Chapter 4 - High Hrothgar?

Whether there can be more than one Dragonborn at any time is another mystery. The Emperors have done their best to dismiss this notion, but of course the Imperial succession itself means that at the very least there are two or more potential Dragonborn at any time: the current ruler and his or her heirs. The history of the Blades also hints at this - although little is known of their activities during the Interregnum between Reman's Empire and the rise of Tiber Septim, many believe that the Blades continued to search out and guard those they believed were (or might be) Dragonborn during this time.

-Excerpt from The Book of the Dragonborn, by Prior Emelene Madrine.

For once, Shinji found himself getting up after sunrise, instead of with it. Despite not drinking much last night he still had a headache, so he went downstairs and drank some -hopefully clean- water from a barrel near the door. When he turned around, he saw Lydia seated at the rickety table in the far corner of the home.

"Good morning, sir," she said, leaning on the table. "Is the thane still asleep?"

Shinji nodded. "I think it'll be a while longer before she's able to get out of bed. I take it there's no food in this place yet?"

"No, and to be honest I'd be suspicious of any food that was here," said Lydia. "From what I've heard this place has been abandoned for a while. Nobody wanted to live here because of the rumours surrounding it. Some people claim it's haunted, some say a brutal murder happened here, and there's even one story about it formerly being the meeting place of a daedra cult who sacrificed children."

Shinji looked around nervously. Could that be a bloodstain on the wall, at head height? "And... is any of that true?"

Lydia smirked and shook her head. "Nope, none of the rumours are true, not even a little bit. All that happened was that the previous owner sold almost everything here and moved to Solitude. That was something like five years ago now. No idea where the rumours even started, but now it seems like all of Whiterun believes at least one of them."

Shinji's stomach rumbled. "Alright, I guess I'm going out to get breakfast. Where would you recommend?"

"Try the Bannered Mare, at the market. Good food and their prices are reasonable."

"Thanks." Shinji went to the door, then paused and glanced at the old boxes next to it. "By the way, could we get this stuff cleaned up?"

"Well, I could do that," said Lydia. "But it would have to be the thane that gives me the order, not you. I mean no offense, but I am sworn to her service, not yours."

"...Can you at least tell me where we could start getting some furniture?"

Lydia thought for a moment. "Proventus Avenicci is the one to speak with about that. Normally you would have purchased this house from him, anyway."

Shinji thanked her and stepped out into the brisk mid-morning air. A few people passed by on their way to the market, seemingly surprised at the fact that somebody was living in the haunted house, or the murder house, or the child-sacrificing cultist house, or whatever else they believed about it. Shinji awkwardly greeted them and headed in the same direction.

Several merchants were already hawking their wares, but Shinji paid them no attention, instead heading for the inn on the opposite side. Inside, the innkeeper greeted him while a bard sang a tale about someone called Ragnar the Red. He stood by the fire until the song was finished then sat at the bar.

"Welcome to the Bannered Mare, I'm Hulda. What can I get for you?" asked the innkeeper. "Think I've got a clean mug around here somewhere."

Shinji wasn't sure whether to take that as 'this place is very busy' or 'I'm lazy and haven't been keeping up with cleaning dishes''. Thankfully he wasn't in the mood for more alcohol after last night's celebration.

"I need some breakfast, plus an extra serving to take home, if that's alright." An idea occurred, and Shinji added, "Actually, make that two extra servings."

Hulda nodded. "I have some chicken stew cooking at the moment, as well as vegetable soup. I can also wrap up some meat, bread or fish for you." She examined his face. "And if you were part of that celebration up at Dragonsreach last night, I recommend juice. Got a recipe that seems to help after a night of drinking."

That made things easier. "I'll have some chicken stew and some juice then," said Shinji. "As well as a loaf of bread and a few pieces of fish."

"Coming right up. That'll be... ninety-five septims."

Shinji counted out the money from his coin purse, noticing how little he had left. Regardless, he paid Hulda and she headed over to the other side of the inn to the kitchen. A short time later, a young woman with scars on her face came out with a bowl of stew and a cup of juice, setting them down in front of him. Shinji thanked her and began eating, idly wondering what had happened to cause those scars.

