The Great War had ended 26 years ago, but it's bloody scars were still visible. The devastation it had wrought, both physical and cultural, was evident throughout the Empire. Nowhere served as a better demonstration of this however, than in the Imperial province of Skyrim. Many of the Nords refused to submit to the demands of the Thalmor, and the Empire who was forced to acquiesce or be destroyed.
Because of their temperament, conflict in Skyrim was inevitable. Ulfric Stormcloak inflamed the passions of many Nords, and raised an army that waged war against the Empire, and in so doing, threatened to tear Skyrim apart.
In spite of this turmoil, Skyrim still held great promise to those who were willing to take the risk…
The sky had turned an almost oppressive gray, with small flakes of snow falling lazily to the ground, blanketing the ground in a thin blanket of white. The world almost felt like it was sleeping. The only thing disturbing this peace was a weapons laden cart. Resting atop this cart was a young Khajiit woman wearing plain clothes, with fiery orange fur and piercing sapphire eyes, and an older Nord man wearing unassuming iron armor, whose skin was covered in battle scars.
The Nord was scanning the terrain around the pair as they carried their wares, searching for any hint of a threat, while the Khajiit had her snout buried in a book. The two had been traveling from Cyrodiil to Skyrim, with the intent of starting a business. So far, their journey had been surprisingly uneventful. But, of course that couldn't last forever.
Without warning, the Khajiit's head snapped up and turned to the east, her ears shot up, facing the forest.
The Nord turned to her, and followed her gaze. "What is it?" He asked.
"I thought I heard shouting." She responded, her ears twitching, searching for the source of the noise.
The Nord scanned the forest, looking for any disturbances, but found none. He shrugged and turned back to the road. "I don't see anything, it was probably just your imagination." He said gruffly. The Khajiit shot him a glare, but said nothing. After a few minutes of silence, the Nord pulled on the reins. Before the Khajiit could ask why they were stopping, the Nord spoke up "I need to stretch my legs for a moment." With that said, he hopped off the cart and walked into the tree line on their left. Stretch my legs my fuzzy butt, the Khajiit thought to herself.
A minute passed, and she gazed down at her book, and folded the corner of the page she was on, before shutting it with an exasperated sigh, her peace shattered. She slid the book inside the folds of her cloak, and hugged it against her as tightly as she could, a shudder running through her body in spite of her fur. She saw the Nord return from the tree line.
"I don't know how you Nords handle this cold." She hissed through her teeth as he climbed back into the driver's seat. Her Nordic companion responded with a smirk, and she countered with a withering glare. He gestured to her to take the reigns, before he swiveled, and retrieved one of the blankets they'd packed for the journey. He shook it firmly, shaking off the snow that had covered it, before removing the string that bound it. He unfurled the blanket over the side of the cart, and in one smooth motion, wrapped it around the shivering Khajiit. "Thanks." She said, burying herself in it's warmth.
The Nord nodded, before retrieving the reins from his companion. After what he judged to be another hour of travel, he saw their first stop in Skyrim: Helgen. He turned to his furry companion, and saw she had fallen asleep. "I guess the cold wasn't as bad as you said it was." He chuckled, to himself more than to her, before he reached over and gently shook her shoulder. She stirred, and with a yawn, gazed at the small town in front of them.
"Is that Helgen?" She asked, stretching her limbs as much as she could without exposing them to the frigid air.
The Nord nodded. "Aye. We're going to stop by the tavern for a little rest and food, then we'll keep moving to Solitude." The Khajiit smiled, a chance to take a break from sitting on a rough piece of wood for a while was more than welcome.
As they approached the town walls an Imperial soldier hailed them. "Halt!" He bellowed, "Who are You? State your business here." Before the Nord could answer, the Khajiit spoke up.
"My name is Shai'ira, and this is my friend, Torval. We were just hoping we could stop for respite." The guard paused, gazing at the canvas covering the back of the cart.
"What are you transporting?" He shouted.
Shai'ira turned, and lifted the corner of the canvas, revealing swords, spears, and other assorted arms. "Arms and armor, bound for Solitude." The guard looked as though he were about to say something, before an Imperial officer approached him. The two had a hushed exchange, before the officer addressed Shai'ira.
"We will open the gate and allow you inside, prepare for further instruction."
