trust too much in anybody.

"Fascinating. Well done, Dragonborn. You have passed all of the trials." He put the horn in his robes.

"What are you going to do with it?" Asena asked, taking off her steel armor which she had found in the draugr ruin.. Though it was slightly rusty and had a few stains of dried blood, turning brown from age, she was content with it.

"Well, I say it's good to have a piece of the past. A reminder of when everything began. The true reason for the trial was to see if you could handle the journey of getting it." The greybeards surrounded her again, all of their heads bowed low while Arngeir stood tall in the middle, his gaze determined and sternly focused on the Dragonborn, who had to contain her excitement by crossing her arms to her chest.

"You are ready to learn the final word of Unrelenting Force, 'Dah,' which means' 'Push'''.

Wulfgar heaved in a deep breath. "Dah..."

Asena tensed as the ground rumbled slightly beneath her feet. She still couldn't believe how powerful the greybeards were. They had a mystical presence, and were their own royalty, deserving all of praise. It's almost unbelievable that they decided to live lonesome lives up on the Throat of The World, away from the strife and battles on Tamriel below. The destruction they could cause...

She was grateful that she was being trained by them and not the greedy and corrupt hearts of those in power. Nor someone as fearful as she was.

The greybeards shifted into a circle until they all surrounded Asena. She looked around, bewildered.

"What are we doing?"

"You have completed your training, Dragonborn. We will speak to you. Stand between us and prepare yourself. Few can withstand the unbridled voice of the Greybeards. But you are ready."

Asena nodded nervously, licking her lips. She shifted, taking breaths, mentally preparing herself from anything to come. Was there going to be a shout? Was she going to be able to withstand it? What if the shout breaks all my bones and I fail everyone? She held herself back from telling them that she wasn't sure if she was ready. You've faced quite a few challenges already, she told herself. Remember, you are the Dragonborn.

She closed her eyes. There was only darkness.

The sound, which was sudden, erupted like a dragon's roar and trumpets blaring, crying and echoing throughout her mind; she could feel her bones trembling within her flesh and her body being compressed by the powerful force of the voice surrounding her.

Asena stumbled around on her feet, desperately trying to keep still. She let out a strained cry. The force was powerful, pulling at her soul and her body like a hungry animal clawing at its prey. It was the force of being compressed tightly under an avalanche of boulders, then being stretched apart until not even a shred of your body was left, but you never died.

Asena clenched her teeth together, clutching her head with her hands.

You're the dragonborn, you're the dragonborn, she chanted. Look what you've already done. Frea would be proud of you. She inhaled deeply and took in the words, the force becoming welcoming, and even a part of her, like she was one with the power. She was the power.

The words didn't even sound human, it was like a deep roar of an erupting volcano, or like the gods were speaking, songs of fire and thunder, death and life.

This was the power of the Voice.

The more Asena listened to the sound; the wild and mighty sound; she could hear words, and then full sentences.

"Lingrah krosis saraan Strundu'ul, voth nid balaan klov praan nau. Naal Thu'umu, mu ofan nii nu, Dovahkiin, naal suleyk do Kaan, naal suleyk do Shor, ahrk naal suleyk do Atmorasewuth. Meyz nu Ysmir, Dovahsebrom. Dahmaan daar rok.''

The ground shook madly and Asena fell to her knees.

"I can hear it," she gasped, her voice like a squeak amongst the chanting.

"Long has the Storm Crown languished with no worthy brow to sit upon. By our breath we bestow it now to you in the name of Kyne, in the name of Shor, and in the name of Atmora of old. You are Ysmir now, the Dragon of the North. Hearken to it."

The Dragon of the North.

Asena's heart began to beat, nearly jumping out of her chest.

The rumbling slowly came to a stop. The sounds died down to distant echoes. Asena clutched her chest, gasping in relief and shock, and slowly stood up, still trembling slightly. The greybeards closed their eyes, and all bowed before the Dragonborn. A breath of pride began to fill her chest, but it was a wavering flame against the cold wind, she had to hold onto it.

Asena stared at them in pure silence, comprehending everything, and then dipped her head.

"Thank you," she sighed. "It is a great honor to have trained with you. I wish for Skyrim to not have to worry about the threat of the dragons anymore."

Of course she was grateful for having the honor, but still didn't want to face it, especially because she froze. Everyone could die by one mistake.

"...Hopefully."

"Hopefully?" said Arngeir. "Most definitely. Don't let the mind tell you lies. It will only bring you down."

Asena sighed shakily and clenched her hands together. Now I have this burden, she thought. I can't let anyone down.

"I'll try my best, master. Thank you."

"So, we are going to Kynesgrove. There's an ancient dragon burial near there. If we can get there before the dragon rises, maybe we'll learn how to stop it," said Delphine as she was strapping on her leather armor.

Asena stared at her with a face as pale as snow.

"So, we're killing another dragon," she sighed. "Great."

Delphine narrowed her eyes. "If you're really the dragonborn, you shouldn't be too worried."

She gave her a glare. "Yes, but..." She admitted that she was being stupid, fearing a dragon despite having the same power and soul as one, and a random warrior being braver than her. But she could do it. She had the power, the potential, the Voice. Asena looked around the underground base. The table in front of her had scattered dragon burial maps, books of dragons and Skyrim, and rows of weapons and armor hanging on the walls. Delphine and whoever helped her worked hard on this base.

As she looked around, Asena felt a pang of guilt on her chest.

