The Legend of Zelda: Skyrim - Chapter 2: Dragon!
To those of you who have read this before: Yes, this is a re-write. I know it took me over a year but hey, I finally got around to it. Thanks to Xero I'm better at writing now and I hope the rewrites of this and the first 1 other chapter (up to chapter 3) look better. Anyway, I'll let all of you get reading.
Reviews for 1-3 on and past today (2-12-21) are for the new 1-3 chapters.
"No, wait, we're not rebels! You gotta tell them, this is a mistake!" Lokir protested as Ulfric stepped up to the edge of the cart and jumped to the dirt.
The armored woman from before walked up and merely said. "Shut up, out of the cart. Now." before she walked away over to a man standing a few feet away holding a quill and a piece of parchment.
"Face your death with some courage, thief. You're not making this any better for yourself."
Lokir half-turned to glare at Ralof, who continued speaking. "Save some face for the kid, Lokir, he has enough problems to worry about, I don't need you adding any more."
Lokir looked like he was going to respond, but then moved his gaze to Link, who was currently standing at the edge of the cart, looking down, trying to figure out just how he was going to get down in the first place. "Need help?" Any possible anger was gone from the man's voice and he gave a curt nod to Ralof as he waited for Link's response.
Link nodded, then reached out and gripped Lokir's right shoulder for support, then leapt down from the cart. He stumbled a bit as he landed but steadied himself, then looked back to see Ralof jump from the cart with ease.
"Empire loves their damn lists." He then spoke to Link. "See that woman up there? She's an Imperial Captain."
The woman from earlier then spoke. "Step forward to the block when we call your name. Don't even think about running."
'The "block"? What is that?'
"Ulfric Stormcloak." Ulfric walked up to the captain.
"Jarl of Windhelm, guilty of murder, high treason, and sentenced to death." The man standing next to the captain wrote something down on the parchment, then looked up as Ulfric walked off to the left.
Ralof shared a glance with Ulfric for a second. "It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric."
Ulfric nodded and then walked off.
"Next in line."
Ralof gazed down at Link and then gave a sad smile. "Good luck, Link. You're going to need it." Then the man walked forward.
"Name?"
"Ralof, proud son of Skyrim. Although I think you'd know that, Hadvar."
The man seemed to ignore Ralof as he wrote something down on the parchment. "Stormcloak, sentenced to death."
Ralof glared at Hadvar, then looked back at Link before he stepped forwards a bit and said something to the Imperial, who looked between Ralof and Link, then back to Ralof.
"Move it, Stormcloak, I won't tell you again."
Ralof glared at the Imperial Captain for a second before he walked off.
The man looked down at the parchment for a second, then back up. "Next in line." Lokir stepped forwards. "Name?"
"Lokir, and I'm not a Stormcloak. I was just trying to escape the border when I so happened to come across the battle."
Hadvar looked down at the parchment again, then back up. "Says right here you are, sorry."
Lokir took a deep breath, then looked back at Link. "Good luck, kid."
He then started to run past Hadvar and the captain. The captain yelled at him to stop, but he kept running down the cobblestone road. "No! Please, all I did was steal a horse! I'm not a rebel!"
Then the captain called out "archers" and a nearby soldier notched an arrow to his bow, then fired it. A lone arrow sailed through the air and struck Lokir in the back. He fell without a word and didn't get up.
'They killed him.'
"Next in line?" Hadvar's voice distracted Link and the Hylian stepped forwards in silence.
"Wait..." Hadvar looked down at the list, then back up at Link, his brown eyes narrowed a bit. They then widened slightly. "You were there at the crossing!"
Link didn't know how he ended up half kneeling before Hadvar and the captain; as he looked up in confusion, his vision blurred and then focused, the left side of his face feeling like he had been punched.
"What was that for?"
"He killed almost seven men, Hadvar. If it wasn't for me, you'd most likely be dead." The captain looked down. "Get up."
Link thought of saying something, but he merely set his jaw and stood. General Tullius shouted at the woman for being unprofessional, then walked over to the three of them.
"I don't remember...I...I can't have..." 'I can't have almost killed people.' He simply looked up at the man in denial.
Tullius gave Link a grim nod. "There's blood on your hands, boy, look."
The Hero of Twilight looked down and turned his hands over, revealing his palms to be stained with dried blood.
