Reaching out, Percy grabbed the back of Akar's tunic and tugged. He managed to pull the pair of them free just in time to avoid the wall of fire that erupted from the Dragon. The Imperial Captain hadn't been quite so lucky, and she disappeared from view as the flames consumed her.

"Archers! Loose!" Percy roared over the din, though he likely needn't have even given the order as the archers were already pouring arrow after arrow into the dragon. Not that it seemed to be doing anything. The steel-tipped arrows simply bounced off of the dragon's scales, before clattering uselessly to the ground.

The dragon turned its massive head in the direction of the western wall of archers. Another jet of flame erupted from its throat. The smell of sulfur and burning flesh assaulted Percy's sense. They needed to move, needed to get the hell out of town. He glanced down at Akar, checking the man over to make sure that he hadn't been killed by the first blast. Seeing the man was fine, if slightly dazed, Percy reached down to the small sheath attached to the back of his belt and drew a small dagger. He slashed the binds confining Akar before hauling him to his feet.

"Run!" He ordered. The man didn't need to be told twice, only hesitating long enough to give Percy a thankful nod. Percy turned his attention back to the dragon, and was forced to dive out of the way once more as it leaped from its perch atop the guard tower, landing in the center of the parade ground. The force of its leap tore stone from the tower, raining down debris and forcing Percy to hold his shield over his head to block the barrage. The dragon' enormous tail soared over his head, smashing into some poor Stormcloak behind Percy and catapulting the man across the ground. The dragon's mammoth head streaked out across the grounds, gripping a fleeing Imperial and tearing him in half with one tremendous bite, before tossing the corpse away like a toy.

A new jet of flame erupted from its jaw, setting fire to a nearby group of shops and stalls. Fresh screams of terror and misery cut through the chaos, as the poor souls trapped inside were burned alive.

Breaking into a run, Percy raced towards a small stone outcropping near the stairs to the wall. Legate Rikke was already there, half-shielding a rather badly burned General Tullius with her body. The right side of the General's armor was badly scorched, and it looked like he wasn't able to put any weight on his right leg. Rikke was half-guarding, and half-carrying the man, keeping her shield raised in front of her. Percy slid to a stop beside her, raising his own shield just in time to deflect a barrage of falling stone as the tower began to collapse.

"You need to get out of here!" Shouted Percy, "He's not going to last too long here!"

"There's no way we're getting past that bastard!" She shouted back, "We have as good of a chance fighting it instead of trying to run!"

"Stay and you die for sure!" Percy snapped. He tightened the straps of his shield to his arm. "The moment I have its attention, go!"

Rikke stared at him, her jaw clenching tightly. She nodded. Steeling his nerves, Percy heaved a breath, before shooting out of from his place of cover. The dragon saw Percy move, and turned its attention on him. Percy only just managed to bring his shield up in time. Heat washed over him. He grunted, there was almost a physical force to the flames. Like getting hit by a truck.

From the corner of his eye, he could see as Rikke was running as fast as she could, Tullius still draped over one shoulder.

Fire licked up the length of his arm, catching the soft fabric of his undershirt on fire. The flames were among the hottest Percy had ever been around before. The wood of his shield lit, adding to the heat. The iron bands began to melt under the heat. Had it not been for his natural divine resistance to heat and flames, Percy wouldn't have lasted a moment.

Clenching his teeth together, he slowly pressed forward. Taking hobbled step after hobbled step forward. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the flames abated. The dragon roared like thunder, its tail jolting out at Percy. Jumping over the incoming attack, Percy raced forward, jumping onto a stack of crates. Using the crates like a springboard, Percy soared through the air. He landed on the spiked back of the dragon, taking care not to impale himself. Heaving his sword back he, tried to bury his blade into the scales of its neck. But Percy had misjudged just how strong the scales would be. The sword shattered on impact. The cheap iron blade all but disintegrating in his hands.

"You have got to be shitting me," he grunted, tossing the broken weapon away. The dragon jerked beneath him, and Percy desperately clinging to its neck. The dragon roared in fury, the force of the cry sending painful reverberation down Percy's spine. He felt suddenly weightless, as the dragon launched back into the air. Wind whooshed around him, and he was nearly dislodged from his position as the dragon landed on top of a nearby house. Percy didn't know if it could feel him or not, but it wasn't trying to shake him off yet.

