Okay guys! I've tried to make this chapter significantly longer than the first, whether or not I've succeeded is debateable. I hope you enjoy reading this next chapter as much as I've enjoyed writing it!
Becoming Dovahkiin – Chapter 2: Let sleeping Draugr's lie
Akatosh was stood outside of the Jorvasskr district with Farkas, Vilkas, and numerous members of the companions who lived nearby but most notably, his Father Talos and his mother Aela. The past few weeks of training had been hard for the young boy but he had taken it in his stride and he was ready to move out with Farkas for High Hrothgar and prove himself to his Father. His blonde hair was cut short to prevent it being in his eyes, his body was hardened and strong from the rigorous training; his mind was honed and sharp from the teachings of his Father and the other companions. He was ready.
His mother bent down to his level and held his face in her hands, in true companion style she was dressed in her armour and had three 'scratches' of war paint across her face. Companions always donned their armour for special occasions, his father was dressed in the armour of The Blades, an organization of Dragon Hunters that he'd helped get back up onto the ground and had formed into a specialist wing of the Companions, he had Dragons bane, his enchanted Blades Katana at his waist and he held the helmet under his arm. "Akatosh" his mother said, snapping his attention back to her "I need you to come back from High Hrothgar alive… I know the journey will take at least two days, and even then your father said climbing up and down the mountain will add another two days, and what you'll be doing up there could last another day if not two as well… I will be able to cope knowing that you're safe. And I will trust your word if you promise me you return home, without Farkas carrying you, do you promise me that?"
Akatosh gulped, it was not out of fear or sorrow, but confusion, he had never seen his mother act so… Well… Motherly. But instinctively he found himself blurting out his reply "I promise that I will return home on my own two feet mother" she nodded and kissed both of his cheeks before standing up and taking a step away from her son, it was his fathers turn to approach him. He set his helmet on the floor and crouched down onto one knee; Akatosh rushed towards him and embraced his father, the boy's light leather armour pressing against the cold steel of his fathers. "Don't be afraid, son." He whispered in Akatosh's ear "You have my blood running through your veins; it is your destiny to do this… You will succeed" Akatosh nodded "I will succeed" he repeated. They moved away from one another and Talos unsheathed a dagger "Here…" he said, handing the blade over "This is a skyforge steel dagger, it's not as good as something that a Grey-Mane could make, but that's because I made it myself, I enchanted it so that it will awaken when you do…" His father's message was cryptic and Akatosh did not understand, but he took the dagger and attached it to his waist, on the other side from his sword and took a step back as Farkas took a step with him and kneeled down in front of him.
"Farkas…" Akatosh spoke, for once feeling the authority of his father in his voice "Do you swear to raise your shield in my defence, if I so need it?" Farkas lowered his head "My shield is yours" Akatosh nodded "Will you raise your sword to slay those who may oppose me, if I so request it?" Once again Farkas replied "My sword is yours" Akatosh spoke the final question of the ritual "Will you lay down your life for my honour, if I deem you worthy?" Farkas gave the final answer "My life is yours" Akatosh nodded "Then I pronounce you Farkas, Housecarl of Akatosh Dovahkiin" there was a rupture of applause from those behind him as Farkas rose to his feet and bowed to Akatosh, who bowed in return. Both accepting one another's honour as their own. Farkas turned to Talos and both of the men simply nodded at each other before shaking hands, the large werewolf then turned to his brother Vilkas and they stared at one another, an intense stare that would have forced Ysgrammir, the hero of the Nords to turn tail and flee, the pair almost looked ready to engage one another in combat before Vilkas reached forwards and pulled his brother into the a hug. It was brief but it was as strong a sign of affection as any Akatosh had ever seen. With that, Farkas nodded at Akatosh and the pair of them set off for the gates of Whiterun, their adventure began today. As they were about to leave the city gates they heard a voice that could only be Talos shout from behind them "Yol Toor Shul!" A pillar of flame burst up into the sky from the Jorvasskr district, and Akatosh could only smile as they left the city…
They had stopped just outside the city limits to discuss their plan of approach; outside the Jorvasskr district surrounded by those wishing them off did not seem like the best place to have done it, so they had waited until now. "We'll head south, down the White River towards Lake Ilinalta and pass through Riverwood, from there we can travel south along the road into the Throat of the World, we'll come down from the outcroppings of the mountain and skirt around the southern edge into Ivarstead, we'll pick up out supplies there and climb the steps" Farkas said with a nod, sure of his plan, if all went well they'd be at the peak near High Hrothgar by the end of the day, at worse they'd be there in the afternoon the next day. Akatosh seemed to disagree with his plan "Wouldn't it be easier to cross the White River here?" he asked pointing to where the river just passed near Whiterun "And then just head south-east around the Throat of the World and then directly south to Ivarstead?" Farkas shook his head "We'd be travelling through a lot more wilderness that way, and despite you wanting to prove yourself. You're not your father, and you're not ready to be fighting that you'll find in the forests just south of here… No, we'll be safer on my route" he noted Akatosh's spirits drop "But I am your Housecarl…" he added "I am honour-bound to follow you wherever you may go." It was Akatosh's turn to shake his head now "No… You're right Uncle Farkas, we'll take your route, I employed you as my Housecarl because I trust you, and as such I will trust your judgement. Now, shall we go?" Farkas nodded "By your leave my lord" Akatosh grinned and set off down the path towards Riverwood, where they would probably receive some warm greeting and a meal, his father's name was praised throughout the whole of the Whiterun Hold due to his heroic actions and many would happily accept the man's son into their homes.