Link realized that his wrists were also stained with blood and after a second, he let his hands fall back to where they had been and looked up. "I don't remember, so... The wounded...Will they die?"
"No. They'll live."
The captain glared at Tullius. "Why are you being nice to him, he almost killed seven of our men!"
"Because I realize that 'those seven men' are the first people that he has ever wounded in battle. Doing that changes you." Tullius looked down at Link for a second, then back up at the captain and Hadvar. "I'll be over by the block if you need me."
The Imperial Captain and Hadvar nodded to General Tullius as he walked away and Hadvar looked down at the parchment again before looking back up. "What's your name?"
'He's trying to calm me down, isn't he? I really do appreciate that.'
Link didn't speak for a few seconds, as he was still dealing with the fact that he had hurt and killed people before he had woken up on the prisoner cart. 'I wish I could remember what happened. Or maybe it's best that I don't...'
"You know, captain, I think that head wound you gave him caused him to forget what he did."
The captain said nothing in response to Hadvar, but instead glared at Link, who ignored her and spoke to Hadvar.
"Link Farmanne."
Hadvar wrote something down on the parchment, then looked up. "And where are you from, Link?"
"Hyrule."
Hadvar held Link's gaze for a moment, then looked to his right at the captain. "I've never heard of it, have you?"
"No."
Hadvar looked back at Link and seemed to study him for a moment. "You're not of age, are you?"
"No, I'm seventeen."
The man looked down at the parchment again, then over at the captain. "What should we do? He's not on the list?"
The captain glanced at Hadvar. "Forget the list."
Hadvar's eyes widened a bit. "Are...Are you sure? Captain, if I may object..."
"My word is final, Hadvar. He almost killed seven of our men." The woman's gaze moved to Link. "Judge me how you will, but he goes to the block."
The captain walked off to the left and Hadvar eyed her for a moment, then moved his gaze back to Link. Hadvar looked down at the parchment again, then sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I will personally make sure we return your remains to your homeland. Somehow." Hadvar waved the hand holding the quill to the left. "Follow the captain, please, it's best if you don't make this more difficult."
Link looked to where Hadvar was pointing the quill and looked at the scene in front of him for a while in silence before he spoke. "I guess I have no choice…"
"No. I highly suggest you follow the order you were given...sometime soon, if possible. I'd rather not make this difficult."
Link cast his gaze downward for a second, then looked up at Hadvar. "It was nice talking to you." He looked back at the other prisoners, the Imperials standing around, the tower, then he saw the headman standing around ten feet away holding a blood stained war axe; a wicker basket was set before a chopping block. Both Ulfric and Ralof were watching him and he simply nodded in response, then looked back at Hadvar. "If I really am going to die...At least I saved Hyrule before doing so."
The man gave him an interested look. "You...saved your homeland? How?"
"If I had more time, I'd gladly tell you."
The Hero of Twilight reluctantly walked over to the others and ended up standing beside Ralof to his right, who merely gave him a nod as General Tullius walked up to Ulfric.
"Ulfric Stormcloak. Some here in Helgen call you a hero, but a hero doesn't use the Voice to muster a king and usurp his throne."
Ulfric glared at Tullius and grunted in protest, but the general kept talking.
"You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down, and restore the peace."
A roar of some sort came from the north, over the visible mountains. Everyone looked up for a few seconds, including Link, and Hadvar audibly addressed the question no doubt everyone else was thinking. "What was that?"
Tullius waved a hand. "It's nothing. Carry on."
The Imperial took this as a sign to speak and she nodded. "Yes, General Tullius."
The armored woman turned to speak to a woman that was dressed in golden robes.
"Priestess of Arkay." Ralof informed Link, who nodded in silence.
"Give then their last rites."
The Priestess of Arkay nodded as the Imperial Captain stepped back, then raised her hands a bit. "As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you, for you are the salt and earth of Nirn, our beloved-"
She was interrupted by a Stormcloak soldier stepping forward. "For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with."
The priestess broke off from speaking and glared at the Stormcloak before bowing her head a bit. "As you wish."
The Stormcloak walked up to Tullius, who waved a hand towards the chopping block and wicker basket. The man then turned to the right and walked up to said chopping block, before Tulluis walked up and shoved the man to his knees by laying a hand on one of his shoulders and pushing downward.
