Chapter One, 21 years ago:
Dark Clouds hungover on the Southern mountains in the Rift in Southern Skyrim. The air was cold, it was late Autumn in the season of The Atronach. This was a month of dread and desperation for the cultists who hid in the domed stone houses that hung on the mountainside. Dread for the coming of another harsh winter, desperation born out of the silence of their dark gods and the already scarce reserves of food. For the dwindling remanence of a once-thriving community, the future was bleak.
For a long time, Tarah knew that she had been born into a mad family. She watched in fear as they performed sacrifice after sacrifice to Mehrunes Dagon. But the dark prince of destruction, revolution, and change, that had long since stopped answering their prayers and offerings.
The howling winds past the rough stone, at times creating a defining wind. The warmth of the light emanating from the failing candles and torches gave way to a chilling wind as she left the storehouse with what remained of the food. Looking back one final time to the carvings on the walls, the lines making out the depictions of dragons and humans, and ancient prophecies. Tarah had a small sack bag of food on her shoulder along with one of the last stamina potions she was able to snag. The landscape ahead was rocky and open, heading downhill to the treeline. The stamina potion meant that she could cover that much more ground before they realized she was gone.
Tarah looked back to make sure she wasn't being followed, her heart was racing. Fourteen years old and utterly terrified, she knew what would happen if she got caught. If she went through with this.
Tarah could still hear her father chanting the greatness of Dagon in ruins of the "temple".
"Are they still cutting her open?" she thought. Tarah had always known he was crazy, but she never thought he would actually go through with killing mom.
Not that she did anything to stop it, she practically fell on the blade.
Gripping her bow and the four arrows that she had. In the bag some stale bread, a hunting knife, a small waterskin, and some rations. It would get her through a week if she rationed it.
"I would have to run almost the whole way down the mountain, I would then need to travel as far away through the woods that dotted the lower mountain range. I would have to travel as far away with as little trace in the hopes that my crazed neighbors and dad would consider trying to find me either too dangerous or not worth their time." She thought, her stomach turned at the idea of starving in the woods.
After that, she had no clue, for all she knew she'd be dead in a week. But it was better to die in the wild than be cut open by a cannibalizing cult. "If I stayed I would definitely be dead in the month." Tarah thought, would Dagon still claim her soul? Could he do that?
It didn't matter, it was all or nothing. She had to run while she still had some strength left in her if she were to have a chance.
After taking a deep breath she ran down the rocky path, the cold windy night illuminated by the night sky.
Present-day
Tarah woke up with a start, her head bumped on the bottom of the wagon. Her armor clanking in an orderly pile next to her.
The sun was out in force today and compared to the cold cave they had spent most of the morning in, hunting for flamer dwellings that had started to threaten caravans on the road. This meant that she was sweating like crazy today.
Oh, that and the poisoned cut she had on her leg was actually killing her, needless to say, it was quite uncomfortable.
Tarah felt a hand rest on her shoulder. "Please Tarah. Try not to move, it was more potent than we thought." Lucien said in his subtly stern voice, it was something he quickly picked up on when it came to healing, after all, he was the best at it out of all of them.
"What happened?" Tarah asked.
"We were able to reduce the potency of the poison, but much of the effects still persist." He responded as he cast his healing hands over the wound, the pain lessening a bit, though not removing them.
"Only the Fallmer would make annoying poisons." She thought.
"At least something new happened this time." Said the Khajiit next to him, his dark blue fur shimmering in the daylight of the Reach.
"True, but it still doesn't excuse the poor behavior," Lucien said on the opposite end of the carriage.
Indigo laughed, "It will be fine my friend, we know nothing can get worse." Leaning back he turned to see the rocky countryside.
"Sure, this time. But what about the next, we might have our luck run out one of these days." Lucien pressed.
"Guys, I'm fine." Tarah tried to get up from where she lay in the center of the carriage but found that her stomach wound decided to be more painful than it needed to be. Instantly Lucien laid her back on the floor, a small trickle of blood slowly coming out of the greenish-looking wound on her stomach.
