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The Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim

Chapter 5 : Dragon Rising

"A dragon has been spotted" Irileth, the fierce looking dark Elf woman had said to the men in the room. "And you are all to follow me to the jarl" she had also said, proving that she wasn't going to take no for an answer, even though Kassi'm had already given it to her. With a hand on her swords handle and a look on her face that said she was going to use it, she turned and left the room.

Farengar followed her first, a look on his face that said he was as nervous about that woman as anyone would be. With a sigh and a shake of his head, Kassi'm fell behind them both and followed the two of them out of the wizards room. He did take a look back to see that Alto, the khajiit boy he had allowed to come with him, was right behind him.

Kassi'm also saw the hooded figure still standing in the back of the room, face covered by a gloved hand behind the cowl. But Kassi'm had the distinct feeling that the figure was looking at him, and not in a friendly way either. Kassi'm broke the gaze as he left the room, putting the strange figure out of his mind.

"What have I got myself into now?" he wondered to himself. "i should have just walked right out after getting the recommendation and not looked back" he thought to himself again. Well, too late for that now.

Irileth silently led the three of them up a set of stairs near Farengars study. Off to the side of the main hallway, they were not noticeable until they walked up to them. Silently, they walked up the stairs to an open room that overlooked the hall of Dragonsreach.

A large set of double doors were against the back wall of the room, flanked by two large bookcases filled with books, tomes and various scrolls of paper. There were a couple of glass box display cases along the walls, under several old and worn looking banners. The cases didn't hold anything of interest to Kassi'm, but Alto did hold his gaze over them for a while longer than the others did.

The room itself was dominated by a large table in the middle of the wooden floor, whose surface was covered in a bumpy looking map of Skyrim. It looked bumpy at first glance, but when Kassi'm took another look, he realised it was actually a very detailed model.

The map was detailed in the terrain, and every village and capital of Skyrim was represented by a model made out of carved wood. But that wasn't all. The map also had models of forts that held a flag of either red or blue. Half the map was dominated by blue, and the other was dominated by red. But the model representing Whiterun, had no flag.

"That's a tactical map of the war" Kassi'm thought to himself as he noticed that Jarl Baalgruf was standing next to the table, his arms crossed across his chest. He was staring rather intently against the map, seemingly fixed on one of the models. He didn't look up when the group walked in, nor did he seem to register they were there.

Beside him was a Whiterun guard, dressed in the traditional garb of all the Whiterun forces. Carrying a shield with the horse head sigils' covering the front. Dressed in dark brown leathers and a sword in his hand, he didn't seem any different than any of the other guards that Kassi'm had so far seen.

But his helmet was missing the facial guard and he looked exhausted. His shield was burned and charred, some of the wood still glowing with faint embers of orange and red. His clothing was covered in soot and the sword was broken at the tip. There were cuts along his legs, and he was still panting a bit, as if he had run a great distance. And his face was red and streaked with black soot.

"They are here, my Jarl" Irileth said as she stopped, letting the group behind her stop as well. "Farengar, Kassi'm and...a cat" she added, with a note of bitterness at the last word. Alto let out a low hiss of displeasure, his fangs exposing as his tail visibly bristled at the insult, but other than that he didn't say anything further.

Only when Irileth spoke did Jarl Baalgruf turn around, a hand on his elegant blonde beard as he seemed deep in thought. He looked at her for a moment as if he wondered what she was doing there, but he shook the thought from his head as he seemed to regain himself.

"Irileth, thank you for bringing them" Baalgruff said as he brought his hand down and slid his fingers into his belt. If he found the appearance of a new face odd, he didn't say anything. Irlieth nodded to the compliment, yet she kept her hand on her sword.

"So, what's going on that we have to be brought up here practically by swordpoint?" Kassi'm asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You will watch your mouth around the Jarl" Irileth said as she turned to face him, a look of displeasure across her face. "And you will show him respect" she practically ordered him. She slid a couple of inches of her shining blade out of its sheath, but Kassi'm did not back down from her. He looked like he was having enough of her already.

