AN: I've been meaning to write this for a while now, and just haven't had the time nor will to do it, so when my muse ran away, I opened this up and started again. I figured a change of pace would bring er back to me.
I had no real plan when I started The Last Septim years ago. I had an idea but no plan. Now I have one, well, a loose plan. I have about ten chapters written up so far. All of them are in the process of being betaed now, so I'll aim to have regular updates.
Massive shout-out to V3X. He has been instrumental in the making of this story. Having a second set of eyes that can not only catch spelling and grammar issues but also help with my own writing in the form of tips and tricks. Head on over to his profile for some of his stories.
One last thing and I'm only going to say it once. I OWN NOTHING; THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT ONLY!
(Day Month Year Era) IE Skyrim starts on (17th of Last Seed 201 4E)
(27th of Midyear 435 3E)
"MY LORD!" a man yelled as he scrambled to his feet after an explosion moments before had sent him to the ground and pelted his armor with rocks. His imperial steel armor was dented and scratched from battle, the crest adorning his chest plate now barely recognizable. Everything around him was on fire, and the streets of the great Imperial City ran red with blood. "Stay there! I'll find another way around!"
"No, Master Bjorn! There's no time! I have to get to the temple and stop Dagon!" Martian yelled to the Hero of Kvatch as he turned and looked at the Daedric Prince and the oblivion gate he guarded. "If I don't go, more daedra will flood the streets and overwhelm the legion!" The city guard could only do so much against such a foe. By the time the entire Imperial Legion could mobilize, the city would be ash.
"You mustant sir!" Bjorn yelled as he watched the last surviving Emperor of Tamriel turn and run towards the gate as the battle raged around them.
Martian watched as Dagon roared and launched a fireball from his hand. He ran past the torn body of a guard as clannfear ate at his body. The roar of battle drowned out the screams of the dying.
The Prince of Destruction stood as tall as the city's ancient walls. A blood-stained giant looked like something out of a nightmare; no, this whole situation was a nightmare.
Another fireball rocked the street as the Last Emperor was launched from his feet in the ensuing explosion. The hard cobblestone streets of the Imperial City did little to cushion his fall.
Blurrily, he forced himself to his knees, his vision swam, and his ears rang. It felt like he had been hit with a warhammer as he gasped for breath. Shakily forcing himself to stand, he took unsteady steps forward, his mind focused on a singular goal. With each step Martin took another desperate yet hopeless solution to stop Dagon raced through his pounding head. Lighting the Dragonfires would be pointless, and he had neither the skill nor strength of Master Bjorn to enter the oblivion gate and destroy its core.
'Call upon me….'
Where did that voice come from? It was neither his own voice nor anyone of the people he knew.
'Shatter the vessel, soak it in the blood of my creation….'
Shatter the vessel? Blood of my creation? What was this voice talking about?
And then it hit him. He, a priest of Akatosh, was also the last of the Dragonborn.
Stopping in his tracks, he threw the Amulet of Kings onto the cobblestone road, its red gem shattering into millions of shards. 'This is my country…' he thought as he pulled the short silver sword from its sheath. 'This is my world…' he brought it to his wrist and pressed the blade against it. "AND YOU THREATEN MY PEOPLE!" he roared as blood seeped from the wound and coated the silver blade in crimson.
It felt as if the world stopped as the blood slowly fell onto the red dust.
He felt something, something he had never felt before, seep into his body. Power, raw, untamable power, flowed through his veins. "And thus the contract is sealed…" the voice echoed.
"MARTIN!" He looked to the side as the man who saved him in Kvatch sprinted towards him.
Flames danced around Martian's body, and blood seeped from his eyes as his body was filled with power. The power of a Divine was never meant to be held in a human body—even one of the Septims. "Goodbye, my friend…" he mumbled before the flames engulfed his body. Fire shot towards the heavens as it took form, wings of white flames, a body of orange, and eyes of blue. The flaming dragon sent superheated air into the streets with each flap of its wings.
"A man of virtue has called me forth. He willingly cast his soul upon the ever-changing sands of time in exchange for your defeat! I hereby grant this man's wish!" the dragon roared as everyone stopped fighting and stared. "I, Akatosh, Lord of Time and Space, hereby banish you from this realm!"
The world rocked to its core as the Lord of the Divines roared. His voice echoed from Atmora to Summerset, from Shadowfen to Glenumbra, from the planes of Oblivion to the mountains of Aetherius, and past to future.
