Skyrim: Legend of the Dovahkiin

Apprehension 4

He was floating in the never-ending white land somewhere between sleep and consciousness when the dream began. It was a familiar dream, a pleasant dream, and one that had nothing to do with the war or the end of the world. He was in his old home, long since destroyed by the Thalmor. He heard laughter all around. A female voice called him by name. A moment later, arms held him, and he recognized the familiar scent of lavender. The woman said something nice to him, and he wanted to say something nice in return, but the words wouldn't come. He tried to see her, tried to penetrate the haze that obscured her face, and was rewarded with the image of a woman with large eyes, a straight nose, long light brown hair, and full lips. He knew this woman, knew her name, yet it would not pass his lips.

Then, the dream changed. A dark, nebulous shape loomed behind the woman holding him. He didn't know what it was, but it was a threat - of that he was certain. His combat instincts kicked in, and adrenaline coursed through him. He quickly surveyed the area - some kind of training area, with high wooden poles, distantly familiar - and decided on the best route to flank the new threat. He spotted a weapon, his katana, nearby. If he placed himself between the woman and the threat, his armor could take the brunt of the attack, and he could counter. He moved quickly, and the dark shape howled at him - a fierce and terrible war cry. The beast was impossibly fast. It was on him in seconds. He grabbed his katana and turned to strike at the beast - and discovered to his horror he couldn't lift the weapon. His arms were small, underdeveloped. His armor was gone, and his body was that of a six year old child. He was powerless in the face of the new threat. He roared back at the beast in rage and fear - angry at not just the threat, but at his own sudden powerlessness…

The Harbinger jolted into wakefulness, beads of sweat running from his forehead down to his chest. He moved to the edge of his bed, running his weary hands through his hair, it was the third time he'd had the same dream. He ignored it for the most part, feeling that the images he saw in his slumber were nothing of importance, nothing of real concern. Still, there was a bit of worry deep within himself, a worry he had admittedly been avoiding. It had now been a week since he returned from High Hrothgar, since the Greybeards had informed him of his supposed destiny. A destiny that placed him as the savior of Skyrim and all of Nirn. A destiny he was unwilling to accept. But even with all the doubts he had, he knew that there was some truth to what the Greybeards leader, Arngeir, had told him.

Banishing the thoughts from his mind, the young Harbinger got up from his bed and went about putting on some clothes until a knock at the door caught his attention.

"Enter." he said, not even bothering to look up.

A moment passed before Aela came through the door. The Harbinger had always admired the Huntress ever since they first went hunting together, back when he first joined the Companions. She was strong, keen minded, and a very skilled fighter. But above all else, she was beautiful, something that she herself didn't see. She never cared about how she or others looked on the outside, but rather what was on the inside, like Skjor - because he wasn't winning any awards for beauty any time soon. Maybe that was what he admired most about the Huntress the most, the fact that she looked at peoples character rather than how they appeared or how much coin was in their pockets, unlike some women he knew. Aela, for all her strength and ferocity in battle, was in actuality a very quiet and solitary individual, much like the Harbinger himself. While she did believe in the brotherhood of the Companions and friendship of others, she also believed that solitude and fighting alone from time to time was a good way to build one's character and become stronger, something the Harbinger agreed with.

The Harbinger was only about half dressed, body still naked from the waist up wearing nothing but his trousers. He noticed, to his surprise, that Aela was staring directly at his bare upper body, something that was very out of character for the Huntress. In all the time that he had spent with her, she never once seemed to be interested in anything other than his skills in battle, but this, this was something he found a little… unnerving.

"Is there something you needed, Aela?" he finally asked.

"Hmm? Oh, yes." she sputtered, finally snapping out of her trance-like stare. "The members of The Circle are all awaiting your presence in the Underforge for the meeting you called."

Shit, I forgot about that.

"Oh, um… okay. I'll be there in a bit."

Aela raised a questioning eyebrow. "In robes?"

The Harbinger sheepishly looked down at his attire. He sported a blue robe, tan leggings, and brown boots, things that mages usually wore. He scratched the back of his head as he and the huntress locked eyes with one another.

