Turdas, 1:58 AM, 6th of Sun's Dawn, 4E 182
And there I was, in the city the mortals called Cyrodiil. It was midnight, cold, and raining. Buildings on both sides of the road as I walked with my black cloak up. I held an Argonian child in my arms. He was no more than a few months old. Argonians are lizard-like beings that are discriminated and most live in poverty. I found him on the streets, he was crying when I found him as I just arrived in Nirn. Just laying in the middle of the street, abandoned. I left my home because my son chose the wrong path. The love of my life was in pain for the love she lost. I couldn't take it. I needed to leave. And this child was my chance at a new start.
As I walked with the child in my arms, I noticed that people were staring. Looking at myself, I realized that I was so caught up in leaving my home, that I forgot to change into a more discrete form. I looked down at the small bundle of silk in my arms, he was asleep now, and suddenly an idea came up. I could be his surrogate father! But first, I must become like him, then I must purchase a home for us. I know that I have enough for one. I hope. And finally, I could have the normal family I always wanted! Maybe even find a new wife, hopefully one that is as kind and loving as the old. But not to loving! I'm still sad that my old one left me. Saying everything was my fault. It was hers. She was too loving and gave our son little discipline. That's why he is the way he is. Coming out of my thoughts, I looked back at my hands which were curled around the child. They were now Argonian hands, and arms, and everything else, just like his. Dark green scales, and a skinny frame. Sadly I can't hide my eyes. His are a beautiful light blue, but mine still remain golden and dragon-like. I guess not all things can be fixed. I should probably come up with a name for the little one. "You need a name young one." My voice was not as deep and or as strong as before. It was more raspy like an Argonians but still held that authoritative touch. It will take some time before I get use to this. Being in this body. "I'm thinking, Diinmaar." I smiled at the name. He will be the guardian for me and everything I have created. Maybe even save this world from... him. I shuddered, thinking of when that day will arrive.
Walking up some steps, I saw my destination. Or at least a place where I can find it. It is the White-Gold Tower. I can find a house to buy in there. I have a lot of history here, sadly I cannot tell anyone of who I am. "How about Diinmaar? Would you like to be My Guardian, little one?" I asked the child as I searched for an entrance for the building. He giggled in my arms as I finally found a door and opened it. It is the biggest building in the city. There is bound to be someone who can find me a house here. It makes sense. Walking inside, I was greeted by a female Argonian who was sweeping with a broom. I looked down the small room to see no one else. It was just her. On the other side is probably the way into the main building. The girl looked up at me when I shut the door.
"Hello stranger. I have never seen you in our city before. Are you new, or are you just passing through, hmm?" The girl asked. She had crimson red eyes, and white scales. She wore a maids dress that was too tight for her. I wounder why she doesn't fix it? But her smile is what got my attention, it reminds me of my wife's smile before this ordeal happened. The girl even wore an amulet of hers. Her voice was smooth but still held a faint raspy tone to it. She looked like she was still in her youth. I stood there for a moment, thinking on what to say. I came here severely unprepared. No actual goal until very recently. "Or did you come to admire my... qualities?" She did a small twirl in front of me, giving me a very... suggestive look at her cleavage. I looked at her as a mixture of emotions flooded my mind. Confusion, for the way she purred that last part. Scared, because I do not know what to say. And curious, as to why she implied that I would want to look at a woman in that way. I cleared my throat and stood up tall.
"I am looking to buy a home. Do you know where I can go to buy one?" Her smirk faltered a little, forming a friendly smile instead of a lusty smirk. She looked momentarily saddened but otherwise went on to going back to her sweeping.
"Inside, to the left, and up the stairs. It is the first kiosk on the right." She said. I bowed slightly in approbation and made my way out of the room. I was opening the wooden door when she called after me. "Goodbye." She said. I turned and gave her a small wave and shut the door. Walking up a seemingly endless set of stairs, panting as I got to the top, I found myself in a long hallway. Desks on both sides, many people trying to do whatever it is they do in this building. Walking around, I saw that they have many services like internal affairs, justice department, banking, travel guides, and even an adoption clinic. And at the very end of the hall was housing. At the desk was a very dulled looking cat, a Khajiit, I think they're called. There was no one around so I made it there without much trouble. When I finally reached the desk, the Khajiit looked up with tired eyes.