"Is everything alright back there?" Piped up Serena, looking back from her spot driving the carriage. The war dog Vigilance sat next to her, barking away as usual without a care in the world.
"IM FINE!" she shouted. "You can stop mothering me."
"Ironic," Indigo said. Tarah shot him a glare but he just turned away and pretended to gaze out into the countryside.
Lucien put his hands on the wound, his healing magic flowing through to her, dulling the pain, but making her lower back very uncomfortable.
"A week in bed and you will be up and running like old times." Lucien smiled reassuringly, his golden hair only partially covering the worry in his eyes.
"Humph" was all she could muster. They all knew why she had gotten poisoned by that Falmer trap, Tarah was too careless. It had been the first expedition in months and she was too excited to get out another adventure. Skyrim had been such a crazy place not too long ago. Wars, rebellions, the threat of total annihilation popping back up what felt like every week.
Closing her eyes, she couldn't help but remember that she had been on the chopping block only three and a half years prior. The crime that threw her into that sentence was hunting game for the rebels in exchange for some coin right before an Imperial ambush. She remembered waking up in that cart as it approached Helgen, and the fear that curled into her stomach when they called her forward.
And to think that she was only spared by the intervention of her soon-to-be mortal enemy, Alduin.
After the burning of Helgen, things had only escalated, from warning Whiterun of the potential threat to inheriting the ancient title of the Dragonborn. Now she was the Harbinger of the Companions, a Werewolf in full, a member of the Dark Brotherhood, Thane of Whiterun, and savior of the world on more than one occasion. Almost overnight the world seemed to open up, she had faced creatures that she couldn't even dream of, defeated, and joined groups that she had only heard rumors of. And Tarah had made good friends along the way.
"I am a Nord, proud and true, the fury of my ancestors runs through my veins! I won't let this poison win so easily." She thought.
She is known as the destroyer of the Vampires, the reaper of the cult of the Dragonborn. She was the bringer of light and the Dawn. Her power challenged that of Dragons, she had walked in the Soul Cairn and came back with both her life and her sanity.
As time progressed and her deeds became more and more widespread, more and more people began to treat her with respect and reverence. Before she had tried to live far away from the spotlight, and in a very short amount of time she was in the middle of it. Sometimes it had felt like she was in the middle of another cult, only they were worshiping her with the same reverence a cultist would treat a Daedra, it was unsettling.
As her fame and power grew fewer people dared to disagree with her, fearing the power she held. Not long afterward she began to notice that people would tell me what they thought she wanted to hear, not the truth. Those in court began to treat her with more suspicion because of the influence she was capable of holding. Or they would try to get into her good graces to further their own schemes and plots. For the past year, people only cared about the Dragonborn, not Tarah the huntress.
But the worst by far was the StormCloaks and the Aldmere Dominion, whose only commonality was their desire to kill her. The few Stormcloak fanatics that survived the civil war wanted her dead for her part in killing Ulfric and helping the empire wipe out their strongholds. Fighting for the Empire wasn't an easy one, they eagerly sentenced her to death for the smallest of collaborations with the rebels, and oftentimes General Tullius was more interested in using her for propaganda purposes than actually establishing order in Skyrim. Though with time it would come to most of Skyrim.
It didn't help that in the short time that she had known Ulfric, she had considered him a friend. He was honorable and had insisted on paying her more for my catches that she would bring back. He treated alone Nord huntress with the same respect as he would his own soldiers. But the way he treated anyone who wasn't a Nord was too much, she realized that his views were twisted and flawed. But it was the words of Jarl Balgruuf that cemented her decision to help the Empire.
"A divided empire cannot stand up against the Dominion."
In the end, she decided that with Ulfric in power, things would only get worse, Skyrim would gain new enemies, and lose important allies.