What is the cost of summoning such a god? The summoner cast into the void between worlds.
The Last Septim
A man with long blond hair stood looking down at the baby, his son, the product of his life and the last thing he would defend in this world. He could feel his life leaving his body, not just from the gaping hole in his stomach but from the summoning of the God of Death and the ultimate cost that came with it.
"Thank you, my love…" he mumbled as he stared at the motionless form of his wife, her once vibrant violet eyes now hollow and lifeless. Had she not stood between him and the monstrous fox, there was no doubt he would have died well before the seal was complete. "Forgive me for what I am about to do."
Bending down, he used the blood dripping from his wounds to draw a seal. His every step nearly made him crumble to the battle-torn earth in pain. His vision grew dark around the edges as blood poured out of the hole in his chest.
But he would not stop. Minato Namikaze-Septim would not let his son fall into the hands of people who would use him to wage war. He would rather entrust his son's life to the Gods his grandfather believed in.
Gods he never knew but flowed through the veins of his family.
He remembered his grandfather's stories that he had fought in a great war against a monster named Mehrunes Dagon. He called upon Akatosh, the God of Time, and was caught in the blast sending him to the outskirts of Konoha, where he was found by Konoha civilians and concerned shinobi.
Ever since he had been told the stories, he was enamored by the idea of time and space. His research led to the invention of many variations of the Hiraishin, none of which worked that he knew of.
'But this one will.' He thought to himself, 'It has to work….'
As he drew the seal, the Hokage in him questioned whether this was the best course of action. He had spent his entire life in the pursuit of protecting the place he called home. Home, where his whole family lay in eternal sleep.
The wind picked up, and the sight of crimson hair waved in the wind. 'Kushina…' he thought in pain as he steeled his resolve. Minato Namikaze-Septim was no longer just Hokage of the Hidden Leaf; he was a father. A father to a child that would grow up without his parents carrying the burden of the Kyuubi.
With the scars of the last war still fresh, his mind flashed to people like Danzo, Homura, and Koharu. People who thought that the perfect shinobi should always put the mission first, and the cost was irrelevant. The mindset he hated and spent almost all of his leadership trying to change. And with his wife gone, there would be no one he trusted but Sarutobi looking out for Naruto.
But even the retired Hokage would have little sway in what he could do for his son because his son would be a civilian and not a shinobi. And while he had no right to deny his son a future, it would be preferable than allowing people like Danzo to have any say in his son's life.
But time was of the essence. Minato pulled a scroll out of his kunai pouch and placed it on top of his son. Inside was a copy of his will, a lifetime's worth of knowledge, a letter from him and his wife, a photo of them both, and his grandfather's sword.
He knew he had seconds left in his life, and slowly he kneeled down next to his last seal. He looked again at his son, whom he would never get to hold, scold, or teach.
"Hokage-sama!" he faintly heard someone yell.
Now was the time. He placed his hands on the seal and pumped the last bit of his chakra into it. The glow lit up the clearing blinding all the people as they rushed to his side. "Farewell, Naruto…" he mumbled as the darkness overtook the light.
Watching the light fade, a masked ANBU sprinted faster as he watched the blond fall "Hokage-sama!" he yelled as the ANBU ran to his side and checked his pulse. The Fourth was dead.
The Last Septim
In a blinding light and thunderous crash, a small bundle appeared. Wrapped in a light blue blanket, the baby slept like a rock, and a figure stood beside it, a single crimson tail shifted slightly in the wind.
'So you are my newest charge.' the figure thought as his eyes adjusted to the darkness surrounding him. 'Had your father waited a few seconds longer, the seal would have settled, and I would be locked inside of you…' the wind shifted and his nose picked up a pair of new scents. A low growl echoed through his throat.
In the darkness, he could make out the forms of two monsters, the head of a wolf, claws sharp as razors, and teeth bared at him. "Stand down. This does not concern you, wolf…" he growled as the bipedal wolves circled. Dark blue flames danced in his palm as he eyed them.
The child still slept soundly, oblivious to the danger that surrounded it.
The shifting wind once more brought the smell of wolves, three more from behind him. 'I can't let him die!' With a flick of his wrist, he threw embers of sapphire flames. They landed in a circle around him and hungrily devoured any fuel they could find. Before the wolves could close in, the embers grew and linked together to create a wall of fire. 'If he dies…I die…'
Knowing that his back was covered by the flames, the man turned and opened his mouth, a black ball formed in front of his mouth, slowly growing in size, then condensed into the size of a pea.