Gritting his teeth, Percy considered his options. He didn't have a weapon strong enough to do anything. He could try and summon a storm, but he needed to concentrate and that would prove especially difficult while dangling precariously from its neck. He still had his dagger, but how much could that realistically do? The scales made a direct attack a non-starter. He needed to find somewhere the scales weren't. The wings were an option, but likely wouldn't amount to much in the long run. The underbelly was probably the best option, but Percy was loathe to put himself in a position under the beast unarmed.

That left only the eyes. Not seeing a better option, he began to climb. Using the sharp horns on along the length of its neck like handholds, Percy steadily began close the distance to the creature's head. Of all of the times he missed having Anaklusmos, he missed it now more than ever. Not that he was even sure that divine metal would be able to harm this creature in the first place.

He reached the two large horns atop the back of its head. Grasping the horns in his hands, he balanced himself on the dragon's head. He fetched the dagger from its sheath, and gauged his angle of attack. He would likely only have one legitimate shot at this, so he would need to make sure it counted. He waited until the dragon reared back and released another jet of flames before he pounced. Using the horns for leverage, he launched himself forward. He pivoted in the air as he fell, and found himself face to face with the large creature.

Of all the dumb, terrible plans he'd concocted over the years…trying to stab a dragon in the eye with a steel dagger was among the dumbest. There was a brief moment as he fell level with the dragon, where their eyes met. Its blood red irises strangely human as confusion and recognition flashed in its eyes.

With a roar of fury, Percy thrust his arm forward. The dragon had only the briefest of moments to understand what was happening, before Percy's dagger embedded itself in its left eye. The dragon roared. A horrible, anguished wail. Blood erupted from the eye, drenching Percy in crimson. The dragon thrashed, whipping its head from side to side. Percy lost his grip, falling free. He experienced a brief, terrifying moment of weightlessness, before all of the breath lost his power. He crashed through the straw roof of some poor soul's home, landing painfully against the stone floor. His head smacked against the ground, his vision going dark as a horrible, throbbing pain surged through his back.

He groaned. It felt like the entire world was spinning as his vision swam. He fought off the incoming darkness. Rolling over to his side, and spitting a wad of blood free. A chipped tooth clattered to the ground. He allowed his body to go limp for a few seconds, trying to desperately to draw breath into his starving lungs. He wanted nothing more than to sleep. To allow the sweet draw of darkness to draw him in fully and surrender himself to his fate. But he wouldn't allow himself to pass here. Not on his back. Not down and cowering away in some shattered burning shack.

With tremendous effort, he rolled over and pushed himself to his feet. Every movement was agony, as a fresh surge pain shot down his back. He wasn't sure how his spine had survived the fall, but he pushed the thought from his mind. Now on his feet, he slowly hobbled over to a still-standing window and gazed out into the carnage beyond. The dragon was still roaring. Shaking its head in rage as it tried to dislodge the dagger still trapped in its eye. The whole town was burning. The dead and dying were lying in the streets. Some were still burning.

Percy recognized men and women he knew. Legionnaire and civilian alike. A rage washed over him. A fury the like of which he had not experienced in years. Dark storm clouds moved in, as thunder cracked and lightning streaked overhead. Rain cascaded from the heavens. It started as a light drizzle, and soon turned into a cascading downpour. A faint sizzling and popping filled the air as the fires were slowly extinguished. Smoke rolled through the open window burning Percy's nostrils and stinging at his eyes.

A wash of fresh energy coursed through him. His aches and pains began to dissipate. Whether they were healing from the rain, or the adrenaline was just helping him ignore it he didn't know and didn't care. He could only focus on the dragon. Could only focus on how he wanted to kill it. He didn't care how, didn't even care if it killed him in the process. In the blink of an eye, that bastard had shattered everything Percy had created. The peace and tranquility of his new life, gone.

He snarled and vaulted through the open window. He stalked forward, his eyes glued on the rampaging beast. He reached out into the world around him. He felt every gust of wind, every drop of rain. The natural world was untouched in this world. Clean, and untamed. It was raw, and powerful. Eager to answer the call of some new master demanding obedience. Percy reached out towards that feeling. He grasped it tight. Drawing the power into him. His chest swelled as a familiar weight dropped onto his shoulders and his stomach clenched as though filling. Power danced along his skin like an electric current. The power built, feeling like a heavy pressure pressing down on him on all sides.