The two exchanged a worried glance, before Torval spurred the horses onward as the gates swung open. Once they were inside, an officer stood in front of the cart and signaled for them to stop and leave the cart. Once they'd done so the officer approached them. Torval spoke once the officer stopped in front of them.
"What's going on? Are we under arrest?" The officer shook his head.
"No, your arrival is just poorly timed. We captured Ulfric and his trusted elite an hour ago and are preparing them for execution. We are locking down the village to make sure nothing complicates that."
Once Ulfric was mentioned, Torval seemed to hang upon every word the Imperial said, and after he fell silent, Torval let out a loud bark of glee and slapped an unprepared Shai'ira on the back, nearly toppling her. "The Empire finally managed to catch that little skeever? Where's the execution? I can't wait to see that traitors head rolling!" The officer twitched, just as unprepared for Torval's exuberant outburst as Shai'ira was, before directing them to the village center. As they approached, Shai'ira saw the village had gathered to watch the executions of the stormcloak rebels. Turning her gaze away from the mass of villagers and soldiers, she spotted the tavern. Even though it was probably empty, she'd much rather spend her time there instead of watching people being decapitated. As she moved towards it, Torval called to her.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"The tavern. I thought I'd wait for you there." The Nord nodded after a moment.
"Alright. This shouldn't take too long anyway." Shai'ira raised her hand in goodbye and turned to leave but stopped as she heard an unearthly… something echo across the mountains gazing down upon Helgen. She turned back towards Torval.
"What was that?" She asked, her voice laden with worry.
"I don't know, but don't worry, it was probably nothing." He said.
"That didn't sound like nothing." Shai'ira muttered in response as she walked towards the tavern, her pace more than a little rushed. Once she reached the tavern door she heard a second roar, for she could tell it was most definitely a roar now, much closer this time. She paused then, part of her wanted to rush inside the safety of the tavern, but Torval was still in the town center, and whatever was making those sounds was coming closer, and something told her they shouldn't be out in the open when it got there. Setting aside her fear, she half walked half ran towards Torval. Once she reached him she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Torval can we please go inside?" The Nord looked away from the man who was about to be executed and down at Shai'ira. He was about to say something when he saw her eyes widen in shock and terror. He followed her gaze and was paralyzed when he saw what had terrified her so. An ungodly beast sat atop a tower overlooking Helgen. It's scales seemed to swallow any light that dared fall upon its scales, its eyes a bloody crimson, filled with cruelty and malice. It gazed upon the mass before it for but a moment, before it inhaled deeply, revealing fangs as long as a man's arm, and roared. Shai'ira felt the sound in her bones as it ripped through the air. Above them, the sky turned an angry red, and searing bolts of fire fell from the heavens and exploded once they hit the ground, as if thrown by the gods themselves to smite them.
As soon as Shai'ira regained her senses, she snatched Torval's arm so the two of them could run, a second roar cracked the air, and this time, it struck the Khajiit and her companion squarely. The two were thrown by an invisible hand through the air. Shai'ira managed to break her fall with one of her arms. A sickening crack assaulted her ears. But, as filled as she was with adrenaline, she felt no pain. She planted her uninjured arm and her knees underneath her and pushed herself up. Once she managed to get her shaky legs underneath her, she gazed at her mangled arm. She was interrupted by a hand on her shoulder. She snapped her head towards the contact, and saw Torval standing before her, a gash in his forehead dripping blood into one of his eyes. "Can you move?" He demanded. Shai'ira nodded.
Before she could respond further, a yell caught the pairs attention. "Hey you two! Get over here, come on!". The two turned towards the source of the sound, and saw a stormcloak standing in the doorway to a tower beckoning them. Torval moved towards him, and gestured for Shai"ira to follow. She ran as quickly as her gelatinous legs would allow before collapsing inside the tower. Torval placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Are you alright?" He asked, worry permeating each word. She nodded.
"I will be. Just give me a moment." She placed her hand over where her arm was broken. Magicka flowed out of her hand and into the wound as she cast a healing spell. She winced as her bones fused back together. With her healing complete, she breathed a sigh of relief before turning to Torval. "Here, let me…" Torval knelt, and Shai'ira placed her hand over the gash in Torval's forehead. He growled as his flesh stitched itself together. With her task finished, she withdrew her hand. Torval stood, nodded, thanked her, and turned his gaze to the stormcloaks.