"ENOUGH!" a voice roared. The man could see out of the corner of his eye as one of the wolves he was fighting shifted forms taking on the form of a man. Letting the condensed ball fade away, the tailed man eyed the shifter. "We thought you were silver hand."
"I don't understand you." the man replied as the flames slowly dissipated. He could tell the old man was respected since the wolf beside him stood in place.
"Do you not speak our tongue?"
One does not live a few thousand years without seeing the rise and fall of nations, nor does he live without picking up skills made by men and women of those nations. Skills that, while forgotten in his home, were not overlooked by him.
Looking down at his hands, something he was not used to, he slowly flexed them before making odd hand motions to those surrounding him. Everyone was tense, but they felt no malice in the movement.
"Voice of Understanding." the man muttered as he closed his eyes. "Let us try this again," he said as he reopened them and glared at the man. "Can you understand me now, wolf…"
"Aye, that I can." the man responded as the rest of the wolves stood around him. "Release your Moon Forms." He ordered. At first, nothing happened, but then the darkness filled with the sickening noise of bones grinding together. One by one, the bipedal wolves morphed, their backs arched as the bones in their bodies shifted back into place. Their long clawed hands shrunk, and pointed nails receded. Soon no prowling wolves remained; what was left were only humans. "I am Kodlak, Harbinger of the Companions; these people here are members of the circle and werewolves like myself."
The man had a graying beard telling his years of experience and wisdom. His eyes shown in the night like they were filled with power. While dulled, aged, and dented, his armor still sported golden wolf inlays across the chest piece that showed his prowess in battle.
"Werewolves?" he asked, unsure of what it was. "I am known as Kyūbi, The Nine-Tailed Fox. I am not sure what I am now; maybe human?" This form was foreign to him. He was walking on two legs, his hands no longer doubled as his paws, his body was only lightly covered in red hair, and his once nine tails had been reduced to one.
The Harbinger raised an eyebrow at the way he introduced himself. "You speak as if you don't understand."
"I don't," Kyūbi responded as he looked at the night sky. "Where I was, there was only one moon."
"Masser and Secunda." Kodlak said as he looked at the full moons that hung in the night sky, "The questions we seek will not be answered here."
"I have a question for ya tho." a man in his late twenties said. One of his eyes was milky white, not that much different from the insufferable Hyuga back in Konoha. The other eye traveled up and down Kyuubi's human form. Resting his hand on the hilt of his sword, he grinned slightly. "Is it customary for people in your land to walk around nude? If so, I think I want to visit."
"That enough out of you ice-brains." A female teen said her armor was old and worn, but her face was youthful and painted with three black lines. Her red hair was adorned with a few feathers. "If you don't learn to keep it in your pants, you'll be the only neutered pup here!"
A man in his early twenties with black around his eyes laughed. "Now, now, Aela, we all know that Skjor is about as smart as Farkas here.". He said as he thumbed towards the man to his left. The nicks in the shield on his back reflected the moonlight. He gently rested the palm of his hand on the sword hanging from his belt. His armor resembled Skjor's and Kodlak's but much newer, with fewer dents and scratches.
"That's rich coming from a milk drinker of a twin like you, Vilkas!" The man beside the now-named Vilkas said. He wore plain plated steel armor with fur around the collar, and on his back was a long two-handed sword. If what he said was true, then these two must be twins.
The sounds of a crying baby drew everyone's attention to the child on the ground behind Kyūbi. "The child of someone you know?" Kodlak asked as the man picked the baby up.
"Something like that..." he replied, looking at the whiskered blond baby, even though he knew the mother. "How do you make him quiet down?"
Aela slowly walked forward, a slight growl making her stop, "May I?" she asked as she held her arms out.
"Hurt him, and I'll kill you…." Kyūbi told her as he slowly handed her the child. He watched like a hawk as the woman was able to quiet him down. "I'll be damned."
"Aela, tend to the pup on the way back to Whiterun, if that is fine with you, Master Kyūbi?" Kodlak asked, getting a nod from the man. "It's a few hours back to the Underforge in our current forms."
Seeing a scroll wrapped in the blanket, she pulled it out and put it in her satchel for safekeeping. So many questions needed answering, but those would wait till later.
Most of the trip Naruto spent sleeping, but when he was awake, he was grabbing at the fur on Aela's armor or the feathers in her hair.
