Farryn's mind was still reeling from seeing a dragon burn an entire town to ashes when she and Ralof finally arrived in his hometown of Riverwood. They were welcomed by Ralof's sister, Gerdur, and her family. The two survivors were offered food and warm beds for the night. In her exhausted state, Farryn immediately went to the room that she was given and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
The mage woke up well rested and hungry and gratefully accepted the cabbage soup that was passed to her. Gerdur, Hod, Ralof, and Farryn were all sitting at the table near the fireplace and from the troubled expression on Gerdur's face, Farryn figured she was just told of what happened at Helgen.
"You saw the dragon heading this way?" Gerdur asked.
"Aye." Ralof replied.
"Then we'll need to tell the Jarl of Whiterun to send more guards to Riverwood." Gerdur said. She started pacing the length of the room. "The town will require protection from such a beast."
"What makes you think more guards will help?" Farryn interjected. She set her empty bowl down on the table and turned to the formerly pacing Gerdur. "Dragons are the creatures of legends and were not known to be real until today. We don't know anything about them let alone if they can be killed." Farryn did not mean to sound so pessimistic, but what she said was true. She could barely wrap her mind around the fact that a dragon appeared and almost killed her.
Gerdur sighed and sat down again. "That is true; however, we must do something. Riverwood cannot be defenseless as some beast comes our way. Farryn, I would be in your debt if you would talk to Jarl Balgruuf."
"Okay," Farryn agreed. The mage did not mind doing this. She felt that she owed Gerdur a favor for allowing her to stay in her home. Whiterun would be a great place to stack on supplies for her trip to Winterhold. Farryn could find work there and earn some gold that would enable her to buy some decent armor or mage robes. She was currently wearing a blue belted tunic and although comfortable, it did not do much for protection.
Farryn got up from her seat and was about to make her way outside when she was stopped by Ralof.
"You should visit Windhelm and join the Stormcloaks. From what I saw at Helgen, you would make a fine addition to our cause."
"From what I gathered so far," Farryn replied, turning back around to face the male Nord. "The Stormcloak rebels are mostly made up of Nords, correct?" Seeing the blank look on Ralof's face, Farryn elaborated with "Most Nords aren't fond of mages or magic so what makes you think I would be welcomed?"
"Well, we may not like the idea of magic." Farryn scoffed at that. "But Ulfric Stormcloak would welcome anyone who considers Skyrim their home and wants to protect it," Ralolf said.
"I'm sorry, Ralof," Farryn said facing the door again. "Even if that is true, I have not lived in Skyrim for some time now. I only came back to expand my education." This was partially true. Farryn did want to explore other areas of magic besides conjuration, however she knew that Skyrim had a lot of history and Farryn had always been curious. This civil war had no part in her goals and honestly she didn't feel comfortable following a man who killed a king even if it was a fair duel. She closed the door behind her and began her journey to Whiterun.
Upon entering Dragonsreach, Farryn was immediately intercepted by a female dark elf in leather armor.
"Halt!" The elf shouted. "What is the meaning of this interruption? The jarl is not receiving any visitors today."
"I have urgent news for the jarl about Riverwood," Farryn replied. "It is of great importance."
"Any information that involves the jarl, includes me too, so what is it?" The woman was very persistent and Farryn was about to press on until she was stopped by the deep, heavily accented voice of Jarl Balgruuf.
"Irileth," He called. "Let the girl come forward." Farryn walked up to his throne. "What's this about Riverwood? Is it in danger?"
"Yes," Farryn replied. "I was at Helgen when the dragon attacked and barely made it out of there with my life. I saw it head towards Riverwood."
Jarl Balgrurf nodded. "I'll send troops there at once and as thanks for this message take this from my armory." Farryn was handed steel armor. She looked at it confused. She knew she didn't appear like a sword-wielding adventurer so she did not understand why the jarl was giving her steel armor. Farryn accepted the reward anyway; she didn't want to seem rude. She supposed the armor had its uses. It was better than what she was wearing now and she would be able to enchant it if she had any soul gems.
"Now, there is something else your services could be used for." Now here Farryn finally realized that the jarl thought she was some kind of mercenary or sellsword. She softly groaned at that. She just wanted to be on her way, but the jarl and Skyrim were being exceedingly difficult obstacles. Farryn listened as the jarl explained to her that his court wizard could use her help with his research on dragons. "Farengar has been studying dragons ever since we heard about the attack on Helgen."
They arrived at a small room with a large desk in the middle and a man dressed in dark blue mage robes stood looking over scattered documents.
"Farengar," The jarl called. "I have someone here that could help you with your research on dragons."
Bleak Falls Barrow had to be the creepiest place that Farryn had ever been to. Filled with massive spiders and reanimated dead Nords, the barrow was a hassle to get through. However it was interesting especially the wall with the strange symbols. As soon as Farryn stepped into the room she felt a pull tugging her body closer to the wall and when she was close enough it was like hundreds of voices were whispering one word to her: Fus.
Farryn was not sure if blacked out or not but the next thing she knew she was fighting a Draugr Overlord. She realized that the strange symbols on the wall were of the dragon language after looking at the Dragonstone. Farryn was confused on how she understood the word on the wall when she had never studied the language before.
Ever since then she had felt something change within her. Farryn felt restless as she traveled back to Whiterun. There was a swirling mass of power in the pit of her stomach and Farryn could feel it creeping upward toward her throat. This feeling continued up until a dragon was sighted at the Western Watchtower and Farryn was ordered to go with Irileth and the rest of the Whiterun guards to defeat it.
Farryn, of course, had her doubts, but she wouldn't put the solders' morale down with her pessimism. One thing Farryn immediately noticed when the dragon came was that it was not the same one that attacked Helgen. It was smaller and did not instill the same amount of terror in her nor did it rain giant fireballs from the sky as the one at her execution did. Summoning a mystic bow, Farryn took cover under the ruined tower and fired multiple arrows at the flying dragon. Only some of them hit and Farryn growled in frustration. If only this blood dragon would land, Farryn thought. The guards were doing well in wearing it down. Farryn could see the dragon's movements were becoming sluggish. The mage held the glowing bow up, notched an arrow and aimed at the area where the wing met the dragon's body. She let the arrow go and gave a cry of triumph when it punctured the scaly flesh of the dragon and sent it soaring to the ground with a roar of pain.
Farryn ran from her cover, dismissing the bow and conjuring two swords. The soldiers were also moving towards the dragon with raised weapons.
"Give it everything you got, soldiers!" Irileth shouted. The dragon was howling its frustration. Blowing fierce fire out of its mouth and swinging its tail in mad directions, the great beast attacked its opponents with an intensity that only dragons could unleash. However that didn't stop Farryn. Gathering her anger, terror, and irritation over this situation, the mage leapt onto the dragon's back scrambling to get a grip while holding on to her swords.
"What are you doing, girl?!" One of the soldiers yelled. Farryn ignored them, too focused on keeping her balance while the dragon bucked under her. She climbed up to the dragon's neck and with a mighty cry, she plunged her two bound swords into the dragon's head, piercing an eye. Blood gushed forward; painting Farryn's hands crimson red and the dragon finally ceased moving and lay still on the ground.
The following events sealed Farryn's fate and started her destiny as the legendary Dragonborn much to her dismay.