"I've only learned three shouts," she said. "Unrelenting Force, Whirlwind Sprint, and a few words of Ethereal. It's not that much. I don't think...is there possibly another way we could do this? I mean, what if the dragon just stays dead the entire time? It would be a waste of effort."

"Three shouts should be enough to hold off a dragon," said Delphine, her suspicious gaze still lingering on her.

"And no, there is no 'other way' to figure this out. We need to find out where the dragons are coming from and being there to witness a dragon rising from the grave is our only way of truly finding out who's behind their return. If we know what's causing it, then we can end it once and for all. Besides the Thalmor, do you really have any better ideas on what could cause dragons returning? Oh, and what if the dragon does rise from the dead? Are you saying that you would let an entire village die?"

Asena was taken aback, quickly opening her mouth to reply, but she choked on air from shock. She coughed while hammering her fist on her chest, until finally clearing her throat.

"No, of course not," she croaked. She felt a sting of pain in her chest, one of bitter truth and fear.

"I just don't want to let people die. I'm sorry I can't be the dragonborn that the legends say, the one that everybody says charges into battle, and murders dragons in the blink of an eye. I don't know why I'm chosen, because I shouldn't be," she snapped.

Delphine just stared at her. Her dull eyes were unreadable.

Asena gave her a pleading expression longing for something; something to show that she understood, but how could anyone understand?

"But I try, and you're right, I should try now. I'm afraid, but you probably don't care." Asena grabbed a sword and sheathed it."Let's go kill a dragon," she said, quietly. "But don't say I warned you if I let us down. My first dragon fight was different, the dragon had used only a couple shouts, and I had a horde of guards, but this...I don't know."

Delphine nodded and walked to the stairs, pushing Asena aside with her shoulder. She clenched her sword and sighed shakily. Asena and Delphine ran from Riverwood to Kynesgrove in piercing silence. Asena was sweating and trying to swallow down a panic attack building up inside her. She couldn't even admire the vast landscapes of Skyrim which were gently being kissed by the warm sunlight of dawn, along with the butterflies or looming trees, casting magnificent shadows on the ground. Her gaze was set on the horse she was riding on.

Asena started to chew her nails, silently, not even realizing what she was doing until she saw Delphine staring at her. She blushed red and threw her hands to her waist, but when Delphine wasn't looking, her fingers were drawn to her teeth once again, her eyes murky and distant.

They were like lambs sent to the slaughter, but everyone thought that because she knew how to communicate with their slaughterers that she would be brave enough to fight and kill them. Yes, she is a known legend, and she did kill the dragon last time, but the power of the voice is never something you're guaranteed to withstand, matter how powerful you are. She was still a human, a fearful one, and how could she even fight? She was just a coward that would never change, wasn't she? Delphine didn't understand. She never fought a dragon before, how does she know that it isn't too much to be worried about? The dragons have shouts too. They will obliterate them. All of them. The last dragon was prideful, thinking it could take on humans without any shouts, probably wanting to prove something to his brothers, but this one might not be so stupid.

She thought of all the screams of dying men and the agonizing heat of the fire, while the dragon gazed over the horror it caused with its head held high. They truly were evil.

I'm not the right person for this, but I don't want to have a village die under my name. I'll go, and if I die, good. I don't want to deal with this terror anymore. I'd rather die honorably than in bed, hiding away like a frightened cat, she thought firmly.

"Asena, are you alright?"

Asena turned to Delphine, who had a surprisingly calm form to her.

"You look like you're thinking about a lot of things."

"I am! A dragon fight is nothing to treat casually! I've seen the power that they have from their body alone, and now we have to fight one that could shout? Why are you so relaxed? You should know the power of the dragons! You've been, what- studying them and the dragonborn for years? I'm stressed and you should be too! I don't want to see people die in front of me like how it happened in my first fight, no one! Now you listen to me because I don't want you blaming me for freezing or stalling because 'I shouldn't be worried', we have everything to be worried about, especially me, because all eyes are on me, and if a single drop of innocent blood is shed, I'm to blame. And now...now it's always in my head and it will never get out. So, save your comments or else I'll make sure I shout you off a cliff and I'll be standing there laughing at you!"

Delphine just stared at her, blinking and eyes wide.

"I... I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Asena swallowed hard and looked away, shaking her head. "No, I'm sorry. I'm just..."

"I get it. You don't say more."

The rest of the journey was silent again, and the only sound that was uttered was their worried breaths. After traveling to Kynesgrove and hopping off of their horses, Asena stumbled back as a screaming woman ran into her.

"What's wrong? Is a dragon here?" Asena said, grabbing her shoulders. The woman's wide eyes glanced at the sky, and she tore from her grasp, running away.

Asena turned to Delphine, their faces both stricken with fear.

"Alright, Dragonborn, it's time to prove yourself," she said, but there was a waver in her voice. Asena could see in her eyes that underneath her fierce tone, those words were more from desperation and fear, and her stomach twisted.

The rumble of horses and footsteps sounded in the distance, and a stampede of villagers and even a few guards with horses were running down the hill screaming. Asena shoved people out of the way as she climbed uphill, stretching her neck to look above the crowd to see what was there.

"I don't see anything," Asena said.

"You cowards!" Delphine spat as the village's guards rode by.

Asena remained as silent as a stone. She couldn't blame them.

One guard halted his horse and turned around, dirt flying in the air, his scrunched and bloody face filled with anger and fear.

"I'd like to see you fight a dragon!" he cried.

"Where is it?" Asena asked.

The guard pointed up the hill.

