Skyrim
Aeryn The Scout

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The story begins deep in the forests of Falkreath.

On the 21st of Last Seed Aeryn was born a beautiful Lunari. Growing up, she was sheltered from most of the harsh outside world; her father, a hunter, provided everything needed. Her mother she would only know from stories her father would tell her before bed as she had died during child birth.
"Your mother was as beautiful as the moonlight sky on stary nights" Her father would whisper to her when she begged to hear of her every night.
As she grew older, and her father began to wither in his latter years, he began to teach her the ways of the hunter, knowing that one day she would need to know how to defend and provide for herself and a family of her own. Naturally skilled in the art of Archery, she quickly became quiet the marksman. Her father taught her the ways of sneak, how to stalk your prey and silently strike without warning thus the prey catch on to your movements as crafty as the wildlife in Skyrim are.
By her teen years she had already surpassed her father's skill, and even when he was in his prime, he told her, she would have been a better hunter than he. But sadly on one rainy summer night her father fell terribly ill and passed away in his bed with Aeryn at his side. Having no other family, she was now alone and mourned deeply day after day. The once lively tiny cottage her father had built was now silent. A full year had passed and she had not stirred from her home. She had not touched her bow, and was near the end of what food she had left. Finally one night she left, knowing her father would not want her to wallow in sadness, but to prosper and grow and carry out the traditions of the Lunari hunter.
She traveled far through the woods of Falkreath and onto the vast plains of Whiterun. There, she came across a caravan under attack by bandits. She quickly readied her bow and aimed carefully. Her father taught her to be kind of heart and always help those in need. She let go of the string and the arrow struck into the neck of a bandit. The other bandits, confused on where the arrow had come from, began to retreat as she aimed and struck another in the thigh. The bandits ran off into the night and she approached the caravan to give what aid she could. Sadly, the entire caravan had been slaughtered shortly before she had arrived and she had only prevented the bandits from taking what little remained of the caravan's load.
She was not entirely displeased, as she had attempted to do the right thing and save innocent lives. She had begun to walk away from the caravan when an authoritative voice shouted at her, "Stop right there! Don't move!"
She turned quickly to see a group of soldiers dressed in Imperial garb on horseback.
"You are under arrest for the murder of these travelers!" Said the middle soldier. "Give up your weapons and come with us or suffer a swift death."
Aeryn stood in shock. She was only trying to help. Do I try and tell them? She thought to herself, but how could they believe her when she had the weapons and a slew of dead bodies around her with the bandits now too far away. Running would only result in my death, she thought as well, and she made her choice. She laid her father's bow on the ground and set the quiver next to it and sobbed silently as the soldiers took her and bound her hands. She was lead onto a carriage with other prisoners and told to sit and not move. She only stared at her feet as the convoy slowly began its journey.
She had fallen asleep sometime in the night for the next time she looked up it was early morning and a gentle fog had begun to form around the convoy. There was a small town ahead of them, and she began to wonder what was going to happen. When the convoy stopped in the town she heard a few prisoners speaking to one another.
"What's going on? Why are we stopping here?!" One asked.
"Why do you think? End of the line," Another answered.
Was this to be her place of imprisonment? This small mountain village? Then she noticed an executioner, and her heart sank. Murderers don't go to prison, they die. One by one the prisoners where named and lead into a group to be killed. Aeryn was one of the last, as the soldiers did not know her name, nor where she haled from. She noticed that she was amongst a band of Stormcloak soldiers, by the way they were dressed. She also noticed one man in particular, Ulfric, the leader of the Stormcloaks, was also present. A man stepped toward Ulfric, a man dressed in ornately crafted imperial armor and spoke to Ulfric.
"You started this war, and brought chaos into Skyrim! Now the Empire is going to restore the peace and put you down!"
Suddenly a unnatural roar echoed in the distance. The execution progression halted only for a moment, and resumed with a man cursing the Imperials and volunteering himself to be killed first, unwilling to listen to his last rights. The sight of him being beheaded made Aeryn shudder and grow in fear. Even more so when her name was called to the block next and she moved shaken to it. She heard whispers amongst the soldiers, both Stormcloaks and Imperials alike, "Poor girl, to go at such an age", and, "No way she murdered all those people, she's not even a woman yet!" But nothing could save her now, and as she was forced onto the block, she silently prayed and told her father that she would see him soon. She closed her eyes and awaited the blow when suddenly a thundering wave knocked her from the block and blurred her gaze.
Atop a tower she saw a monstrous black figure as another thundering wave knocked her further back and fire began to rain from the darkened sky above. She slowly came to senses when she heard a voice shout, "Over here! Quickly, the gods won't give us another chance!"
