Thanks again readers, although I am still disliking the lack of reviews. Please review more. It makes me feel good... Anywai, onto the story. Jhak leaves Whiterun at the end, hopefully gets to Riften. This chapter reveals a lot about Jhak's past.
"Ughhh, where am I..?" Jhak asked, shaking his head to clear his eyes. It was dark, but the area around him was lit by the war campfire. Jhak's shirt was off, exposing his dark soot-colored fur, and he was in a bedroll. "You are in the caravans outside of Whiterun, we saw you while gathering herbs to trade, Ri'saad was worried you weren't going to wake up!" .The Khajiit apparently named Ri'saad responded to Jhak. "Well, thank you friend. Feel free to take anything you want from my extra bags, they are the black leather ones. The dark red one is my personal stuff." Jhak said, slipping out of the bedroll and putting on warmer leather pants over his breechcloth. He slipped on a thick shirt and turned to see Khayla preparing a meal. "This one doesn't mind if you stay for a while, but please tell Ri'saad your name. Also, this one was only doing a simple favor, no need to reward us." The caravan owner wondered. Jhak continued piling the stuff he would take into Whiterun into his bags. "My name is Jha'kzar. I have grown accustomed to Jhak in Skyrim, so please call me that. Please, take my other stuff. What the fuck am I going to do with it?" He laughed off the other Khajiit's offer. "However, I will sleep here tonight, and in the morning I will leave for Dragonsreach." Ri'saad turned towards him at the mention of the Jarl's palace. "Jarl Balgruuf has invited you to his throne? You must be very important." Ri'saad was clearly shocked, and he quickly grabbed a plate of food from Khayla to hide it. The Khajiits ate in silence for a while, the Jhak returned to the bedroll. "Goodnight, Ri'saad."
"Good to see you, Jhak! I also see you have the Dragonstone! Hurry, Delphine and Farengar are discussing the dragon attacks, give the stone to them. After, I would like you to come to my throne for a talk." Balgruuf said, guiding Jhak towards the Court Wizard's quarters. "Yes, My Jarl. I will be glad to talk to you." Jhak responded while walking towards Farengar. "Delphine, my warrior has returned. His name is Jhak." Farengar said to the woman that was also there when Jhak stepped into the room. "A Khajiit? I thought you didn't like them." Delphine looked at Farengar. Muttering, the Court Wizard shook his head. "Wasn't my choice, the Jarl picked him. But apparently he is pretty good, he got the Dragonstone." Jhak placed the engraved stone tablet onto the table. "Is this it, Farengar?" Jhak asked the wizard. "Yes, cat. Now go see the Jarl for your reward."
"Yes, My Jarl, I promise you I saw a dragon. It was at the western watchtower." Irileth, the Jarl's housecarl told the Jarl. "Surely, Balgruuf, we can't take this seriously. There are no dragons." Proventus, his advisor, told him. "GET OUT. BOTH OF YOU!" Balgruuf exploded. Both inferiors stepped away from the throne, shocked at their Jarl. "I'm sorry, Jhak, but they have been arguing for an hour since I sat down. They never stop it." Understanding about the servants, Jhak grinned at him and asked the Jarl what he wanted to talk about. "Jhak, I have been rather curious about your past, and I would like to know more about the barrows. But I believe that we have more important business to attend to. Go with Irileth to the western watchtower. See if there is a dragon there."
"Irileth, the Jarl has sent me to offer my help to you. I will come with you to the watchtower." Irileth turned around, then looked over Jhak. "Where is your bow? You need a bow to fight a dragon!" The Dunmer warrior said to the Khajiit. "I don't use a bow, I have never been very skilled with them." Jhak lied. He was an excellent bowman, but he much preferred his shortswords, and he figured that in a battle with a legendary dragon, it was safer to use the weapon you are most familiar with. "Well, take on a dragon with swords, the Jarl shall see to your funeral." the housecarl snapped. Now, the group of soldiers could clearly see the crumbling stonework of the watchtower. "Khajiit, see if you can make your way to the top of the tower." Irileth ordered Jhak. "Shall I set up a net to catch the dragon with, or try to jump onto it's back?" Jhak sarcastically asked the warrior. "Just get up there, cat" Jhak slowly entered the tower, then ascended the staircase towards the flat top of the tower. "Irileth, so far it looks cl-" Jhak was cut off by a thundering roar and the steady sound of wings beating into the air. The burning missile of fiery air slammed into the side of the tower, sending pieces of stone collapsing into the group of guards below. Jhak pulled one of his daggers out, along with his shortsword. The dragon crashed into the ground, sliding a few feet. From his vantage point on the top of the tower, Jhak had a clear sight of the dragon as it smacked into a guard with it's scaled tail.