"Over there, hidden behind the trees. I don't know why it's hovering around, but it's got large horns and it's as black as midnight."

Asena nodded. "Thank you."

The two ran away, trudging up the hill as fast they could. The guard stared at them in shock, tightening his grip on the horse, trying to figure out if he should fight or not.

"Talos guide you!" he called before riding away.

Delphine and Asena trudged up the hill as fast as they could. The sky, which was once blue and sunny, became covered with dark clouds and it began to drizzle.

I have to do this, I have to do this, Asena thought, pulling out her sword and taking deep breaths. This is for your people. Remember what you promised them! There is still hope, you have 3 shouts, you can defeat this dragon.

Delphine turned pale as she saw thick clouds of smoke rising from the houses.

"By Talos..." she said. "I hope you're the true dragonborn. If not; gods help us."

Fire and Blood

Dec/4/2021

"I hope I'm the true dragonborn too." She took a nervous breath. "I hope..."

Asena managed to climb up the burial mound first, digging her fingers into the dirt as blasts of cold wind stung her face. The ground was muddy and slippery from the rain that slowly fell, but not enough to blow out any of the fire. She lifted herself up, stumbling over the dirt, and when she looked up at the sky her blood turned to ice.

The silhouette of a dragon with even more jagged and curling horns hovered above her. It slowly turned its head, glaring down on her with furious red eyes. Asena gasped quietly. She had seen the dragon in Helgen, just before she was about to be executed.

Asena stumbled back on her feet, her jaw to the ground, trying her best to stay silent as the dragon locked her with a steel gaze. The dragon was 10 times larger than the others, and the beat of its wings shook all of the trees and blew back Asena's hair. It's dark body covered any slight beam of sunlight peeking from the clouds, suffocating all hope in it's looming shadow.

A wave of fear came over her, and a sudden shriek of wind knocked her off of her feet, her heartbeat thundering so loud until it was the only thing she could hear.

"Sahloknir, ziil gro dovah ulse! Slen Tiid Vo!" It bellowed. The voice gave Asena the dread of a thousand deaths. Her vision blurred, she was becoming slightly out of consciousness, slowly falling in and out the depths of her mind. A beam of light shot up into the dark sky with a roar, and the ground shook and burst.

Piles of soil and grass flew in the air. Asena winced as they landed on her face, and she flipped onto her side.

Louds thumps of a creature- something large- shook her body. She rubbed her eyes, blinking, and nearly screamed at what she saw.

A skeleton of a dragon was crawling out of the grave, walking towards the black dragon with cries that sounded of longing and relief. Dots of scales and flesh slowly grew on its back, soon spreading throughout its entire body. It was growing its flesh back, reviving itself.

The dragon then took a long breath.

Asena couldn't believe it. She had heard of necromancy before- but to do it on the will of a dragon; it should've been impossible. Unless it wasn't necromancy but something the dragons created. Could they even learn how to use necromancy?

She quickly backed away towards a tree and hid behind it, leaning on the trunk with panicked breaths. The trees in front of her twisted and the grass turned sideways.

The dragons then spoke.

"Alduin, thuri! Boaan tiid vokriiha suleyksejun kruziik?"

"Geh, Sahloknir, kaali mir," boomed the larger dragon. Asena could recognize the voice. She pressed herself against the tree, putting her knees on her chest, trying to smother herself under its shadow.

The dragon turned towards the tree. "Ful, losei Dovahkiin? Zu'u koraav nid nol dov do hi."

Asena tensed, and then came a dreadful silence.

"You do not even know our tongue, do you?" said the dragon. "Such arrogance, to dare take for yourself the name of Dovah. Sahloknir, krii daar joorre."

Asena swallowed, a lump forming in her throat. "Delphine," she muttered. "Where are you?"

Asena had a feeling that this was not going to be like the previous battle. She was alone this time, with no guards, no Irileth, no Vladimir, just herself. This time there would be no second chances.

She clenched her hands on the grass, not even realizing she was doing it, looking out into the forest. If she ran now, she could escape. It was just like last time, when she was near the stone and was debating whether to run away or not, but this time the feeling was heavier.

She leaned forward, as if the thought was tugging at her chest, but she couldn't bring herself to stand up, like her legs were frozen, and now her body and mind was stuck between the two choices. Her mind was so muddled that she didn't even see the shadow covering the trees right above her. Her heart stopped. It was too late.

She felt the hot breaths of the dragon against her neck, the low growls vibrating in her ears and the figure of its head looming over her, growing closer, but she was still frozen.

The dragon is going to kill me, she thought. I have to fight it.

Another blast of hot breath shook Asena in terror. She shot her eyes open. Like a striking snake, the dragon launched at her throat.

Asena rolled out of the way just in time. The dragon lifted its large head and curled its lips similar to a grin, and her eyes flashed. .

"I hope you rot in Oblivion," she cried. She pulled her arm to her chest with a yelp of pain.

I must fight. I have to. She told herself. If I don't fight, I'll die, and if I die, everyone else will too. You've done this before, and you can do it again.

Asena gritted her teeth, releasing a grunt of pain, and inhaled shakily.

"Fus...ro!"

A wave of soil tore itself from the ground, flying into the air to the dragon. It fell over its body but was barely enough to cover it, tumbling off it's back and head. The dragon shook some of the dirt off and released a couple belows.

"Fus...Ro... Dah!"

Another wave of soil burst from the ground, launching into the sky, and the dragon lowered its head.

"Fus...Ro... Dah!" The dragon's voice erupted, as deep as a dwarven ruin. The wave of soil was blown back to the dragonborn like a game of catch.