When her vision finally settled she saw a Stormcloak soldiers beckoning to her from the safety of a nearby tower. She ran as fast as she could into the tower as stones breathed in fire crashed around her. The soldiers slammed the wooden door behind her and she caught her breath.
"Could the legends be true? Is that really a dragon?!" The soldier asked
"Legends don't burn down villages," A voice spoke, and as she turned she saw it was Ulfric.
"We need to move, up through the tower, come on!" The soldier yelled as he ran up the winding stone stairs.
Aeryn had no choice but to follow this soldier in hopes that he could lead her to safety. Near the top however the wall burst open and the dragon unleashed a breath of fire unto a poor Stormcloak soldier whom was attempting to move fallen stones out of the way. The dragon flew off, satisfied with the kill and through the hole Aeryn saw if a jump was made one could land into a burning home. It was risky, and she had taken a step back when the soldier she was following told her to jump.
She pressed off the ground with all of her might and landed in the building, rolling to avoid breaking any limbs. She hurried out of the home and found a Imperial soldier calling to a boy trying to help his wounded father. The dragon circled above and landed with a booming thud. The Imperial soldier screamed at the child to come to him as the dragon breathed fire once more and claimed the father. Aeryn took refuge behind a destroyed building with the soldier and the boy as the dragon attempted to kill them. Unsuccessful, the dragon lifted away and began to attack Imperial archers. The Imperial soldier noticed Aeryn and remembered her from before the attack.
"Still alive prisoner? Keep with me if you want to stay at that way."
He entrusted the protection of the boy to a Imperial mage whom had come to aid them and granted Aeryn and the Imperial the god's protection.Aeryn followed this Imperial, knowing she had to trust anyone that was willing to help her, even if they were Imperials.
"Into the keep!" The Imperial soldier ordered as he opened the door for her and they took refuge inside.
After a moment to catch their breath the Imperial soldier, who introduced himself as Hadvar, unbound her hands and told her to search for some armor and a weapon. Was the soldier being serious? Knowing she was imprisoned for murder he wanted her to wield a weapon? With a dragon about, however, she supposed that more pressing matters where at hand. She searched a chest and found a set of armor and a sword and quickly became accustomed to the weight of the armor and sword. After she was ready, Aeryn and Hadvar began to make their way through the keep. After dealing with Stormcloak soldiers, who were unwilling to listen to any reason of peace amidst the chaos and battling over-sized spiders, which she was absolutely terrified of, not to mention a run in with a cave bear that was none to friendly with Aeryn and Hadvar, the two eventually found an exit.
Aeryn, drenched in sweat from head to toe, body sore and tired from running and constant battling, was near collapse. She could not lift her sword and her legs shook with weakness. Hadvar noticed and took a look around.
"My uncle is the blacksmith in Riverwood, just down the mountain, we can rest there," He spoke, urging Aeryn to muster the strength to reach Riverwood and out of harms way.
Aeryn was tired, her body was unwilling to move, her cuts stung and feet were blistered, but she couldn't stop now. She was almost away from danger. She stuck close to Hadvar, trailing behind him, pushing herself to continue forward. The climb down was uneventful, and the town was in sight. As the two entered the town many off the townsfolk gasped in awe at their state, Hadvar's uncle was working the forge when he saw the two. Aeryn didn't remember what happened next, she collapsed from exhaustion and awoke in a warm bed with the sweet smell of cooked venison.
"Glad to see you're awake" Hadvar spoke, noticing Aeryn move from the bed. "Thought we lost you there for a moment."
Aeryn thanked him and his family for helping her and allowing her into their home. She was still extremely sore, but shook off the stiffness and joined Hadvar and his family at their dinner table. As they ate, Hadvar told his family the story of how the dragon had attacked the mountain town. At first they were skeptical, but when Aeryn reassured them that the story was true they praised the gods for Aeryn and Hadvar's safe escape. The reunion was short lived as Hadvar stated, "I've got to go to Solitude and inform General Tullius." He the turned to Aeryn and said, "You should go to Whiterun, and inform the jarl that a dragon has attacked Helgen, Riverwood in completely defenseless."
Aeryn agreed to carry out this wish and was given a map of Skyrim. "You should also consider joining the Legion, we could use someone like you."
Aeryn was confused by this statement. The Legion had not only unjustly deemed her a murderer, but also attempted to execute her as well! But she knew that the Stormcloaks were just as to blame for this war as the Legion was. She along with the rest of Skyrim knew that Ulfric had killed the High King and brought chaos unto the land. Siding with them would brand her an enemy and seemed to be the wrong thing to do. She decided to follow her heart and knew this was a chance to redeem herself and explain what really happened that night on the Plains of Whiterun. Aeryn asked for a bow and a quiver of arrows as her only request. With those given, she set off to Whiterun to begin a journey that would prove to be much more than she could possibly imagine


2 comments

  1. Drache1573
    Drache1573
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    Part 2 will come out shortly!
  2. Kyokushinoyama
    Kyokushinoyama
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    I'll always have the utmost respect for people going into narrative work like this. Thumbs up.