"Hello, This one's name is Tali. How can this one help you today?" She had beautiful blue eyes, white fur with black spots, and she looked rather young. I stopped in front of the desk, she looked at me with a faint smile.
"Yes, do you have any houses available? Me and my... son... are in need of a place to live." She picked up a book and flipped though the pages. She stopped on a page and looked up with a full smile.
"Yes. But I will need to see your coin. We have many houses available, some out in the city, and some in the more wealthy parts, closer to the palace." I thought for a moment. I do have an unlimited supply of septims due to my... status.
"What is the most expensive piece you have?" I asked. My new son deserves the best. She went back to the book and flipped through the pages. She stopped near the end.
"Here, there is a... oh my." She looked up at me with a concerned face. "How much do you have? If you want this property... you... many need something more than a fortune. You wanted expensive, and this is it. Or you would need to be part of the Septim bloodline, and I doubt you are." She showed me the property and my eyes widened. The price was nothing, and it was only at a small handful of a few million. But it was who owned it before. I looked back at her with a somewhat saddened expression.
"So it's that place then?" I mumbled as I looked over the dossier. She nodded.
"Yes, right now, all we care for is if the buyer can actually afford it, the Imperial City has been in debt sense Martin Septim died... Can you? Afford it, I mean." I continued to stare at her. I didn't talk for a while, I just thought back to those events. Her coughing brought me back. "Can you?" She asked again. I looked back at the book with the property and the original owner on it.
"I was a dear friend of his." I looked back up to meet her questionable gaze. I almost forgot that I'm suppose to be mortal. "And yes, I can." To say she looked surprised would be an understatement. Her eyes looked like they would fall out of their sockets.
"Y-you have... that kind of coin?" She almost yelled. "And you knew Martin Septim? The Emperor!" That time she did yell, gaining the attention of everyone else in the hall. She suddenly looked very embarrassed. I knew that this was my time to leave.
"I will take it. Just... find me at an inn." And with that, I quickly walked back to the stairs to get away from the small crowd of people.
Walking back down to the room with the maid, I opened the door to see her sitting on a bench. She was reading a book in the far corner, still alone. I quietly shut the door to not disturb her reading and walked across the room to the exit. About half way there, I heard a cough. Turning to the maid, she was standing up with her book in her arms. I smiled and waved to her, and continued my walk outside. Opening the door and walking out, I was greeted with more rain. I sighed as I sought the closest inn to escape the unforgiving weather. By now, Diinmaar was awake. His little fingers curling around my black cloak, giggling. It brought a smile on my face. 'She almost reminds me of- NO!' I shook my head at the painful memories. 'I must move on.' I had to... for Diinmaar. With him, there will be NOTHING kept between us, I will tell him everything when he's old enough. He will be ready. I'll even tell him who I truly am, when I think he's ready. I'm only afraid of how he would take it.
Several years later… "Inigo! Talen-Jei wants to see us!" I shouted at my best friend. He came running around a corner of a stone building. A smile on his furry face. He is a Khajiit. A very odd Khajiit at that. He's adopted, his parents were killed protecting a caravan. And he was adopted by a Khajiit mother and a Argonian father. And for some unknown reason, he has blue fur and odd markings. No Khajiit in Nirn has blue fur but him. And unlike most of his kind, he speaks in first rather than third monologue. I guess that's why we are friends. We were both sixteen years old. We are both different from everyone else. Me? Well, I was adopted as well. Inigo skidded to a halt in front of me.
"Hello my friend. I told you I am the best hider! I am the king of hide-and-seek!" He raised his arms in the air. I laughed.
"You always were. C'mon, my father wishes to see us." I turned around to head to the White-Gold Tower, my home. My father is the new Emperor believe it or not. Yes, an Argonian as Emperor. He is the first non-Imperial Emperor, and first Emperor who isn't in the Septim Dynasty. And based on what the rumors claim, he is the best.
