Reading

The carriage bumped, jumped, rocked, and jerked. It was a horrible experience. Aila's rear was sore and she was very uncomfortable, but taking the carriage was faster than walking, and cheaper than renting a horse. With it, the time it took to travel to Whiterun would be cut in half. The driver occasionally tried to strike up a conversation, but Aila usually responded awkwardly with one-word answers and eventually he gave up.

Aila tried to occupy herself by reading the books that Kathryn had gotten her. The first was called The Book of the Dragonborn. It wrote about how the empire was ruled by dragonborn emperors. They were gifted by Akatosh with the "Dragon Blood", allowing the Dragonfires to burn, preventing the Daedra from walking on Nirn. But it also wrote of a prophecy that was connected to the Dragonborn. The prophecy was included, but it made no sense to Aila.

The second book was called The Dragon King. Aila had just begun reading it.

Dragons gave long since been a passion of mine. To me, they are majestic creatures. The ability of flight, their unusual use of magic, and especially their intelligence. Dragons are not the mindless beast many think they are. In fact, I daresay their intelligence surpassed any mortal in this land. They can and did speak, in their own language. I have even taken it upon myself to educate myself in this ancient language. Dragons are the ultimate beings. So naturally, when I heard of a man who ruled over these dragons, I immediately dismissed it as a fairy tale. But as I traveled, I began to hear these stories more and more. Then I began to notice striking similarities in them. Many ancient tribes (mostly of Skyrim) have legends of a time when dragons roamed the lands freely. One story intrigues me in particular. Why? Because there are two different versions of this story, both virtually identical save for one major difference. The story involves a hero who travels the land, overcoming many obstacles, like most any good children's story. At one point in the story, the hero is taken to a land known only as "Norsedov." Interestingly enough, the name itself is draconic for "Land of Dragonkind," or "Land of the Dragons." Anyway, within hours of entering this land, the hero is surrounded by several dragons. One particularly large, black dragon descends and lands in front of the hero. It is then that the hero notices that there is a man riding on the back of this massive dragon. The man dismounts and speaks to the hero.

And this, my friends, is where the stories separate. Version one: "I am Karsten," the man says. "You are trespassing upon my land. What is your purpose here?" He is lean and hard, but his voice is gentle, and the hero tells him the journey. "Very well," the man says once the hero has finished. "I will accept your tale. But know this: my land is merciless. You will find no sanctuary here. Conclude your business and leave this place. And do not return again." And with that, Karsten climbs atop the black dragon once more and flies away. In the second version, the hero is not so lucky. This time, the man wears a strange mask that obscures his face. When he speaks, he speak in a language foreign to the hero. "Zu'u Suleyk. Hi meyzvolaan voknau nori. Tinvaak nu, uv aus." The hero then explains that he cannot understand the man. The man is apparently irritated by the hero's statement. "Very well then," he says. "I am Suleyk. You are trespassing on my land. Leave now, or you may find death come sooner than you wish." The hero then explains that he cannot leave, and that he is on a mission. "Your petty mortal squabbles are of no concern of mine. Bo Nah Gut! Leave now, while you still can." The hero is adamant, and Suleyk seems amused by his persistence. "Alright then," he says, and then yell a word. "Krahdufeim!"

A pale dragon descends and lands next to them. It bows its head and says, "Thuri."

Suleyk turns to the hero. "You will fight this dovah. Should you win, I will grant permission to walk my lands."

"And should I lose?" the hero asks.

Suleyk is silent for a moment. "Hi fen dir. Did I not mention the fight was to the death?"

And so a battle begins. Needless to say, the hero wins and Suleyk keeps his promise. This book, however, is not a bout the hero and his journey, it is about dragons, so let us turn our attention the dragon the hero fights, specifically, the word he speaks. "Thur" translates to Overlord, and when combined with the suffix "-i" it becomes "Thuri" or "My Overlord." Those who are aware of dragon history will know the significance of the term Thuri. The dragons have one and only one overlord. The great dragon, Alduin the World-Eater. So for this dragon to call a man Thuri... It is unheard of. Another thing that strikes my interest is the name Suleyk itself. It is draconic for power. The only humans who with names in the dragon language were the dragon priests in the ancient Dragon Cult. The mask that is mentioned in the story is another clue, as the highest ranking dragon priests would be granted special masks by the dragons. Yet despite all my research, I have not found the name Suleyk at any point in history, dragon priest or no, save in these unreliable legends. And again, I wonder. Why are these stories so similar, yet some having the generous Karsten and others the ruthless Suleyk. Are they the same person? Did either of them ever exist? I believe so. You may think it a simple child's tale, as I first did, but after hearing the tale over and over again from all over Skyrim, I believe there once was a man, a man with power rivaling even Tiber Septim's, and that he was even able to tame dragons.

Aila set the book down and rubbed her eyes. Kathryn was right. It was fantasy. She found it hard to believe that a dragon would allow a man to ride it. Kathryn... Aila had only been gone three days and she already missed her. She hoped she would get this over with quickly. The sooner she finished, the sooner she could get back to her. At least now the trip was almost over. Aila could see Whiterun far off in the distance. Just a few more hours and she would arrive.

Fortunately, Aila would not have to wait much. At night, she found that sleep would not come as easily at it normally did. She put that down the absence of the warm arms that were usually wrapped tightly around her. But now, Aila's eyelids were heavy and her head was sagging, and the much-needed sleep soon took ahold of her.

She woke to the sound of the carriage driver's voice. "Hey! Lady! We've arrived."

"Huh? Oh, uh, right. Um, twenty gold, was it?"

"Aye."