They arrived at the back entrance of Whiterun that led into the Underforge. There was no ladder, but that wouldn't be an issue for the group. Silently and aided by their superhuman strength, they jumped up and continued walking, and if they had looked back, they might have seen the man walk up the wall like a floor.
The fires of the Underforge stayed lit, bathing the chamber in an off-colored orange, its warmth a stark contrast to the wind and cold outside.
"At the end of each hunt, we convene here. Tonight we gather here with more questions than answers. This is the first time someone outside of our Circle has entered without the intent to join those of us in the Circle." Kodlak started as he stood in front of the fire. "Master Kyūbi, we of the Circle have questions for you, not just regarding you yourself, but regarding the newborn pup in Aela's arms. But first, a change of clothes." He handed the man a pair of brown pants and belted woolen tunic.
Taking the clothes, the fox-turned-man accepted them and tried to figure out how to put them on. 'How did those monkeys do it?' he thought back on the various memories of his containers and slowly put the clothes on. His tail was the problem, though.
Forming a single hand-seal, the Circle watched in amazement as the man's tail disappeared. Giving himself a once over, he nodded in contentment and looked toward the elder. "Ask, and I will answer to the best of my knowledge."
Kodlak blinked his eyes several times to ensure he had indeed seen the appendage disappear. If he was curious, he didn't voice it. Instead, he opted to ask more critical questions first "Firstly, I wish to know where you hail from?"
"I don't know what it would be called in your language, but I know it as the Elemental Nations. I was in a place called the Land of Fire."
"Land of Fire? Is the land surrounding it full of volcanoes like Morrowind?" Vilkas asked, his knowledge of these lands showing. Something he would have to get used to since he was going to be here for the foreseeable future.
"No, it's a lush forest. I am unsure why it is called the Land of Fire, maybe because it's temperate year round."
"Sounds a lot like Blackmarsh." Kodlak mused as he recalled the small fight they had. "I take it you are a mage or maybe a spellsword?"
"Spellsword?"
"A mage that is also skilled in the use of blades."
"I…" Kyūbi was unsure how to answer. "I don't know, maybe you could call some of the people there Spellswords, but I am not."
"If you're not a spellsword or a mage, then what the hell are you?" Skjor asked as his patience was being pushed with the roundabout questions.
"Simple, I'm a fox."
"By the eight… I get that, but that makes you no less a mage than a Khajiit or those scale tails!"
"Calm yourself, Skjor." Kodlak said calmly, "There are many things that we do not know about him, and the more he speaks, the more I learn he is not from this plane. I know not what circumstances brought him here, but I am sure he is neither a threat nor an ally. In time he might become one or the other."
"The only thing I care about in this world right now is the kit," Kyūbi replied to the man.
"Explain." Kodlak prodded, getting narrowed eyes from the man. "I see you do not trust us with that." he looked towards Aela and the child in her arms "Master Kyūbi, is it safe to say that you would kill everyone here to protect the pup?" a cold silence greeted his question "Yet you say you have no familiar ties to him, you are still willing to go so far as to protect him."
"I would."
"Then that means he holds something of value to you…." everyone but Kodlak tensed as they all felt a pressure build. "Perhaps your life an his are intertwined."
"The words you choose next could end your life." the man replied, as a strange power rolled off him, making those around him tense in preparation for a fight.
Closing his eyes, Kodlak raised his hand. "I have no intention of harming the pup. The sins of the father and mother do not matter to the child." he opened his eyes and looked towards the man. "I am neither the master nor leader of the companions, but I would like to extend the offer to you to join us. Seeing as you have no knowledge of this world, it would allow you to learn and provide a stable life."
It went without saying that the offer had another motive, monitoring a being they knew nothing of. Even Kyūbi could see the meaning behind it.
"I have one condition." Kyūbi said as he looked to the child in Aela's arms, "Raise him, teach him how to survive since I have little to no knowledge on how to live as one of you."
Kodlak locked eyes with the man. Going around the room, he looked at the members of the Circle before returning to Kyubi. "I, Kodlak Whitemane, Harbinger of the Companions, accept your terms on the 10th of the Frostfall, in the 184th year of the 4th era." the man said as he looked around the Circle of people. "In time, you will come to trust us just as we will come to trust you. These are your brothers, sisters, and family, and I welcome you."
AN: So let me know what ya'll think. Like with the Creed Reborn, there will be a prologue arc, inducing the characters, building a bit of the world, and setting the stage for the rest of the story. So be prepared to jump around for the first little bit here. Drop me a line if ya like it.