The stew was good, and the juice certainly helped him feel better. Hulda returned with some food parcels that he placed in his pack. Shinji thanked her and waved goodbye before beginning to head outside.

"One moment," said Hulda. Shinji glanced over his shoulder at her. "If you're in need of some coin, I'll pay for firewood. Oh, and..." she reached under the counter then placed a piece of paper on the table. "Some of the Jarl's men came by and left this bounty letter."

Bounty

By order of Balgruuf the Greater:

To all able bodied men and women of Whiterun. The bandits located in Silent Moons Camp have been harassing, robbing, and attacking citizens and visitors. A reward will be offered to anyone who kills their leader.

-Proventus Avenicci

This seemed like something Asuka would be interested in. A brief inquiry revealed that the camp in question was not far northwest of Whiterun. Shinji pocketed the notice and left the inn. Outside, he caught the tail end of an argument between an old woman and two men. Heading back home -what an odd thing, to already have a home after only a couple days in a strange land- he left the food parcels with Lydia before leaving again, asking the housecarl to inform Asuka that he was paying a brief visit to Dragonsreach.

At the castle, he was glad to see that Proventus wasn't busy, and inquired about furniture.

"There are many ways to improve your home," said Proventus. "Provided you have the coin."

"I don't have much at the moment," Shinji admitted. "But I would like to get an idea of what's available and what the prices will be so I can plan things out."

Proventus nodded. "Perfectly understandable. I actually have a book that can help there. Normally you would have received it with your purchase of a home, but yesterday was rather... busy, so please forgive my lapse. Although I must point out that Breezehome actually belongs to Thane Asuka, and you are not her housecarl, so I cannot arrange anything at the moment."

"Ah... right. Well, I can at least still get that information so I can pass it onto her, yes?"

"Oh of course, that's fine."

Proventus gave Shinji the book -and a list of prices for the furnishings- which he began to leaf through as he left Dragonsreach. He immediately knew that a children's room would be unnecessary; Asuka didn't have a partner, and anyway the home would be too small if she did marry and have children, what with him and a housecarl living there too.

Instead of going back through the market, Shinji took the right path at the dead tree, briefly glancing up at it and wondering why it hadn't been removed and replaced. Along the way he heard what were presumably a husband and wife arguing, and two children shouting at each other. It was when he reached the gate, however, that something finally pulled his nose out of the book.

"You there!"

Two men with curved swords and clothing signifying them as Alik'r approached him. Nearby, a soldier groaned in frustration.

"We're looking for someone and will pay good money for information," said the man who had stopped Shinji.

"Um... okay?" Shinji closed the book. "Who exactly are you looking for?"

"A woman, Redguard like us. Probably not using her true name. We will pay for information on her whereabouts." He glanced meaningfully at the soldier. "The guards have made it clear we're not welcome here, so we will be in Rorikstead if you find out anything."

"But why are you looking for her in the first place?" Shinji inquired.

"That's none of your concern. All you need to know is that we'll pay for information. If you're not interested, feel free to walk away."

"She cannot hide from us forever," the other man stated, before the soldier yelled at them to leave.

Shinji watched them pass through the gates, trying to think of anybody he had seen. A female Redguard was not exactly a good description.

"Damn Redguards," the soldier muttered as he returned to his post. "You're better off not getting involved with them. We caught one last night sneaking over the walls with a dagger. Safe to say they're not here for anything good. Stay out of trouble, Imperial."

Thanking him for the warning, Shinji turned and headed home, now only a minute away. Inside, he saw that Asuka was finally awake, if just barely, and sitting at the table slowly eating the food Shinji had bought. Lydia had found a broom somewhere and was beginning the arduous task of tidying the place up. Shinji sat down next to Asuka and wordlessly placed the book and list in front of her.

Asuka stared at them for a moment, then looked through the book with one hand while still eating with the other. When she was done she gave a grunt that could have meant anything and pushed them to one side. Shinji immediately replaced them with the bounty notice. This time, the grunt was one of interest.

"Right. Something simple, and we get paid for it," she said when she had eaten her fill. "Plus whatever the bandits themselves have of course. Those Greybeards can wait a bit longer."