The power built and built within him, and then when the sensation had reached its peak, Percy unleashed it all at once. A tornado of wind of water erupted around him. The gale turned into an outright hurricane. The remnants of houses were ripped from the ground. Rock, straw and all manner of other debris was tossed into the air. The blacksmith's forge was torn free from its mountings and carried into the sky. The clump of rock and metal smashed into the rampaging dragon. The dragon was thrown from its perch on the wall, and collapsed onto the ground.

The sky opened at Percy's command. A flash of lightning arced through the clouds, accompanied by a mighty crash of thunder. The bolt slammed into the dragon, which screeched. Its body spasmed as small arcs of electricity danced along its scales. Percy unleashed a howl of fury, as he commanded the earth to shake under their feet. The foundations of the guard tower shook, before crumbling under the shaking. Crashing to the ground, dust and rock filled the air. The dragon, in a desperate attempt to escape the deluge, took off into the sky. But it was no safer from Percy in the air than it had been on the ground.

Bolt after bolt of electricity to descend from the heavens, answering with delight Percy's call to action. His body screamed in protest, unused to the strain Percy was putting on it, but he ignored the pain. The dragon was too swift to be hit though. It danced in and out of the bolts as it honed in on Percy. Even after everything Percy had thrown at it, it hardly seemed phased in the least. It landed heavily in front of Percy. The shockwave of its landing throwing Percy off-balance. With a bestial roar, it unleashed a jet of burning fire.

The flames torched and burned the remainder of his clothing. His leather falling to the ground in a burnt and matted clump. He tried to summon a wall of water to protect him, but the dragon was too quick. Its jaws snapped forward, intending on biting him in half. He fell backwards, landing on his back as the teeth bared down on him. He just managed to get his hands around a pair of its fangs. The muscles in his arms screamed in protest. The dragon was far stronger than anything he'd come across before.

Percy watched in mounting horror as a bright light erupted from the back of the dragon's throat, as Percy was once more doused in flames. Even Percy's natural resistance to fire had a limit, and being blasted with fire hot enough to melt steel was taking its toll. His skin blistered and boiled. He thrashed out, kicking and flailing and doing anything and everything he could to get the dragon off of him. Finally, the fire abated and the dragon leaned away.

It stared at Percy, and he tried to meet its gaze evenly. It gazed Percy inquisitively. His dagger still lodged in its eye. Then…it spoke. A deep, gravelly voice. The very air around the mouth distorted from the power of the voice.

"I know not what you are…but you do not belong here…"

"Could say the same…for you…" Percy panted.

"You have disrupted my plans human!" It growled, "And for that…you die." It moved too fast for Percy to do anything. Its tail shot out, smacking into Percy and sending him careening through the air. Percy crashed through the wall of a nearby house, taking out the support pillar as he did so. The building shook. One wall fell. Then the roof. Before Percy could even process what had happened, the building was falling in on top of him. Between his injuries, the strain of his power and the impact of the building. He barely had time to think, before the world around him disappeared into inky blackness.

He awoke confused. For the first several minutes, he didn't even realize that his eyes were, so complete was the darkness. He felt a crushing weight on him. He briefly wondered just what was going on, but the memories of the day came flooding back to him in a flurry. He must have been still trapped under the house. He felt around with his hands, his palms pressed against something smooth. He tested its weight, and was satisfied he could move it. With a sigh, he braced himself and tried to summon the strength back into his aching limbs.

He pushed. Pressing his palms against the smooth surface. The structure groaned, fighting back against his efforts. But little by little, Percy was able to dislodge the debris lying above him. Inch by inch, Percy crawled through the shattered remains of the house. With a final burst of energy, he managed to pull himself free. Cool, fresh evening air filled his lungs.

Considerable time had passed, and night had since fallen over Skyrim. The bright moon, large and full, shone down. Its milky glow only served to illuminate the full scale of the destruction that had been wrought. It couldn't even be called a town anymore. It was little more than a collection of rock and rubble. How many had died? Everyone? Had Rikke made it out alive? Or Akar? He hoped they'd managed to escape. He sighed, sitting on top of the collection of rubble. Bodies were strewn about all over the place. Laying in haphazard heaps in the roads, and strewn across rooftops. The charred remains of the unfortunate victims of the flames were the most haunting. They were little more than husks, seemingly forever frozen in their final moments.

