Sundas, 19th of Last Seed; 4E 211

Vidrak Bloodsnow never showed any amount of emotion on the battlefield, sparring sessions and life or death situations. But being randomly summoned by the high king? It wasn't something that happened often to him, even if he was the best the Stormcloaks could offer.

He started out a warrior a couple years before the Civil War ten years ago when he was eighteen, his father trained him from the time he could walk. His father was ranked one of the best like he was, and it was only fitting to keep the Bloodsnow name alive.

His father had warned him about the rough times being a Stormcloak would bring. How a lot of the soldiers were racist towards anyone that wasn't a Nord. His father taught him to be better than that. To appreciate every person of race, no matter what they look like or where they come from. But to open arms to them, his father was quite the peacemaker for being a soldier.

Father used to tell him how he once fell into the trap of thinking Skyrim was only for the Nords until he met his mother, she had changed him for the better. Sadly his mother died of sickness when he was only twelve, leaving his father to parent him and his brother alone. His brother only being a toddler when she passed.

The midday air was cold as usual, he was now on the grounds of the Palace that housed High King Ulfric, and many Windhelm politicians.

Nodding a greeting to the fellow soldiers, he found his way into the throne room with a long table that had been filled with fresh food, vegetables and fruit.

Vidrak stopped in his tracks in front of High King Ulfric's throne, bowing in respect. He earned a nod back from the king.

"Vidrak, I have an important role for you that I think only you could fill." High King Ulfric said with a tone in his voice, echoing through the Palace of the Kings.

The warrior's ears perked up with curiosity, surely it wasn't anything huge. He may have been ranked best soldier among the Stormcloaks, but there are expertise that was out of his league.

"What is it I can do for you, my high king?" Vidrak's voice rang out for the older man to hear. The role of high king certainly took its toll on Ulfric, his once brown hair had been dulling to a light dark gray shade. Wrinkles were visible around his face showing his age.

"What I am about to tell you…is not easy to hear, even to a warrior by your standards." Ulfric started, looking at his best warrior with intensity he's never seen from the high king before. "Dragons have returned all around Skyrim."

Well…that was unexpected. He was expecting to clear out a mine, Dwemer dungeons they were researching or even expeditions. Dragons? The last dragon was killed off by The Dragonborn almost a decade ago. They've returned…?

"Are you sure, my king? How are we absolutely sure they've returned?"

There was a pregnant silence in the room before Ulfric's voice rang out. "In my youth before I became a soldier, I trained as a Greybeard. They've taught me many things, I know I'm certain that dragons have returned."

"But sir, I…I don't understand," The Nordic warrior's face dropped. He didn't immediately take in what High King Ulfric had just informed him. "S-Surely there's been a mistake, why would you want my aid in this?"

Ulfric's stare hadn't faltered on the soldier which made him more anxious. Dragons have returned to Tamriel? That problem was out of his league, ever since joining the Stormcloaks as a late teenager, he's only ever seen one dragon and that was well before the Civil War.

Ulfric's mouth twisted. "Because, The Dragonborn is…an old friend of mine and we have history. Despite her neutrality in the Civil War long ago, she and I escaped death within it's grasps many years ago. I do not wish to see her face this threat alone again."

"But she faced it alone a decade ago, my king. I don't understand how I could possibly be of assistance to The Dragonborn." Vidrak struggled to get the statement out. A small detail he didn't know what that the Dragonborn was a woman.

"If dragons have been resurrected, then Alduin has returned once again." Ulfric's voice was now higher, a more desperate tone. It had shut Vidrak up. The World Eater? Alduin himself? He heard the story how The Dragonborn themself had traveled to Sovngarde to slay him again. He didn't think his heart would beat any harder than it could. "For some reason, there hasn't been one here nor Winterhold. I'm having trouble figuring out why. But that is irrelevant."

Vidrak shifted. "But why me, my king? Why am I more fit for this task than anyone else?"

"I have not forgotten the alliance I had with your father, and the action he took to fight with me during my early years as a soldier." Ulfric opened his mouth to continue. "When you were born, he had wanted to be discharged, relieve him of his duties so that he can be a father."

Ulfric had stood from his throne, walking down the few steps that led to even ground with the warrior. He put a hand on his shoulder, with a firm grip. He continued. "The last thing he asked of me was to make sure I utilized you. Make you into a great soldier and warrior. He said that you were destined for greatness, and that I should unlock that potential in you."