"Come on, I haven't got all morning.", retorted the Stormcloak as Tullius nodded to the Headsman, then kicked the soldier in the small of the back, causing the man to fall onto the chopping block.
"My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials, can you say the same?" It seemed the Stormcloak wanted to get one last insult in before he died, but no one responded to the doomed man as the headsman readied his axe, then began to raise it.
As the axe reached its peak and then began to descend, Link caught its glint just before the Hylian closed his eyes and flinched as he heard a thud. He then heard various outbursts from onlookers as Link dared to open his eyes. He was rewarded with a grim sight - the Stormcloak had been beheaded, his body was lying beside the chopping block, while his severed head was lying in the wicker basket.
He didn't know how long he stared at the dead body before he noticed that the Imperial Captain was looking right at him. A few seconds passed before the woman spoke again. "Next, the outsider."
There was only one person she could be referring to, judging that everyone there was now looking at Link, who found that he couldn't move from existential dread and fear. 'I can't die like this.', was all the Hylian could think of as he then heard a distant roar and looked up, eyes focused on the mountains in the distance.
"There it is again, did you not hear that?"
The Imperial Captain seemed to ignore Hadvar as he spoke. "I said, next prisoner!"
Link then felt all of his fear and dread melt away, only to be replaced with a sort of calmness. He then heard Hadvar speak. "His hand, look! What is that?"
The Hero of Twilight looked down at his left hand, only to find that the Triforce of Courage had returned to him somehow, even after he had given it up after defeating Dragmire. The mark blazed brightly, even in broad daylight, and as he watched, the light died down until it appeared to be a simple mark, nothing more. Still the calm feeling didn't go away.
"What was that?"
Link looked up to find Tullius staring at him with an unreadable expression. "It's the power of my gods. You could say I'm the champion of one of them."
The Imperial Captain shook her head. "I don't care about some outside gods and legends, what I care about is you receiving your sentence for almost seven men!"
Hadvar glanced at Tullius and the captain for a moment, before he shook his head. "To the block, Link, nice and easy. I'm sorry you got caught up in this mess."
He began to think about certain people he had met as he began to slowly walk towards the chopping block. The first, was Iilia. So many things to think about, so little time to do so. 'I'm sorry I'll never get to say goodbye, to discuss our lives together further…'
Next was Rusul and the other occupants of Ordon Village. They had helped raise him after his parents had been killed by King Bulbin seven years ago. 'Thank you, Rusul, for taking me in. Teaching me about life, helping me learn how to fight.'
He thought briefly about Zelda, and how they had both helped each other. 'I hope you're a good Queen to everyone. I wonder if you'll know what happened to me.'
His birth parents were next. He didn't remember them as well as he would have wanted to, but he had seen both of them in the Temple of Time, and he wondered if they could see him now, even here. 'I wonder if the two of you can see me? Is...Is it cowardly of me to ask if it hurts to die?'
And then, there was Midna. His companion, the person who had yelled at him when he deserved it, the one who had comforted him when he had needed it, his best friend. 'I wish you would have told me you were leaving. Still, it would have hurt, but I could have at least had more warning to steel myself...Still, I understand. You have a kingdom to rule over, people to protect...I'm sorry you won't ever know what happened to me.'
Link was before the chopping block now and he found that he hated standing there, simply waiting. Hadvar was standing in front of him, looking at him sympathetically, while the headman eyed Link behind his helmet. "Are you sure about this, General Tullius? He doesn't look like he's even come of age yet."
The older man scowled. "You have your orders, headsman." His voice was close by, Link felt someone place a hand on his right shoulder, then he was forced to his knees. 'Well, here I am, about to die in a forgiven land, with no one back home knowing what will happen to me.'
Someone, most likely Tullius, kicked Link in the small of his back and he fell forwards, his head hanging over the wicker basket as he got a very good look at the severed head inside it before he looked up at the headsman. 'I suppose I'm at peace. Strange how that sounds.'
Something appeared in the distance, some sort of creature. It was black, it had scales, and it was flying towards Helgen.
No one seemed to have noticed it save for Link and he caught the headsman looking down at him.
"What are you looking at? Is there something behind me?"
