Farkas

The first time I saw her enter the doors, I felt pleased. From my position at the tables, I could immediately see all of the new recruits practically gasp in awe as the woman towered over us all, staring around at the environment with those steely eyes.

I had gotten my first glimpse of her out in front of the Pelagia Farm outside the walls of Whiterun proper. A giant had gotten too close to the farm and we were summoned to repel its rampage from reaching the town. We stood out in the cold weather, sweating as we filled the damn thing with so many arrows that it looked like a quillpig. But still it slobbered and rampaged, leaving craters as it slammed its mammoth-bone hammer into the ground.

That's when I saw her. Another arrow, not fired from one of our bows had slammed into its jaw, piercing through to the other side, making it look like some archaic jewelry. I looked over at the newcomer and clenched my jaw as I thought another giant had stumbled upon us, but after a moment I realized that she wasn't a giant. She was large, larger than any of the companions present and any person I had ever known. But she was still too small to be of giant blood.

That was when I had noticed the wide blade she held forward threateningly. The giant in its anger began to trample its way toward her, kicking up soil and carrots from the farm. I tried to run forward and take it down with more arrows only to find I had exhausted my quiver. In frustration, I shouted for her to move, but if she heard me, she showed no signs of listening.

The giant roared loudly with a guttural battle cry as it rose its hammer to swing, a move nearly powerful enough to send even the finest warrior flying to Secunda. But before it could take another step forward, the warrior maiden pulled the blade over her head and hurled it forward with lethal accuracy. It whirled forward like a cyclone of death and slid to the hilt into the enraged titan's throat. The monster stopped in its tracks and reached up to grip the handle of the great sword, but its arms sank to it side as a wave of blood gurgled from its mouth.

My companions must have all had the same shocked look as none of them moved forward for a long moment, not until she had reached down and pulled her sword free, severing the giant's head in the process. Finally, Aela stepped forward with a grin bigger than I had seen on her face in a long time.

"Greetings, Shield-Sister!" said the eager huntress. Of all the people in the companions who scouted for future talent, Aela had the sharpest eye. And if the look on her face was any indicator, this woman was going to be the next.

We had left her in the field after Aela gave her the offering to try out for the companions. The woman appeared to have urgent business with the jarl, so we went our separate ways. And as suspected, here she was, days later, standing in Jorrvaskr. The others of the Circle were elsewhere, and it was I and the whelps alone in the main hall. This meant it was my duty to assist her.

Stepping forward, I offered assistance. "I'm here to help."

She turned her steely grey eyes on me, giving me a once over before nodding. "You were in the field."

I simply nodded. "I was. Thank you for your help taking that giant down. Brainrot makes them go mad sometimes. They don't feel pain. So, if your attack doesn't kill, it's wasted."

She smiled, giving off a peaceful glow as she did. "I was happy to assist," she said before her smile vanished into a look of inquiry. "Eorlund said he would make me armor if I joined the Companions."

"Oh, he did, did he?" I asked as I heard the footsteps of the whelps approaching behind me. "Eorlund made a good deal." But I shrugged, as it was neither I nor Eorlund who had a say in who joined our order. "You'll have to speak with Kodlak Whitemane. He's the one who decides who can and can't be a Companion." She nodded as I pointed towards the stairs. "Go down and head to the end of the hallway. That's where his room is. If you get lost on the way, I'm sure Tilma will help you out."

Without another word, the giant woman moved towards the stairs and descended. Once we all heard the sound of the door at the bottom of the stairs closing, the whelps started up immediately. Ria, the newest among our order and our only Cyrodil native started to gush. "Divines! Did you see the size of her!?"

Njada, our youngest Nord, snorted in disdain. "Size means nothing. Bigger means slower and easier to kill."

Ria ignored her senior's words and looked right at me. "You think she's wed?"

I immediately cleared my throat and shrugged. While questions like this didn't exactly make me uncomfortable, I also wasn't comfortable talking about someone I didn't know. Luckily, Athis, the dark elven whelp spoke in my stead. "You into her, Ria?"