"What does your dad want with me?" Inigo asked as he walked along side me. I shrugged.
"Not sure, he just said it was important. He said something about Skyrim, though." He nodded.
It was quiet for the rest of the trip. We both knew of the events in Skyrim. Those elves, those Thalmor, they have control of our Imperial troops there. Not to mention the civil war going on as well. Ulfric Stormcloak challenged the High King and won. Such is the Nord way I heard. But times are changing and war is not the answer. Which is why my father sent spy's to both sides to help with a solution. I want our troops to win. The Stormcloaks are racist towards Argonians and elves. And they think that the whole country belongs to Nords only. I can't stand people who think they can push people around. And I can't wait until my father destroys that White-Gold Concordant so we can take back our home. Only time will tell.
We stopped outside my fathers personal quarters at the top of the tower. I took a deep breath and opened the doors to see my father and mother talking, my mother looked slightly agitated. When the doors shut with a loud thud, they stopped everything and looked at us. My mother Keerava strode over to us, hugging us both. "Mother? What's wrong?" I asked as she let go of us and went back to Talen-Jei's side. They looked at each other for moment, then back at us. They looked worried.
"Diinmaar, Inigo..." Talen-Jei said in a stern voice. "... do you remember when I told you that you both are very special? That you three would do great things." We nodded. "I already told Keerava a few nights ago, and she took it surprisingly well. Inigo, I already informed your parents." He looked at Keerava one last time. "You two will be training with me to prepare for what's to come." We both looked at each other, than back at Talen-Jei trying to figure out what he meant. "Do you know of the Dragonborn?" He asked, we both nodded. Inigo spoke first.
"You told us the story a million times, father." My father nodded and gave a curt laugh.
"I am aware. And do you know when Alduin is told to arrive?" Again, we both nodded. "Then you know why you both are here?" I shook my head.
"No, we don't know. Are you saying that one of us..." I gestured to the both of us. "...is the legendary Dragonborn?" He only smiled. Inigo coughed to get his attention.
"Are you playing a joke? How would you know such a thing? You would have to be Akatosh himself to figure that out!" He nodded in agreement.
"Yes, that is true. But I am a follower of him, and he has given me a message." Suddenly the doors opened with a loud creek. Looking behind us, an Argonian walked in. He was my age as well, green scales, yellow eyes, raspy voice like all others of our kind. His name is Derkeethus, but we just call him Derk. Inigo and I saved him from a thief that killed his parents. My father adopted him as well and now the three of us are inseparable.
"You asked to see me, Emperor?" He asked as he walked up next to us. The guards outside the doors shut them as Talen-Jei cleared his throat.
"Please, call me by my name, Derkeethus. You are my son after all." He looked back at the rest of us and nodded. "Now, I will be blunt when I say this... You three will be training with me in the courtyard every day till you are all ready. Understood." We all looked at each other in confusion. What could we be training for? Non of us could be the Dragonborn. Will we be aiding the Dragonborn? Or maybe my father is the Dragonborn! Coming out of my thoughts, I decided to test that theory.
"Father?" He stopped talking and looked at me and waited, looking at me sternly. He was probably saying something important. "Are... you..." It sounded funny just thinking it. My father, Emperor of Cyrodiil, and Dragonborn. Sounds to good to be true. "Are you the Dragonborn?" There was a moment of silence. Inigo and Derk gave me weird looks as if I was crazy. Talen-Jei smiled and chuckled softly. I just shrugged. He looked like he was trying to say something but his laughter prevented him.
"What?" Inigo started to slowly laugh along with him. "What? Guys?" Derk looked as confused as I was. He just stood there silently. Eventually, Talen-Jei calmed down and stopped laughing, Inigo followed suit. Talen-Jei walked over to me and placed a firm hand on my shoulder.
"No my son. You are." He touched my head with his other palm then everything suddenly went black.