"Respect is earned, not given on command" Kassi'm said to her as he looked back at her, before he turned back to the jarl. "So answer my question" he said to him as he ignored the glaring dark elf beside him. "A dragon has been spotted? So what" he said to the Jarl. "That doesn't mean you have to force us up here by her" he added.

"I don't think this is helping" Farengar said in a rather calm but firm voice as he gestured with his hands to calm Kassi'm down. "We weren't exactly forced up here" he pointed out, but Kassi'm waved at him with a hand. He wasn't having this.

"So why is she drawing her sword?" Kassi'm asked. "I'd like to leave. Am I allowed to, or do I have to go out there and look for a dragon with the warrior princess holding a blade at my throat?" Kassi'm asked.

"I understand you do not want to be here" Baalgruff said as he didn't look annoyed or upset over what was going on. "Irilith, put your sword away" he ordered in a firm tone of voice. The dark skinned woman looked over at her Jarl for a moment, before she, somewhat reluctantly, slid her sword back into its sheath.

"Yes, a dragon has been spotted" Baalgruff said with a nod. "I'm not denying it. And most likely, more sightings will come. But, this is not just a sighting. If it was that, I would not have called you up here" Baalgruff said to them all. "I'm afraid that its worse than a sighting, and its possibly the start of something greater" he added.

"Could you tell us what's happening my Jarl?" Farengar asked as he stood at attention with his hands clasped before him. He did give a sideways glance to Kassi'm and to Alto, as if to say now was not the time to argue further. Kassi'm sighed and stepped back against the wall without a word.

Satisfied that they were all standing still and he wasn't going to be interrupted by any of them, Baalgruff turned to the dishevelled guard that was standing beside him. The guard lifted his head up and seemed to waver on the spot, as if that simple movement was too much for him.

"So, you were at the Western Watchtower?" Baalgruff asked him as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Yes my jarl" the guard said with a weary looking nod. His voice was hoarse, and he had to take a deep breath before he spoke.

"Don't waste time" Irileth snapped at the guard as she seemed impatient. "Explain again what happened, and do not leave any details out of it" she ordered. Kassi'm had to look over at her, and wonder just who was in charge around here if the Jarl allowed her to act in such a way. The guard nodded, suddenly looking more afraid then he was a moment ago.

"We were patrolling around the Western Watchtower. We had reports of bandit activity, possibly Imperial or Stormcloak movement as well. We weren't seeing anything to back up the claims we had heard though" he explained. "And then we heard a roar, a roar louder than any bear or mammoth that we had heard before.

Tarens said he saw something coming on the horizon. We thought it was some kind of bird at first, we even joked it was an eagle. But it was fast, faster than anything we had seen before" the guard said. A shadow passed over the guards eyes as he spoke about it, and he visibly shivered.

"And it was a dragon?" the Jarl asked.

"Yes" the guard said with a nod as he shook visibly again. "It was big. With wings that seemed to block out the sun" he said as the guard started to shake a bit more. He dropped his broken sword and it fell to the floor, where it actually broke further. Alto gave a look to Kassi'm, and Kassi'm returned the surprise as well.

"What did it do?" the jarl asked.

" It was....It was circling overhead, like it was watching us" the guard said as he looked down at the floor, seeming to stare off into space. "We didn't attack it at first, because it was just circling us over and over, like some kind of giant bird of prey. It just seemed to...watch us...like it was...mocking us..."

"And then...then it attacked" the guard said as a look of horror spread over his face from what he was recalling. Kassi'm nodded slowly as he realised what was going on. It wasn't just a dragon that had been spotted, it was a dragon attack.

"How did it attack? Tell us" Irileth said. The guard said nothing for a few moments as he took several deep breaths. "Tell us" Irileth demanded again in a louder voice as she took a step forward. The movement shook the guard enough that he actually dropped his shield as well.

"It attacked it. It swooped down on Tarrens and ripped his torso off with its jaws" the guard shouted as he recoiled away from Irilith. "All that was standing there were his legs. It grabbed Barson and squeezed him in its claws....and he just burst open" he said as he started to shake further.