Asena screamed and curled into a ball and a mound of dirt fell on top of her. The world went dark, and she felt the pressure fall onto her chest, barely being able to move, pinned to the ground, and with every breath, it flew into her mouth.

"Help! Delphine!" she screeched. Pushed by panic, she clawed wildly at the dirt. The soil wrapped around her mouth, suffocating her.

"Delphine! Please!"

Something stirred above.

"I'm right here!"
Pain sparked in her arm, then the world whooshed past her, and she was pulled into the air. She gasped for breath and turned to her arm in horror.

The dragon shook her back and forth like a child with its toy.

Asena drew her sword and stabbed it in its snout, tasting its blood on her tongue.

She yelped when she fell on the ground. She then stumbled onto her feet, taking only a few steps before falling.

A high-pitched shriek rang in the air as the dragon shrunk back. It shook its head, snarling, and then charged at Asena.

"No," Asena gasped. "Fus…" her vision blurred. Her head was dizzy.

"Fus…Fus…"

Just say the words, just say the words.

Asena stumbled onto her knees. She just needed to aim right.

The dragon opened its mouth, halted to a stop and it swerved its head left with a roar.

Delphine leaped onto a boulder, tightly gripping a bow in her hand, only a short distance away from the beast. Her heart was thundering.

Please Asena, please tell me you're the dragonborn, she thought desperately.

Arrows flew in the sky, but they bounced off the dragon's scales. Asena churned with guilt and frustration. She could fight back, she's the dragonborn for Talos' sake.

Asena winced, breathing heavily through clenched teeth. Her hair was a wild mess, falling over her eyes and sticking to her dirty and bloody face. She snapped her head at the dragon, boiling with anger.

Her shoulders lifted and her chest grew. "Fus...Ro... Dah!" she dragged on the last word, screaming as loud as she could. Her throat throbbed and ached.

The dragon dug his claws in the ground, shutting his eyes and turning his head away from the might of the shout.

The trees in the blast range were lifted from the ground and tossed in the dark sky. He muttered something bitterly and spread out his wings, then lifted off into the air.

"Dovahkiin…" he growled.

"No!" Asena threw herself to her feet. She then fell back from a gust of wind from the dragon's wings.

Her body slammed against the dirt, and she laid still, panting heavily. After a minute, she slowly lifted herself up again, trembling as sweat dripped from her face. A sharp stab of pain shot through her chest and she yelled, nearly falling.

Asena saw from the corner of her eye Delphine rushing to her.

"Are you alright?" she asked. She reached out a hand to Asena's arm but quickly folded it to her chest.

"The dragon...it…" Asena swallowed and then gasped in horror as she looked at her arm. Blood oozed through the armor's plates, dripping onto the grass, spreading like ink on paper.

Somehow, looking at the sight made it throb more.
Delphine turned pale and Asena turned away.

Breathe, she told herself. Just stay calm

"It grabbed my arm, but I'm...I'm still going to fight."

"Are you sure?" said Delphine. "You look," she glanced up and down. "Like you would die very quickly in battle."

She took a piece of linen from her satchel and wrapped it around Asena's arm. Blood already began to soak the wrap on its first layer.

"You'll lose too much blood."

"I have to. I don't know if you would understand."

Delphine shot her a glare. ¨You might be able to shout, but that doesn't mean you can kill a dragon- especially in the condition you're in! Stay on the side, and I'll rally up some guards. When the dragon is distracted, you run as fast as you can to the nearest town, and tell them to send reinforcements. Do you understand?

"No!" Asena gripped onto the collar of Delphine's armor. She swallowed hard, her throat dry and stinging.

"I will show you. I have to fight this battle or else the entire village will die- including you! And then the dragon will escape. There's no other way to go through this."

"Asena-"

Her words were cut off by a thunderous roar. A trail of orange and red quickly spread across the villages. Cries echoed up the valley and the heat from the fire traveled through the wind, lightly blowing on Asena's face.

Her heart dropped when the dragon circled around the evacuating people and destroyed them with fire. There were still screams from the village. There were still survivors.

"The town isn't fully evacuated and without me, more people will die, and I'll never forgive myself. I only know three shouts but I'd rather die fighting than doing nothing. As the dragonborn I order you to let me fight."

Delphine and Asena locked eyes, and as if they made a silent understanding, Delphine tore Asena's hands off of her and backed away.

"Alright," she said. "Stay safe as best you can."

The Dragonborn nodded, a grave look on her face.

"Thank you."

Delphine nodded and ran down the valley.

Asena laid her head back against the dirt hill, gasping for breath. "Talos, please guide me," she said. "Every divine being...help me. Please."

Asena wanted to move, but every bone in her body felt like boulders.

"I can save them."

She pulled herself up and unsheathed her sword with her undamaged arm. She took a deep breath and then charged down the valley, pain tearing at her body. She honed her focus on the village.

"Lok...kah...nes!"

In a blur, Asena was right at the scene, the stifling heat of the fire beating on her face.

She coughed and covered her mouth, looking around the ruined and burning buildings.

She took a few steps forward and jumped as a house collapsed, sending bursts of fire and embers into the air.

Asena ran, shielding her face with her hand and toward the middle of the village, leaping over burnt bodies and homes, and halted to a stop, heart pounding, looking around in terror.

The skies had turned red, and fire was surrounding her, reaching up into the sky and driving back down to devour its prey; a repeating cycle until there was nothing left except ashes.