On their way to the bandit camp, Shinji and Asuka had to take care when happening across a group of mammoths. A nearby giant stomped his feet and growled angrily at them, and they gave the animals a very wide berth, which seemed to calm the giant down.

They also saw a mudcrab. To Asuka's confusion, Shinji requested they avoid it too, as he found them rather cute. She thought they were horrible things. Though their meat was supposedly tasty. She kept that thought to herself though.

Silent Moons Camp appeared to be a ruined stone temple. gradually collapsing in on itself as the centuries bore down on it. The first sign of trouble Shinji got was when Asuka yanked him behind a wall just in time to avoid an arrow. One archer had been hiding in the grass nearby, while another was coming down the stairs and a third was standing in front of a door. Between Shinji's spell's and Asuka's own bow, they were quickly eliminated, the last one being blasted into the door by the force of an ice spike through his chest.

Hearing the commotion, three more bandits came down the steps, including a mage that blasted Asuka with lightning. Shinji immediately stepped in front of her to take the attack on his ward spell. The mage put up his own ward, but it quickly died under Shinji's attacks and a moment later so did he. The other two bandits also died quickly. After checking the bodies, Asuka decided that the bandit leader had to be inside.

Inside, the bandits certainly had made themselves at home. Bedrolls surrounded a large campfire, and a table and shelf showed that the bandits had obviously been here for a while, judging by their contents. While Shinji was examining the bottles on the shelf, Asuka had to drag him out of the way of another arrow. She then immediately slapped him across the head and dispatched the archer.

"This is hostile territory, idiot!" she angrily said, stomping up to him. "Never let your guard down!"

Moving through a rough-hewn tunnel, they spotted a couple barrels of food and a chest, none of which contained anything interesting besides money. Their progress forward was soon halted by a reinforced and locked door.

"I take it you don't have some kind of unlocking spell," said Asuka.

Shinji shook his head. "If there is one, my mother never found it to teach to me."

Asuka sighed and lifted up her right foot, fidgeting with the boot heel for a moment before pulling out two thin pieces of metal. "Good thing I always keep a lockpick on me. Hopefully this isn't too complicated, I was never great at this."

It took several minutes of slow work for Asuka to succeed. The moment she did, she signalled Shinji to get ready. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she focused on what the Nords had called her ability to Shout. Now seemed like a good time to experiment, rather than in a busy city with easily breakable things and people everywhere.

Asuka kicked the doors inward and followed up with a Shout of Fus! A mage and a large man with a battleaxe, not expecting someone with the power of a dragon, were caught off-guard and staggered backwards. Shinji immediately blasted them both with a spray of ice. The mage recovered and blocked the spell with a ward, while the leader charged forward to engage Asuka. It could have been a close battle, but she was simply better. A minute and another Fus! later both enemies were dead.

That seemed like a successful test.

The room contained more looted spoils, including a few iron and steel weapons with a green glowing enchantment that Shinji couldn't discern, and a ladder leading outside. They took what they could stuff into their packs, mostly food and septims, and Asuka gathered up some weapon sheathes so they could take the enchanted weapons too.

Shinji also found an amulet of Talos. He chuckled and offered it to Asuka, saying, "I reckon this would suit you, what with your fondness for axes."

Asuka snorted, and Shinji might have caught a hint of redness on her face, but she quickly recovered and accepted the amulet, immediately putting it on.

Back in the fresh mid-afternoon air, they began to head back to Whiterun. Shinji caught Asuka up on what he had done that morning, and Asuka frowned when he mentioned not having the authority to arrange things for their new home. She promised to do something about that.

Spotting a blacksmith as they entered Whiterun, Asuka talked to the woman working the forge and managed to sell the enchanted weapons for a couple hundred septims. As they began to head to Dragonsreach, they were confronted by an armoured orc.

"The Dawnguard is looking for anyone willing to fight against the growing vampire menace. Are you interested?"

"Vampires?" Shinji echoed. "I haven't heard anything about them here in Skyrim."

"Well we've only been here a few days, dummy," Asuka retorted.