Ulfric's face had hardened before his next words. "I am putting all of Skyrim in your hands, I am not asking; I'm ordering you. You will aid Dragonborn in her fight to rid this world of the evil plague that had tainted this land for so long! Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, my king." Vidrak pledged.

Ulfric nodded quietly. "Good, I have sent word to Dragonborn. She is currently Arch-Mage at the College of Winterhold. She is currently traveling here to meet with me here in the Palace. My scouts say she's expected to be here around sunset, which is within the next hour or two. I expect you to be present. I will send someone to fetch you."

"Yes, my high king." Vidrak bowed before earning a nod from Ulfric. He turned around and hastily made his way out of the palace. He felt a hint of nervousness leaving the throne room.

The cold wind of Windhelm had smacked across his face. His dark hair had been carelessly thrown over his face by the harsh winds, it also didn't help that he had uncomfortable armor on that didn't help him against the fierce cold.

He had stepped away from the door, spotting his little brother, Vallric who had been patiently waiting for him. His brother was seventeen, about ten years younger than him. He was but a mere child when the Civil War began. Vallric was a the blacksmith of the family, he spent more crafting weapons then swinging them. But make no mistake, Vallric wasn't a slacker when it comes to combat.

Vallric had tossed the cigarette which made Vidrak cringed slightly, he didn't know who got his brothers on those things but if he finds out, he'll knock the brain cells out of them.

"Brother! I was worried for a minute, you were longer than expected." He began jogging up to his older brother, who had walked past him not wanting to stop and chat about what him and the high king discussed. His brother walked alongside him with anxious eyes, Vidrak gave him a look. "Well? Don't keep me in suspense, are you going to tell me why King Ulfric met with you?"

"Later."

"Later?" Vallric dramatically exparasted. "What do you mean later? Is it that bad you can't tell your own brother?" The younger man complained. Vidrak sneered, he turned right after departing from the entrance of the Palace in Windhelm. Vallric leaned closer to his brother. "Are you getting executed?"

"What-! No, it's just…" Vidrak pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Look, I'll tell you when we get back home. I can't risk any outsiders or the wrong people hearing us."

Vallric's face didn't seem satisfied but he nodded. The brothers had made their way to the Bloodsnow residence. Vidrak quickly opened the door, ushering his brother into the home before he closed the doors.

Vallric turned around, ready to hear what had transpired between his brother and the high king.

"Dragons have returned to Skyrim."

His youngest brother's face dropped. "That…was not what I was expecting."

"What were you expecting?" Vidrak raised his eyebrow.

"I don't know brother, an expedition? A dungeon or mine clear out?" Vallric said with a worried expression. "But dragons…as in-"

"Yes. Dragons have returned, and by Ulfric's tone; they're stronger this time. He plans to appoint me to aid The Dragonborn to vanquish them all." Vidrak crossed his toned arms, awaiting for his flabbergasted brother to respond.

"I-Your going to aid The Dragonborn? You mean; you and him, kill dragons?" His brother dumbed it down for him to truly grasp the concept.

"Seems that way," Vidrak confirmed, walking past his brother who had a very hard time coming to terms with this. "And The Dragonborn is a woman."

"The Dragonborn is a…woman?" Which made Vallric's face even more confused.

"Yes."

"So…all of those stories I heard growing up about The Dragonborn, the one who rode dragons, manhandled them, slayed them without fear and beat The World Eater himself? It was a woman?" He put it together.

"Correct. She's supposed to arrive here, in Windhelm to discuss the matter at hand with Ulfric." Vidrak had walked over to a bucket of water before putting his dirty hands in. Being around the barracks and cleaning out equipment and gear would always do a number in his hands, grabbing a soap bar from a nearby counter. "They've appeared over six settlements over Skyrim, apparently just circling around them. Oddily, there isn't one here or Winterhold."

"Coincidental."

Vidrak hummed in agreement. "She's currently Arch-Mage at the College up there."

"Uh huh. And how exactly do you plan to aid Dragonborn?"

Vidrak scrubbed his in the water with a sigh. "I have no idea."

"What do you think Father would say about this?" Vallric asked with a sad smile on his face. Vidrak had paused drying his hands, before he resumed. Father had died about a year back when he contracted a sickness. It was hard to watch his father become frail and unable to do the simplest tasks for himself. Then the day came when his father died, and all that was left of the Bloodsnow family was Vidrak and Vallric.

