Zu'u Dovahkiin Do Zoor!

Origins

When Tyradus entered the Bannered Mare, he immediately recognized everything. It was exactly the same as when he was a child. The same seats, the same people, (Well, they were a lot younger during his childhood) and even the same bartender.

"Hey, Hulda!" Tyradus greeted happily.

"Tyradus? Tyradus, is that you?"

"That's right, Hulda. How did you know?"

"Your father talks about you all the time. He comes here when he's kicked out of Jorrvaskr for being too drunk. According to how he's described you, you look the same as when you were a teenager."

"They say you have to be able to drink more than a god to be kicked out of Jorrvaskr! I knew the man could put some mead away, but that's just...wow. Well, anyway, have you seen Fjori? We were supposed to meet here for drinks."

"No, I haven't seen him, but word is that Caius has most of the guards working overnight. He apparently sent some troops to Riverwood for some reason."

"Damn. I guess we'll have to catch up some other time, then."

"So, Tyradus, how was it in Cyrodiil?"

"Not so great with the Thalmor running around. I was lucky to be able to keep my Amulet of Talos hidden."

"So, why didn't you ever come to visit before?"

"I did try, about four years ago. But, I ended up getting caught up in business with the College of Winterhold, and ended up studying magic there for a while."

"Damn mages!" An armored woman in the corner shouted. "Why can't you stay up in the college and stop polluting the rest of Skyrim with your nonsense?"

"What are you talking about polluting?" Tyradus asked. "Magic is a great art. Very reliable in almost any situation."

"A true Nord trusts in his own strength against his super powers. Magic is all smoke and mirrors. Why don't you just get out of the bar, you milk drinker?"

"I can trust in my own strength. My sword arm is just as powerful as my magic!"

"You willing to bet on that, wizard?" She shouted as she stood.

"You want to fight me?" Tyradus stood as well.

"100 gold says that I knock your hide to the ground. Fists only. No weapons, no magic, no crying!"

"You got a deal!"

They both set 100 Septims on the bar counter.

"You ready?" She shouted, raising her fists.

"Come at me!" Tyradus raised his own.

The woman, without warning, threw the first punch and nailed Tyradus right in the stomach. Her steel glove caused him immense pain and made him queasy.

She's wearing gauntlets? I didn't even notice...! I'll have to cast oak-flesh on myself to get through this, but I'll have to hide it.

"Come on, Tyradus! Beat her down!" Hulda shouted.

"Come on, Uthgerd! Kill this weakling!" Sinmir yelled over her.

Tyradus put one hand behind his back and cast the spell quickly. He threw a punch into the woman's face.

"Agh!"

This idiot's fist feels like a damn tree! For a wizard, he can sure throw a punch! I guess it isn't the time to go easy on him, weakling or not!

She threw another punch, aimed at his face. Tyradus moved his head just far enough to dodge the attack. He swung his foot forward and kicked her in the stomach. She stumbled backwards all the way to the wall and hit the back of her head. It nearly knocked her out.

"Ugh!" She groaned. "You... got me. I give in."

"I've never seen Uthgerd get beaten before..." Mikael mumbled. Sinmir grunted and took another drink.

"I knew the son of a Companion would win any fight!" Hulda cheered.

"I think I've earned that gold!" Tyradus smugly shouted.

"I guess you may be stronger than I imagined. Fine. Here's your damn money."

Tyradus sat down. Uthgerd sat next to him.

"So, wizard, what's your story?" She asked.

"What do you mean 'story?'"

"I mean how did you end up the way you did? Every Nord has a story."

"So, now that I beat you in a brawl, you suddenly want to be my friend?"

"I don't want to be your friend, exactly, but I respect anyone that's strong enough to take me down. Now, just tell me what I wanted to know."

"Where should I start? The beginning, the middle or the end?"

"The beginning, I guess."

"Okay, okay... Long ago, the divines created this planet, and with it, created its first inhabita-"

"Not that early, idiot! I mean your life!"

"Sorry, I guess us mages are more accustomed to storytelling than others. Just to warn you, this will be long.

Anyway, I was born here in Whiterun, back in 176. My father, Engar, wasn't around much during my childhood, being a Companion. So, it was my mother Malene who took care of me most of the time. She would take me anywhere she went. And, shopping was her favorite thing to do.

Once, when I was about six years old, she heard that a Khajiit caravan had set up camp outside of the city. She took me with her to trade with them. It turns out that one of the Khajiit had a child, the same age as me, named Kh'aaru.

We just started playing together, according to my mother. We went out there for the next five days just so I could play with him, until the Khajiit had to move to another hold. Neither of us wanted them to leave, but it was inevitable. But, apparently, Kh'aaru's mother didn't want him to live his life like they did, constantly moving through harsh terrains across Skyrim. She asked my mother to take Kh'aaru in. They agreed, and we had a new family member. My father was enraged when he got home that day, saying that 'a true Nord doesn't mix with other races,' but he eventually stopped complaining about it. He didn't get used to Kh'aaru for years, though.

Once we had both hit nine, my mother finally let me and Kh'aaru go out by ourselves and do whatever we please. She always warned us about stealing, but we ignored her. We got into trouble a lot, and usually got caught by a guard.

Eventually, we outgrew that when we started spending more time with my father. The older he got, the less jobs he was going on for the Companions. When he told us stories about battling bandits and giants, I guess we began to idolize him. My uncle Brunwulf also came around every once in a while, telling us stories about his battles in the Great War.