"Arkus...it grabbed Arkus and held him up in front of its face. We shot at it with our arrows and tried to attack its legs from behind...." the guard continued as he held his hands up against his head. "It just...breathed fire on him....turned him to cinders .....just turned him into ash."

"It knocked me to the ground with its tail and tried to burn me too...but i managed to dodge....two of the men behind me got caught.....they disappeared in the flames" he said as he covered his face with his hands. The man began to sob and his shoulders shook visibly.

"I think that is enough" Baalgruff said as he put a hand on the mans shoulders. The guard did not stop shaking, but he did stop sobbing into his fingers. "You did well to come back son. Go to the barracks and rest up. We'll take over from here, and hopefully we'll get there in time to help anyone that may still be alive" Balgruff said.

The guard nodded, but he did not respond. He left his shield and his broken sword on the floor where they had dropped, and walked over to the stairs slowly. Once he got past Irileth though, he broke out into a run and he did not stop until he reached the main entrance.

"As you can see, it's worse than just a sighting" Baalgruff said as he turned to the group before him. "A dragon attack. We've heard what happened at Helgen, and it can most likely happen anywhere in Skyrim" he said. "It could even happen here" he added.

"So what do you want us to do about it?" Kassi'm asked him as he folded his arms back over his chest again. The Jarl said nothing for a moment before he turned to his Thane.

"irileth" the jarl said as he turned to the fierce dark elf woman.

"yes my jarl?" she said as she stepped forward with a hand on the handle of her sword.

"Get as many men as possible. Pull them out of guard duty and if they are in the taverns, get them out. As many as we can gather, and then head out to the watch tower. If that dragon is there, i want its head. No dragon comes into my hold and slaughters my men without paying with its life" Baalgruff said.

"At once my jarl" Irileth said as she gave a nod. Still with her hand on her sword, she didn't look at anyone else as she quickly made her way down the stairs.

"My jarl, I should go with them" Farengar said. "I am sure that my magic could be of some help to them, and they will need every bit of help that they can receive" he pointed out. But Baalgruff shook his head as he disagreed.

"Farengar, I know you are eager to get out and see a dragon, but I need you here" Baalgruff said to him, and the court wizard looked visibly disappointed he wasn't allowed to help out. "You can examine its corpse when it's dead, but you are not going out there if it is alive" he insisted. "Anyway, the more you study it after its dead the more you can reveal to us how to kill them easier" he added.

"y...yes my jarl" Farengar said with a nod of his head, but his voice betrayed just how disappointed he was to let go of the chance to see a real dragon. He did not argue however, and he walked down the stairs back towards his quarters. The Jarl nodded then turned to Kassi'm.

"I hate to ask this of you, but i need your help once more" Baalgruff said as he looked at Kassi'm. "I understand you do not want to be here, but the situation is dire...." but that was all he managed to get out before Kassi'm cut him off by stepping forward and cutting through the air with his hand.

"No" Kassi'm said as he brought his hand down and folded his arms back across his chest. "I've said No to your Thane, and I'm saying No to you" he said as he matched the Jarls look back to him. "And in case you didn't hear it the first time, I am not going out there to fight a dragon. I did your errand, I have my recommendation, and I will be taking my leave" he said firmly.

Kassi'm had the impression that Jarls were not used to being spoken to like that, and were not used to being denied. If Baalgruff had been holding his composure before, he was starting to lose it as he did not look impressed to be spoken to in such a way.

"Did I say ask? Actually, I'm ordering you to do this" Baalgruff said as he placed one hand on his hip and the other resumed stroking his beard. "You are going to go out there, and you are going to help us, the both of you. I'm no longer giving you a choice in this" he said.

"Oh, so you're ordering me now are you?" Kassi'm said as he narrowed his eyes at the jarl. "And when exactly did you give me a choice, was that before you made Irilith bring us up here almost at swordpoint, or right before I told you no?" he asked.

