~X~
~ Helgen - Sundas, 17th of Last Seed, 4E 201 ~
"You were caught trying to cross the border, right?" Ralof continued. "Walked right into that Imperial ambushed, same as us, and that thief over there," he motioned his head toward said thief.
"Damn you Stormcloaks," the thief, Lokir, spat. "Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell."
I stayed quiet as I listened to the lines ripped straight from the game.
Lokir turned his head to me. "You two. We shouldn't be here! It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants!"
I blinked when I heard something different.
"Two?" I said.
"Aye. The boy sitting next to you," Ralof answered.
I turned to my right and saw a boy, about fourteen, maybe fifteen years old, asleep. He had white hair and wore a black shirt, brown coat, black pants, and brown boots.
I was floored. It felt like I was hit with all the force of a speeding train because I recognized the boy right away.
Bell Cranel, the protagonist of Danmachi.
'What the hell is he doing here?!'
"You don't know him?" Ralof asked curiously. "He was found knocked out next to you."
"I don't… Well, there's one way to find out," I placed a hand on his shoulder and slowly shook him awake.
"Hm… what…?" Bell blearily opened his eyes. "I'm not dead?"
I raised an eyebrow at that. Why would Bell think he died?
Bell woke up more and took in his surroundings.
"W-Wait… What the heck! Where am I?!" he tried to move his arms but noticed his hands were bound. "What?!"
"Hey, calm down kid," I squeezed Bell's shoulder for reassurance. It seemed to work when he looked at me. "What's your name?"
"B-Bell Cranel."
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"I… I was fighting a minotaur," Bell said, and I saw the surprise on the other passengers' faces, even Ulfric. "I… It cornered me and… the last thing I remember seeing was its fist coming right at me. Everything went black after that. Next thing I know I woke up here."
Cornered by a minotaur… Was it the same minotaur that Ais saved him from in the anime? Although, from the way Bell described it, things went differently.
"Huh… You're very lucky to come out of that alive, lad," Ralof said. "Though, maybe unlucky too, considering we're now brothers and sisters in binds…"
"And what's with him?" Lokir looked at Ulfric. "Why is he the only one of us that's gagged."
"Watch your tongue!" Ralof immediately jumped to his leader's defense. "You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King!"
"U-Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm?" Lokir went extremely pale. "Y-Y-You're the leader of the rebellion! But if they captured you…" he started to hyperventilate. "Oh gods… Where are they taking us?!"
"I don't know, but Sovengarde awaits," Ralof solemnly said.
"No! This can't be happening! This isn't happening!"
Lokir's panic was now affecting Bell, who was shivering a little.
"Don't worry. Just stick with me and you'll be fine," I said, squeezing his shoulder to reassure him again.
It seemed to work because he calmed down again and nodded.
I tuned out Ralof and Lokir as they continued through their scripted lines. It was interesting to think that despite Bell's unexpected appearance, some things don't change.
What's that phrase? 'The more things change, the more they stay the same.'
"General Tullius! The headsman's waiting!" a random soldier shouted.
"Headsman?!" Bell squeaked.
"It'll be fine, Bell. Trust me," I said and Bell managed a shaky nod.
A couple of minutes passed as we went through Helgen. Much like when I first went to Solitude last year, Helgen was much bigger than the game portrayed it to be. I'm actually excited to see the other cities of Skyrim.
"Hm?" I noticed something in the distance that the others noticed because I turned to look.
Over in the distance, seated on horses, were General Tullius and Ambassador Elenwen.
"Thalmor…" Ralof growled and Ulfric glared with hatred. "Damn elves. I knew they had something to do with this."
"That's an elf?" Bell whispered.
Right… the elves that Bell's used to look more like humans. They don't have any with golden skin.
Still, not important right now.
"Shut up and listen," I told Ralof, and listened in.
"General Tullius, stop!" Elenwen demanded. "By the authority of the Thalmor, I'm taking custody of these prisoners."
"Ambassador Elenwen, I guessed you wouldn't want to miss an execution," Tullius said. "Do you know my guest, Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm, once candidate to Skyrim's throne, traitor of the Empire?" he said that conversationally, but he soon turned serious and fixed Elenwen with a glare. "If you want him alive, you'll have to take him by force!"