"Oblivion in Nirn," she whispered.

Vivid memories of the last dragon battle stirred in her mind. No, she couldn't think of that now. It would only hinder her from what she needed to do.

Asena looked up at the sky, but it was void of the dragon. No sounds, no trembles under her feet, nothing.

Nothing except the hair rising on the back of her neck as she felt something watching her.

She breathed shakily, slowly looking at the walls of fire. It was behind there. She knew it.

Asena took a step back and clenched her sword, taking a deep breath to feel the power of the voice within. Her chest lifted, ready to shout, but froze when she heard an ear-piercing scream.

She stood her ground at first, holding her breath. The world felt still, and somehow, very silent, as if time stopped in surprise.

She heard another scream, and time dragged back into motion as she turned around to where the scream came from.

"Tell me where you are!" She called, glancing behind her.

"I'm here! Help me!"

Asena saw a young woman on the ground, her legs pinned down by a pillar. The fire was nearing her. Asena threw her arms to the pillar and lifted it with all her strength, her knees and arms trembling.

"I'll get you out, I promise."

The woman let out a terrified sob as she saw that the pillar didn't move. She turned to Asena with fearful eyes.

"Please...help…" came a quiet whimper.

"You have to bend forward to help me lift it!" Asena cried. "Please, I can't do this by myself!" She gasped for breath as she removed her arms. The small, defenseless flame that sparked inside of her ever since the first dragon fight still lingered, but wavered, but it couldn't burn out now.

"I can't, I'm sorry," sobbed the woman. Asena followed her arms which were on her round stomach protectively.

She lifted her shirt up, and a wave of numbness fell over her. Her fingers clenched the fabric.

"You're..." she breathed. "She's...oh by the gods."

No, no, this can't be happening. "I- don't worry," she said. There's every reason to worry, she thought frantically. Just like last time...you're going to lose two lives and it's all going to be your fault.

Asena gulped, mustering up all her strength and tried to lift up the pillar, inching a little, then cried out as her damaged arm shot excruciating pain and fell.

The woman began to wail. The fire grew closer, barely burning Asena's hair. She looked around, bewildered at how fast it was moving. There was enough time to save her, just barely, with enough strength. If she tried harder, she could do it, but what about the dragon?

She growled in frustration and hit the wood. The fire closed in on them like a pack of wolves.

A deep growl came from it.

Asena didn't look. She could sense it. It was right behind her, toying with her mind, waiting for her to look at it.

She squeezed her eyes shut, grinding her teeth.

"Please, just try to lift it!" the woman cried.

She then heard it again.

She turned around.

The dragon's face was there, hovering only some feet from her- Asena could swear it was smiling, smiling at this horrid scene, proud of what it was doing. It's reptilian face, long and crooked, with giant curling horns, just watched her with peering green eyes. It then lifted it's wing which revealed two families hiding under the fallen roof of a house.

They all huddled together tightly. Sobbing and wailing in each other's arms. There were 3 children, grandparents, and young men and women, and another family with about the same amount of people. All of them were probably the last of the villages' residents.

Asena clenched her fist and held it to her face. She knew what she had to do. "Please!" The woman sobbed, grabbing onto Asena's arms frantically. "Don't leave me! Please, I'll do anything for you, just don't let me and my baby die!" the woman's grasp tightened, tugging Asena to her.

This is why the dragon didn't attack her yet, so it could make this choice.

Asena just stared at her. Her heart thundered and her head throbbed in pain or sorrow- she couldn't tell- it was too much yet too little compared to the odds she was facing.

Another life to be swallowed by fire and drowned in blood.

"I'm sorry," she said. We will see each other in Sovngarde.

She reluctantly pushed the woman's hands off of her, having to prick off her fingers which clawed and grabbed desperately, and slowly stood up, forcing herself to look away.

"No! Don't leave! Don't leave me!"

Asena covered her mouth, breathing shakily. I'm sorry, was all she could think.

She heard an inhale behind her.

"Yor…" the dragon began.

"Feim…"

"Tor...¨

"Zii...Gron!"

Asena's body became numb. There was peace. The fire's heat became cold, the sobs became laughter, the tears became petals of flowers. The dark clouds of fire burst open, revealing beams of sunlight.

Asena reached out a hand to it, trying to grasp the light.

It was warm. It was safe. It was ethereal.

Suddenly, Asena heard a ringing, and it grew louder and louder. The light slowly turned to black, hiding within the clouds.

"Wait" she said. "I need you! Don't go!"

She stretched out her free arm as far as she could.

The ringing grew to a scream.

Asena blinked, gasping for breath as if she hadn't breathed in years. She immediately looked at her hands, which were now transparent and highlighted with a golden tint.

She was standing in the fire, yet she didn't feel it. She turned around. The dragon had a confused look, trying to sniff out her scent. It then narrowed its eyes.

He knows I used a shout.

"Yol...Toor...Shul!"

Asena covered her ears and ran when she heard an agonized cry. It tore at her mind as if someone drove hooks into her scalp.

Asena flew through the flames like a ghost. Her vision was slightly blurred at the edges, a hazy yellow, just like her body.

I could've distracted the dragon and saved her, but it was too much for one life. When the bigger stake was a couple families, she reassured herself, but the words were as cold as the bite of a death hound.

She leaped near the roof, stopping and looking back at the dragon, it's scaly back facing her. I can strike first, she thought. But if the families were caught in the blast range…

Asena heaved a quick sigh, then hurriedly crawled under the roof. Her form was slowly returning to flesh, and the families turned to her with gasps and cries of joy. One of the boys reached a hand to her but it passed right through her body.

