Chapter One

As Faasnu slept soundly, Ulfric, Tullius, and Balgruuf discussed the items brought back from Faasnu's ship while Paarthurnax watched over the sleeping man. Rain had come, putting out the fires on Faasnu's ship, and all was generally dark outside as day turned to night.

"These things here," Ulfric explained, indicating strange devices, "Tullius' men pulled off of a series of racks." The devices were made up of a series of intricate parts, all cobbled together to make extraordinary items. Each device had a slot where containers of various sizes went in, some containers housing multiple small, pointed metallic objects no bigger than the palm of Ulfric's hand, and some serving some unknown purpose.

"Could these be weapons of some sort?" Tullius asked.

"Could be," Balgruuf admitted, stroking his beard, "But what would Faasnu need all these weapons for?"

"It is possible that these weapons were part of a shipment he was delivering," Tullius suggested.

"It would explain why we found so many," Ulfric responded. "But where was he delivering them?"

"What about those two crates?" Balgruuf asked.

"Well, if these are indeed weapons," Ulfric answered, "Then those contain the ammunition these things use."

"That's a lot of ammunition," Balgruuf commented.

"Either Faasnu was delivering these somewhere, or he wasn't alone on that ship," Ulfric said.

"If Faasnu was with someone on that ship, we'd have found them – dead or alive," Tullius discounted. "We'll need to ask Faasnu what he was doing with all this when he wakes up."

"What of his armor?" Balgruuf inquired.

"It is very sturdy," Ulfric explained, "But surprisingly light. I could wear it with no hindrance to movement." He picked up the chest plate and handed it to Tullius. "Feel the weight."

Tullius shifted the somewhat-bulky chest plate in his hands, then handed it back with an intrigued frown. "It has almost no weight at all," he remarked.

"Yet it protected Faasnu when his ship crashed," Ulfric said. "Moreover, my men tested this suit – not even the sharpest bow-fired arrow can penetrate it."

"Such protection could be invaluable to the Empire against the Thalmor," Tullius said.

"We would have to know how this armor is forged first," Balgruuf stated.

"I don't think it can be forged – not by us," Ulfric discounted. "When the arrow hit the armor while it was fully assembled, it glanced off of some sort of field around the armor. Watch." Ulfric was about to reassemble the armor when a groan came from Faasnu. Tullius, Ulfric, Balgruuf and Paarthurnax gathered around Faasnu as he twitched and stirred. His brown dragon eyes cracked open, and Faasnu croaked,

"What the hell...? Who are you?" He began to sit up when Balgruuf stopped him.

"Easy, now, Faasnu – you survived one hell of a crash," he said. "It was a good thing Ulfric and his men were able to pull you out of your ship, or you'd be more than a little crispy."

"I apologize for shattering the glass on your ship," Ulfric apologized.

"Don't apologize, comrade," Faasnu said. "Were I in your position, I'd have done the same thing." He paused, surveying the faces in the room, stopping at Paarthurnax. He frowned, inclining his head and sitting up.

"Paarthurnax?" he asked, as though surprised to see him. In perfect Dovah, he added, "Father spoke very highly of you often – but I never thought I'd see you face-to-face."

Paarthurnax chuckled, "So you know who I am," Paarthurnax commented. "For twenty-two years, the dov have awaited your arrival. I am honored you already know us."

"Just for the record," Faasnu asked, "Where am I?"

"You're in my palace, Dragonsreach – the city of Whiterun," Balgruuf answered.

"And where is Whiterun?" Faasnu asked.

"The province of Skyrim," Ulfric replied, "On the continent of Tamriel."

"I believe he was referring to what world," Paarthurnax suggested. He looked to Faasnu. "You are on the world known as Nirn."

Faasnu paused, moving his head about as he apparently calculated something in his head. "Okay," he finally said, "I am where I was supposed to be."

"Am I hearing this right?" Tullius asked. "You meant to crash here?"

"No," Faasnu replied, "Not crash; I merely meant to land here."

"What is your business here?" Tullius asked.

"Something my father was looking into that caught the attention of my superiors," Faasnu answered.

"You are a part of some sort of military?" Balgruuf inquired.