"You're making a terrible mistake…" Elenwen said with warning.
"I will put an end to this rebellion here and now, rightfully in my position as Legion General," Tullius said in a final tone.
"Your Emperor will hear of this. By the terms of the White-Gold Concordat, I operate with full Imperial Auth-"
We heard no more as the cart wheeled away from them.
Interesting. This conversation wasn't in the game, but I guess the Thalmor were here to take Ulfric in her custody so he could 'escape' later. They wanted this civil war to go on as long as possible, to make the Empire waste resources and have less for the eventual restart of the Great War.
Still…
"Haha," I chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Ralof said.
"Just the look on the elf's face at being told 'no.'"
Ralof simply grunted. I don't think he found it as funny as I did. Probably thinking about the future execution, or he didn't want to give Tullius any kind of credit.
Soon enough we reached a familiar clearing. There was a full Legion century, a priestess of Arkay, and the headsman.
We all stepped off the cart and I saw the Legion Captain and Hadvar. They read off the list, Lokir did a runner and died for it, and the list continued until it was only me and Bell.
"Hey, you two, step forward," Hadvar said and we did so. "Who are you?"
Finally, the question I've been waiting for to get out of this mess.
"A-"
"Ashe?" a familiar voice interrupted me.
I turned to it and saw it was Elisif standing beside her housecarl, Bolgeir, and General Tullius.
I… didn't expect to see her here.
But it made sense.
If the Empire knew exactly where and when Ulfric was going to be, even how many people would be with him, and then quickly execute him afterward, then they would definitely want the contestant claimant and the wife of the man Ulfric killed to witness his execution.
Also, Elisif would want to be here too, to see the death of Ulfric and gain some measure of closure.
"Elisif, I'm a little surprised to see you here," I said. With her here, explaining who I am just got a whole lot easier.
She glanced at my bound hands and back at me. "What happened?"
"I left Bruma shortly after I got your letter. I was coming up from the Pale Pass, ran into that ambush, and a battlemage got lucky and knocked me out."
"Really?" she said in surprise. She knew how skilled I was.
I shrugged.
"And the boy?" Elisif glanced at Bell.
"He's with me," I immediately said.
She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything and nodded. She took General Tullius to the side to talk about my release. Soon enough, General Tullius approached us.
"Hadvar, take those off them," Tullius said.
"Yes, sir."
"I apologize for the mix-up," Tullius genuinely said.
"It's alright, no harm done, in the end," I rubbed my wrists. "Come on," I grabbed Bell's shoulder and led him to where Elisif was standing. She handed me my katana and I nodded to her in thanks.
Bell looked around the whole time, looking lost at what to do.
"I know you're most likely confused but we'll sit down and have a proper talk once all this business is over with," I whispered to him and he nodded.
I looked back toward the execution ground and Tullius walked up to Ulfric. I hate to give Ulfric credit but he stared right back at Tullius without a flinch
"Ulfric Stormcloak, some people call you a hero… But a hero doesn't use the power of the Voice to murder his King and usurp his throne," Tullius paused to let the weight of the crime sink in but Ulfric doesn't feel an ounce of shame. "Your greed and lust for power have brought nothing but chaos and death to the land and people of Skyrim. By my authority as the Imperial Military Governor of Skyrim and General of the Imperial Legion, and in accordance with the order of execution signed by the Emperor and the Elder Council, I sentence you to death by beheading. Give them their last rites."
As the priestess said their last rites only to be interrupted by an impatient Stormcloak, I heard something in the distance that sounded like a rumble of thunder.
Sounds like Alduin is coming…
Let's hope my prodigal talent and years of training pay off.
~X~
Bell Cranel
Bell… had no idea what to think about what was going on. Everything was just happening so fast.
He thought he died to that minotaur. But then he woke up, alive, on that cart, his hands tied, and in an unknown land.
Based on what he'd heard, he was in a kingdom called Skyrim, and the gagged man he was sitting next to had killed their King and started a rebellion.
He had never heard of Skyrim before. He had never seen a golden-skinned elf before.
He wanted to find answers and it seemed his best chance would be with the girl called Ashe.
Bell turned away with a flinch when the headsman's axe came down on the rebel's neck.