"He'd tell me suck it up and save Skyrim." Vidrak smiled before standing up and using the towel on the left counter to dry his hands. "He'd also tell me not to get myself killed in the process."

"Yeah. Can't afford that, huh?"

There had been a beat silence.

"Vallric-"

But his younger brother put his hand up. "No, it's fine man. It's just…I can't afford to lose you too, brother."

Vidrak finally faced him, seeing the concern in his eyes. His brother was a jokester, any situation you could think of and his brother could crack a joke to lighten the mood. But this time, he could smell the concern on him. Vidrak smiled before walking up to his brother and laying a hand down on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

"Just know brother, if anything happens to me; I know you'll make Papa and I proud." Vallric smiled at the statement, before putting his hand on his brother's shoulder.

There was a knock on the door, and Vidrak had been quick to answer it. One of Ulfric's squires had been standing at the door, front and pronto.

"High King Ulfric requests your presence." And with that, the squire had scurried away out of sight. Vidrak looked back at Vallric, who had walked to stand next to him.

"Wish I could come, brother. But I have to open the shop. Come find me when you're done." Vallric had exited the house but not before putting a strong grip on his oldest brother's shoulder.

Vidrak sighed, before he exited the Bloodsnow residence and locked the door. He slipped the key in his pocket. Windhelm had begun to quiet down as the roads of the city had been empty with only a few stragglers here and there.

It wasn't a long walk from his home to the Palace of the Kings, and it didn't help that it barely gave him time to think clearly about the situation Ulfric had thrown him in. Why him? Why him of all people? Surely there was someone else capable, Ulfric is the high king for Talos's sake. He has thousands of soldiers at his disposal to choose from.

He opened the obnoxiously large doors to the palace to be greeted with two voices currently talking. Ulfric wasn't sitting on his throne as usual, and the door to the command room had been wide open. Vidrak had slowly crept up to the entrance of the room, hopefully to eavesdrop on what they were talking about.

"I do not need your aid, Ulfric." That wasn't the voice of a Nord woman. Her tone sounded like she had venom dripping from it, and she had a strong accent, dragging on a lot of words. Her voice was smooth and low, as if she was always whispering but at a normal tone.

"The aid I offer will benefit you in more ways than you think." Ulfric argued back.

"Or I end up dragging one of your men back here, in their lifeless body."

"This is to ensure the safety of Skyrim," he heard Ulfric's gruff voice which held some annoyance in it.

"All of Skyrim? Or the Nords of Skyrim?" She heard the bitterness in her voice.

The silence was overwhelming, but a gruff scoff was made and a few footsteps. Vidrak had peered through the crack of the door, seeing the old High King standing in front of a window, with his hands behind his back. Another figure cloaked in black stood with him, but her head was cut off from his view.

The woman continued. "This isn't a game, Ulfric."

"You don't think I know that?" Ulfric had said, his voice raising.

"You sure are not acting like it," her voice rose over his, drowning him out. "These aren't men or women we are fighting! I do not want one of your best men's death on my hands."

Vidrak heard a another scoff from Ulfric. "I assure you, this warrior is capable of handling himself. I've worked with him for many years, and his father. All of the Dwemer dungeons cleared out, now filled with scientists. He made that possible. He will get it done, I will not let him fail."

"I hope you are right."

Vidrak sighed before he finally revealed himself, walking through the two doors but not far enough to reveal the entire room. A portion was till blocked off because of the door. His eyes spotted on Ulfric, now slouched over looking at a map of Skyrim with a bunch of pins. The king seemingly didn't notice Vidrak's presence, making him make himself known.

"Your majesty." Vidrak announced as he bowed, Ulfric had looked up before his gaze softened at the sight of the younger man.

"Vidrak, I didn't hear you arrive. Forgive me, it seems I truly am getting older." Ulfric nodded in greeting, he walked over to him; slinging his arm around his shoulder and began to veer him towards the center of the room. "Sir Vidrak Bloodsnow, meet Dragonborn."

He shifted to the side to reveal a red shaded Argonian woman with orange eyes that had ended with her pupils being vertical with a scar that ran down her left eye. She had a serious look on her features, with her arms crossed. Her curled horns had what looked like cultural earrings, maybe from her homeland but that's not what he was shocked about.

