Hey everyone, I'm sorry I have put anything up recently, I hadn't been motivated to write Ysmir's story, but now I'm ready again. And specially, I'm going to start over, from the very beginning, the birth of Hjalti Motierre, who took the surname Sept later in life. I hope you enjoy The Dragon of the North! And because of the nature of this story, expect some retcons to Ysmir's story
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During a bright and sunny day on the thirteenth day of Last Seed in the one-hundredth and seventy-fourth year of the Fourth Era, in Wayrest, Asta Motierre wife of Edward Motierre, screams out in pain, her husband holding her hand tightly as she gives birth. As she sighs in relief, the cries of a baby ring out through the room, filling the couple's eyes with tears of joy. A midwife brings the babe to Asta and says "Madam, I'm proud to say, it's a boy!" The midwife hands the baby to Asta, who tenderly takes him. "He's beautiful," Edward says, reaching out and touching his son's hand, "what will we name him?" Cradling her baby boy in her arms, calming the young one's fussing, Asta says "What about Hjalti?" Edward smiles, kisses Asta's forehead, and says 'It's perfect." Asta kisses Hjalti's head, and smiles as her baby's bright blue eyes open and lock with her's.
-Four Years Later-
Hjalti yelled, mimicking a cry of pain as he slammed two wooden figures, depicting armored soldiers, together causing his mother to kneel next to him and say "Quiet Hjalti, you don't want to disturb Aunt Evelyn, do you?" Hjalti shakes his head, his blonde hair whipping around his head, and says "No, but I don't like it when she screams, does she have a bad boo-boo?" "No Hjalti, she's having a baby," Asta says, running her hand through his hair, "you're going to have a cousin." "A cooousin," Hjalti says, processing this new word, "yay!" Asta smiles and stands up as her son goes back to playing with his toys.
Asta turns around as the door to the chamber, Rexus and her husband walking out. "Well?" Asta asks the two men. Rexus closes the door and says "The lady gave birth to a boy, Lady Evelyn and Lord Mordane named him Amaund, after Sir Amaund." Asta scoffs and says "I wonder when that man is going to tear himself away from the wonders of court to meet the babe named after him." Edward stands up, and defending his father says "I'm sure my father is very busy, court is a very time consuming endevor." Asta rolls her eyes and says "Despite Amaund barely raising you two, you and Mordane never accept any word against your father." Hjalti, hearing mention of his grandfather, looks up from his toys and says "Grandpa? Where?" Edward goes to his son and says "No, grandpa isn't here right now, but he will be."
-Five Years Later-
"STOP! GIVE IT BACK," Amaund cries, chasing after his cousin, "Hjalti, give it back! It's mine!" Hjalti stops and holds the wooden horse over his head, out of his baby cousin's reach and says "Why should I give it back!? You hit me!" Amaund jumps up, trying to take the toy back, saying "I din't mean to! Hjalti stop!" 'Huh-uh," Hjalti says indignantly, standing on his tiptoes. Suddenly, a booming voice resounds "HJALTI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?"
Hjalti gulps as his grandfather Amaund I walks down the steps into the courtyard, the sun glinting off his shining steel armor, his sword resting on his hip. "Am-Amaund hit me," Hjalti says, lowering his arm, looking down at the ground, "so I-I took his toy." Amaund I towers over his grandson, and says "That doesn't excuse your actions to your cousin! Return Amaund's toy and apologize!" Hjalti quickly apologizes to Amaund, returns his toy, and runs to the steps, hiding by the door, still within earshot of his cousin and grandfather. Amaund I kneels next to the boy named after him and says "If that welp ever bothers you again, come get me, I'll set him straight." "Thank you grandpa!" Amaund II says, wrapping his arms around his grandfather. "Of course little one."
Hjalti's eyes fill with tears, and he runs to his mother, finding her in the study. As he runs and jumps into her arms, Aska says "Hjalti? What's wrong?" "HE HATES ME," Hjalti sobs, his chest heaving, "GRANDPA HATES ME!" Scowling deeply, Aska angrily says "What!? Did he say that to you?" His voice being obscured by his tears and his mother's dress, he says "No, but he called me a whelp, and he always sides with Amaund!" A deep frown on her face, Aska yells "Edward, come console your son! I must have a word with your father!" As Edward walks into the room and goes to his son, Aska angrily goes to have a word with her father-in-law.
-One Year Later-
Hjalti groans as he falls to the ground, a red headed girl holding his arm behind his back. "That's what you get for calling me weak," the girl whispers before letting him go and walking to her friends, the young girls giggling. Hjalti stands up and says "WAIT! What's your name?" The girl giggles and says "My name is Morgana, your's?" "Hjalti," the boy says. Hjalti moves on, listening to the bards sing mighty tales to commemorate the occasion, the anniversary of the Empire's "victory" in the Great War. "Hjalti!" Aska calls out, seeing her son's bright blonde hair in the crowd. Hjalti runs to his mother, and she says "Follow me son." Puzzled, Hjalti follows his mother, who leads him out of the city, onto a grass covered hill, topped by a tall tree and a large stone. Aska sits on the stone, pats the spot next to her, and says "Sit, Hjalti."
"What's going on," Hjalti says, sitting next to his mother. Aska scowls and says "What's going on, is that people are celebrating the banning of the most powerful, most rightechous god, the almighty Talos." "Uh, who?" Hjalti says, not recognizing the name spoken by his mother. "Talos, you know him as Tiber Septim," Aska says, reaching into her dress, and taking out a necklace in the shape of a battleaxe, with intricate designs carved into it, "he established the Empire we know today, and upon his death, he ascended to godhood, making the Eight into Nine." Hjalti, looking at the pendant, says "Why is this important?" "Because Hjalti," Aska says, clearing her throat, "you are the heir of Talos, true Emperor of the Third Empire. At the end of the Second Age, when Talos conquered High Rock for his Empire, he met a young woman, and after a time together, they had a child. But at that time, Talos wasn't as wise as he was in his later years, so he didn't force her to get rid of the child, but he forced her to keep the child a secret. That child grew, and took the surname Sept, as a way to spite his father, and his dynasty. That man's line continued through the Third Era, and into the Fourth, ending with you and me." "Mother," Hjalti says, "why do you tell me this now?" Aska stands, looks towards the moons, and says "Because, the Sept family is the most powerful it has ever been right now, and the False Emperors are at their weakest."
Aska rests her hand on her son's shoulder, and says "Hjalti, it is your destiny to rule the Empire, your destiny to restore the Septim Dynasty, it is your destiny to be the next Septim upon the Ruby Throne."
"I….I understand, I will make you proud."
Aska hugs her son, and says "You already have Hjalti."
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And there's the end of the first chapter of The Dragon of the North, I hope you all enjoyed it! If you have any constructive criticism about my writing, let me know, it is very appreciated!