"Personally, no. But Olfina would be," said the young imperial as she tapped her chin.

Njada rolled her eyes and Athis just smirked at her. "You're just jealous, Njada."

The nord's eyes flashed in anger and she swung at Athis, clearing a right hook across his jaw that sent him tumbling backwards. "Say that again!" she shouted as he got to his feet again. I shook my head as the two began brawling with each other in the middle of the great hall.

Pulling an arrow making kit onto the table, I began to resupply myself after exhausting my supply on the giant. It took a short time before Njada beat Athis into submission, and a short while longer for the woman to return up the stairs with my brother, Vilkas in tow. Looking at his face, he didn't appear to be pleased about the new arrival either. I stood from my seat as the neared. "News?"

"I am to test her sword arm to see if she is worthy to be a companion," he said with more than a sigh in his voice.

"Good luck with that…" Ria said from nearby, earning her a withering glare from Vilkas.

Turning away from everyone, he headed towards the back door with her following in his footsteps. The three whelps rushed to the door after them, and even I found myself curious about how trained she really was. Did she get her muscle from fighting? Or was she a farm girl who drank too much mammoth milk? I wouldn't know until I saw her fight.

As they arrived in the cobbled arena with the dummies surrounding them, I sat at one of the tables opposite of the younger three and eyed the woman curiously. She was a nord for sure. Her hair, which practically glowed in the moonlight on our first meeting was braided and tied back to keep it out of her way. She currently wore a tunic that barely fit her large frame that was tied around with a cord and a pair of hide sandals to match her pants. From the looks of things, she had to scrounge for things to wear given the lack of availability in her size. I found myself wondering if she had armor at all as Vilkas tossed her a longsword and shield. She eyed them both curiously before grabbing a set for himself.

"Alright, this is just practice. Don't try to aim for anything vital or attempt to due lasting damage. Understood?" he asked, getting a firm nod from her. "Good. Now, let's do this," he ordered as he held his shield up in a forward stance with his sword hidden behind it.

The two began circling each other, and much to my surprise she mimicked his stance. Vilkas, ever the one to prove a point, rushed forward. She thrust her dulled blade at him, which was smacked away by his shield before he thumped the side of his own into her ribs with a smack. She winced slightly but looked no worse for wear. Njada snorted in amusement. "See? Had this been a serious fight, she'd be dead."

They took up their stances again, and once again, Vilkas intended to teach her a lesson. She thrust her blade forward, its tip once more deflected off his shield as he went to strike her side. But my eyes widened as she thrust her own shield out, causing my brother to slam face first into it and putting him on his back in near an instant. All of the whelps gasped in shock as Vilkas shook his head and looked up at her offering her hand to him.

He took it and was helped to his feet before she took up his mimicked stance again. "You're a fast learner. It'd take them at least three times before they learned how to counter," he said as he reached up and gently rubbed his sore nose. Grabbing his blade, he took up his stance again and they went at it once more.

They had gone quite a number of rounds, causing the sun to sink behind the horizon. Each time they clashed together, Vilkas got a shot in and she learned from it next time, nearly knocking my brother senseless at several points. Tilma had come outside and expertly steered clear of the arena full of sword clashing and shield smashing, lighting the torches so they could continue to see. When they finally finished, I was shocked to see my brother smirking at the newcomer. Ria spoke up in awe. "Wait…is Vilkas smiling? He can smile?" she asked in surprise, making me suppress a chuckle.

"Not bad. You just might make it here," he said as he tossed the practice equipment aside. "Next time we train, I won't go so easy on you."

"I look forward to it," she remarked with her own smile as she too set the gear aside.

Grabbing his real equipment from the table I was currently sitting at, he thrust his sword sideways and held it in front of her. "For now, you're new blood here. Take my sword to Eorlund to have it sharpened."