"Then you probably haven't heard yet that the Hall of the Vigilants was destroyed by vampires," said the orc. "They never took the threat seriously, and paid the price."

Shinji was shocked. The Vigilants of Stendarr were an order created specifically to hunt down vampires, werewolves and other creatures that preyed on people. How could vampires have wiped them out?

Seemingly knowing his thoughts, the orc went on. "The Vigilants here were mostly interested in fighting daedra worshippers, so they were sorely unprepared for vampires. Now our leader, Isran, is reforming the Dawnguard. Real, serious vampire hunters."

"That does sound like a worthy cause," said Asuka. "Unfortunately our current duties take priority. Where can we find the Dawnguard if we decide to join up later?"

The orc looked mildly disappointed. "A shame, you two look like a good team, and we need all the help we get right now. You can find us at Fort Dawnguard, southeast of Riften. Talk to Isran and tell him Durak sent you, if I'm not already there. Farewell, and I hope to see you in our ranks one day."

Shinji and Asuka nodded and Durak headed out of Whiterun.

"Excellent, here's your reward," said Proventus upon hearing the news that Asuka and Shinji had dealt with the Silent Moons bandits. He gave them a bag with a hundred septims in it. Asuka bounced the bag on her palm for a moment. After a brief consultation and pooling of resources with Shinji, they found they had enough money to purchase furnishings for both a kitchen and dining area with some left over.

Proventus took the money and said, "Very well. It's late in the day, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to make the arrangements. After that, it will be a day or two until everything is moved in."

"That's fine," said Asuka. "We'll be heading for this High Hrothgar place tomorrow morning. Any idea how long it would take to get there and back?"

"Scaling the Throat of the World itself would take at least a couple days just for the ascent," said Jarl Balgruuf, overhearing their conversation. "The biggest problem is that your body needs time to adjust as you go higher and the air gets thinner. As for reaching Ivarstead, at the start of the Seven Thousand Steps, that would be another day or two. And since you two are not Nords, I strongly urge you to get some cold weather clothing and a strong tent to rest in while you're making the climb."

Asuka bristled slightly at the implication that she couldn't handle the cold, but then the thought of a blizzard striking while they were climbing entered her mind. "Where can we go for that stuff?"

"Try Belethor's General Goods in the market. He has a bit of everything," said Proventus. "Better make it quick though, the shops will be closing soon."

Asuka nodded. "Alright. Oh, before I forget." She put a hand on Shinji's shoulder. "My friend here speaks with my voice. Please allow him to make any future purchases for our home that he asks. My home is his, after all."

Shinji's face immediately turned red as everyone focused on him. "Oh?" Balgruuf leaned forward on his throne. "Will the two of you be getting married soon?"

"M-married?!" Asuka's face turned bright red, and Shinji's blush only got worse. "No! Nothing like that! H-he's just a friend, that's all!"

Balgruuf and Proventus laughed as they quickly fled the castle.

"Welcome to my humble establishment!" said the man behind the counter. "I'm Belethor. Let me know what you need."

"Cold weather clothing, bedrolls and a tent," Asuka promptly requested. "We're heading to the Throat of the World tomorrow."

Belethor's eyebrows raised. "Doing the pilgrimage, eh? Well I certainly have some warm clothing in stock, the only question is whether it's the right size for ya."

For Asuka, the clothes fit almost perfectly. Shinji, on the other hand, was only lucky enough to get boots in his size. Everything else was slightly too big, but at least it wouldn't chafe. That plus the bedrolls and tent, some more food and a bigger pack for the journey set them back just under two hundred septims.

When they got home, it was already looking much cleaner; the cobwebs and loose straw were gone, and so were some of the boxes. In fact, it looked as though the boxes had been broken down and set aside for firewood. Lydia greeted them with a bow, and Asuka restated her request that Shinji received similar respect as her.

"If that is your wish," said Lydia, and bowed to Shinji.

"By the way, we'll be heading for High Hrothgar tomorrow morning," Asuka added. "Oh, and furniture will begin arriving tomorrow too. Will you be able to look after the place for a few days?"

"Yes, my thane. I will take care of everything."

"Uh..." Shinji scratched his head. "Do we need to pay you in advance for this?" Their funds were now running drastically low.