"I am ordering you to do this now" Baalgruff said in annoyance as he glared back at Kassi'm. "And you need to work on your attitude and respect to a leader of Skyrim" he said. "You might have the belief that your personal life and plans are important right now, but to me they are not when faced with the safety of my city."

"Its been a long time since someone said no to you, hasn't it?" Kassi'm asked as he didn't back down from the Jarls glare. "Well, I'm saying it right now. It's no" he said firmly.

"Um...I don't mean any disrespect to you, Jarl Baalgruff" Alto said as he spoke for the first time as he addressed the Jarl before him. "But...how can we make a difference against a dragon? You have armed guards at your disposal, and a lot more then the two of us at hand. What difference do we make?" he asked.

"The difference is, we have a warrior from a respected heritage that could possibly turn the tide" Baalgruff said to him. "And the more we have fighting, the better chance we have of defeating such a beast."

"The answer is still no" Kassi'm said as he seemed to have had enough of the Jarl talking as he held up his hand in defeat. "I'm leaving. You have enough people at your disposal to do the job for you" he said as he turned to Alto. "Come on. We're leaving" he said.

Alto took a look at both Baalgruff and at Kassi'm, and decided where he would rather go as he turned to follow Kassi'm. They barely made it to the top of the stairs when Baalgruff interrupted them.

"If you take one more step, I will put a big enough bounty on your heads that will make your life miserable for the whole time you are here in Skyrim" Baalgruff threatened. Kassi'm stopped with his foot literally just a hairs breadth from touching the step below him. Hearing the Jarls words, he slowly pulled his foot back and turned around slowly with his hands clenched at his sides.

"First it is almost at swordpoint, then it is an apparent request, then you order us. And now it is threats" Kassi'm said to him in anger. "You think a bounty on my head is the worst thing you can do? For what, refusal? That has got to be the most laughable thing you will ever do as a Jarl."

"We need the help, and I will do what is needed to protect my city, even if I have to threaten someone to assist us" Baalgruff said, although it sounded more like a promise. Then he stood back and shook his head at Kassi'm, as if he was disappointed in him. "You're ancestors must be turning over in their graves, having someone like you for a relative" he said.

If he thought that would provoke Kassi'm into agreeing with him about helping the guards against a dragon, he was mistaken. It only seemed to further infuriate Kassi'm as the argonian took a step forward.

"They're dead" Kassi'm said to him in such a flat and emotionless voice that it even surprised Alto with how cold he sounded. "They're dead and buried in a ruined graveyard, and I doubt they are in a position to judge me" he said.

"You are walking away from the honour of assisting a city in distress, when your ancestors gladly stepped in? Isn't the honour worth fighting for?" Baalgruff asked as he extended his hands as if he was asking, rather then ordering, Kassi'm to agree with him. "Isn't honour worth it, instead of having to be forced to do it?" he asked.

"No" Kassi'm said in the same empty and flat voice. "I helped you with your stone quest, and i almost got my head knocked off by bandits, a giant spider and your rather alive walking dead" he said. "I got the recommendation from Farengar, but you have given me nothing but threats while you try to convince yourself that you're asking me to do this" he said.

I'm not one of your subjects that you can order around and expect me to kiss your feet while I wipe your backside" Kassi'm said as he turned back to the Jarl. "and you can't order me around if i don't subject myself to you" he said. "People have used my family before to fight their battles, and we got nothing but death because of it. Honour is nothing worth fighting for. I'm not fighting a dragon just for a pat on the back" he said. "Alto, we're leaving" he said as he stepped onto the staircase.

Kassi'm had barely made it down to the halfway mark of the stairs with Alto following him, when Baalgruff shouted at him from behind. The jarls voice was loud enough that both he and Alto froze in their movements to listen.

"Wait....there is something i can give you" Baalgruff said. From the tone of voice that he was using, Kassi'm had to guess that Baalgruff had now turned to be genuinely pleading.

Kassi'm turned around and folded his arms over his chest as he looked over at the Jarl. Baalgruff was standing there with his arms gestured outwards a little, and an almost defeated look on his face, as if he had reached his last option.