The Dragonborn, not only had been a woman; but an Argonian woman. A very pretty Argonian woman. He had seen his fair share of Argonian women, while he wasn't opposed to them, he never found one attractive. Not until today. Her armor clinged to her athletic body, shaping her curves. Her red skin had been lit up by the sunset coming through the window. A katana had been strapped to her hip, one that looked like it had history.

Argonian woman weren't small, but she was for one. He was usually taller than Argonian woman, but this one barely came to his chin. She looked unusually small for an Argonian female, but she looked like she held a lot of experience, wisdom and fighting prowess.

"Is there something you would like to say?" She challenged, making Vidrak flinch, he hadn't realized he had been staring at her in a trance.

"I didn't expect… The Dragonborn to be an Argonian."

"Does that conflict you?"

"Not at all, Dragonborn."

"My name is Ysara, I'd prefer you call me that."

Ysara…a beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Vidrak thought.

"Now is not the time for sizing each other up." Ulfric sighed in frustration. He signaled for Vidrak to step up to the table where the layout of Skyrim laid out. "As of now. Reports are that six of the eleven settlements are currently being circled by a dragon."

"What six?" Ysara asked.

"Morthal, Riften, Falkreath, Riverwood, Markarth and Ivarstead. As far as we know, there aren't any dragons circling any major city with the manpower to put it down." Ulfric informed, he looked up towards the Argonian woman. "Any ideas where to start?"

"Just let me think." She said, almost snapping. She had seemed frustrated and angered by the whole situation.

Ysara looked down at the map before her and leaned down with her hands on the table, before she looked up at Vidrak and put a finger on the tallest mountain in Skyrim. "High Hrothgar. That'll be the best option for a first destination."

Ulfric's face lit up. "The Greybeards…I haven't even thought about them. Good thinking."

"Then we'll need to make our way to the Throat of the World."

"Why would we need to head there?" Vidrak asked.

"An old friend of mine resides there. If anyone knows what is happening, it's him." Ysara declared, still annoyance in her voice.

"What about the settlements?" Ulfric cut in. "Where do you start then?"

"That's the double edged sword," Ysara said, crossing her arms. "Since there's a dragon in Riften and Ivarstead, the best option we have is to head to those two places before High Hrothgar it seems. But I'd rather get to the Greybeards and the Throat of the World to find out what's going on. We'll be going blind into Riften."

"These reports say they haven't attacked yet. Just that they're circling the area." Ulfric sighed, rubbing a hand over his tired face.

"I knew I didn't kill him…" Vidrak heard Ysara mutter under her breath. He saw her shake her head in disbelief before she looked towards Ulfric. It had been a pregnant pause for a second, before Ysara had straightened her posture and took her hands off the table. "I have a plan."

"The question isn't if you have a plan, it's if the plan will work." Ulfric said before he looked at her, ready for an explanation. He could see the Argonian roll her eyes at the remark. For so-called claimed "old friends" they do disagree and argue a lot.

"We head to Riften first, then Ivarstead. Kill those dragons. Then we climb the mountain up to High Hrothgar and talk to the Greybeards. Find out what information they know. After that, we'll head up to the Throat of the World. The ally I spoke of earlier will have information about the situation. After that, we'll head to Riverwood which leads to Falkreath. Then Markarth, and Morthal."

Ulfric raised an eyebrow. "That's…actually not as bad as I thought you planned."

She ignored the remark from the high king and walked up to Vidrak, who had been a few inches taller than her. She had the look of a tired warrior, and her orange eyes had held nothing but intensity. "This will be no ordinary task, soldier. You will not be fighting humans that beg for mercy. These are ruthless dragons that will not stop to kill you until their dying breath. It took Ulfric a lot of convincing to get me to accept his aid. You will live up to those expectations, yes?"

"Of course." He said no hesitation.

"We need to kill these dragons as quickly as possible. We don't have time to lollygag, we're traveling throughout all of Skyrim. It'll be a long, rough and tedious trip. Luckily we most likely won't have to traverse through dungeons. Understand?"

"Understood."

"Good. We will leave and discuss more tomorrow morning, we'll head straight to Riften. I have been traveling since last night. I don't think I can go another hour without sleep. We'll meet back here, at sunrise."

"Yes, Dragonborn." Vidrak said.

"Ysara." She corrected him.

"Ysara." He corrected himself.

She gave him a look over and ended it with a nod before she walked past him. He let out the breath he was holding in. That woman was not someone to be crossed as he watched her open the door leading to the guest rooms upstairs in the Palace.

Dragons and beautiful women? What could go wrong?