Without a second thought, I ran past the man and out the door, ignoring Tulius's shouts for me to stop. There was smoke coming from a building in the distance. I ran to it as fast as I possibly could, seemingly matching Kesh's speed for the first time. Nearly the whole town was in front of the house, either throwing water onto it or using Frost Magic. I looked around but was not able to see Mother, Father or Kesh.
"Oh no...please...please don't be still in there..." I cried to myself quietly. I ran inside the burning house, paying no attention to the many people who tried to stop me. There was smoke everywhere, so much that I could barely see. I ran through the house calling their names.
"Mother! Father! Kesh! Where are you?" I called but no answer from any of them. I continued this throughout the house, or rather, wherever I could get into that was not blocked by fire. This was one of the times that I regretted how I never tried to learn magic. However, no matter where I went, there was no answer.
"Does that mean...they got out...?" I said, smiling. That is the only explanation. If they weren't here, how could they answer me? I turned around to leave but the smoke was starting to get to me. I felt light headed and could not think. Everything became a blur. Streaks of red, orange and black danced across my eyes as I fell to the floor and passed out.
I awoke hours later. I vaguely heard somebody say "Look, he's waking up. I'll get the General" as I slowly opened my eyes but I couldn't tell who. I sat up and shook my head a bit. I was back outside. The heat and smoke were gone, but the smell lingered. I turned around. The only thing left of my house was a pile of hot ash and a few pieces of burnt wood here and there. Most of the town was gone now but a few people remained, looking at the house with an expression of grief. I stood up and walked over to the nearest person, a tall Nord man with a greatsword on his back.
"Where are my parents and Kesh?" I asked him. He turned to me.
"...I am sorry, lad..." he says, obviously meaning it. "They were still in the house when it caught fire...nobody saw them escape"
"No, that can't be true! When I called for them inside the house, nobody answered! They would have heard me!" I protested. I couldn't believe he'd lie to me...especially about something like that. He shook his head.
"No. They wouldn't have if they were already dead. I am sorry" he said sadly. He walked away, leaving me to stand there in shock. No...they...they couldn't be dead...especially Kesh...he has the best reflexes and agility of anyone I've ever seen...there was no way he could die...but there was also no way he could leave without being seen. I began to cry. In about twenty minutes, I had lost my father, mother and my best friend...
"It's alright...no need to cry" said a gentle voice from behind me. General Tulius walked in front of me and crouched down a bit to match my height. "They wouldn't want you to be sad"
I nodded, wiping the tears from my eyes. "...yeah..." I said quietly.
He sighed. "I suppose you have a right to know how it started...it was the Stormcloaks" he said grimly. Before I could say anything, he held up a hand and said "Come with me. I do not want you thinking that this is just a plan to get you to join the Legion so I will prove it. We managed to capture the Stormcloak in question"
I followed him back into Castle Dour and into the dungeons. We stopped in front of a small cell with a man in blue and grey armor in it. He scowled at Tulius.
"What do you want, Imperial dog? Come to gloat?" he sneered. Tulius ignored the man.
"Leif, this is the man who set fire to your house and killed your family" he said, expressionless. The man laughed.
"Yes, it was me. Oh, don't look so angry, boy" he said, noticing I was beginning to get mad. "I didn't want to kill them but it's for a worthy cause! If killing a few people is what it takes to bring down the Empire, I'm willing to make that sacrifice and you should be too"
"Wait. You said "bring down the Empire"...does this mean that you killed my whole family...to further your own cause in this meaningless war?" I asked him. He laughed again.
"Yes. I did it because I was ordered to do so by the higher ups. Glory to Skyrim! Glory to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King!"