"Yes, sir," Faasnu replied. "Sergeant Major Faasnu Dovahkiir, Dragon'taan Marauder Corps."

"What caused your ship to crash?" Paarthurnax queried.

"Honestly, I don't know," Faasnu responded. "I'd have to get a look at the damage on my ship before I could make any sort of educated guess as to what caused me to crash."

"We could head out when you recover," Balgruuf said. "Right now, you need to rest."

"If that's the case, sir, then could someone hand me the weapon I had in my lap when you pulled me out?"

Ulfric picked up one of the devices from the table. "You mean this thing?" he queried.

"Yes, that and the curved mag next to it," Faasnu affirmed.

Ulfric took the requested items and handed them to Faasnu. Faasnu then loaded the container into the receiver and cocked the device with a metallic click-click. He then flipped a lever up on the weapon, and rested with the weapon across his chest, his hand on the grip, and finger over the trigger guard.

"If I may," Tullius asked, "What are those things?"

"This," Faasnu answered with pride, "Is a personal weapon of mine – an RX Kalashnikov AK50M7. As for the other guns I was toting – some are assault rifles, some are sniper rifles, and some are high-tech Kadgeron Disruptor Rifles."

"What were you carrying these for?" Tullius inquired.

"My father's gift from him to you," Faasnu responded. "He said you'd need them. That thing there," Faasnu indicated the machine recovered from his ship – the one that took several men to load – and continued, "Once deployed, materializes these weapons in racks that slide out from the sides and the needed ammunition from a compartment in the bottom."

"So Dovahkiin knew what was coming," Paarthurnax mumbled, "And sent us weapons for the coming war."

"That's another reason why I need to get to my ship," Faasnu stated. "That's not all he sent you; I need to set the beacon so that my allies in the Dragon'taan Marauder Corps will know where I am. Once they lock on, they'll be here in short order."

"Very well," Balgruuf sighed. "How can we deploy your... machine?"

Faasnu sighed. "Computer," he said, "Deploy Industrial Materialization Machine, authorization code seven-two-four-delta-foxtrot." The machine beeped, and in seconds, became several times larger. "If you want," Faasnu stated, "I'll fire that thing up tomorrow."

"Very well," Balgruuf said. "I leave you to your rest, Faasnu – and bid you welcome to Skyrim." Balgruuf left, and Ulfric and Tullius followed, leaving Paarthurnax alone with Faasnu.

"I am... almost afraid to ask," Paarthurnax asked, "Does Dovahkiin still live?"

"In all honesty, Uncle Paarthurnax, no one knows," Faasnu replied. "He went missing during an engagement with the Kirn five years ago. No one has seen him since. I found his journal and continued his quest a week later... and got the attention of my superiors – especially the head of the Marauder Corps."

"Who is he?" Paarthurnax inquired.

"High General Kyle Indari," Faasnu replied. "Father was a good friend of his."

"Does Indari know what this... B'tari is?" Paarthurnax queried.

"Of course," Faasnu said. "B'tari was where Kyle Indari was raised. And, moreover, he was there when the Necromyans destroyed all life on the world. Nobody knows how he survived – it is knowledge only he holds. And, likewise, Uncle Paarthurnax, whether or not father still lives is knowledge only father holds."

Paarthurnax smiled. "Did Dovahkiin always refer to me as Uncle Paarthurnax to you?"

"Yeah," Faasnu answered. "Kept telling me that if anything were to happen to him, you would take me in. After all – he told me that he named you my godfather."

Paarthurnax chuckled. "I am honored, son of Dovahkiin. In any event, you must rest."

"Way ahead of you, pal," Faasnu replied, putting his head down and closing his eyes. As Faasnu slept, Paarthurnax couldn't help but feel proud. Paarthurnax – godfather of Faasnu Dovahkiir. Such a magnificent title. The aging dragon looked to the sky, as though expecting to see Dovahkiin's face in the dark clouds.

Dovahkiin, old friend, he thought,wherever you are – thank you. Rest in peace... you earned that much.

With sleep on his own mind, Paarthurnax curled up near Faasnu, keeping him in his sight, and fell asleep himself...