Post by simonstormcloak on Jun 7, 2012 21:49:34 GMT -5
When I was a child back in Elinhir, my father told me tales about Tiber Septim, or as he called him, Ysmir, and how he conquered Tamriel with his voice. I knew that Tiber Septim was the first Emperor, and that he ascended into godhood, but I never really understood that part about the voice, or as father called it, a Thu'um. Now I did.
It came out of nowhere, flew across the mountains and landed on the tower.
"Sentries, what do you see?" Said the Captain.
Everyone drew their swords. One Imperial cut a Stormcloak's binding loose and gave him a spare sword.
"DRAGON!" One of the Stormcloaks yelled.
The headsman was so suprised he fell down. He got back up, but then the dragon yelled,
"Yol Toor...SHUUUUUUUL!" Breathing fire on the 'Shuul'. The headsman fell down. It shouted something else, but I couldn't figure out what it said. Flaming rocks fell from the sky, and a pile of wood fell on me.
"Guards, get the townspeople to-" General Tullius shouted before the Dragon killed his horse and made him fall down.
Suddenly, the wood was lifted off of me.
"Hey, Kinsman! Get up! Come on, the gods won't give us another chance!" Ralof the Stormcloak pulled me up, and dragged me, half-conscious, towards the tower. Once we were in, Ralof closed the door, and before me stood Ulfric Stormcloak, Ungagged. I noticed he had a beard, which made him look older.
"Jarl Ulfric," Ralof said, "What is that thing? Could the legends be true?"
Ulfric responded with a more brave tone. "Legends don't burn down villages." Such heroic words yet so little time.
"We've got to move. Now!" Ulfric shouted over the sound of destruction.
"Let's go! Up through the tower!" Ralof said to me. We ran up the stairs and found another Stormcloak, saying "We just need to move some of these rocks to clear the-"
The wall burst open and the dragon shouted "Yol Toor Shuuuuuuul!"
On 'Shuul', a gout of flames came out of his head. Ralof tumbled down the stairs. The dragon flew away and Ralof came back up the stairs.
Pointing to the hole in the wall, he said "See that Inn on the other side? Jump through the roof and keep going!"
"Jump through the wall? Are you crazy?"
"Go! We'll follow when we can!"
I grunted and jumped through the wall and into the Inn. It was an amazing feat. Im alive, I thought. Then I saw the blood on my leg. Oh gods... I broke my right leg. I limped downstairs and saw the friendly Nord Imperial (Hadvar, was it?) trying to get the child Haming to take cover. On the ground lay Torolf, bloody and defeated.
"Haming, you need to get over here, NOW!"
Haming finally listened to Hadvar and took cover behind the broken house with him. Just in time, for the Dragon had landed and yelled 'Yol Toor Shuul'.
"Oh gods, everyone get back!" I took notice that there was an old man in Iron Armor with Hadvar and Haming. The fire from the Dragon killed poor Torolf.
"Gunnar, take care of the boy!" said Hadvar. "I need to find General Tullius and join the defense!"
"Gods guide you, Hadvar." Said the Old Man.
"Still alive, prisoner?" Said Hadvar. "Stick close to me if you want to stay that way!" We ran past Torolf's corpse, behind a house.
"Stick close to the wall!" At that moment, the Dragon pegged one of his wings into the ground and burned an Imperial Soldier. The Dragon flew away and we ran to the gate. General Tullius was leading the defence. I saw Vilod and Ingrid on the ground, but not dead. Thank the Gods for that. Tullius yelled at Hadvar,
"Into the keep, soldier! We're leaving!"
"It's just you and me, prisoner. Keep moving!"
"I don't think so." said a voice from behind me.
Ulfric Stormcloak stood, axe in hand and covered in blood.
"Follow me, Torgen."
I immediately complied. I ran with Ulfric down into the keep, and I met with Ralof and another Stormcloak.
"Jarl Ulfric," I said. "How do you know my name?"
"Well," he replied. "When I was in the legion, I-"
Just then, the top of the keep collapsed and rubble covered both doors.
"Shor's bones..."
Ulfric took his axe and sawed off my bindings. Ralof handed me a sword.
"Here. Gunjar, follow me. Jarl Stormcloak, lead the way!"
Ulfric led us to the gate, where Imperials where fighting the Dragon. He told us to stand back and he yelled;
"Fus... RO DAH!!!"
He blasted the gate down while the soldiers ran for cover.
"What was that?" said Tullius.
"The Thu'um. A blessing of Talos." replied Ulfric.
"You stupid Nord... TALOS DOES NOT EXIST!"
Me and the Stormcloaks ran through to gates and ran for our lives. Once we had run a fair distance, I turned around and saw Helgen, by now a smoking pile of rubble. The Dragon flew away and I turned to Ulfric.
