Ralof I

It had been a long day working for my sister and her husband. I had started the day by being sent out into the woods to find trees suitable for the mill and then floating them downriver for the mill to use. My body has been doing this work for decades and I was as strong as I was tall. Now Hadvar and I had left Riverwood to hunt.

Riverwood was a quiet town. Easy to grow up in and easy to stay in after I reached adulthood. We were a small community hidden in the mountains between Whiterun Hold and Falkreath Hold. Technically we were part of Falkreath Hold but all our trade was with Whiterun.

We were hidden away from the concerns of the Dominion and the Empire. The only time we saw a High Elf would be when the Justicars marched through town. They never stayed in our inn. They deemed us too much like animals to sleep in the same place as us. They were haughty with an "I'm better than you" attitude.

Many traders came through the town and kept our settlement alive but we were simple folk. An inn, the mill, a smithy, beyond that we had little. Hadvar and I had hunted since we were children to help provide for the village.

"I was thinking of going to Helgen soon." I told him.

"Off to see that girl of yours? Bring me back some of Vilod's mead." Came the reply.

"Why don't you come with me and get it yourself." I laughed back at him. "Just try not to stare as much at the soldiers like last time."

"Har de har, jackass." Hadvar gave a hard look.

We continued on through our trek to an area where we knew deer bedded down.

"Have you heard about Faendal and Sven?" I heard Hadvar whisper.

"What that they are both sleeping with Camila right under Lucan's nose?"

"Delphine had to throw both of them out of the Giant last night. Sven drank too much mead and instead of singing his normal songs he mocked Faendal. I don't know who told Faendal, but he showed up and they began to fight right in the middle of the building." Hadvar gossiped like an old woman when no one was around.

That night we spent what little money we had buying the cheapest drinks we could at the inn. Tavern wenches worked the unmarried men in the crowds and occasionally you would see a ring on a hand. One woman had taken to flirting with Hadvar, who was not the flirtatious type. Her loose shirt giving him an interesting view of her chest.

"Have you heard the news boys?" Delphine spoke up from behind the counter. "The Emperor will be passing through Whiterun in a few weeks. Some big tour before the High King's wedding."

That caught Hadvar's attention quick. His head snapped from the woman towards Delphine. "Will he be passing through Riverwood?" He almost shouted.

"If he were coming up from Cyrodiil, he would come from Falkreath through Riverwood to Whiterun." Hadvar argued back.

"He is coming by ship to Solitude, past that no one knows his schedule but his guards." Delphine interrupted the argument.

That was all Hadvar wanted to talk about the rest of the night. "He is descended from the Hero of Kvatch. Tiberius Mede stopped the Oblivion Crises and his son Titus took the throne many years later." Hadvar was finishing a story I had heard dozens of times.

Annoyed I turned to him, "Maybe if we are lucky we can see him and ask him how it felt to turn against his faith and his people. Or how it felt to fight for nothing." I snapped. Delphine watched from behind the bar.

Hadvar's eyes shot wide. Maybe I had drank too much.

"He did not. If he had not signed the Concordant then the Elves would have slaughtered everyone in the Imperial City!" He shouted.

"Oh like how they slaughtered everyone in Hammerfell?" I popped off back to him.

"That was only because he had weakened them so badly in the capital."

"No it was because they had not given up. Face it, the Emperor is weak and the Empire is failing." I was not going to give up now.

"The Emperor is not weak and neither is the Empire. If we were not one whole Empire we would be in the Dominion or dead."

"Are you saying the Dominion doesn't already have us all by the balls? Last I checked they could still pull people out of their homes for worshipping how they want to!"

His fist caught my cheek and I was sent stumbling backwards. Roaring I came up hard and tackled the idiot down. My fists pummeling his face. I felt hands on me and I jerked forward trying to get away. Then I felt the hands yank me back hard and pin me down.

"Stop you idiot." I looked to see the mountain of a man holding me down. The man was the size of a bear with a large beard.

Delphine's husband had Hadvar. Several people were gathered around. "You two are through for the night. Ralof go home."

I did not know then that Hadvar and I would not see each other again for some time. I would have apologized if I would have known what was to happen next. I do not think that I can be held fully responsibly. Hadvar had hit me first.

I didn't go home. I went to the mill and slept under the roof out there. It would be better than hearing Hod or Gerdur scolding me. I fell asleep as it started to rain.

I woke the next morning with Hod dumping water on my face.

"I heard you had a rough night last night. Head in and eat what Gerdur cooked. Then get your hungover ass back out here and get to work. We will drink some mead tonight after we close up."