This was it. This was one of the hardest tests for companion recruits to pass because it was a check on pride. Their response to this request was everything. Many in the past, especially those of noble blood had an air of indignance and arrogance around them. Being forced by a superior of lower birth status to do menial grunt work would commonly result in them getting thrown out onto their pompous hindquarters.

But the woman simply took the sheathed blade in both hands and nodded.

Vilkas smirked at her again. "When you return, Tilma will have a room prepared for you. Until then, I'm going to take a bath…"

I had been in Jorrvaskr for the most part of three days. Skjor and Aela were offered a fairly large sum of coin to come and clean out a large gang of bandits that were slowly moving closer and closer to Riften. The city had already had trouble cleaning them out, likely because their own guards who should have done the cleaning were probably taking money from the bandits to warn them. Instead, their local group of farmers went outside Riften's hold and sought us out to get rid of them for good.

The pair asked my brother to come along as well, though they likely didn't need his help. That meant that Torvar and I were left behind to watch after Kodlak and the whelps. In order to keep them off my back I gave them each an assignment I thought worthy of their skill. Njada was sent to investigate a brutal attacking in Ivarstead, Ria was sent to handle a pack of wolves near Rorikstead, and Athis was sent to the Drunken Huntsmen to break up a bar fight. Njada was still gone, Ria had returned victorious, and Athis had come back with a swollen eye.

Then there was the new blood. I had given her the task of scaring off a sabre cat near the mountains nearby that had been taking livestock. I expected her success, and normally we require the whelps to bring back the heads of whatever beasts we send them to slay. But as I sat eating at the table next to the roaring fire, the doors opened. I looked up to see her carrying the dead cat around her neck as if it were a sack of potatoes. Ria and Athis both stared at her wide-eyed as she asked Tilma where she could put it.

It had been a few days of this. Everything I sent her after, she brought their carcass back with her. I sent her after a small group of bandits that I would have also trusted to Njada as well. And she simply came back, found me, and pointed to a cloud of black smoke billowing up in the distance. I sent Athis to check it out, and sure enough she had left their bodies stacked outside of the cave they had taken shelter in before lighting them ablaze.

I began to wonder, truly wonder who this new blood was. But I didn't have to wait long to find out. I had always been a shut in. I enjoyed training, cleaning my gear, eating, and I had a soft spot for teaching people the benefits of heavy armor. None of these things required me to leave Jorrvaskr much, so I stayed there most of the time. As a result, I didn't get out to hear many rumors unless there was a job to do. Ria on the other hand, she hooted with the night owls and loved to go out to visit friends in the city with her free time.

It was one particular night, the night before the rest of the Circle's return that I had learned of who she truly was. Ria had come back from one of her trysts outside of the hall. It wasn't long before she began spilling everything she had heard on the outside. Everything from a new thane in the court to the body of a dragon being paraded through the city. I began to wonder how drunk she truly was, but then she mentioned that the new thane of Whiterun was the dragonborn who had killed it.

Even since she had first come to the hall, I began to notice an odd smell about her. Being what we Circle were, we tended to pick up on a lot of things that normal people missed. But I couldn't put my thumb down on her. She was different somehow, but I couldn't quite figure it out. We couldn't smell the difference between man and elf, but we could smell the difference between man and beast. It was rather easy to determine different types of beast as well. But her, she smelled unlike anything I had ever come across before. And with Ria's drunken, slurred explanation of a new dragonborn having slaughtered a dragon outside the hold, the pieces aligned almost too perfectly.

Getting to my feet, I rushed out of the hall and down the stairs before rushing up to Dragonsreach. The guards let me past and I made my way into the main hall where a Irileth, the Jarl's dunmer housecarl stopped me. "What can we do for you, Farkas?"

I looked around the hall almost frantically. "I heard rumors that dragons had returned to Skyrim. But now I just heard that one had been slain and brought into the city?"