"Are you a ghost?" He asked.

"No...no I don't think so. Surprisingly I'm not," mumbled Asena, trying to clear her mind. "I'm the…" her vision became clear, the blur disappearing like breath from glass. Hints of crimson and bright orange burst in her eyes.

The gentle hand of peace from the shout left and panic boiled up her chest, gripping her in a chokehold.

"We need to get out! Now!" She cried.

"But there's no way! The dragon collapsed all the trees and houses and made a wall around us," the mother said.

"I'll deal with that. Just get everyone out from under the roof!"

They all stared at her, bewildered. "But the dragon…"

"Did you hear what I said? Trust me, I won't let you die. I can't have that happen again."

Asena shoved the family forward, and they all hurried out, grabbing onto each other's hands and hunched over to keep themselves hidden.

Asena jumped when one of the children, a young nord, leaped over to her and hugged her arm tightly.
"I want to stay with you!" he said. "You're so powerful, so you'll keep us all safe."

She gently pushed him away, wanting to give him a comforting smile or a reassuring thought, but she couldn't.

"I'll try," she said. "If I don't make it, protect your family, okay?"

The boy nodded and with fearful eyes on his tear-streaked face as she hurried away from him, before he was then pulled into his mother's grasp.

Asena darted out of the roof, covering her mouth from the wisps of smoke surrounding her. She looked around urgently for a pathway or a small hole to run through, but the villagers were right; the dragon had burnt down several trees and debris, creating some sort of wall.

"Fus...ro…!"

The wall was blown back to shreds with a rumble, leaving a perfectly clear opening.

Asena glanced back at the villagers who just stared at her with terrified awe.

Good. My shout didn't kill them, she thought. She had seen before how when she shouted, the blast range was all around the area, not just in front.

"A-are you the dragonborn?" one of the children gasped. Are you really the dragonborn? Then you'll save us, right? Momma, she shouted just like in the stories you told me!"

"By the gods…" the villagers murmured.

She inhaled sharply when she saw that the dragon was gone, steadying her gaze on the opening. They would have to run blindly through this fire, and if they're not prepared…

Her mind spun to make a decision as she kept looking back and forth at the villagers and then at the shattered wall. There couldn't be more deaths.

The door was open, but the dragon must've heard her shout.

"Cover your mouths," said Asena. "We're going to have to run through the smoke."

The families started inching forward.

"No. The other way, now!" Asena pointed to the side in which they came from.

"But that's-" one of the elderly men began to protest.

"That's where the dragon doesn't expect us to go. It's riskier, but the dragon is already at the opening to the wall as we speak."

The families all glanced at each other nervously, but then nodded.

"Why are we trusting what this woman says?" exclaimed an elderly nord. "Surely we can survive on our own common sense! We should go through the exit!"

"I'm having a hard time trusting myself, but we really don't have any other options except to die," said Asena. "Now come on! Hurry!"

The families rushed through the collapsed house with the nord reluctantly going along, stepping on burnt debris and scorched dirt, and then finally leaping from the cover, surfacing to the other side, Asena following behind them. With gasps and cries of relief, they found that the dragon was gone.

"Thank you!" they said.

Asena nodded. She turned and glared at the fire, narrowing her eyes, trying to sense if it was there. "I don't sense the dragon, but if you do see it, let out a shout and run behind me," she held out her hand. "We all have to stay together, so everybody, when I say so, hold each other's hands and walk in a line."

The families huddled the children in the middle and held hands, with Asena guiding them in the front. She could feel the weight of the mother's hand in her palm, trembling and sweating. She squeezed it tightly, trying to give her reassurance, despite her feeling a throb of dread. She only focused on what was in front of her.

She didn't need to see the woman's burnt body, her charred flesh with an arm still reaching out for someone to save her.

Asena took a deep breath and pressed on, desperately looking around, and finally- like the beam of sunlight in a storm, she found a small pathway that was barely cleared of fire.

"I found a way out, but we have to run as quickly as we can or else it'll close off!"

They darted forward, slithering like a snake around the flames and anything that would make a loud noise, covering their mouths with their rags.

Asena couldn't hear anything besides the fire and the muffled coughs of the villagers behind her. Her eyes stung and watered; and the clear path became blurry, muddled with blobs of orange and red.

"No, no, no, we're making it out." She furiously rubbed her eyes, blinking, but the smoke kept clawing at them, and the path became clear before being swallowed up by the blobs once more.

A sharp thought came to her: the path is becoming smaller.

"We need to run faster!"

"We're trying," the villagers wailed. The fire's heat grew steadily but quickly enough to get them to hurry on their feet. The dragonborn's senses were high, her heart hammering, quickly making out the path enough while also cautiously listening for the dragon, who was also listening for them.

After 10 seconds that felt like a couple of minutes, they were finally near the exit, which was even smaller than before. A small breeze of cool air breathed from it, gently blowing back Asena's hair and tasting of freedom.

"We're here," Asena gasped. She couldn't believe it. She had done it. The villagers bowed and thanked her, most of them sobbing, but some just had a blank stare as they tried to comprehend what happened. Asena made sure all of them made it carefully through the path and out into the large fields.

She had already done things like this before in the last battle, but the raw emotions and intensity didn't change, nor did the numbing yet relieving feeling of barely making it out alive.

This was small compared to the things that she could boast about. So small and barely worth a glimpse by the mightiest warriors, but everything.

I saved two families, she thought in awe.