"I'm going to go and bathe first before I attend the meeting."

"I suppose that's an acceptable answer. After all, I wouldn't want to be in a small cave with you smelling like a goat ." the Huntress teased.

The Harbinger shot her an annoyed glared, Aela gave a sly grin. "I will inform the other members and instruct them to wait, though I doubt Skjor will be pleased. You know how he gets when he's told to wait on someone else." With that, the Huntress turned on her heels and left the room.

The Harbinger pinched the bridge of his nose. Aela was right, Skjor would be furious over having to wait for him to finish his bath and would most likely bring it up in the meeting to start an argument… again. Deciding to cross the bridge when he came to it, the Harbinger exited his room and headed towards the doors leading to the mead hall. Before he headed out however he was stopped by the familiar voice of the Imperial girl Ria.

"Harbinger, if its alright with you, I'd like to talk for a moment."

The young Nord turned to face the girl. "What is it you need?"

Ria bit her lip and stared at the floor before answering. "Well… I… it's just that…"

The Harbinger crossed his arms and gave her a mildly annoyed look. "Go on, Ria."

"Well, I ended up going to sleep pretty late last night, what with the drinking and celebration going on. Anyway, as I made my way to my bed I heard you… talking in your sleep…" her voice trailed off, she was obviously nervous about speaking of such matters to the Companions Harbinger about such a personal matter, something he understood.

"I had some sort of nightmare last night," he admitted, rather embarrassed about it. "But you needn't worry, I'm okay. It was just a dream after all."

Ria looked him in the eyes, concern and worry filled her expression. "I've never heard anyone sound so terrified by a simple dream, Harbinger. You were… practically screaming."

The memories of the dream, at least what little of it remained within his mind, came flooding back. The woman, the house he was in, and the beast he saw. He remembered how the thing lunged at him and the woman holding him, how he tried to defend the both of them, how he had reverted back to the form of a child - and found himself suddenly defenseless. He grimaced at the very thought of the terrible nightmare, Ria took notice of this.

"Harbinger, I'm worried about you," she said, a hint of sadness in her voice, "This is the second time I've heard you talking in your sleep. The last time you kept repeating a name over and over again."

The Harbinger perked up at this. "Name? What name?"

She shook her head. "I don't really remember, I didn't want to disturb you in your sleep. But I think it was… Alduin."

The mere utterance of the name made all the blood in his body go colder than any tundra in Skyrim and sent shivers up and down his spine. His eyes widened and his skin turned whiter than a wisp mother. Alduin, that was the name of the Nordic god of destruction, the World-Eater, and the dragon he was supposedly destined to destroy. The young Nord almost fell to the ground as his knees suddenly began to grow weak, he moved over and sat down on a nearby chair.

"Harbinger," Ria began, taking a seat next to the warrior. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

The Harbinger looked up at the girl, pale as a sheet and eyes full of dread. "I'm Sorry Ria, but I have to go." The young Nord bolted back into his room, threw off his robes, and equipped his steel armor and katanas. He went for the doors of the mead hall yet again, only this time he was practically running towards them. He glanced over his shoulders at Ria before he headed up the stairs. "Ria, I… thank you." Without another word he jogged up the stairs to the mead hall, leaving behind a very confused Ria.

-Jorvasskr Mead Hall-

Aela, Vilkas, and the rest of The Circle sat in the mead hall discussing the job each Companion was to take for the day. Vilkas sat in his usual spot by the fireplace, a large mug of mead in his hands. His brother sat adjacent to him, leaning in his chair with his arms and legs crossed in a relaxed manner. Skjor was sitting at the dinning table with a large plate of food and equally large bottle of mead, and made very audible noises as he quickly consumed his meal. Aela sat in a chair near the open area doors of Jorrvaskr, her weapons laying spread across the table. She had informed The Circle of the change in time of the scheduled meeting they were set to have.

Vilkas and his brother had no qualms with the sudden change, after all, it wasn't a big deal to them. Skjor however was not so pleased with the last minute change and used it as an excuse to insult the young Harbinger. Aela and the others tried to get him to calm himself, but as per usual, he refused. The man continued his tangent of swears and curses for about five minutes before Torvar showed up and began a drunken ramble about how Skjor was too "uptight."