Link didn't respond, he could only look up at the flying thing as it revealed itself to be a massive Dragon. The headsman began to raise his axe, then stumbled as the beast landed atop the tower before the chopping block.
The headsman turned around, then dropped his axe as he stumbled from view. Link could only look up at the massive scaled beast in silent awe and fear. 'Does this mean I'm not going to die?'
The Hylian heard various people panicking as the black dragon continued to stare directly at Link, then it raised its massive head to the sky and roared, causing flaming rocks to fall upon Helgen. The dragon then returned its gaze to him but then was knocked backwards by something, some sort of force that knocked the chopping block over and caused Link to fall to the bloodstained dirt.
He didn't know how long he lay there for, or if he had really been knocked senseless. However, he knew that he was still alive, despite the Imperial's intentions, and he planned on staying that way.
He heard something, most likely the dragon, roar something.
"RO...DAH!"
Somewhere overheard and Link heard various curses and people yelling somewhere close by. The Hylian slowly got up and looked around, his vision still focusing as he tried to get his bearings. An Imperial wielding a bow nearly ran into him and the two looked at each other for a second, before the older man reached out, grabbed Link by a shoulder, and shook him slightly. "You need to get out of here! It isn't safe!"
The Imperial let go of Link, notched an arrow, and fired upwards before he spoke again. "There's a tower nearby. Go there. I'm sure there's people that can help you."
Link simply eyed the man in confusion. "Your leader was going to have me executed, why are you helping me?"
"Because, despite what you did, you're not of age. Trust me, it'd be a different story if you were of age. Now get out of here." The Imperial waved his free hand towards a nearby tower, then started to fire his bow again.
Link watched the man fire his bow for a few moments, then glanced towards the tower the Imperial had informed him about. It looked like it could withstand a dragon attack if the thing attacked it, but there was a lot of open space between him and the tower.
"Link!" Ralof's voice reached him and the Hero of Twilight looked around until he saw the man running towards him.
When Ralof reached him, the Stormcloak simply placed an ash-covered hand on the Hylian's right shoulder. "Look, I know you must feel scared out of your mind right now, I am too, but we can get out of here if we work together." Ralof pointed toward the still-standing tower before them. "There. If we can make it there, we can plan our next move. Ready?"
Before Link could say anything, Ralof hugged him, then picked up the Hylian in his arms as if the seventeen year old was a small child, then began to run for the tower.
"Ralof, what are you doing?"
"Carrying you there is faster than waiting for you to catch up to me."
"I can't argue with that." Part of Link thought it was absurd, another part of him appreciated what Ralof was doing.
No one stopped Ralof as he ran for the tower, both Link and Ralof ducking every now and then as the dragon swooped low over them.
However, before Ralof could enter the stone structure, a shadow fell over him, then Link was knocked from Ralof's arms to the ground as the dragon landed, standing over him as it breathed fire at some unknown target. The black scaled beast then eyed Link with curiosity before it took off into the air with a roar. Link stayed where he was for a moment before Ralof grabbed him again and bolted into the tower, then he put Link down as Link fell to his knees in the middle of the structure.
He heard the sound of a wooden door slamming shut and looked over his shoulder to see Ralof and Ulfric standing close together, talking.
"Ralof, you're alive! Thank Talos!"
The dragon roared again, then the entire tower shook and dust rained down from the stone ceiling.
"Jarl Ulfric, what is that thing? Could the legends be true?"
"Legends don't burn down villages, Ralof. So, he's still alive. Good. Seems he's more resilient than he looks." Ulfric seemed to have noticed Link looking back at him and Ralof as the Hylian got up from where he was kneeling and turned around to face Ulfric and Ralof, who were looking down at him with curiosity.
"That mark on his hand, though. It glowed earlier, didn't it?" Ralof questioned with a thoughtful expression.
Ulfric nodded. "It did. I am curious, he said the mark was 'the power of his gods'. They must be looking after him."
"Maybe." Ralof studied the wounded youth before him.
The tower shook again and Ulfric started to walk up the stairs to Link's right. "Follow me and Ralof, we'll get you out of here."
Link nodded and followed the two men up the stone steps, stopping to rest every now and then. The three reached the top of the stairs to find a lone Stormcloak trying to move various rocks. "We just need to move some of these rocks to clear the way."