As they walked, Akatosh asked his Housecarl many questions about his life and career in the Companions and some of the quests that he had been on with his father "When did my father find out you were a werewolf?" Akatosh asked with a sense of curiosity, he knew of the Companion's secret but he didn't know the process in which one became a werewolf, he just assumed that you had to be one to join the Circle and it was a gift his father and mother possessed "I was with your father, up at Dustman's Cairn, this was back when Wuuthrad, the axe of Ysgramor was not at his tomb and we held the fragments of the weapon with honour, me and your father were sent to collect one of these fragments, the source was shifty and unreliable but we were bound by our honour to collect it. I was also to judge the valour of your father in combat to see if he was the right material for the Companions. On our way in I watched your father slay Draugr's with ease, at the time he didn't have his Dragons bane and instead used just a plain old steel sword, but plain old steel or not he used it like an artist uses a brush, his swipes were always perfect and the undead fell before him as if they were made of lead. I was impressed, and that's rare for me, but at one point your father went to pull a lever to open another gate, but as that one opened the one behind your father closed and he was trapped. I went over to him and unsheathed my greatsword as I did so… I could smell the trouble in the air, and whilst I checked the situation he was in he called out, but I already knew that they were there… Five members of the Silver Hand, werewolf hunters…surrounded my rear flank and taunted me, I remember one saying that killing me would 'make a good story' or something along those lines…" Farkas chuckled deeply "I remember replying 'You'll never live to tell it' I threw my greatsword to the floor, changed forms and slaughtered all five of them before freeing your fathers sorry ass."
Akatosh walked, listening to the story in awe, just trying to think of something to say "So… When did you figure out that my father was a werewolf?" Farkas frowned, almost as if he didn't quite understand the question "Ahh…" he muttered, as it dawned on him "That is a story for another time young one, but for now we approach somewhere that you might want to take note of." Falkas pointed to the top of a mountain where a large structure that appeared to be some sort of temple, Akatosh stared up at the structure slack-jawed, stunned by the architecture "What is that...?" he breathed, Farkas smirked "It's Bleak Falls Barrow, from what your father told me, that's where he partook in his first proper quest, he travelled up there and fought his way through Bandits and Draugr's to obtain a golden dragon claw that held some form of sentimental value to some shop keep down in Riverwood." Akatosh paused for a moment and Farkas looked over his shoulder "My lord, what is it?" Akatosh grinned "I want to go up to Bleak Falls Barrow!" Farkas paused in shock "B-but! I promised to take you up to High Hrothgar!" Akatosh crossed his arms and dug his heels into the ground "You also promised your sword, shield and life to me, so if I'm right here and I know I am, you have to come with me up to Bleak Falls!" Farkas grumbled something that the young Akatosh didn't hear before piping up "Alright, we'll detour up to Bleak Falls and then we'll pop out just south of Riverwood and head through, is that okay with you…?" Akatosh nodded, grinning like a wolf.
They made their little detour and climbed up the nearby mountain which led up to Bleak Falls Barrow, it was a good taste of what Akatosh could expect when climbing up to High Hrothgar, and he relished the challenge and opportunity to impress his Housecarl. Unfortunately he wouldn't get the change, they never encountered anything hostile on the climb and 20 minutes later they were in front of the temple. "Now listen here." Farkas said "Whilst I'm under your order I should still offer advice that you would be wise to follow, whilst we're in here you should stay right behind me and follow my judgement, we don't know what's in there, okay?" Akatosh nodded "Yeah yeah, let's just get going already!" he pushed the big iron door aside and stepped inside, Farkas following with a grumble.