We stopped being thieves, and eventually they began calling us 'true, honorable Nords.' Both my father and my uncle finally accepted Kh'aaru as part of our family.

But, when the Battle-Born family heard of our trickery, they began criticizing my family for raising thieves. Olfrid and his son, Idolaf, were the worst. Jon had always been a friend of ours, so he usually got them to stop. But, when Jon wasn't around, the torment seemed endless.

When we turned 15, I decided that Kh'aaru and I were old enough to make our own decisions. We wanted to move away, to where we could avoid all of the judgement. Unfortunately, since my father is a Companion, many people had heard of us and our thievery. The only way to escape it all was to move to Cyrodiil.

Unfortunately, our lives in Cyrodiil weren't much better. When we first tried to leave Skyrim, three Thalmor soldiers were standing at the border gate. They said they had to check our bags 'for stolen or illegal items,' but they just confiscated everything we had brought with us. It's because I'm a Nord, I'm sure. But, without supplies, I couldn't make it to the Imperial city for months. We had to find ways to make money in Bruma, then went to Chorrol. After that, Skingrad. Finally, we had made it to the Imperial city.

The first 2 years weren't easy. Once again, we had to resort to thievery to get by. Luckily, the guards in Cyrodiil were very easy to get away from, without them even figuring out our identity.

After the first few years, we were finally at the age where we were able to get jobs. Kh'aaru got a job at the Black Horse Courier and I was old enough to join the Fighters' guild. Things were still hard, though. With the Thalmor constantly tormenting both of us, even robbing us a few times, they nearly had us starved to death. We never could afford a house, we just had a permanent residence in one of the rooms at the King and Queen tavern.

I finally got a taste of justice when I was 18. I was at the inn, and one of the Aldmeri soldiers walked in. He threw a few racial slurs at me, but I just ignored him. That's when he told me that the Dominion planned on wiping out all Nords.

I shouted something I shouldn't have, and he pulled a dagger on me. He stabbed my arm. I ended up killing him by stabbing through his chest with my sword. The Dominion tried to have me arrested, but all of the witnesses claimed that he had attacked me first and it was in self-defense."

"Well, it was in self-defense, right?" Hulda asked. Neither Tyradus nor Uthgerd had noticed that she was listening in the whole time.

"It's not entirely true. Luckily, the witnesses left out the part where I knocked him out cold. That's when I had a chance to tell the guards.

But, I was tired of the Thalmor pushing me around. I poured mead on his face to wake him up. Before he could stand to retaliate, I grabbed him and pulled him up by the arm. I shoved him into the wall. He was still disoriented, and didn't have the sense to move. I had just enough time to rush at him and drive my blade straight through his chest. I ended up stabbing a hole through the wall behind him, too. If the witnesses hadn't left that out, I'd probably be in prison right now."

"Now, that's the way a Nord finishes his enemies!" Uthgerd shouted.

"It was the first time I felt like a true Nord. I've no idea why, but just the smell of fresh elf blood filled me with pride.

Everything was better after that. Word got around that I had killed him. I saw quite a few people gathered around the tavern, just staring at the blood covered hole in the wall. Most of the Thalmor soldiers backed off after that.

Finally, I decided to come visit my family after nearly six years. Kh'aaru said he would stay behind and work so we could keep our room at the tavern.

This time, I got across the border a lot more easily. The Thalmor soldiers stay on Skyrim's side of the gate, only watching out for people coming into Cyrodiil, not exiting. I snuck up to the gate, and quietly scaled the wall. Once I was on top of the gate, I drew my blade. I jumped down in front of one of the elves and blindly slashed. I ended up cutting his head clean off. The other began throwing spells at me. I just knocked her out with a few slashes to the limbs and a kick to the face. I made sure to get out of there quickly.

I thought about stopping in Riften to gather supplies, but I thought that I could get to Whiterun soon enough so I wouldn't need any extra things. I just kept on.

I was barely out of the Rift when I heard a few men shouting. I ignored it at first, but then two Orcs rushed at me with warhammers in their hands. I turned around, just to find myself surrounded by at least five other Orcish bandits. I thought I was finished.

Just before they struck me, a flurry of fireballs shot out from the bushes. They were all perfectly-aimed. They took out all of the Orcs without even coming close to me. After they were all subdued, a Dunmer mage came out of the bushes. He told me his name was Savos Aren, and he was the Arch-Mage at the College of Winterhold. I'm not exactly sure how, but he eventually talked me into becoming a student at the College.

My time there was actually quite fun. When I first arrived, I met three other new students. There was J'zargo, an annoying Khajiit, Onmund, another Nord, and Brelyna, a Dunmer. We learned a few protection spells, then were left to study on our own. Brelyna and I were both fairly interested in Conjuration, so we spent most of our time studying togeth-"

"Look, I don't need to know what goes on at your college!" Uthgerd butted in. "Just skip that part."

"Ugh. Fine. I stayed there for three years, and had totally mastered a few schools. Afterward, I went back to Cyrodiil. Kh'aaru was doing quite well. I stayed for another year, before deciding that I finally wanted to move back to Skyrim.

We just packed up and left without giving it much thought. We decided that we didn't want to deal with the guards at the border, so Kh'aaru decided to sneak over the border at a different point with all of our things and meet me in Riften.

When I went through the gate, there were no Thalmor soldiers, not even an Imperial. But, as I slowly made my way through the woods, I was ambushed by Imperial soldiers, who I was a Stormcloak. I... er... Escaped, and eventually found my way here. I still have no idea where Kh'aaru is."

"Quite a tale..." Hulda said.