"Where to?"
"You should go to Riverwood with Ralof. I'm returning to Windhelm with Gunjar to make sure everything's alright."
"Okay. Let's go."
Me and Ralof traveled along the ruined road.
"That was some creature," he said. "I wonder if Hadvar made it."
"Maybe." Come to think, I hadn't seen Hadvar since he told me to come along. He might have been killed by the Dragon, but I wasn't sure.
"Maybe the dragon killed Tullius."
"That would be a blessing. But I think that he probably escaped."
We ran along, talking about life and such matters. By nightfall, we were about halfway along the road, roasting some rabbit in a campfire. Ralof told stories about Draugr, undead nords who killed anyone they saw. I told him about growing up in Elinhir, and how I came to Skyrim.
"You came home." he said.
"Just because I'm a Nord doesn't mean I can't be from Skyrim."
"Where's your family from?"
"All over Tamriel. We originate in High Rock, but then my early ancestors traveled to Morrowind, then Skyrim, that's where my Nord heritage starts, and lived in Valenwood for a short time. My Great-Grandparents lived in Summerset Isles until the end of the Oblivion Crisis. Afterwords, they moved to Hammerfell, where they started a family in Dragonstar. My mother moved to Elinhir when she was a young woman. There she met my father, a miner from Skyrim. I lived in Elinhir until now. I have no contact with my family and I can't risk to go across the borders again."
"A family of Nomads, eh?" Ralof said. "My family doesn't have much history. We originate from Markarth, but most of my family is from Riverwood. I grew up there with my sister Gerdur. Hadvar was one of my best friends, you know? Until after the great war. When I joined the Stormcloaks and he went Imperial, things changed. We became rivals. A house divided can not stand. Mark my words, some day the war will end. Which side will win, I do not know. Nor do I know if I will survive. I just hope that we can bring this conflict to an end. I don't want to lose the empire, but I don't want it to be a puppet of the thalmor."
I nodded in agreement and took another swig of mead.
"Elves really aren't that bad. My best friend in Elinhir was a Bosmer, and occasionally I got to see my Altmer friend in Sentinel."
"Why do you call them 'Bosmer' and 'Altmer'? Why not refer to them by their common name? Wood Elves and High Elves. It's much easier."
"When you live in Hammerfell, you learn that using correct terms for names really helps. A Bosmer may take offense at being called a 'Wood-Elf', so we natives refer to them by their true name."
"It's almost eleven. We should get some sleep if we want to make it to Riverwood tomorrow.
It came out of nowhere, flew across the mountains and landed on the tower.
"Sentries, what do you see?" Said the Captain.
Everyone drew their swords. One Imperial cut a Stormcloak's binding loose and gave him a spare sword.
"DRAGON!" One of the Stormcloaks yelled.
The headsman was so suprised he fell down. He got back up, but then the dragon yelled,
"Yol Toor...SHUUUUUUUL!" Breathing fire on the 'Shuul'. The headsman fell down. It shouted something else, but I couldn't figure out what it said. Flaming rocks fell from the sky, and a pile of wood fell on me.
"Guards, get the townspeople to-" General Tullius shouted before the Dragon killed his horse and made him fall down.
Suddenly, the wood was lifted off of me.
"Hey, Kinsman! Get up! Come on, the gods won't give us another chance!" Ralof the Stormcloak pulled me up, and dragged me, half-conscious, towards the tower. Once we were in, Ralof closed the door, and before me stood Ulfric Stormcloak, Ungagged. I noticed he had a beard, which made him look older.
"Jarl Ulfric," Ralof said, "What is that thing? Could the legends be true?"
Ulfric responded with a more brave tone. "Legends don't burn down villages." Such heroic words yet so little time.
"We've got to move. Now!" Ulfric shouted over the sound of destruction.
"Let's go! Up through the tower!" Ralof said to me. We ran up the stairs and found another Stormcloak, saying "We just need to move some of these rocks to clear the-"
The wall burst open and the dragon shouted "Yol Toor Shuuuuuuul!"
On 'Shuul', a gout of flames came out of his head. Ralof tumbled down the stairs. The dragon flew away and Ralof came back up the stairs.
Pointing to the hole in the wall, he said "See that Inn on the other side? Jump through the roof and keep going!"
"Jump through the wall? Are you crazy?"
"Go! We'll follow when we can!"
I grunted and jumped through the wall and into the Inn. It was an amazing feat. Im alive, I thought. Then I saw the blood on my leg. Oh gods... I broke my right leg. I limped downstairs and saw the friendly Nord Imperial (Hadvar, was it?) trying to get the child Haming to take cover. On the ground lay Torolf, bloody and defeated.