After a few more heated, as well as drunken words, the argument turned into a full-blown brawl. Torvar managed to land three successful and very impressive blows on the old war veteran, but ultimately fell before the more experienced warrior.

"Stay down, you drunk bastard," Skjor spat. "Or I'll shove you in a mead barrel."

Slowly, very slowly, Torvar rose to his feet and stared right at the balding warrior, "Say what you want Skjor, but it don't change the fact that what I'm spoutin' is the truth," he retorted, "You nay-say and undermine everything the Harbinger says or does out of envy. You cant stand the fact that someone younger is above you."

By the time Torvar had finished the insults he was hurling, Skjor was already upon him. He pulled his arm as far back as he possibly could, putting as much power in his punch as he could muster, and released the strike. Torvar braced himself, expecting to be knocked unconscious, but the blow never came. He looked up and saw the Harbinger, standing in front of him with Skjor's fist in an iron grip.

"That's enough, stop it." the Harbinger ordered, his tone low and dark, yet brimming with authority.

Skjor ripped out of the young Nord's grip. "This has nothing to do with you, boy. Beat it."

"I said… that's enough." he repeated.

The two warriors stood as silent and still as a statue, glaring at one another. By this time all the residents of Jorrvaskr were present and watching the scene unfold. Aela, Vilkas, and Farkas were now on their feet, ready to stop either of the warriors if they got to out of hand. Brawling among the Companions was common, Athis and Njada fought with each other an a regular basis, and Vilkas and his brother have come to blows before. Even Aela and Ria once had a short fight. But this was different. A fight between the Harbinger and Skjor had to potential to turn into something deadly, as did most fights between people who hated each other.

"Tch, whatever. You're not worth the effort." Skjor sneered as he turned and walked out the open area doors.

The Harbinger turned his attention to Torvar. "You alright?"

Torvar nodded. "Nothing a little mead wont fix." he grinned.

The Harbinger opened his mouth reply but found his words cut short.

"Harbinger, are you heading out somewhere?" the question came from Aela.

He gave a quick nod. "Yes. To Ivarstead."

Farkas looked confused. "You're goin' back?"

"It's… complicated, Farkas. I have questions that need to be answered. Maybe then I can find a measure of peace."

The last part of his sentence as well as the look of fear on his face alarmed Aela and the others, they had never once seen him look as frightened as he did now.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." the young warrior assured them. "We'll need to reschedule the Circle's meeting for another day. Until then, Aela, I'm leaving you in charge for the time being."

The Huntress stared at him for a moment, wondering what was going through his head before she answered. "Yes, Harbinger."

With one final nod, the Harbinger turned and walked out the door.

-Whiterun Stables-

"Gods I'm bored," the carriage driver said to no one in particular, "Nothing interesting ever happens around here. And I ain't had a customer all day."

As he finished speaking he felt the back of his cart shift and become much heavier. Turning around, he saw a young man clad in steel armor and wearing two twin katana on each side of his hip climbing on board. The boy was young, no more than twenty-four or twenty-five years of age. He had shoulder length light brown hair, a short stubble of facial hair, and deep blue eyes.

"Here's twenty septims," he said handing the man a fistful of gold. "Now, take me to Ivarstead."

A/N: Finally finished this damn chapter, and man, it wasn't easy. First I get sick and am unable to concentrate on typing anything up, then when I get better, guess what? You guessed it, I got writers block. Needless to say, I'm happy how this came out, well sort of, I wanted to get done so bad that I kinda rushed the ending a bit. Still, it came out better than I expected, so I'm content. Anyway, I wanted to answer this question before somebody asks it, yes Skjor is alive and well(though you probably already guessed that.) I decided not to kill him off because even though I hate the guy, he never really gets enough attention, so I guess I'll give him some. Anyway, leave your reviews and don't be afraid to send me a PM. Next Arc, we finally learn the identity of our nameless protagonist. Stay tuned!

Zero out.

Next story Arc: Acceptance1