Lydia shook her head. "You don't need to pay me at all, sir. I am technically still employed by the Jarl, and simply... loaned to you, in a sense. He pays me, rather well I might add, and I serve you."

Asuka's eyes widened. "Wow. That seems like an easy job."

"Normally I would also accompany you on your travels for protection, However, I get the feeling the two of you would rather travel by yourselves."

"Uh..." Asuka blushed slightly, but quickly recovered. "Yeah. Sorry about that, it's just..."

Lydia put up her hands. "No need to apologise, my thane. It's no trouble for me to stay here. I guard you, and all you own, with my life."

While their conversation continued, Shinji drifted over to the table, deep in thought. He took out his mother's burnt book and stared at it for a while. The pages were half-ruined beyond readability, and the outside of the cover was charred black, bits flaking away as he handled it. He gently flipped through it anyway, hoping against hope that something would still stand out.

Yui Ikari had been a very... eccentric archmage, but according to others at the Arcane University that was pretty much normal for the position. She had taken it to another level though, delving deeply into records of ancient spells and Mysticism, a long-defunct School of magic. She would quite often ignore anything that didn't further her mysterious goals in some way.

Despite all that, she had loved her son and wanted the best for him. This book had been her last gift, given to him a month before her fateful accident. She had claimed that it was encrypted to only be readable by his eyes, which explained the time she had brought him in for some kind of test that involved lots of flashing light and a sensation of magicka being pulled out of him. When he had first tried to read it, he was only able to understand the first couple pages, one of which consisted of a letter from Yui. The second page merely stated that the book was ensorcelled to only let him read what he was capable of understanding. As his magical skill grew, so too would his ability to read the book. The contingency spell was one such thing he had acquired from the book shortly before his journey to Skyrim.

From what little he could gather so far, Yui Ikari had wanted to ensure her son had the magical knowledge to handle anything life threw at him, but at the same time she had made sure he wouldn't get ahead of himself and try to cast a spell he couldn't control.

Of course, there was no point to being able to read something new if... hold on... Here was a page that seemed to be complete enough to read.

Mark/Recall

School: Mysticism

Last recorded widespread use: 3E 427

Mark lets the mage create a spiritual anchor at their current location. This requires intense concentration to ensure the runes are inscribed correctly, otherwise the Recall spell could fail catastrophically. Once complete the anchor is permanent unless dispelled or the runes are altered or removed.

Casting Recall will teleport the mage back to the anchor, with no limitation on distance. This requires a large amount of magicka, several uninterrupted seconds to cast, and will leave the mage greatly exhausted when they arrive.

Underneath was an image of a runic circle, which had to be the anchor, and below that was a note from his mother.

Shinji, you may find this spell incredibly useful... that is if you can concentrate long enough! I remember you used to

have trouble focusing when you were younger. Let's see if you've improved. It took even me sever

hours to create the anchor, just because of how complicated the runes are. I was able to modify

allow the caster to bring one person with them. Unfortunately my attempts to also allow you

anchors failed. The Recall spell simply returns you to the last one inscrib

to the anchor runes to

The rest was unreadable. Shinji brushed a tear from his eyes and began to memorise the runes. If creating an anchor had taken an archmage several hours, he would probably be going all night. But it would be worth it, to be able to return home quickly. It looked like there were just enough unbroken tiles to fit the anchor in the corner. He made a mental note to make sure people knew not to put anything over the anchor.

XXX

The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon as Shinji inscribed the final part of the anchor in the unused corner of the room. The circle of green runes glowed gently, just barely illuminating the area. Unfortunately, by this point he was too tired to test the Recall spell; it would likely render him unconscious if he tried. He checked, double-checked, and triple-checked his efforts against the image in the book, thanking the Nine Divines that the fire hadn't eaten away at that part of the page.

Somehow, despite his head feeling stuffed with cotton and his eyes like they were full of sand, the anchor was perfect. Now he could finally get some damn rest. But fate, it seemed, had other ideas.

"Goooooood morning! I see you're up bright and early too! Had to answer the call of nature too?"