Whatever qualms she had with the Stormcloaks, the Dominion was worse. Ever since the remaining Blades swore service to Tarah as the Dragonborn they had gone to extraordinary lengths to try to get rid of her, or sully her name with their schemes. When she finally had enough she had marched right into their embassy in Skyrim for the second time and tore it to pieces, threatening the ambassador to march all the way to the Dominion if they continued. Of course, that got the Dark Brotherhood involved, and just created a whole new mess of problems.
She was a great fighter and a hardened soldier, but when it came to the complexities of politics she was out of her depth. Tarah had only wanted to live a fulfilling life, protect her kids and her friends, but life always had other plans for her.
"Tarah, Tarah," Lucien said, shaking her shoulders.
With a gasp she opened my eyes, Tarah had passed out. Above her was Lucien's hand, a potion in between his fingers.
"It's time for you to get another dose of your medicine," he said, uncapping the bottle.
Without a word Tarah took a swig, shaking her head and grimacing at the taste, even after years of adventuring and close calls she still hated the taste of the medicine.
"Thanks," she said after a moment.
The silence continued, her thoughts began to wonder, what her political enemies would say when they found out that she had been incapacitated so easily? News traveled fast in Skyrim, and in a few days, a council summit was going to be held regarding the politics of Skyrim and Tamriel, a summit as the Dragonborn she had to attend. And by then her wounds would still be noticeable if people didn't find out beforehand. "She has lost the blessing of the gods." The priests would probably say. "She's a fraud." The politicians with fewer brains than balls would claim. "What could this mean?" Some young bards would sing in the taverns.
Stop worrying about what could happen and focus on the positives. A part of her thought.
Like what? The other thought back.
The silence for one. She thought triumphantly.
"THE REACH BELONGS TO THE FORSWORN!" Came the bellowing yell all around them.
"Oh come on" she groaned.
In an instant Serana, Vigilance, Indigo and Lucien drew their weapons and got to work defending the carriage as the Forsworn revealed their ambush. Arrows and electric spells flying past each other as maybe twenty Forsworn appeared from the mountainside, and probably more that she couldn't see.
"Don't worry my friend, we got this," Indigo said somewhere to the left of the carriage, the screams of a Forsworn attacker abruptly cut off not too far from where his voice was.
Regardless of her injuries, she tried to get up and slip into her bear armor chest plate, when that proved too difficult she began to arm the crossbow which lay to her right.
The battle raged on with the vicious sounds of the clashing of metal and flesh. As it did she focused on summoning the power of the voice, "Laas Yah Nir" she whispered.
For a moment everything went dark before coming back with several distinct red auroras now having appeared. Tarah could recognize the outline of Vigilance the War Dog, who was currently biting the legs of a forsworn archer on the left side of the hill. Lucien and Serana were fighting back to back against six Forsworn. Seranah used her knife and magic to slay many of those that got too close. While Lucien in his Dawnguard armor fought with a staff of fire in one hand while shooting elemental projectiles with the other. Fighting practically in sink with one another she watched as the red auroras of the forsworn were extinguished one by one around them, but more were showing up over the hills around them.
Indigo was fighting alone, not that he appeared to need much help, his Blades armor and shield paired with his Ebony sword made short work of lightly armored Forsworn after Forsworn, as he moved to intercept target after target, ensuring that none got close to the carriage.
As good of a job that they were doing, it wasn't good enough as the aurora of a Forsworn came up to the carriage. The face of a young man with deerskin over his head popped over the carriage. His face turning from nervous triumph to confused fear as he laid eyes on the cargo.
"Howdy," she said, firing the crossbow and hitting the man right in the eye. His hair singing as the fire enchantments on the bolt took hold just as he dropped to the floor.
As Tarah was reloading the crossbow, she noticed several more auroras approaching the cart. With little time to think Tarah summoned the beast inside of her. The pain was excruciating, it was all she could do not to get lost in it and go berserk, as the wound began to get covered by a new layer of skin, along with the rest of her equipment. But the pain was also her focus point, keeping her conscious and ready to use her claws and teeth against these poor fools.