He was feeling queasy, having to witness an execution. So, instead, he focused on the one who said she would help him.
She was a few centimeters taller, had black hair, and blue eyes. She was wearing a black shirt, black pants, dark brown boots, and a blue coat with a gold serpentine pattern, gold trim, and three separated coattails. Finally, she was holding a sheathed katana in her left hand.
Bell didn't know what to think of her since he just met her but, so far, she seemed like a nice person, going out of her way to make him feel safe.
Once again, this sound of thunder went through the air. It was louder so everyone heard it and swiveled their heads around trying to find the source.
"Did you hear that?"
"There it was again…"
Some soldiers muttered.
"It's nothing. Carry on." General Tullius said.
Bell looked at Ashe to see she was completely focused on the direction the sound came from. Her eyes were a sharp glare and the thumb of her left hand was on the guard, like she was ready to push the sword out, and her right hand slowly gripped the handle.
Something about the sound had Ashe on edge.
Speaking of the sound, he heard it again. This time, it was much closer, close enough that Bell could tell it was a roar, a roar so loud and deep that the beast it came from must be big.
He turned in the direction it came from and…
And…
"What in Oblivion is that?!" Tullius shouted.
The beast landed on the tower close to the clearing and almost everyone lost their balance.
It was big, bigger than anything he had ever seen.
"DRAGON!" someone shouted
The dragon then… Shouted into the sky. The world shook and what was once a clear day turned dark as dark oppressive clouds covered the sky and swirled around an 'eye' in the storm…
…And from that 'eye', huge flaming pieces of rock fell from the sky, destroying the town.
The dragon took off and started breathing fire all over the town.
People started panicking, trying to get to safety, and General Tullius tried to gather his soldiers to mount some kind of defense.
Bell stood still and kept staring in horror. He had that look ever since he saw the dragon's blood-red eyes and black scales.
There was only one dragon… one monster… that had scales as black at midnight.
"T-The… B-Black D-D-Dragon…"
All Bell could do was stand there. He was frozen in fear…
How was he supposed to survive against the monster that killed the Zeus and Hera Familias?!
"AL-DU-IN!"
Bell turned in the direction of the shout that seemed to shake the world. It was Ashe, her clothes were covered in some soot. The woman named Elisif was following her along with Elsif's bodyguard and an Imperial soldier.
Ashe then turned to Bell.
"Bell, head with these three to the keep. It leads underground, so it will be the safest place to be from the dragon."
"What about you?" Elisif said, concerned.
"I'm going to kill it."
"What?!"
"El, we don't have time to argue. Just go."
Elisif wanted to say more but the dragon was coming closer.
Ashe turned to the Black Dragon as it landed on the tower again. She unsheathed her katana and pointed it at the dragon.
"Al-du-in! Zu'u fen kos fin gein wah krii hi!"
"Hmph. Pahlok joor!" the dragon sneered as much as a dragon could. "Hin kah fen kos bonaar!"
The dragon spoke…
…It spoke!
And Ashe spoke to it in the same language!
Ashe's left hand glowed a light blue and she waved it in front of her. Eight swords that looked like they were made of magic appeared around and flew at the Black Dragon so fast that Bell could barely see them.
The Black Dragon simply took the blows with no issue and flew into the sky.
Ashe jumped up and… FLEW OFF INTO THE SKY, TOO?!
Bell, and several soldiers and villagers still alive, looked into the sky to see Ashe shooting blades of magic at the Black Dragon, and the dragon returned fire with… well, fire.
"Jarl Elisif, we must move. We still have to get you and the villagers to safety," the Imperial soldier urged.
Elisif barely managed to tear her eyes away from the battle in the sky. "Yes… Yes, let's go."
Bell and the others ran to keep while taking some quick glances into the sky.
Because now, on top of the flying magic swords, Ashe was casting spells that… Well, frankly, her spells looked like stars.
~X~
Ashe Carvain
"Fire Wall!" I shouted.
A red transparent barrier materialized in front of me as Alduin's flames came from above.
Fire Wall was originally a spell from the Persona series and it increased one's fire resistance. Here, I made it a ward that can block any and all fire, a perfect spell against fire-breathing dragons.