"Huh?" His brain felt like it had been gently fried. Which, in a way, was somewhat accurate.

Asuka put her hands on her hips and stared at him. "You're one of those people that need a pick-me-up in the morning, I see."

"Um... no," said Shinji. "I've just been up all night preparing something."

"Oh is that what you were doing? I thought you were casting yourself up a bed for the night."

He blinked slowly. "As far as I know that spell doesn't exist."

Lydia chose that moment to come downstairs. "He slept in the same bed as you the first night you were here. Good morning, my thane."

"Morning Lyd-... wait what was that?!"

Thank the Divines that Lydia was able to explain, because Shinji was barely capable of rational thought. Asuka calmed down to the point where she only looked greatly annoyed.

"When we renovate the bedroom, we're getting two beds with some dividers between," she stated, leaving no room for argument, not that Shinji had one. "But right now, I guess we're delaying the journey until you've at least had a nap. I won't be carrying you if you fall asleep because you were more interested in... whatever you were doing last night." With what seemed like great effort, she pointed upstairs and growled, "Go to bed!"

"It's something that should help us later, just don't put anything over it," Shinji sleepily murmured as he went upstairs. He collapsed on the bed and was dead to the world seconds later.

XXX

Asuka stared at the runic circle on the floor. She had about as much magical ability as a rock, so she could not even begin to understand what it was for. About the only thing she could rule out was that it wasn't a rune trap; she was fairly sure Shinji wasn't crazy enough to booby-trap their own home.

"Since we still don't have a kitchen yet, I'm going to go grab some breakfast," she said to Lydia. "Oh, and where is the Jorrvaskr place? We met some of the Companions when we were coming to Whiterun and they said I should consider joining them. I may as well see what they're about"

"Jorrvaskr? That's east of the Gildergreen," said Lydia. When Asuka gave her a puzzled look she added, "Oh... you probably don't know what that is. The Gildergreen is the large tree near the foot of the stairs up to Dragonsreach."

Asuka nodded. "Ah, the tree that looks dead."

"Yes, a great shame about that. It got burned up when it was struck by lightning, and never recovered. The Jarl considered removing it, but the priestess of Kynareth insisted it wasn't dead, just slumbering."

"Well, maybe it'll wake back up one day." Asuka headed for the door. "See you later."

Lydia bowed. "Be safe, my thane."

Outside, Asuka filled her lungs with crisp morning air, then headed to the Bannered Mare for some food. She then headed to the tree, Gildergreen, and stared at it for a moment, wondering if it really was still alive. Since she didn't have any knowledge on plants, other than what leaves not to rub on bare skin out in the wild, she couldn't say one way or the other. To the east, she spotted a longhouse that looked as if it had been built from a ship; that had to be Jorrvaskr. On a small hill nearby, there was a bird statue that seemed to be lit by a large fire underneath it.

Inside Jorrvaskr, she was immediately surprised by someone running past her muttering, "Those two at it again?" followed by the meaty thumps of flesh hitting flesh; a fistfight was happening. A crowd was gathered around a male Dunmer and a female Nord, shouting advice as they pummelled each other. Eventually the Dunmer fell to a knee and shouted his forfeit. The crowd dispersed, chatting about the fight, and a familiar face walked up to Asuka.

"Well well, I was wondering when your curiosity would draw you here," said the woman who had originally suggested that Asuka join the Companions. "I'm Aela. Welcome to Jorrvaskr. Have you decided to join the Companions?"

Asuka shrugged. "At the very least, I figured I'd talk to this Kodlak person and see what he thinks. Where do I go to find him?"

Aela pointed at a staircase leading down to a basement. "Our living quarters are down there. I'm pretty sure Kodlak is too. He's probably just finished breakfast by now." Her lips twitched upward into a slight smirk. "Oh, and... good luck."

"Luck's for those who have no skill," Asuka cheerfully retorted, before heading down the staircase and through the door.

Downstairs was a large hallway, with a barrack room and several private rooms branching off it. As she went down the hallway, Asuka saw an open door with two people inside sitting at a table. Guessing one of them was Kodlak, she was about to go in but paused when she heard the two of them speaking.