"Haming, you need to get over here, NOW!"
Haming finally listened to Hadvar and took cover behind the broken house with him. Just in time, for the Dragon had landed and yelled 'Yol Toor Shuul'.
"Oh gods, everyone get back!" I took notice that there was an old man in Iron Armor with Hadvar and Haming. The fire from the Dragon killed poor Torolf.
"Gunnar, take care of the boy!" said Hadvar. "I need to find General Tullius and join the defense!"
"Gods guide you, Hadvar." Said the Old Man.
"Still alive, prisoner?" Said Hadvar. "Stick close to me if you want to stay that way!" We ran past Torolf's corpse, behind a house.
"Stick close to the wall!" At that moment, the Dragon pegged one of his wings into the ground and burned an Imperial Soldier. The Dragon flew away and we ran to the gate. General Tullius was leading the defence. I saw Vilod and Ingrid on the ground, but not dead. Thank the Gods for that. Tullius yelled at Hadvar,
"Into the keep, soldier! We're leaving!"
"It's just you and me, prisoner. Keep moving!"
"I don't think so." said a voice from behind me.
Ulfric Stormcloak stood, axe in hand and covered in blood.
"Follow me, Torgen."
I immediately complied. I ran with Ulfric down into the keep, and I met with Ralof and another Stormcloak.
"Jarl Ulfric," I said. "How do you know my name?"
"Well," he replied. "When I was in the legion, I-"
Just then, the top of the keep collapsed and rubble covered both doors.
"Shor's bones..."
Ulfric took his axe and sawed off my bindings. Ralof handed me a sword.
"Here. Gunjar, follow me. Jarl Stormcloak, lead the way!"
Ulfric led us to the gate, where Imperials where fighting the Dragon. He told us to stand back and he yelled;
"Fus... RO DAH!!!"
He blasted the gate down while the soldiers ran for cover.
"What was that?" said Tullius.
"The Thu'um. A blessing of Talos." replied Ulfric.
"You stupid Nord... TALOS DOES NOT EXIST!"
Me and the Stormcloaks ran through to gates and ran for our lives. Once we had run a fair distance, I turned around and saw Helgen, by now a smoking pile of rubble. The Dragon flew away and I turned to Ulfric.
"Where to?"
"You should go to Riverwood with Ralof. I'm returning to Windhelm with Gunjar to make sure everything's alright."
"Okay. Let's go."
Me and Ralof traveled along the ruined road.
"That was some creature," he said. "I wonder if Hadvar made it."
"Maybe." Come to think, I hadn't seen Hadvar since he told me to come along. He might have been killed by the Dragon, but I wasn't sure.
"Maybe the dragon killed Tullius."
"That would be a blessing. But I think that he probably escaped."
We ran along, talking about life and such matters. By nightfall, we were about halfway along the road, roasting some rabbit in a campfire. Ralof told stories about Draugr, undead nords who killed anyone they saw. I told him about growing up in Elinhir, and how I came to Skyrim.
"You came home." he said.
"Just because I'm a Nord doesn't mean I can't be from Skyrim."
"Where's your family from?"
"All over Tamriel. We originate in High Rock, but then my early ancestors traveled to Morrowind, then Skyrim, that's where my Nord heritage starts, and lived in Valenwood for a short time. My Great-Grandparents lived in Summerset Isles until the end of the Oblivion Crisis. Afterwords, they moved to Hammerfell, where they started a family in Dragonstar. My mother moved to Elinhir when she was a young woman. There she met my father, a miner from Skyrim. I lived in Elinhir until now. I have no contact with my family and I can't risk to go across the borders again."
"A family of Nomads, eh?" Ralof said. "My family doesn't have much history. We originate from Markarth, but most of my family is from Riverwood. I grew up there with my sister Gerdur. Hadvar was one of my best friends, you know? Until after the great war. When I joined the Stormcloaks and he went Imperial, things changed. We became rivals. A house divided can not stand. Mark my words, some day the war will end. Which side will win, I do not know. Nor do I know if I will survive. I just hope that we can bring this conflict to an end. I don't want to lose the empire, but I don't want it to be a puppet of the thalmor."
I nodded in agreement and took another swig of mead.
"Elves really aren't that bad. My best friend in Elinhir was a Bosmer, and occasionally I got to see my Altmer friend in Sentinel."
"Why do you call them 'Bosmer' and 'Altmer'? Why not refer to them by their common name? Wood Elves and High Elves. It's much easier."
"When you live in Hammerfell, you learn that using correct terms for names really helps. A Bosmer may take offense at being called a 'Wood-Elf', so we natives refer to them by their true name."
"It's almost eleven. We should get some sleep if we want to make it to Riverwood tomorrow.