"I'm listening" Kassi'm said as he kept his arms folded and his gaze narrowed at Baalgruff.

"If threats and honour will not get you to help me, then there is one thing I can offer" he said to him. The Jarl was actually looking somewhat desperate. "Perhaps a house will change your mind?" he asked. Kassi'm blinked in surprise.

"you're just going to give me a house?" kassi'm asked. "a house here in Whiterun?" he asked as he unfolded his arms. He had not been expecting that. With the Jarls current behaviour, he had half been expecting a beheading.

"Fully furnished" said Baalgruff, who by now did not look like he was joking. "It has been on the market for some time, but no-one has been able to afford it. If you help my guards stop this dragon from doing anymore damage, I will personally give you the key and the deed to the home without question" Baalgruff said.

Kassi'm thought for a moment at the new state of things. Baalgruff was definitely desperate for help, and he was going through every excuse and trick he could do to get Kassi'm to help. In a way, he could understand why he was doing this. After all, he had seen the destruction of one dragon up close and anyone going against such a beast was bound to die if they could not handle it.

But just because he understood did not mean that he agreed with it. Baalgruff was blatantly trying to 'convince', then threaten, then pursue, and was now bargaining with Kassi'm for help, and he had a feeling it was because of his lineage. After all, why else would he ask him to do this? He could feel that part of him was wanting to walk down the steps without further word and let the actual defence of Whiterun be relied on the ones actually trained to do it.

And yet, his own house, was that something to give up so easily? He wasn't going to do it for free, and he was not going to do it for honour. Would doing for a house change anything? He thought about it for a bit longer as he mulled the idea over for a few moments. In the end, why did it matter his motivations?

"I'll help slay your dragon, but after this, we are done" Kassi'm said firmly. "If we can't slay the dragon, then fine. I won't expect payment if I can't do it. But if we do, then you hand the house over to me, and no more favours, no more quests, no more asking for my help just because you think I'll do it" he said.

"Slay the dragon, and consider it done" Baalgruff said, his face seeming to reflect the small amount of hope he was allowing himself to hold onto. "If the dragon isn't slaid, then I will have to rely on others to help me. If you kill it, I will hand you the deed and the key myself, and you can leave and go your own way" he said, almost pleading.

"Then we have a deal. And I will hold you to it" Kassi'm said. Baalgruff sighed as he slumped his shoulders, a smile beginning to break out over his face. He seemed and looked relieved that he finally had the help that he needed, but he kept his mouth firmly closed in case he said something that could possibly make Kassi'm change his mind.

Kassi'm did not say another word as he walked down the stairs, his hands set firmly at his side. Alto did not look back as he followed, leaving the Jarl behind him as the two of them headed past the dining tables that were spread out in the hall. They were empty now, the tables still laid out and covered in sparkling silverware.

"Are we really going to fight a dragon?" he asked as he followed the argonian, his hand trailing over the tables edge as they walked past. "How can we even do that? A dragon took out Helgen, and now a watchtower. How do you fight something like that?" he asked as they walked down the stairs to the front doors.

"I'm going to try" Kassi'm said as he pushed the entrance doors open. "And if it kills everyone and its looking right at me, I'm going to run like hell and hope it doesn't follow me" he said as he stepped out into the open air. The afternoon was turning late, and evening by now wasn't far off.

"You're not worried if you don't kill it?" Alto asked as they walked outside and started down the path into the middle of town. The preacher was still talking beside the glittering tree, and his words were loud against their ears.

"The jarl can't exactly hold me responsible if his men are all slaughtered by something they can't handle" Kassi'm said as they walked past the preacher without looking at him. "And if he has a problem with me not killing it, he's welcome to try and kill it himself" Kassi'm added. "Anyway, one way or another, i'm through with him" Kassi'm said.

"Still, at least you get a house out of it" Alto said as he continued to follow Kassi'm down the paths through the markets towards the front gates of Whiterun. In the distance they could see a crowd had formed

"That only depends if we manage to kill it. To be honest, I don't think we can actually do it. If this dragon is anything like the one that destroyed Helgen, it's going to be near impossible" he said. Alto nodded, not wanting to disagree with him as he followed behind him, staying close to the argonian.