She nodded, never losing her stern expression. "I, my men, and the new thane brought it down out near the western watchtower. Farengar currently has it stored up on the great porch while he examines it. Feel free to go see for yourself if you wish, just do not disturb the troublesome wizard."

I turned to head up and see the monstrosity for myself. But before I did, I turned back to Irileth. "You said this new thane was with you when you took down the dragon?" I asked, getting a curious nod from the dunmer. "What did this new thane look like?"

The dark elf smirked lightly and shook her head. "All I will say is that she's a nord, and you'll know her when you see her." I let out a sigh as her words proved true even before she even realized as much. Turning, I headed back towards the great porch.

"A dragonborn? You must be joking," said Aela with a scoff as the Circle sat around the table in Kodlak's room and ate, recovering their strength from their excursion into The Rift.

I shook my head and sighed. "I thought the same, but I saw the dragon's corpse myself. It was as dead as I am alive and one of the Whiterun guards who was in the battle told me of her mastery of the Thu'um. She is kin of dragon, no doubt."

Vilkas reached up and scratched his head. "No wonder she's been cleaning her list of chores. Anyone with that much power in a shout would be able to take down a regiment of soldiers with a single war cry." Tilma approached the table and my brother welcomed her over. Skjor continued as the maid whispered into Vilkas' ear.

"Dragonborn or no dragonborn, it matters little. You do not get special treatment in the Companions. She does the training as we all did," he demanded with his solid stern expression.

"Why not test her?" asked Aela with a curious smile, getting a glare from Skjor. "We all advanced as fast as our skill could carry us," she said as she faced her senior. "You know well that we joined the Companions at the same time, and Kodlak made you part of the Circle before me because you were the better fighter. Do not turn down another over pride."

Skjor snorted and dropped his bread onto his plate. "Fine. Put her to the test," he said before pointing at me. "Farkas, you didn't go on the last outing so you will be the one testing her. Make absolute sure she isn't just another lucky bumbling fool whose only skill is miraculously escaping death."

That was when my brother chimed in. Tilma had left and he had a smirk on his face. "I believe I have the perfect test for her…"

I found myself both impatient and excited. I didn't know if Irileth and the others were blowing smoke at me, but if this new whelp was actually a living dragonborn, then I was eager to see her in a battle. She had already shown that she could fight, and she was a quick learner when it came to combat. It was odd because combat wasn't the place to learn, as a single mistake could spell death. But she seemed to learn more and more the longer a battle went on.

I stood at the bottom stair of Jorrvaskr and watched as she descended, a new set of leather armor, no doubt Adrianne's work, as well as a large, gleaming skyforged great sword over her shoulder. Eorlund had come through. Now all that was left to make her look the full part of a companion was his armor, which would take a few weeks yet. She spoke as she approached, the power in her voice now more apparent to me than ever before. "I hear I'm to be your shield-sister today."

I nodded and smiled. "You heard correct. We have an important duty. No doubt Skjor informed you of the situation." She nodded, so I continued. "Then we must make haste. There's no telling how long that fragment will be there."

She did as ordered and we powered through the crowds of Whiterun until we reached the gates. I noticed as we walked past Breezehome that children were playing out in front. Normally I saw these same children in a sad state, sitting on the benches in front of the Temple of Kynareth either begging for coin or hoping that sister Danica would give them food. But as soon as my shield-sister came into view, they stopped playing with the wooden blades they were battling with and ran up to her cheering. It startled me for a moment, but she waved them off with a gentle smile and they went back to the front roost of Breezehome.

She simply stared forward, her stone-grey eyes focused on the gate, leaving my unasked question unanswered as well.

As soon as we stepped into the cairn, I immediately picked up the signs of life. The ancient door wasn't much of an obstacle as it opened smoothly enough. But we stopped as we saw that the many tombs that once held our nord warriors were now cracked open with the bodies spilling onto the floor.