The dragon from before burst through the wall, then roared. It then breathed fire, causing Link, Ralof, and Ulfric to retreat down the steps.
The dragon then flew off and the three slowly ventured up the stairs a second time, stopping when they reached the rock pile.
Ralof walked up to the now dead Stormcloak and knelt beside him, then shook his head. "Poor Vilfrid, he never had a chance."
He then got up and motioned for Link and Ulfric to join him near the hole in the tower. The two did so and Ralof pointed to a ruined building below them. "See that inn on the other side?" He glanced towards Link. "You can make that jump, can't you?"
"You...want me to jump from up here?" Link eyed the distance and height between the two structures, then shook his head. "You're insane, Ralof."
"Maybe. But it's safer than you running around with us." Ralof began to walk back down the steps. "Go on, you'll be alright. Ulfric and I will try to find another way around." Then the Storncloak vanished from view and Link was left standing where he was, looking out over the now smoldering ruins of Helgen, watching as archers on nearby towers attempted to wound the dragon as it flew overhead.
The dragon roared as it swooped dangerously low to the stone tower and it shook as the thing flew overhead. Link took a step backward, then ran forwards and jumped.
He hit the wooden flooring of the ruined inn hard, but he somehow stayed standing as he got his bearings. To the north was a hole in the floor, which he used to jump to the first floor of the inn. Link then ran out a hole in the wall to find himself in an open space, Hadvar standing nearby.
Link approached the man and was about to talk to him when he noticed there were people nearby. He recognized the young boy from earlier, and his father, who was lying on the ground. An older man was standing next to Hadvar.
"Torolf! Talk some sense into your kid! Haming, you need to get over here, now!"
The young boy named Haming shook his father slightly. "Come on. Papa, get up!"
The dragon flew overhead and roared, causing everyone to look up for a second, then the old man called out to the boy. "What are you doing? Get off the road! Get off the road, boy!"
Torolf reached up and grasped his son's arm. "I'm done for, little cub. Run for it!"
Haming got up, nodded, then ran towards the old man and Hadvar. As he did so, the dragon swooped dangerously, then landed before Torolf.
"Torolf! Gods, everyone get back!" Yelled Hadvar before the dragon breathed fire and burned Torolf to death. It then took off with a roar and Hadvar turned to the old man. "Gunnar, take care of the boy, I have to go join General Tullius' defense."
Gunnar nodded "Gods guide you Hadvar." His gaze moved to Link. "And you too, lad, I have a feeling you won't be dying for a long while yet."
Hadvar turned around and his face relaxed a bit. "Link. Glad to see you're still alive. Stay with me if you want to stay that way." The man took off towards a still standing wall and Link followed silently, Then Hadvar threw himself against the wall as the Dragon landed on it. Link simply stayed where he was, somehow knowing he wouldn't get hurt where he was standing.
"YOL...TOOR SHUL!"
The dragon breathed fire for several seconds, then took off.
Hadvar stayed where he was for a moment, then stepped away from the wall and motioned for Link to follow him. "Quickly, follow me!"
The Imperial led the Hero of Twilight through a ruined building, the two stepping around charred dead bodies and around piles of rubble as they did so. They emerged before the gates, but there were far too many things being said at once to really pick anything intelligible out of the noise.
The dragon flew above the group, then roared.
"FUS...RO DAH!" Several people flew backwards but there was too much chaos to see what happened to them. The dragon then flew off as Hadvar led Link to a still standing structure, where the two met Ralof.
"Ralof, you damn traitor! Out of my way!"
"We're leaving, Hadvar, and you're not stopping us this time!"
"Fine. I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovengarde!" Hadvar half turned to face Link. "You have to choose. Who are you escaping with?"
"Both of you."
Ralof and Hadvar simply stared at him, then Ralof spoke first. "What do you mean, both of us?"
"Look, I know you two don't like each other, but strength is better in numbers, as they say. I trust both of you, you've both been nice to me, can you just set aside your petty arguments long enough to help me get out of here?"
The Imperial and Stormcloak shared a glance, then both reluctantly nodded. Hadvar spoke first. "Fine." He gestured to the nearest door. "We take that one, let's move."
The three ran for the door, Ralof pulled it open, then once they were inside the keep, the door was slammed shut.
End of chapter 2. Chapter 3 rewrite is going to be a lot more interesting.