"Jarl Ulfric, what is that thing? It couldn't be a-" The Nord was cut off when Torval interrupted him.
"Couldn't be what? A dragon? Is flying and raining down oblivion on our heads not proof enough for you?" The Nord shot Torval a glare, and seemed as though he were about to say something, when Ulfric interrupted him.
"Enough! We have to find a way out of here." The nord who had addressed Ulfric nodded, and gestured to Shai'ira and Torval to follow him. The trio sprinted up the staircase, but stopped when they saw that the path to the top of the tower had collapsed, trapping them inside. In front of them was another stormcloak.
"Hang on, just give me a second t-" Before the nord could finish his sentence, the wall to the tower suddenly exploded inwards, knocking him to the ground, and sending a shudder through the tower, unbalancing the trio on the staircase. Once Shai'ira had regained her footing, she saw the dragon had torn a hole through the solid stone wall, and its baleful gaze was focused on the nord it had knocked aside. It opened its horrid maw, and belched forth searing flames, the fire enveloping the nord, melting his flesh down to the bone, leaving nothing but scorched bones in its wake. With its grizzly murder complete, the creature took to the sky, not noticing the three on the stairs. With no other way to escape, the dragon unwittingly created an opening.
"See the tavern across from us?" The nord said, "You should be able to make the jump." Torval leaned out through the hole, and nodded. He gestured to Shai'ira.
"You should go first, you're a better jumper." The Khajiit scoffed, but took a step back to get a running start, and leapt into the air. She fell for a moment, before she landed safely and effortlessly inside the tavern. She turned back to the tower. Torval scoffed, but followed her. His efforts weren't as successful as Shai'ira's. In part because of the iron armor he wore, and in part because he lacked her feline agility, he fell short of the tavern. Instead, he barely caught himself on the railing. Shai'ira leapt forward, and grasped his arms, pulling him up. "Thanks." He said breathlessly. Shai'ira nodded, and the two continued. They hopped down a hole to the first floor, ignoring the flames consuming the tavern around them. As they passed the door in front of them, they saw a small cluster of individuals moving towards them. An Imperial soldier, and three villagers, two adults, one child. A screeching ball of fire fell from the sky, and struck one of the adult villagers, paralyzing him. The child turned, and was about to help what must have been his father, before they saw the dragon descending upon them. The injured man waved the others away, and the imperial pulled the child away. The dragon landed, and roared fire, melting the wounded man, and flew off, ignoring the rest.
The Imperial spotted the Khajiit and Nord exiting the tavern and waved them over. "Come on, all of you follow me." The surviving villager hoisted the child into his arms, and the party ventured forward. They followed the Imperial, hugging the wall on their left. Before they could proceed, the dragon landed on the wall directly above their heads. An imperial soldier in front of them nocked an arrow and fired. The steel tipped arrow bounced harmlessly off the beast's scales, and the dragon retaliated by cooking the man alive with searing flames so hot Shai'ira could feel them above her head, before taking to the skies once more. With the threat momentarily elsewhere, the five of them pressed onwards, where they encountered a large group of Imperial soldiers, with General Tullius in the center.
The General was doing his damndest to maintain some semblance of order in all the chaos, but even so, it was nearly impossible to hear him over the sound of fiery explosions and screams of fear and agony. Tullius seized one soldier by the shoulder and pointed him towards a villager lying in a heap on the ground, who'd seemingly been disemboweled by a piece of debris. As he did so he spotted the group approaching, and barked an order addressed to the imperial soldier Shai'ira and Torval had been following. "Hadvar, into the keep soldier we are leaving!" He shouted. Hadvar nodded in acknowledgement, and gestured for Shai'ira, Torval, and the villager carrying the child to follow him. Behind them, Tullius and the rest of the Imperial soldiers moved to follow, but were cut off as the dragon swooped down from the sky, belching a wall of fire, catching several imperials, as well as the villager and the child he'd been carrying, killing them.
"Gods…" Shai'ira muttered, as she watched the victims dancing in torment amidst the flames. She flinched as Torval seized her shoulders.
"We can't stop out here, keep moving, we're almost to the keep." Shai'ira nodded numbly, turning her back to the smoldering corpses. The two caught up with Hadvar, and together the three entered the keep. Torval was the last to enter. He spared one last look at the horrors behind him, before shaking his head, and shutting the door.