"What can we do for you?" the mother asked. "Please, we must repay you with something."

"Really, I want nothing more than for you to live. It's greater than gold or loyalty. But you need to go quickly before the dragon returns."

The mother nodded.

"We must know your name, then."

"Remember me as The Dragonborn, but whenever you speak my name, just say Asena Lohkiir."

The families hurried out into the field, while Asena watched them with a knot in her stomach. She slowly backed into the fire.

It was just her and the dragon now.

She beat her steel sword against a crumbled furnace. "Come out." She beat it again, the clank of steel echoed.

A dark whisper carried through the wind and Asena's body tensed up. It wasn't a shout, but had the same power as one, the same feeling of the air shifting and preparing to unleash a force of power.

Even though she didn't know what it was; she knew that it was the last thing she wanted to hear.

Her hair raised and her back tingled. The dragon was there again, wasn't it? But where?

Asena looked behind her. There was nothing.

No, it had to be somewhere. The whisper was nothing human.

The whisper churned in her head. "Laas...yah...nir…" that's what it had said. Asena slowly drew out her sword with a tight grip.

Laas yah nir.

The words were like blurry figures, until finally, they started to take shape. The first word, Laas,

represented something with vision; something in her soul told her this. She picked up her pace, desperately twisting her head around and gripping her sword with sweaty palms.

"Come out," she hissed through clenched teeth.

Then suddenly she knew the meaning of it.

There was a giant snap behind the fire, like something large had stepped on a pillar. Even through the thick smoke, she could see two pairs of something large slowly lifting. Veins stretched across it, leading to a sharp claw at the tip and from it, branch-like arms spreading out.

Wings.

She felt sick, as if someone had stabbed her in the stomach and twisted the blade.

She ran. Everything around her blurred and the families were the only thing in her sight.

"Run!" she cried out to them, but they didn't hear her. "Run! The dragon- it's right behind you!"

A giant shadow flew over her, rumbling the ground.

She shouted at the dragon, but it only wavered slightly in the sky.

How did it know we were here? What if we had just burned in the fire? How did he know? It must have been a work of magic for it wasn't a shout but a whisper-

She let out a cry as the wind shrieked in her face and the dragon flew over her.

"Lok Nah Kest!"

The shout brought her closer to them, but not enough.

"Look out!" She cried. One of the children turned around. His small face instantly turned pale, and he screamed. The families also turned. Some already began to run away, but the mother who was in the line looked at Asena desperately.

Asena had stopped running, frozen as a stone except for her beating heart. Her stomach sank, telling her something that she didn't want to admit it was true but was.

They were going to die.

There was nothing she could do now, for if she were to be caught in the dragon's line of fire without protection…

A dark realization slithered down her mind and squeezed her tightly, dripping its venom into her skin. One of the worst feelings is when you can do nothing. When you're just standing there, watching everyone wither away.

You're never going to change; you'll always be that little girl who has dreams too big for her head and too strong for her weak mind. People will always die when you think that you saved them. It will always be your fault.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she breathed. "Now you're just like everyone else…" she buried her face into her hands, her breaths increasing, her mind spinning. Her chest tightened, like it was shrinking.

As if her eyes were glass, tears never fell. It was a strange feeling as if everything inside of her had turned to stone.

The dragon landed right behind her, sending Asena flying forward and tumbling on the grass. She dragged herself to stop, covering her mouth, coughing, and trying to breathe at the same time. She needed to stay awake, at least be able to do something.

The sky darkened as the dragon's frame covered the sun.

It bared its rows of sword-like teeth and lunged at her but Asena scrambled out of the way. At this point she wasn't fighting for anything but to survive.

She backed up, glancing behind her to maintain a distance from the fire, then turned to the dragon's face as it threw open its jaws, and so did she, not even realizing that she was shouting.

She was screaming the words over and over again until they were a foreign language of chaos.

"Fus! Ro! Dah!"

The dragon was shouting back at her, a constant going back and forth, the sky shaking and the ground trembling at the might of their voices.

She could only see a blurry silhouette of the dragon from the power of the shouts spinning everything around her, all her rage spilling out of her, her ears muddled with voices, The ground burst from beneath her feet and hurled trees and buildings into the sky.

The dragon was being pushed back. It looked around in shock, trying to anchor into the ground with the claws of its wings. How? How in the name of Ataktosh could a mere mortal have such a powerful voice? It was impossible even for a dragonborn.

The dragon narrowed its eyes that were being stung from the power, growling, shielding its face under a wing.

The dragon shrieked as the fire burned its scales and charred it's flesh, ripping the scales from its back, tearing out every string of muscle.

Look at you, being so brutal, said a voice in Asena's head. And you don't care.

It threw its head wildly and shouted.

"Strun! Bah! Qo!"

With a rumble in the sky, it summoned a lightning bolt down on her. There was a flash of bright light, then followed by a low growl in the clouds.

To his horror, when the fire briefly disappeared, there was only a stain of burnt grass.

No, no, he thought. He shrunk back, squirming, screaming. I'm going to die.

The dragon, the one who was blessed by Akatosh with immortality among mortals, was dying under the hands of a human with the blood of his kin. That was a concept too unheard of, too impossible.

"Wuld...nah...kest!"

He heard the shout amongst the roar of fire, small, but still, it was powerful. Everytime he heard that shout he felt a wave of pain slam into him, which meant she was shouting every time she moved.

The dragon swerved its head blindly to the sound, shouting, but she would be gone before the shout hit her. She was just toying with him now. He looked around desperately like a panicked child, a chill running down his neck, knowing that she was stalking him.