Irileth, the Thane of the Jarl, was at the gates of Whiterun when the two of them walked up. Before her was a large group of guards that she had managed to assemble. At least twenty men, all dressed in the identical uniform of the Whiterun Guards, with matching shields and weapons. Some with bows, some with swords. Some with open helmets and others with closed ones.

"This is all he has?" Kassi'm said to himself in surprise as he saw how small the group before him actually was. There was a civil war happening in the land, and a dragon could potentially attack Whiterun in the future. And the Jarl had only a few people to defend his city?

"A dragon has been spotted at the Western Watchtower" Irileth was shouting at her men, as she crossed back and forth before them with her arms crossed behind her back. Kassi'm and Alto could hear her before they even made it near them. "And it is up to us to slay it before it believes it can turn on our city." She was shouting so loudly that several of the passers by on the road actually jumped in surprise.

"We have never faced a dragon before, and until today we thought that we never would. But it has been confirmed that the dragons have returned. Why? It matters little to us" she said as she stopped marching in front of the men. She turned to face them as she stood straight backed.

"What matters is that one has attacked our land, and the beast believes that nothing is going to stop it from heading to our home and attacking it" She said as she looked at the men. Kassi'm stood back and watched with his arms folded across his chest as he watched her. The men were all standing straight at attention, none of them seeming to even dare breathe.

"But there is something that is going to stop it. It is US" she shouted at her men so loudly there might have been an echo. "We will stop it, and prove that these dragons are nothing more than beasts. Yes they fly, yes they breathe fire, and yes they are a lot bigger then we are."

"But that matters little" she said as she stood with her head held high. "They are beasts, and they can be killed. And today, we will prove it" she shouted at the gathered men. "We will take this dragon down, and show the world that the dragons mean NOTHING" she shouted.

"Now who will join me, and slay a dragon?" she shouted at her men. "Who will return to Whiterun and raise their swords in triumph, proving to Skyrim that not only are the fighters of Whiterun the best and the bravest, they can kill a dragon?"

The assembled guards lifted their covered hands and clapped their fists against their chests, right over their hearts before they raised their shields in the air as they saluted their fierce captain. Their response was a cheering roar into the air, one so loud and raucous that Irilith smiled at them all.

"Now march to the Western Watchtower" she ordered. "And prepare to be heroes this day" she ordered as she lifted her hand and pointed to the gates that lead out of the city.

The men all raised their shields once more in unison before they all turned and started to march at the gates. The heavy thudding of their boots and the jangling of their armour hit Kassi'm and Altos ears rather loudly. The gates to Whiterun opened when the marching men got close and they didn't lose any steps as they marched through. Irileth nodded after the men before she turned and saw Kassi'm and Alto nearby.

"It seems you decided to bring the rug with you lizard" she said in a snide voice. Alto drew his lips apart and hissed at her with an angry glare. He obviously did not appreciate her observation of him.

"My friend is with me" Kassi'm said. "And we're going to help you fight this dragon" he said before he stepped up in front of her. "And a lot of things can happen on the battlefield. I might miss and give you an arrow to the knee. Then you're not much use anymore" he said as he spoke with his face just inches away from hers.

Irileth met his glare back at him, and for a few tense moments they both glared at the other. Alto moved his gaze back from one to the other, the two in front of him almost ready to trade blows right there and then. They were both staring at each other, almost willing the other to take the first strike. But Irileth was the first to take a step back.

"You better be able to back that up" irileth said as she took a step back. "Or you won't be around for long" she said as she turned and hurried after her men. Kassi'm watched her leave before he put away the urge to take out his bow and shoot her in the back. It was very tempting and his hand was actually on the bows handle, but he forced his fingers to let go and he followed her instead.

