Prologue

Story Summary: What if Skyrim had a different villain and story altogether? The villain of this Skyrim isn't Alduin, he was slain by Miraak in the Merethic Era. An epic story featuring gods and men, romance, new lore, and an original character; the elder scrolls equivalent of the Devil. This fic is completely unrelated to my other elder scrolls fic, The Old Kingdom.

A total rewrite and redesign of Skyrim. A High/Dark Fantasy remake of Skyrim w/ steampunk and dystopian elements. (Think frozen wasteland).

Foreword: This story is a complete remodel of Skyrim's world and main story. Changes to the lore are inevitable for story reasons. The main character of this story is a male Imperial Dragonborn named Krest (a young Praetorian). He will be romantically paired with Dibella, one of the Divines.

Disclaimer: The Elder Scrolls belongs to Todd (from the chess club).

Warnings: Violence, Rape, Sexual Themes, Mental Illness, Drug & Alcohol Use, Abuse, Harsh Language.

Dedicated to Anyone w/ Depression

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"I was born to hate," – The Devil, Konahrik.

25th of Evening Star, 4E 201

A few leaves leftover from autumn spun before him. There were piles of leaves next to the road they were walking on. Snow outlined everything else, high up here in the Jerall Mountains. Eina Alf walked alongside his father, Talsgar. The early morning sun rising over the hills. Vistas painted the snowy, massive landscapes of Skyrim. The mountains here were bigger than anywhere else on Tamriel. At least that's what he knew.

Eina initiated conversation, "I wonder what things were like before the War and the Blackout."

Talsgar scratched his blond beard. Eina had taken after his mother in hair color, his being brownish-red. "I try not to let the politics of the world affect me. Here, high up on the mountains at least."

Eina stared down the snowy mountainside of Dwemeria. Their village of Fritzamble was nestled safely in a small valley, high up on the Jeralls. They arrived at the opening to the town. Most of the houses were shaped like wooden barns. The mead hall called Vesper sat near them, a stable for horses conjoined to it, troughs of water placed for them. A tree spiraling at the center of the remote, simple village and a stream on the outskirts. Eina had never traveled far from Fritzamble. He heard before the War for Tamriel, that the overworld of Skyrim was full of monsters. He also heard that most of Tamriel was far more advanced in technology back then too, roughly two hundred years ago, before the Devil had returned.

Talsgar went to speak with the Guard Captain Metilius Pertinax. He was a Kreathmen stationed here. Eina ambled over to his friends who were sitting on a table outside Vesper mead hall. – Malvas Heron, an Imperial, and Argis Snorrison, a Nord like Eina.

"Hello boys." Eina smiled, pouring himself some coffee from the pitcher. It smelled divine and warmed him as a chilly winter wind passed through.

Eina had short, reddish-brown hair and teal eyes while Malvas had tan skin, black hair that flopped over his forehead and a thin beard with maple-brown eyes. Argis had hazel eyes with a man-bun that had the sides and back of his head shaved off alongside a thick, coffee-colored beard.

"You excited for the Saturalia celebrations?" Malvas grinned through his beard.

Eina looked around Fritzamble and saw that décor was being strung up. There were a circle of gifts near the town tree. His eye caught on Ysolda Ulf as she was decorating the tree. Her eyes hit his and they both waved at each other. Eina blushed and sat down.

"You should just ask her out already." Argis ate a chunk out of his meat pie. "You act like the Devil will get you if she says no."

"If she said no, it would just be really awkward between us." Eina glimpsed her blue dress and ginger hair from the corner of his eye. They were the same age too – twenty-three. "Maybe I'll ask her to dance tonight." He sighed, putting his face against his fist.

Night descended quickly upon them and soon everyone was dancing, merrymaking, and drinking mead or wine inside Vesper. The interior was slanted, with goat-horned candles lighting up the expanse and two long tables stationed at the sides. Eina, Malvas, and Argis stood awkwardly with their drinks on the sides as people danced and drank. Talsgar and Metilius sat together, as deep in their conversation as they were in their mead.

About thirty minutes later Eina shook off his thoughts and took a steep drink of his mead and wiped his mouth. He spotted Ysolda on the other side of the room and began marching over to her. He stared at Ysolda then walked out of the door. He just couldn't do it.

He sat down on the bench outside as some snow lightly fell around. It's whatever.

"This is a nice village," said a regally robed man… Elf, Eina wasn't sure. A woman with aura he'd never witnessed before followed him.

They looked like… Like gods.

"Uhm," Eina coughed.

The robed man-elf smiled over to him. The group of them sat around the tree at the center of Fritzamble soon enough.

"Are you gods?" Eina uttered in awe. "What are you doing here?'

"I am Akatosh. This is my dear friend, Dibella. We were just… reminiscing."

"Hello." Dibella smiled warmly at Eina.

"You two haven't been seen on Nirn since before the War for Tamriel." Eina gestured around. "Are you thinking about what happened with Talos, Konahrik, and the Last Dragonborn? I've only heard stories."

Dibella shed a tear and Akatosh released a great sigh. "The Devil… was our friend once," Akatosh admitted slowly. "He isn't a force of nature or a Daedric Prince. The Devil is just a…"

Eina's eyes widened and he rubbed his knee. "Did you know then, sir?"

Akatosh's golden gaze glimmered with grief. "Did I know I was friends with the most dangerous Dark Lord of all time? No."

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Auxiliary Info: Think of this as a hard reboot of the Elder Scrolls. Many things are the same, but many things are different. I took Skyrim and revamped it. For example, there are only five holds instead of nine with newer, higher fantasy versions of cities. Like Riften is a giant tree, Solitude's made of marble, etc. Now, before you jump ship, I encourage you to read a bit and give it a chance, it's still Skyrim, just a high fantasy, dystopian take. I have a playlist on Spotify I made to help immerse you as well, google The Chrysanthemum Spotify. I've redone the 4th era, and this story is set in 4E 22. Even then you'll see familiar characters like Saadia, Ancano, Frea, etc.