Asena could see the fear in his eyes. How ironic, she thought.

He was muttering to himself as if he was mad, wide and frightening eyes staring out into the sky. It slowly sunk to the ground, trembling, smoke rising from its body.

Memories of his life flashed before him; memories of rivers of human and dovah blood and dead bodies, sprawled across the ground like dolls thrown by children. He remembered seeing the corpses of dragons. Everyone was trying to break each other with their voices.

He saw all the men that he killed. He saw their hauntingly still eyes, and he remembered thinking, my eyes will never be like that. He felt the pride of living eternally, but it was just an illusion that would never be true. Nothing wandering the lands of Nirn was eternal.

Akatosh...why...

This was a different death, a permanent one, because even in the grave his soul still breathed, it was just patient.

The pain went from searing to cold, to nothing. He could feel his heartbeat grind slower and his body fade away, the sound of flesh burning, and rugged breathing was only sound in the hot and suffocating air.

Is this how mortals feel? When I murdered them, did they experience this...this disgusting, horrid feeling?

His vision blurred, but he saw something; a dark figure walking up to him. He felt his heart drop.

Dovahkiin.

"I want to be the last thing you see before you die," it said coldly. He felt a sharp pain on his head and moved his head away, but pang! Another one. It was hitting him, and he couldn't escape, just like death.

"I don't want to be a killer," the figure whispered.

Pang!

I don't want to die.

Pang!

The world darkened until there was nothing left but a void.

"Asena?"

The voice was muffled as if she was underwater.

"Asena! By the gods, please tell me you're alive."

Asena squinted open her eyes, moving her dry lips, but she couldn't muster up the strength to speak. She lightly touched Delphine's hands, and Delphine gasped in relief. "Oh, thank the gods, thank the gods."

Asena eyelids fell. Her wounded arm felt heavy, as if someone tore it open, stuffed rocks into it, and then stitched it back together. The more she relaxed, the more her body throbbed, her muscles twisting and aching, her throat sore as if it had been scraped from the inside.

The air was still a blanket of heat. Delphine looked warily at the skeleton corpse of the dragon. Its head was buried in it's shoulder and it's jaw gaped open in an eternal scream. A sword was pierced straight into its skull, the tip of the blade protruding out from under the roof of its mouth.

Terrifying, she thought. But the beast deserved it.

"You truly...truly are the dragonborn," she said. A grin crept on her face. "Just like what the legends say. You ate it's soul."

I'm not, Asena wanted to say. So many people have died, and many more will, Delphine. You didn't even bat an eye to the villagers that perished. You didn't even feel any sorrow. You don't know how many I've tried to save. I know I saved Whiterun, I know I did, but I can't...I can't shake off the feeling like I didn't, that even if I kill the dragons everyone will be okay. Why did so many people have to die? It's all my fault, isn't it?

Despite the gentle crackling of dying fire, the air was still. Drizzling rain pattered softly on the charred grass and kissed Asena' cheeks. The guards were looking around with their mouths hanging open, and they crowded around Asena and the dragon, gasping and murmuring.

The terrain was thrashed apart with mountains of soil miles away, pushed from the power of the voice.

"She killed that dragon remarkably fast," said one guard. "Did you hear them fight? It was like thunder, and I could feel the tremble of the ground underneath my feet."

"If we all went after it, we would've been dead in 5 minutes."

"To witness this in person… I feel like this is all a dream."

Asena could hear their voices and turned on her side, wincing in pain. Go away, she wanted to say, yet also longing for a warm embrace.

"Asena, you have to get up," Delphine said softly, like a mother waking up a child. She had a tug of pity when she saw the dark blue bruises on her pale skin and the sharp red lines of scars and other sores. Her face was drenched in sweat, her steel armor stained with fresh blood, and her hair, caked with soil, fell over her face like a mass of moss and tangles.

"I can't. It hurts," Asena croaked.

"I know it does. But you can't just stay here-" she coughed when a whiff of burnt flesh met her nose. "You have...we have to go, Asena. I know how you feel. Exhaustion- it's like a heavy boulder that pushes at your body, but I rented a room for us in a tavern in the village nearby. If we can just make it there, everything will be alright. Just trust me."

Asena sighed quietly, but she didn't move.

"Delphine...they all died…"

"Asena, get up," said Delphine urgently, deciding that being soft wasn't going to work.

There was silence. Asena then grunted, slowly moving one knee under her chest and sitting upward.

"I got you," said Delphine, grabbing Asena's non wounded arm and lifting her up. She wiped away a stream of blood from the corners of her lips.

Asena nodded slowly. Her eyes were drooping, and her body was cold. Delphine could tell she was just barely holding herself up. She whistled over a horse and lifted her onto the saddle, then hopped on afterwards, letting Asena lean on her shoulders. Even though her head pressed against her spine, she tried her best to ignore it, and gently rode out near the valley, the horse's hooves squelching on the muddy ground.

She slowed down when a guard came walking up to her, noticing how gray his eyes were.

"Any survivors?" Delphine asked hopefully.

The guard shook his head. "Only one. The rest are just...just burnt corpses. It's horrible."

Delphine nodded, swallowing hard.
"Alright then, thank you," she said. "Carry on with your duties. You are no longer under my command."

The guard nodded stiffly. His blank face dazed off in the memories of what he had seen.

Delphine rode away, her mind burning with questions and fears, clenching the saddle tighter until her knuckles became white.