It was no way to die.

He grimaced, it felt…wrong…leaving all of these bodies strewn about. Exposed to the world. They deserved a burial. A proper burial. Regardless of whether they had been good people or not, he didn't care. These people didn't deserve for their body to simply lay out to rot in the open like this.

He shivered as a cold wind blew over his naked body. But first, he needed some clothes. And maybe a dip in a creek. He moved slowly; his progress hampered by the rampant destruction. While the Barracks themselves had been destroyed, much of the Legion's resources in Helgen were actually stored in a vast array of underground tunnels, created deep under the earth by mages.

It took a couple of minutes of digging before Percy was able to free the doorway to the Legions storehouse. The inside of the Barracks couldn't have felt more different to the horror outside. The Barracks still looked as they always did. Rows of empty beds and footlockers. Though as Percy glanced around, he did notice a few discrepancies. It appeared as though someone had dug through the footlockers. Perhaps a couple of smart Legionnaires had grabbed what they could and fled.

Well, he supposed he would follow in their example. It took a couple of tries, but he eventually found an undershirt, trousers, and boots that fit. He found a spare weapon, discarded on the ground near the rear of the Barracks. When he was fully dressed, and armed, he made his way back out into the town.

It was a laborious task. Mind-numbing and more than a little heart-wrenching. There were more than a few children in town. Children whose lives have been brutally cut short. It was far from a pleasant task. But it was one that needed to be done. It did have the added benefit of allowing Percy time to consider his next steps. He could head south. Make for Cyrodiil and the Capital, get out of Skyrim and away from the madness that seemed to be descending.

But the more he tried to convince himself it was objectively the right course of action…the more he knew he wasn't going to do that. There was something going on in Skyrim. He'd heard the stories. Dragons hadn't been seen in the country in…gods only knew how long. They were supposed to be extinct. But that had very much been a dragon that had attacked Helgen. A dragon that could talk. A dragon that was more powerful than nearly everything Percy had ever come across.

It was unnatural. Something like this…it was never just happenstance. It had been a long time since Percy had believed in coincidence, and he wasn't about to start now. Which meant that something was brewing. Something big. Something that likely would threaten to change the landscape of the country forever. Which really left only one question.

Was it really his problem?

Skyrim wasn't his home. These weren't his people, and even if they were, what was he expected to do about it? He'd done his time of heroing. Of questing. He was happy to lay back and let someone else save the world for a change.

But…the thought was a hollow one. He couldn't stop himself from fighting any more than he could stop himself from breathing. It was who he was. Hardwired into his very DNA. Gods…Rikke had been right, hadn't she? He had gotten complacent. He'd been happy to sit back on his ass and not do anything. It had been naive of him. He hadn't had anything resembling a normal life since he'd been twelve and he'd been given no reason to suspect that would have changed just because he was in a new world.

And he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it. Didn't enjoy the fight. Didn't live for the way his heart hammed in his ears, the way his blood sang when steel met steel. It was who he was. He was a warrior. It was in his blood. For five years now, he'd tried to deny what he was, and where had that gotten him? Nowhere. His complacency had only ever nearly gotten an innocent man killed.

"Fucking Coward."

He should have done something. He should have said something. What did it matter if he was cast out of the Legion? True, he took pride in what he did, sure, and had thought that the Empire had been the bastion of peace in the region, but clearly that wasn't the case. They had been willing to send an innocent man to the block, for no other reason that they were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He'd been so sure that the Empire had been the good guys, and that knowledge had brought him peace. Had allowed him to justify his lack of action as his being just another cog in the machine, and the machine was doing more than he ever could. He'd allowed himself to fall into the danger of complacent routine. He'd grown lazy.

He hated it.

Percy needed answers. Answers about the dragon. Answers about the Empire. Answers about himself. He needed answers, and there was only one place he could think of that might have answers.

Percy needed to go to Solitude.

AN: Thanks again to my boy IDK for being a walking goddamn encyclopedia of knowledge and helping me with his brilliant idea. He's the man and you should check out his stuff 'cause they're all bangers. As always, thanks to my boy Double for being the best Beta of all time. Hit up the link in my bio to join the Emerald Library where I hang out with some of the best authors out there. Thanks again for all the love and support, and I'll see you next week.

Love,

LilDB