Inhaling sharply, I smelled the reek of decay, stillness, dust, and the stench of graverobbers. "Someone's been here. Tread lightly," I said as I drew my great sword from my own back. She followed suit and crouched low; her blade held over a shoulder. I moved close to one of the withered nords and noticed that there were weapon marks all over them that looked fresh. "Did they dig them up to desecrate their bodies?" I asked, nearly outraged at the mistreatment.

"Draugr," she said quietly.

"Draugr? The undead?" I asked, unbelieving of such a claim.

"I fought similar ones in Bleak Falls. They are deadly, so do not let your guard down," she advised as her fist gripped the handle of the blade over her shoulder tighter.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I shook my head and moved forward. Dragons, dragonborn, and now the undead. Would Skyrim ever know peace? It took only minutes before her words were confirmed as one of the monstrosities attacked us. Luckily, whatever warrior skills it had in life seemed to have died with it, as it took little more than smacking its weapon away and taking off its head. But even so, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I suppose I'd have to get over it and start believing the unbelievable given that I've had many mind-changing moments since this whelp had entered Jorrvaskr.

We moved through the crypt, ridding it of whatever undead remained before happening upon an odd room. There were several alcoves, each with a lever of its own inside. It was odd that the tombs within the room looked to be untouched by whoever had pilfered the place. Perhaps the vision of undead soldiers coming to life scared them off.

My shield-sister stepped into one of the alcoves, eyeing a lever on the wall as I looked around the rest of the room. "Perhaps it is a test?" I offered, getting her attention. "There's no doubt that it's a trap. If you pull the lever, a gate comes down. Perhaps meant to trap and kill lone graverobbers who got too greedy.

"The gate forward will not open without this lever. So, it's a chance we'll have to take," she said solemnly. Looking up at the slot that the trap would fall from, I estimated that we could perhaps get her out together. "Alright, go ahead."

She nodded, then pulled the lever. As expected, an iron gate fell into place, locking her in the alcove. I moved to put my weapon away, but it was then that the stone slabs popped off of the tombs in the room. I spun around ready to fight, but what I saw turned my blood to ice. These were not undead; they were very much alive. And in each of their hands was a weapon of silver broach pinned to their cloaks shaped like an open hand.

"Look what we have here, a wild dog whose pup got trapped in a cage," said one of the men as they held their weapons aimed directly at me.

"Hiding inside the tombs of our ancestors? Have you no respect for the dead?" I asked angrily as I lowered my sword. It wasn't going to be necessary.

Another woman from the group spoke up. "Our ancestors would be proud to be a part of the slaughter of a wild animal like you," she growled as she pointed her silver blade at me. "Either lie down and accept your death, or fight us to the death. It will be a good story either way."

I looked over to the whelp who I saw glaring at the newcomers. Holding up a finger, I gestured for her to wait as I dropped my blade and turned to the crowd surrounding me. "None of you will live to tell it," I said before I let out a loud grunt. They all took a step back, wide-eyed as my body spasmed and jerked, the muscle growing and the fur beginning to sprout.

Three of them charged to attack me before I could fully change, but they were blown backwards as the word "Fus!" echoed around the walls. When I finished, I snarled in rage, my blood pumping, my rippling muscles flexing as I took my true form. All of the arrogance in their faces was gone as I towered over them. Finally, I let out a wall shaking roar before I sprang into combat.

Within minutes, all but one had been slaughtered, their blood painting the floor. I turned to the last one, a coward who had dropped his weapon and was backing towards the alcoves in terror. Every step I took forward, he took one backward until finally he pressed against the cage that contained my shield-sister. But I didn't have the chance to kill him as a blade suddenly burst from his chest. The silver hand agent looked down and grasped the bloody blade, trying to do anything to save his life. But it was suddenly ripped from his gut, sending him crashing to the ground to bleed out.

I watched him fall before looking up at my companion holding her bloody great sword over her shoulder once more. She eyed me curiously. I saw no fear, no repulsion, only piqued curiosity. I gave her a toothy smile, and she merely smiled back.