Mirmulnir lifted his head, looking into the eyes of the Khajiit warrior at the top of the tower. "Dovahkiin..." He whispered to himself, fear rushing through his body for the first time in centuries. He knew that the warrior was the only one who could kill him forever. He steeled himself, preparing for his attack. He had been sent by Alduin to decimate the warrior. Sucking in a breath of air, Mirmulnir shouted... "YOL... TOOR SHUL". The blast of heated air following that burned into the 3 guards in front of him, then he rushed upward, flying straight at Jhak.
Diving to hisleft at the last moment, Jhak threw his dagger out at the dragon, and just as quickly drew his second sword. He could sense that the top of the tower was not a safe place to fight a dragon, so he ducked into the tower and rushed down the stairs, bursting through the stone entrance. At the same moment, the dragon landed right in front of him. Jhak saw the flash of three arrows sticking into the dragon's neck, but he knew it wasn't enough. "Damn dragons. You things are bipolar. Saving my ass one day, trying to kill me the next." He muttered as he rushed forward, darting to the side and spinning around, slashing at the dragon. The massive beast slammed his head into Jhak's side, pushing him off his feet. Opening his mouth with a massive roar, he prepared to close his bloodied teeth around Jhak. The Khajiit stabbed blindly upward, catching the dragon in the bottom part of his jaw. Irileth choose that moment to launch another chain of arrows. One struck the soft inner skin of the dragons mouth, impaling it. Jhak rolled off to the side, slicing his blades at the underside of the dragon as he went. The fight wasn't going well at all. For either party.
Seeing his chance, Jhak leaped upward, landing on the beast's back. He jammed the hardened tip of his sword into the dragon's head, then shoved it forward, stumbling off the dragon's mouth. He looked into the creature's eyes during the last seconds of it's life, and saw intelligence, and realized that these things could think, and probably were more intelligent than the dwarves had been. Then the dragons collapsed on top of Jhak, knocking him to the ground. He then heard gasping from around him, and felt an immense power fill him, strengthening him and rejuvenating him as if he had just woken up from a long rest. "The dragonborn..." "It's the hero of legends!" "He is here, to save us all!" Jhak, now feeling a lot better, heard from nearby guards. "I'm what?! Why?" He responded, looking around for the answer as if he would be able to see it. "The dragonborn! Try shouting!" One replied. Jhak then remembered the strange blue word he saw on the wall in Bleak Falls Barrow. "FUS!" Jhak shouted. Stalks of grass and even medium sized trees swayed in the direction he spoke. The force was immense, tearing through the evening air. "He is the dragonborn..." Irileth muttered in awe.
"DOVAHKIIN" Was yelled into the sky. Jhak could not see where it was from. "The greybeards have called you from the Throat of the World..." The guards muttered.
"Jhak, I never suspected that you would be the dragonborn, but I can see that you are the right person for the job. All the Nords will be thankful that they have their long-awaited hero." Jarl Balgruuf praised the dragonborn."I had no idea either, my Jarl. But I will gladly accept the position as your Thane." Jhak replied. He and the Jarl had been talking for a while now, about thirty minutes. Jhak knew the question that was coming next. "Jhak, may I ask you a few personal questions?"
As soon as Jhak agreed, he was regretting it. They had retreated into the Jarl's personal quarters. "I noticed that unlike most Khajiiti, you don't cut your mane off entirely, just keep it trimmed down so it doesn't affect your fighting." As soon as the Jarl mentioned his mane, Jhak started to get nervous. The Jarl continued. "I had done a bit of research about Khajiit History a little before you arrived, and saw that it is customary, or more required, for all of the Khajiiti remove their manes, in deference to The Mane of Eleswyr." Balgruuf took a sip of water. The Jarl continued, noticing Jhak's growing nervousness, "The Mane is a position from birth, and it is given to a supersoldier, a Khajiit born with the strength of two warriors. When one dies, your kind believe their spirit travels to a newborn Khajiit." Jhak, was looking at the suddenly extremely interesting floor, studying it. "All of this is true, correct Jhak?" Jhak's head snapped up, his eyes darting around. "Yes, my Jarl. I am guessing you wish to know why I do not cut my mane?"