Aila grabbed a small coinpurse and tossed it to him. She jumped out of the carriage and looked toward the walls of Whiterun. As she made her way toward the gate, she saw a small group of Khajiit settled sown by the side of the road. The sight of them sparked her interest. She had seen Khajiit before, back in the Imperial City, but she had always been frightened of them and never interacted with them. But then, that was years ago.

No, Aila thought. That was just a few months ago. Five at most. It was almost impossible to believe that in just five months, she had befriended a werewolf, joined the Companions, left the Companions, killed a dragon, and joined the Thieves' Guild. Aila couldn't help but wonder what else the Gods had in store for her.

Aila entered the Khajiit's camp and found a warm greeting. "Ah, welcome, welcome," said one Khajiit in rather fine clothing which, admittedly, looked odd on the cat-man. "This one is called Ri'saad. What is it that brings such a beauty to our caravan?" He held out his hand.

Aila felt her cheeks reddening as she took it. "Caravan? You're shopkeepers?" she asked.

"Of a sorts," Ri'saad answered. "The Nords do not let us inside their cities so instead, we travel from place to place, selling our wares. Perhaps you would like to buy?"

"Perhaps," Aila said. "Why is it you're no allowed inside the cities?"

"The Nords do not trust us," he said simply. "They think us thieves and skooma dealers. This one is clad that you do not seem to agree."

Aila gave him a friendly smile. "Well it wouldn't be fair to not even give you a chance, would it? Now, you wished to show me your wares?"

The cat-man smiled back. "Yes, we have many fine items for sale. Is there anything specific you have in mind?"

"Hmm... Well, I need a new blade." She pulled out her dagger and show it to him. It was worn out and had stared to rust. "Do you have any daggers for sale?"

"Ah, yes. Ri'saad knows just what you need." He opened up a nearby chest and rummaged through it. "Ah, here it is." He grabbed a piece of cloth and brought it to Aila. He placed it in her hands.

"What's this?" Aila asked.

"Unwrap it."

Aila gingerly folded back the ends of the cloth until she saw the glimmer of metal. "Oh, wow."

"This one knew you would like it. The dagger is of elven make. Suitable for one such as yourself."

"Yes, I suppose so. How much will it cost?"

"One hundred and twenty septims," said Ri'saad.

"One hundred and twenty septims? For a dagger?"

"This dagger is of an extremely high quality. It was crafted by one of the best blacksmiths this caravan has been fortunate enough to come across."

"I don't know..."

"How abut this: for your kindness, Ri'saad will make the price one hundred."

Aila laughed. "Alright, alright. Here." She handed him two coinpurses. "Fifty, and fifty. There, one hundred." In all honesty, Aila had no idea whether or not a hundred gold was a fair price, but it didn't really matter. She needed a new blade and she could always just make the money back. "Now, I really must get going."

"Of course. Ri'saad thanks you for your business."

Aila inclined her head in farewell and continued her way to the gate. Once there, she receive the usual guard greeting of "Welcome to Whiterun. Keep your nose clean while you're here, elf" and entered the city. Everything looked exactly as she remembered it. Apparently nothing had changed while she was gone. Not that she had expected it to. She headed first to the Bannered Mare. She was going to need a room. Halfway there, she heard a shout.

"You!" Aila turned toward the voice and saw Aela bounding after her. The moment she was close enough, she punched Aila in the arm.

"Oww..." Aila groaned, rubbing her arm.

"You little harlot!" Aela continued. "We all thought you were dead!"

"S-sorry."

"Sorry? You go missing or a month and all you have to say is sorry? Where's Kathryn? Isn't she with you?"

"No, Kathryn is back in Riften. She couldn't come."

"Riften," Aela said. "So that's where you've been."

"Well, we were sent there."

"I didn't even think you made it that far. We found your camp, but it had been completely demolished. Burned to the ground. And then, there was that skeleton..."

"You mean the dragon skeleton?" Aila asked.

"Yes... I suppose it was a dragon's. What in Oblivion happened, Aila?"

"Well... we were attacked... by a dragon... and we managed to kill it and continued to Riften."

"You killed a dragon," Aela said, incredulous. "by yourselves?"

"It's not like it was easy." Aila sighed. "Look, Aela, I'm only going to be in Whiterun for a little while. Kathryn and I have found something else for us. Something we're actually good at. We're not coming back to the Companions."

"Something else?" Aela questioned. "What did you find?"

"That's not important. Can you just tell Kodlak that we wont be coming back?"

Aela suddenly looked very sad. "Aila... Kodlak's dead.

"What? How?"

"The Silver-Hand. They got bold one night and decided to attack us at Jorrvaskr."

'The Silver-Hand?" Aila asked. "Who are they?"

"They're a bunch of werewolf hunters. They don't like werewolves, so they don't like the Companions."

"Oh. Aela, I' sorry. I know he was like a father to you."

"He was like a father to us all," Aela said.

"Who's the Harbinger now?" Ail asked.

"Skjor." There was a short moment of silence. Then, "Aila, when you go back, tell Kathryn to be careful. If word gets back to the Silver-Hand that there is a werewolf in Riften, they will hunt her down."

"I will." There was no way Aila would let anyone hurt Kathryn. Then something occurred to Aila. "By the way, how did you know I was here so quickly?"

Aela reached up and tapped her nose. "I recognized your scent the moment you stepped into the city."

"My scent?" What do I smell like?"

Aela sniffed. "Sort of like pine needles. It's kind of pleasant, actually."

"Oh, good. For a moment I thought you were going to say I smell like a skeever, or something."

Aela laughed. "No, not at all."

"Yes, well," Aila said. "I have to go. There's something I need to do. It's good seeing you again."

"It's good knowing you're alive. I'll see you around." Aila started to leave, but then Aela called out to her again. "You know, you seem different, Aila. More sure of yourself. It's a nice change."

Aila smiled at her. "Thanks."