"...but I still feel the call of the blood," said the dark-haired man.

We all do," said the older man, who had to be Kodlak. "It is our burden to bear. But we can overcome."

"You have my brother and I, obviously. But I don't know if the rest will go along quite so easily."

"Leave that to me."

The dark-haired man looked over to the doorway and saw Asuka. He pointed at her; Kodlak glanced over and said, "A stranger comes to our halls. Come in."

Asuka approached them, studying Kodlak intently. Despite his age, here was a man that fairly radiated skill and power. A fight with him would not go her way, even with the power of a dragon.

"Aela said that I should talk to you about joining the Companions," she said, respectfully.

"You want to join? Well, let me have a look at you." He began to stare intently at her, but the other man interrupted him.

"Master, you can't really be considering letting her join!" His tone suggested that he considered Asuka about as useful as a skeever.

"Don't call me 'master', Vilkas," Kodlak sternly replied. "And the last time I looked, we had plenty of beds for those with fire in their hearts."

Vilkas coughed into his hand. "Sorry. Maybe now is not the right time. Besides... we don't even know who she is."

Kodlak's eyes darted to Asuka. "Sometimes the famous come to us. Sometimes men and women come to us to seek their fame. It makes no difference. What matters is their heart."

"And their arm," Vilkas added.

"Yes, that too." Kodlak turned his full attention back to Asuka. "How do you fare in battle, girl?"

Fighting down the urge to talk back about that 'girl' comment, Asuka instead said, "I can handle myself, but I know there's still plenty to learn."

A huge grin split Kodlak's face. "That's the spirit! Well then, Vilkas here will get started on that. Head out to the yard, both of you."

Asuka nodded, and Vilkas gave a defeated, "Aye."

She was led upstairs and outside into the yard. A few people were sitting at a table, and they casually glanced at the pair as they passed by.

Vilkas began to limber up. "The old man said to have a look at you, so let's do this."

Asuka did the same, and grinned. "Bring it on!"

They drew their weapons and began sparring. Vilkas seemed both surprised and impressed with Asuka's skill, but she could tell he was holding back. Disappointingly, Vilkas called an end to the spar after only a few minutes; her blood was barely even pumping yet!

"Not bad!" he said. "Next time won't be so easy. You might just make it. For now though, you're just a whelp. You do what we tell you. Take my sword to Eorlund to have it sharpened." He pointed at the top of the hill. "Be careful with it too, it's probably worth more than you are."

Again, Asuka had to fight down the urge to retort. The same kind of thing had happened when she had joined the mercenary group she'd eventually been second-in-command of. New people and hopefuls always got the drudge work. If they couldn't handle that, if they cracked under the pressure or got mad and took a swing at a superior, then what good would they be long-term, or in a real battle?

Asuka took the sword and headed up the hill. The weapon didn't look all that impressive, but she knew that the true value of a weapon was in how well it did its job, not how fancy it looked. Ornamentation wouldn't stop a better equipped opponent from shattering the blade and running its owner through.

At the top of the hill, she saw what was lighting up the bird: a forge, built into the statue, but this one was so hot she could barely even get near it. From what little she could see, it seemed like the forge was full of magma. An old man who had to be Eorlund was standing next to it, seemingly immune to the blazing heat.

"Uh, hi," she said, handing over the sword. "Vilkas sent me to get this sharpened."

Eorlund took the weapon but didn't so much as glance at it. "You must be the newcomer."

"Yeah, does Vilkas do this with every rookie?"

"Everyone here was a whelp once. They just prefer not to talk about it." Eorlund set the sword down on a stone table. "Word of advice though: don't just do what everyone tells you. Nobody rules anyone in the Companions."

Asuka quirked an eyebrow. "But doesn't someone have to be in charge?"

The old man shrugged. "They seem to do just fine. Haven't had a leader since Ysgramor. Kodlak is the Harbinger, and he's something of an advisor, but every man and woman are their own."

There was something about the way he said that. "Hm. You're not a Companion, are you?"

Eorlund grinned. "No I'm not. But none of them know how to work a forge. I'm honoured to serve them nonetheless. I'm Eorlund Gray-Mane, and I work the Skyforge. Best steel in all of Skyrim. All of Tamriel!"