Meanwhile with Inigo... I heard Dare's father say that he is Dragonborn. And I guess I should believe him. When Talen-Jei pressed his hand to Dare's forehead, he passed out on the floor all of a sudden and now Derk and I are carrying him to the training yard downstairs for some reason. 'Gah, I hate stairs. Why would someone build a building with so many stairs? Why not make something more convenient?' A few more minutes, or what what I think was minutes passed, and we were in the training yard. We sat Dare down, and waited for him to wake up. "Before we wake him, there is someone I need to call." Talen-Jei said. I did not know what he meant. Does he have some new form of communication? The training yard is empty. He looked up at the sky and waited. It was a good minute before he did anything. He took a deep breath and yelled to the sky. "Jormungandr! Here my Voice and come forth! I summon you in my time of need!" His voice sounded weird. Did he practice with those Graybeards he told us about? I swear, more and more of his story's are seeming more and more like fact. Nothing happened after that. Or at least for the first few seconds. I suddenly heard a distant roar of an animal! I never heard it before. I looked towards the horizon, and there was a figure in the sky headed this way! It was approaching fast! I looked back at Talen-Jei who was looking directly at the flying creature. What was he playing at? Looking back at the creature, which was now in city borders, I recognized it as a dragon! I never saw one, but the story's match. Big wings, long neck, scales, scary... This is definitely a dragon.
Soon the dragon was overhead. It has purplish scales, purple eyes, and to be honest. It looked like a giant lizard. Talen-Jei walked up to it without fear. "Jormungandr, I have a task for you." He said. The dragon landed next to him with a soft thud. It lowered its head to meet Talen-Jei's.
"Bormah? Fos los nii hi huvut? Wo los daar joor? (Father? What is it you require? Who are these mortals?)" The voice took me by surprise. It sounded feminine. 'I must be dreaming.' I rubbed my eyes and shook my head but everything was the same. Talen-Jei sighed and looked at us.
"They are here to fulfill the prophecy. I need you to help them, Jormungandr." The dragon, Jormungandr, looked at us and actually smiled. How do I know that? She sat up on her hunches and laughed.
"And which one one these hatchlings will I be teaching, hmm?" She speaks English! Wow, her voice is beautiful. I moved aside to show her Dare who was still unconscious. Derk was standing next to him, on guard like always. Jormungandr slowly stepped forward to look at him, I was tense. I think we all were. She touched him with her snout a few times, smelling him, then giggled. She stepped back and sat back down, still giggling.
"Is something wrong?" Talen-Jei asked. She continued to giggle.
"No, Bormah. Nothing is wrong. I am just..." She paused. "...admiring his scent." She paused again. She was deep in thought, I am sure of it. "He reminds me of him, from before." She looked saddened. Who was she talking about? "I will do this." She looked up at him again. "What of Vahlok, and Paarthurnax? I will need help with the others." Talen-Jei hummed in response.
"I will send for them. I leave those three in your care for now, Jormungandr. Take care of my son." He then walked passed us and entered the palace and shut the doors. But not before stopping and looking over his shoulder. "I mean it." Were his last words before he left us with the big dragon. The first few minutes were full of silence. I don't think she knows us, so I should introduce us to her. That seems wise.
"Um, miss dragon?" I piped up. She turned her long neck to look at me. "Uh, hello. My name is Inigo." I stepped up to her. "I am the best friend of Diinmaar, but we just call him Dare. I am glad you are not eating my face off. Um... the stoic Argonian is Derkeethus, he is Dare's brother, we call him Derk. It is shorter. I guess you are going to teach us how to..."
She giggled. "To fight? No Inigo. That is for Vahlok. He will teach you and Derkeethus. Paarthurnax and I will be taking turns teaching Diinmaar elsewhere."She paused as if deep in thought. I waited for her to continue. "Vahlok is one of our father's greatest priests. And is the last surviving member who has not been buried. He will make fine warriors out of the both of you. Paarthurnax is the leader of the Graybeards, and teaches the Way of the Voice."She got off her hunches and took off into the air, hovering above Dare. She grabbed him with her front claws and looked at me. "We will be back in four years time." Then she just flew off South-West. Derk and I watched them leave towards Black Marsh. The home of the Argonians.