As the flames disappeared and he flew past me, I flew faster to catch up to him while creating more Mirage Blades that fired off and hit Alduin.
As I caught up to him, I cast a spell I like to call, Astral Star Shower. It's a spell I created based on the stars. I was inspired by Glintstone Sorceries from Elden Ring to create a whole new list of spells based around stars and the cosmic universe.
Anyway, I had to get in close to be able to hit Alduin with these. They weren't as fast as my Mirage Blades and Alduin can be surprisingly agile, given that he was about the same size as Balerion. And isn't that a surprise? But I guess it shouldn't be since games don't usually translate well to reality.
On top of Alduin being big and agile, I also didn't want to cause collateral damage by missing and accidentally hitting Helgen. Astral explosions cause a lot of destruction.
The Astral Star Shower was actually doing some damage, but he was healing as fast as I damaged him. I'm pissed at that because my spell is considered Master Tier and Alduin is shrugging it off like it's just a bug bite.
Then I was surprised when he, once again moving faster than his size implied, quickly banked to the right and caught the updraft of some burning buildings. He was on me in seconds. He stretched his neck out and went for a bite that missed me by inches. In my haste to dodge, I didn't notice he dove down to increase his speed and angled his wings so the bony part of it would clothesline me across the back.
I was stunned by the force and tumbled to the ground, hitting a windmill blade, a wooden balcony, and finally a food stand in the town center on the way down.
Alduin landed close by. He rumbled toward me and readied another Fire Breath. I quickly got to my feet and used Fire Wall. Once Alduin was close enough, he stopped his shout and lunged for a bite. I materialized a Mirage Blade in my hand and swung at the side of his mouth to redirect it to the right while I sidestepped left.
I conjured another Mirage Blade in my left hand and swung at his side, but I couldn't pierce his scales. I retreated back just as Alduin turned toward me for another bite. I made more Mirage Blades around Alduin, in all different directions, then unleashed them all at the same time. Some of the hits were successful and injured him, but it was superficial and healed quickly.
Damn it… Nothing I do permanently hurts him…. And I've been using my best spells. I can't keep this up for long as my stamina is finally starting to run out.
Using my magicka I pushed as much as I could to Reinforce my body. Increase strength and agility.
I charged Alduin and, as I expected, he went for another lunging bite. With my Reinforced agility, I dodged it by centimeters and jumped in the air to go for a flying strike toward his eye. I even used my flight spell to increase my speed in the air. I stabbed forward with as much strength as I could, Mirage Blade was just about to pierce his eye when…
"TIID KLO UL!"
Oh, shit…
Alduin blurred.
He shifted his head and easily dodged. Then it came back at me. I tried to raise my blades to block but he was too fast and his head hit me with full force. Some of his scales were sharp enough to cut through my skin even though I had it Reinforced.
My blades vanished and I skipped across the ground until I was barely able to right myself and come to a sliding stop. I tried to stand but fell on one knee, my stamina now spent.
Alduin took his time stalking up to me and looking down. I stared back in defiance while I tried to figure a way out.
"Not bad, little mortal. But you are weak before me," he spoke in Dovahzul.
He turned on his feet and swung his tail at me. The tail slammed into my side and I skipped across the ground until I crashed into the remains of a burned-down house.
Alduin let out a roar of triumph and took to the sky, leaving behind the burning remains of the village.
All I could do was watch the blurry image of him fly further and further away before I passed out from exhaustion.
~X~
Author's Note:
Chapter Done!
The first battle against Alduin happened much sooner than expected.
Unfortunately, while Ashe may be powerful, she is nowhere near Alduin's level of power. At least, not until she starts absorbing some Dragon Souls.
The Astral Star Shower spell is a spell from the mod, Stellaris.
And believe it or not, there's a mod for Vergil's Mirage Blades.
.
Dovahzul Translations:
Al-du-in! Zu'u fen kos fin gein wah krii hi! - Alduin! I will be the one to kill you!
Pahlok joor! Hin kah fen kos bonaar! - Arrogant mortal! Your pride will be humbled!
Ni volzah, mal joor. Nuz hi los sahlo us zu'u. - Not bad, little mortal. But you are weak before me.
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As always, constructive criticism is appreciated.