To call the room large would have been an insult, the entrance hall was huge lined with stone pillars, some of the wall on the left-hand side had caved inwards which allowed some of the natural light from outside seep in and grant the darkness a respite, forcing it further back towards the right hand side. Farkas moved forwards cautiously, his lord Akatosh treading lighting behind him, as they walked they past two skeletons wearing furs and leathers draped in front of an open and empty chest "Probably your fathers work…" Farkas muttered, sending a shiver down Akatosh's spine at the thought of his father killing anyone, but the way that his Housecarl had explained it, the men who lived in here were bandits or Draugr's, either of which deserved the death that they had received. Still, he found little consolation in his own words. They proceeded through the temple, passing through a few rooms littered with more corpses before they encountered what would so far, be the scariest thing that Akatosh had ever seen in his short, ten year life. They entered a room that was covered from head to toe in cobwebs and sat in the middle over a large grate was a hulking skeleton of an oversized spider "Wh-what is that?" Akatosh exclaimed suddenly taking cover behind Farkas and gingerly touching the hilt of his short sword "It is the corpse of a very dead spider that I'm guessing your father killed…" the big man replied before stepping around it and motioning to the way forwards "Now, shall we proceed?" Akatosh gulped before cautiously moving around the corpse and moving through to the next room, neither of the pair noticed the pair of icy blue eyes that watched them from behind the cobwebs…
They trudged into a room that was filled with dead Draugr's, all placed in their individual little graves. It was like a necropolis, an entire city built for the dead… Akatosh would be lying if he said he wasn't afraid, he was absolutely terrified of the place "So…" Farkas said with a smirk "Are you finding it as exciting as you'd hoped?" he turned to face Akatosh with his hands on his hips, grinning down at the young boy. Akatosh's eyes widened "Draugr!" he yelled pointing over Farkas' shoulder, the werewolf turned around too late and was clubbed over the side of the head by a pale grey fist and sent tumbling to the floor with an audible grunt. The Draugr advanced on Akatosh now, pulling an ancient war axe from one of the graves, the young boy unsheathed his sword and took a gulp, he had no doubt that this thing was stronger than he was, but he guessed that agility would be on his side in this battle. The undead fiend swung the bladed axe down at his head and he jumped to the side to dodge it, landing on his back he picked himself up and shook his head, he'd missed his opportunity to strike now, he needed to be faster than this. He stood his ground as the creature swung again, this time Akatosh leapt to the side and landed on his feet, swiftly thrusting his short sword into the Draugr's side, forcing the beast to erupt in a roar before staggering back, injured, but very much alive or at least, un-dead. It was time for round two, Akatosh at least now knew that it was possible for him to do some sort of damage to the Draugr in front of him which gave him a form of moral boost. The Draugr moved forwards and swung at his right flank, forcing him to jump back before lunging forwards and plunging his blade into the face of the creature, it didn't penetrate, there wasn't enough force behind it, but it staggered the beast and knocked it to the floor. This was his chance, rushing forwards he knocked aside the axe with his sword before clumsily stabbing the un-dead creature before him in the chest and stomach repeatedly, eventually, it stopped moving and Akatosh staggered back, exhausted.
He crawled over to Farkas who was sitting up and groaning, before noting the dead Draugr and suddenly coming alive, picking himself up he unsheathed his huge skyforged steel greatsword and looked around for threats before Akatosh approached waving his hands "Uncle Farkas, Uncle Farkas! Calm down, I took care of it!" Farkas raised an eyebrow as he relaxed slightly "Y-you mean… You killed a Draugr?" Akatosh nodded beaming, his breathing was admittedly ragged and he looked like he'd seen a ghost, but he was still very much pleased with himself "Impressive… I guess you are your father's son! Either way, we're not staying in here any longer, I'm going to lead you to the nearest exit and we're getting out of here before any more of these things come to life and drag us down to Oblivion…" Akatosh wasn't going to disagree with him, and the pair of them soon made haste and left the Barrow, and if he was being honest, the young quester felt like he had experienced enough action for the next few years of his life. But still, he had a feeling that it wouldn't be the end of it at all, pressing on, it wasn't long before the pair of them arrived in the small town of Riverwood, admittedly they were a few hours behind schedule, but they weren't set to any time limit.
Walking into the town, there was some muttering as they approached "Is that him..?" Akatosh heard someone whisper as they walked past "The one they called for..?" another added "The new Dovahkiin..?" a third finished. Akatosh gulped, he wasn't the new Dovahkiin, he was ten years old! He'd been around long enough for him to be considered part of his family now… Unless, they meant something different… Unless, they meant the literal meaning of Dovahkiin? But that couldn't be true could it? He had heard that when his father had become Dovahkiin, someone shouted for him and it could be heard all across Skyrim! And from the looks of things neither he nor Farkas had heard anything on their travels… Then it hit him, what if the shout had been during his time in Bleak Falls Barrow? Whilst he fought that Draugr? Maybe that dagger his father had given him had awoken like he said it would! Reaching to his side he pulled out the blade to find the red ruby embedded in it's hilt glowing, pulsating slightly. Akatosh's eyes widened as he sheathed the weapon and gulped, his movements had been subtle and no-one had seen what he had just seen, but he couldn't help but feel that somewhere, eyes were watching him as they were ushered into the inn, where they would stay the night…
Okay, there you have it! I feel that this chapter was a bit longer than the first, but I still think it could be longer… Then again we've not reached any proper action scenes yet, we're still taking baby steps towards them. Make sure to review and give me your feedback! Are there any Elder Scrolls characters you want placing in the story as a canon? (If they were in Skyrim) or just mentioned by another character? (If they were before Skyrim) Then let me know! But please take note that any random flames or unhelpful comments will just be taken care of.