That was one hell of a claim, but Asuka didn't have time to learn more. "Alright, I better get going."

Eorlund held up a hand. "Wait, could you do me a favour while you're here? I've been smithing a shield for Aela. My wife is in mourning and I need to get back to her soon. Could you take this to Aela?"

"Hold on." Asuka narrowed her eyes. "Didn't you just tell me not to do what everyone says?"

"I did, but this isn't a command. It's just a request from an old blacksmith."

A fair point. "Alright, I'm going back there anyway."

Eorlund thanked her and handed over the shield. Asuka took a final glance at the statue and the forge then headed back into Jorrvaskr. Almost immediately she was started by a loud scream followed by a slamming sound. Her eyes quickly darted around the room before her brain kicked in and gave her some context: the scream was actually a shout of joy and the slam had been a mug hitting a table.

A purple-haired woman, wearing what was likely her sleeping clothes and a head full of messy hair, was refilling her mug with more ale. She spotted Asuka staring at her and raised the mug in greeting with a wide grin. Asuka, puzzled as to why someone would be drinking first thing in the morning, hesitantly nodded at the woman and hurried downstairs. After asking a passing Companion for directions, Asuka soon found Aela in her room, talking to someone. She let them finish before approaching Aela.

"Hello again," said Aela. She noticed the shield, which Asuka handed over. "Oh good, I've been waiting for this. Thank you."

"You know her already?" the man remarked. "This is the one that was sparring with Vilkas in the yard."

"And I heard you held your own against him," said Aela, with what almost sounded like admiration.

The man chuckled. "Don't let Vilkas hear that!"

"Do you think you could take him in a real fight though?"

Asuka shook her head. "A few minutes of sparring wasn't enough for me to get a full measure of him, but right now I wouldn't fancy my chances if we fought to kill."

Aela hummed thoughtfully. "A woman who knows her limits. I think you'll do well here. I'll have someone show you where you can rest your head when you're here. Farkas!"

Seconds later the man Asuka had seen fighting the giants came running into the room. "Did you call for me?"

"Of course I did, ice-for-brains!" Aela pointed at Asuka. "Show the rookie where the whelps sleep."

"Oh, I remember you. Come along then." Asuka followed him out of the room. When they were out of earshot, Farkas said, "Those two like to tease me, but they're good people. They challenge us to be our best. I hope you stay, this can be a rough life at times."

To Asuka's lack of surprise, they ended up at the barrack room she had seen earlier. "Just pick a bed and fall in it when you're tired. Tilma always keeps the place clean. There's others that are keen to meet you by the way, so when you have time go introduce yourself to everyone."

"I'll do that," said Asuka, but quickly added, "Not right now though. I'm supposed to be going to High Hrothgar. I just stopped in here to see about joining while waiting for my friend to wake up."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that. Dragonborn, huh?" Farkas didn't sound all that convinced. "Well that might make things interesting around here. When you're done with whatever the Greybeards want, just come on back here."

Asuka bid farewell and left Jorrvaskr. The sun was well up now, and Whiterun was bustling. When she got back to Breezehome, she discovered that people were already starting to move in furniture. Lydia was organising them, and it appeared that Shinji wasn't tired enough to snooze through it all. At least he no longer looked like he was about to fall asleep standing up.

"Morning Asuka. Were you waiting on me?" he said after splashing his face with some water.

"Don't worry, I kept myself busy," Asuka replied. "We'll leave as soon as you're ready."

"Alright, let me just grab my stuff."

As they headed out through the gate, a hooded figure with a longbow on their back bumped into Shinji. He immediately apologised, but the person simply stood there. Asuka sighed and dragged him by the arm, restless to put Whiterun at their back. Shinji stumbled over a rock and focused his attention forward, but for just a split second he saw the person begin to turn their head. His eyes had to be playing tricks on him, and perhaps he was still tired, because it appeared that, under the hood, there was a lock of bright blue hair.

"Alright, let's get going!" Asuka exclaimed. "High Hrothgar and the Greybeards await!"

Shinji put the encounter out of his mind and focused on the journey ahead.