"Yes, Jhak. If it is a matter of persona-" Balgruuf began, but was cut off midsentence. "I am the Mane of Eleswyr." Jhak said, steeling himself for the Jarl's response. Fortunately, the expected response was nonexistent. Any response was nonexistent. Balgruuf had been expecting that Jhak was an outcast of society, that he had been shunned and therefore shunned his races beliefs. Then he remembered the important "Imperial City Newspaper" He had received about a week ago. It read that the Mane of Eleswyr had run away. The 24 year old leader had backed out of his position, leaving the land in utter chaos. It had since broken into a massive civil war, the strongest Khajiit had managed to form an army, but one militia had an advantage of numbers. The Jarl had heard about all of this, but never thought to piece it together.
"You... are the Mane...? The Dragonborn and the Mane? Both born as a supersoldier. That makes you even stronger than most Manes.." Balgruuf was still shocked. "Yes, my Jarl. Please, do not share this information with anyone." Jhak pleaded. "Does no one here no it, Jhak?" The curious Jarl asked. "One person does. A very special Nord to me." Jhak responded. "May I ask who, dragonborn?" Balgruuf was very anxious to know who else Jhak had shared his secret with. "Legate Rikke."
The ride to Windhelm was uncomfortable, to say the least. Balgruuf had gladly loaned him a horse, but had "forgotten" to warn him of the treacherous rocky slopes he would have to face, and the annoying number of harmless wolves. Finally, after what seemed like a month, but was in reality a day and a half, Jhak arrived at Windhelm to meet with the kid. After asking around quite a bit, Jhak finally discovered where he lived, and promptly picked the lock of the door to the house. The smell he was greeted with would have knocked the most battle-hardened Nords to their knees. The sweet stench of rotting flesh gave away the black sacrament, and it was quite obvious that the kid had been at it for weeks. "Ughhh! Kid, you need to clean this place up." Jhak muttered to himself. "It worked! It worked! The Night Mother has heard my prayers!" Aventus Aretino, the child that was his contact, squealed to Jhak. "Who do you want me to kill, kid?"
Aventus was very excited that his prayers had finally worked. Now, he relayed the story of his life at the Honorfall orphanage to the Khajiit assassin that stood before him. "Your target is Grelod the Kind. She is very mean to all the children. Please kill her, in front of all the kids!" The kid was way too excited. Jhak sighed, then asked "Assassinations aren't cheap. You'll have to pay." Jhak waited for the kid to explain that he had no money, and he was right. "I'm sorry, I have nothing..." The devastated child looked at the ground. Then he brightened. "This house! I wont need it, I will go back to the orphanage once you kill her. You can have my house!" Aventus went digging around in drawers, and pulled out the house deed. "Once you kill her, come back and get this." Jhak nodded, and walked down the stairs, looking intently at his map of Skyrim. The orphanage was in Riften. He'd have to take a carriage there.
Jhak's arrival at Riften was not what he expected. Sure, the carriage ride had been normal enough. Once the gates were in sight, he heard it. A high pitched screech that shook the ground. Jhak looked straight up just in time to see the spade-shaped tail disappear behind the trees. "Blood dragon" He leaped off the carriage, and ran towards the gate. Three guards were bravely dying in front of the deadly beast. Jhak's dagger impaled itself in the back of the thick neck, making the dragon shake it head. He saw the Khajiit caravan guard Kharjo, bravely fighting as well. Jhak ran up behind it and slashed the tail three times. Roaring into a guard's face, it spun around, straight into the side of Jhak's sword. The slash as he brought back the sword left a nasty mark in the beast's jaw, blood flowing thickly out of it. Jhak rolled under the dragon, and sliced at it's neck from below, before sliding out from under it as it slammed it's neck down to where the Khajiit had just been. Kharjo was leaving deadly gashes in it's side with his swords. Driving his sword into the dragon, the beast bucked and unbalanced him. Swinging it's head towards Kharjo, it flung him against a tree. It roared at the stunned Khajiit, and opened it's massive jaws to finish him off...
Sorry it took me so long to post this one, but It's hard work! Again, tell me how I'm doing and if you guys still think I'm going too fast. Next chapter will be great, and probably be posted next weekend or so! Sorry for big gaps between chapters. Anywai, this one is done. Yesterday was my birthday, so give me a present!