This time when the first Forsworn appeared over the carriage prepared to fight someone with a crossbow, he was instead met with several rows of sharp teeth that latched on to his throat. With ease she threw him to the other side of the carriage, breaking what remained of his neck in the process.
Leaping out from the carriage Tarah landed in front of the rest of the group, not expecting the counter-attack her claws dispatched them in short order. Part of her reveled in the fight, the other part was worried and stressed for the danger her companions were putting themselves in for her sake, if anyone had to face danger, it would be her.
He rushed to join Indigo who was in the process of being outflanked by two Forsworn with axes. Having to jump over several bodies to close the gap, she slammed into the closest one, a woman in a similar uniform as her comrades. Catching her flanks, Tarah's claws easily ripped apart the hide she wore and her skin before the woman knew what had hit her.
Her companion, a man, managed to turn and face Tarah in time. Slashing wildly he managed to land a hit across her chest, the ax biting into her as she tried to pull it out. The man didn't waste the opportunity to press the offensive, landing more hits than Tarah would have liked. Reeling from the pain she jumped back. Finally finding her opening when the man's slash went out too wide, leaving his chest exposed for the briefest of moments. Pouncing she landed on him and proceeded to rip him to pieces with her claws, leaving him to bleed to death if he wasn't dead already. In severe pain from her new injuries and the effects of the poison that lurked in her system, Tarah started to get angry.
"Good one my smelly friend," Indigo shouted as he dueled against a Forsworn.
She was about to roar back in response to the remark when a bolt of electricity landed right beside her. Turning Tarah saw a Hagraven and two Shamans focusing their efforts on her. Next to them laid an unconscious Vigilance, his fur dripping with blood.
Anger gave way to rage to the thought of Vigilance being at the mercy of the enemy. Dodging fire and lightning bolts, Tarah rushed their position, reaching the Hagraven first.
The Hagraven discharged some electric magic, leaving some deep cuts on her snout and face, shinged off my fur. And by the time she crossed the distance, she switched to her claws in an attempt to fend off Tarah's wolf form.
With two quick slashes of Tarah's claws, she decapitated the Hagraven. Just as the two shamans managed to score some hits of their own on her.
As she turned to face the remaining shamans she noticed that a Forsworn ranger had put himself deliberately in between them.
Fine then.
"Use it!" He shouted as he lifted his blade to her.
This can't be good. She thought.
Rushing to the side she tried to get past the ranger, frustratingly he mirrored her movements. Ensuring that he was between her and the shaman who had begun to pull out a large decorative scroll. He wasn't trying to beat her, just stall for as long as possible.
Changing her tactic she engaged the rager, slashing and dodging Tarah tried to immobilize him or get past the ranger, but the first few blows he barely dodged. The cuts and burns from the lightning aching and throbbing throwing her aim off.
"Focus, don't give in to it's rage." Tarah thought, referring to her beast form.
Feigning a left dive and rushed his right flank. The confusion gave her the time I needed to land two solid hits with both her claws, slashing through his back and impaling his stomach.
But that was when the shaman unveiled the scroll and Tarah got a good look at it.
Her heart skipped a beat. An elder scroll.
He began to read aloud, the light of the scroll emanating from the symbols that adorned it.
A cold dread clutched her soul, Where could they have possibly gone to have come across such a rare and dangerous artifact? It didn't matter, She knew the type of power it wielded firsthand, if they activated the scroll all manners of oblivion was about to break loose.
Tossing her opponent aside with the palm of her hand she rushed to close the gap. The shaman began to chant, the others joined in. By the time she was halfway there, they were ready to unleash its power.
"Noooo!" She screamed inside.
A blinding flash of light appeared from it, encompassing everything, somewhere behind it all her companions screamed, the world began to turn, then there was a sense of weightlessness.
Then it all went black.