Ysgramor and the 500 Companions

[simonstormcloak]

"RUN!"
"HELP!"
Ysgramor ran for his life, stopping only every once in a while to catch his breath. He ran all the way through Saarthal, looking for his sons, Yngol and Ylgar. Finally, he found Ylgar fighting off three Falmer. Ysgramor cut them down with his axe, Wuuthrad, and said to Ylgar: "Son, where is Yngol? I have not seen him anywhere!
"I don't know, Father!" Replied Ylgar. "Last I saw, he was in the Alchemy lab helping Fuldar with his new potion."
"Well then I need to find him! Follow me!"
Ylgar followed Ysgramor into the Alchemy Lab, slaying 6 Elves in the process, only to find a Falmer standing over the dead body of Fuldar Swiftbrew. Ylgar sliced the Falmer's head off, and Yngol rushed into the room.
"Father, what's going on? I- Oh, no. Fuldar!"
"There is no time to weep, we must leave now!"
Ysgramor, with both of his sons, went to the exit, and found a few Falmer at the doors. They were quickly taken out, and Ysgramor, Ylgar, and Yngol fled from the burning city of Saarthal.
When the Family reached water, only one longboat was left, as the Falmer had sunk and burned the rest. Ysgramor steered the boat, while Ylgar and Yngol stood guard. After what seemed like hours, they hit land, and the longboat sunk. The water was shallow enough for everyone to get onto land with ease, and Ysgramor and his sons set up a tent out of the supplies left, and ate a Goat for dinner. Then the family went to sleep. When Yngol woke up, the first thing he saw was a city. He didn't know which city it was, but he woke up Ylgar and Ysgramor.
"Father, look! A city!"
Ysgramor got up at once and observed the land around him.
"Son," He said,"We are home. We are in Atmora.

[simonstormcloak]

"Can you believe it father? We are home! We are finally home!"
Yngol jumped with excitement as his brother Ylgar woke up from his sleep.
"What is it brother? What's going on?"
It was his father, Ysgramor, who replied.
"We are back in Atmora, lad! The city of Dunshaal lies just ahead!"
Ysgramor, Ylgar, and Yngol had fled from the burning city of Saarthal the night before, and as far as they knew, they were the only survivors of the Falmer attack on Saarthal.
The city gate guard said to Ysgramor:
"Ysgramor! You have brought your sons here! I trust you bring good news?"
"Meet me at the tavern at 7:00. I will tell you what has been going on."
The guard went back to his post, and as the family entered Dunshaal, Ysgramor said to his sons:
"I will tell the people at the tavern what has happened, you just get some rest."
And with that, Ysgramor's sons went into the local tavern, bought a room with two beds, and slept 'till the next morning.
Meanwhile, Ysgramor explained the events of Saarthal:
"My brothers, I come with bad news. We Inhabited Mereth, and built a glorious city called Saarthal. We also got along with the elves, who called themselves Falmer. One told me that Falmer meant: 'Snow Elf'. Eventually, the Elves decided that they had had enough. Their forces, led by an Elf known as the Snow Prince, attacked Saarthal and killed everyone. We are the only survivors, and we escaped on the very last longboat. I need a force to drive the Elves out of our city. I need you to get everyone you know and rally them to take back Saarthal."
The crowd was silent.
"Well?"
The whole Tavern said at once:
"AYE!"

[simonstormcloak]

Yngol and Ylgar woke up at around 9:00 in the tavern that they had stayed in the night before. The inkeeper had informed the boys that their father, Ysgramor, had left to rally men to take back Saarthal and drive back the Elves.
"Don't go causing any trouble, alright? We don't want your father visiting you in the prison."
The two boys heeded the innkeeper's warning, and set out to look for their father. They eventually found him at the guard barracks, seeking aid from the watch captain. Ysgramor was arguing with the captain.
"I already told you, we can't spare any more men! The risk is too great!"
"I don't care if you can't give me a whole army of guards! I'm asking for all that you can afford at this time!
"We can't afford anything! Too many men were lost in the civil war, and we need to wait for more recruits!"
"Is that what you're going to do? Wait it out? Do you know how cowardly that is? Are you a man, or a weasel?"
The entire room was silent, and after a few moments, Yngol spoke out.
"Father? What is going on?"
Ysgramor noticed his sons and said:
"Yngol, Ylgar. Now is not the time. We should leave and see what the others have rounded up."
As Ysgramor and his sons headed for the door as the captain exclaimed:
"Wait!"
Ysgramor turned around, and the captain said:
"I admire your courage and wisdom. I can spare but twenty men, but I will help convince the other cities to lend men. I will do most anything to help your cause. But I cannot send away too much soldiers, or the city will be left undefended. You can have three quarters of my reserve, twenty men. As long as you are noble, and your cause just, I will help in any way I can. Gods bless you, Ysgramor."
And with that, Ysgramor and his two sons left.

[simonstormcloak]

Ysgramor returned to the tavern in Dunthraad after to find it filled with 480 people. Only 30 were actually in the tavern itself, as it had filled up with people. Ylgar, Ysgramor's eldest son, ran to his father, and said:
"Father! Father! We have hundreds of people dedicated to our cause! Even some Elves joined up! With this force, we can take back our home with ease!"
Ysgramor was filled with joy, and laughed when he said that he could only recruit twenty men by himself. The 480 men plus the 20 that he had borrowed from the guard captain made exactly 500 companions for Ysgramor and his sons, no more, no less.
And so, Ysgramor and the 500 companions, sons included, set sail from the massive shipyards of Jylkurfyk, to Mereth, which, in the future, would be called Skyrim.
There were many people, and many boats. Ysgramor's boat was called 'Ylgermet', and his son's boats were named 'Harakk', and 'Darumzu'. The plan was originally to head straight to Atmora and meet up at Hsaarik Head, but a large-scale storm, known as the Storm of Seperation, split them apart.
Yngol was the only son that found his father. Ysgramor took all his men and went into the storm to seek Ylgar.
However, once he found the wreck of the Ylgermet and the dead crew, including Ylgar, The Sea-Ghosts had already taken out two ships, including the Darumzu.
With both of his sons dead, Ysgramor hunted down and burned the Sea Ghosts in their honor.
After Ysgramor killed the ghosts, he dug a Barrow. He went back to the ruins of the Darumzu and Buried his son in the Barrow.
This was later called Yngol Barrow.
Finally, with 470 companions left, he reached Hsaarik Head.
At the camp, Ysgramor made a speech:
"My Shield-Brothers, I know we have lost many men today, but do not give up hope! For I have lost both my sons, and I still fight! So, in honor of your dead companions, FIGHT! And we will win this battle! We will drive the Elves from our home! We will reclaim what is lost! And we will restore Saarthal to it's former glory!"
This gave the men courage to fight, and so in the night, Saarthal was attacked, this time by men.

[simonstormcloak]

Wow shit, I couldn't write back then.