"you don't have to come" kassi'm said to alto as they made their way down the steps leading down from Whiterun. "you didn't sign up for fighting a dragon. If you ran right now and didn't look back, i won't say anything" he said. Alto put a hand on Kassi'ms shoulder and made him stop for a moment.

"Kassi'm, you saved my life in that chamber, and you stood up for me back there as well. Until i pay you back for what you've done for me so far, I go with you" Alto said as a smile broke out on his dark furred face.

Kassi'm didn't say it outright, but he was glad Alto chose to come along.

The men and Irileth had already made it to the main road as Kassi'm and Alto arrived down the steps, but they could already see the towering pillar of smoke in the distance. The owners of the horse stable were standing on the porch of their house, looking into the distance.

"Did the entire watchtower go up in flames?" one of the guards asked from where they were standing. Seeing such a towering pillar of smoke seemed to send a ripple of doubt through the men as they didn't seem eager to move forward as they had a few minutes ago.

"We will find out. Now march" Irileth barked out loudly ordered as the men started to march down the road. The men quickly and rather suddenly hurried into position as they formed lines with one another and began to march down the road.

Kassi'm and Alto followed at the rear, neither of them saying anything as they followed after the dragon party. There really wasn't much for either of them to say as they followed the marching party, listening to the heavy thudding of boots on the ground and the jangling of their armour and gear.

All they had to do was head in the direction of the towering column of smoke. It didn't take them long for them to arrive at the watchtower. The spiralling column of smoke grew in the distance as they got closer, and the smell of burning got stronger as it started from a small sniff and grew into a full blown stench.

The march itself took a few minutes of their time to walk, and the snow and the ground underneath their feet began to grow grey from the falling ash in the air. Kassi'm had a flash of déjà vu, thinking back on Helgen and seeing the towering pillar of smoke creating a blanket of ash around him.

"By the nine" Alto said in disbelief as he stared ahead past the group of men before them, as they saw the, finally, the extent of destruction laid upon the Western Watchtower.

"By..by Ysmir. We're supposed to fight the beast that did this?" one of the guards said, his voice full of disbelief over what they were witnessing.

Kassi'm moved up forward, pushing himself through the group of guards as he could not see what was happening, and when he stepped forward and saw it for himself, he could only stop and stare.

The tower looked like it had been broken in half, the top half had collapsed on the ground, rocks brick and mortar pieces lay around them. Broken glass and metal were strewn around on the ground, shining softly in the dying afternoon light. A large structure near the tower lay open and smoking, its walls now a hollow shell that blew out smoke through its broken windows and out its ruined roof.

The remains of a cart lay not too far from them, the cart on its side and its contents strewn over the road. A man lay face down in the dirt, a large bright streak of red covering the ground near his head, and ash gently covering his still body. The blackened remains of a horse lay at the front of the cart, glowing red chains still connecting it to the cart.

A blackened patch of land had been blasted down into the earth, creating a smoking crater as if a giant fist had slammed into the ground. Several rocks were glowing a bright eerie red within the crater itself. Parts of the tower that had broken around the crater seemed oddly out of shape, until they realised the dragons fire had been so strong it had literally melted the rocks.

And all around on the ground were the remains of the guards. Obviously a good sized group had been stationed there to keep watch for enemy movement. But they had found a dragon instead, and no matter their strength in numbers, they were not lucky enough to have survived.

Some were charred beyond recognition, their bodies displaying their final moments of life in a burnt preservation, the metal of their armour and weapons still glowing. Others were torn apart, a few missing limbs, the ground soaked in their blood. Near them was one guard who had his entire lower torso ripped apart, his armour exposing the mess that used to be his intestines, a look of disbelief permanently etched onto his face.

Irilith stepped forward, the devastating sight before her did not seem to shake her nor cause any kind of concern. The look on her face was as serious as it had always been. She wrapped her hand around the handle with her sword and slowly pulled it out, the ringing of steel echoing in the silence around them.

"I know it looks bad, but we have a duty to perform. Everybody, spread out. Look for the survivors if there are any, and keep your eyes peeled. The dragon may return" she said as she stepped forward, her sword raised and ready to be used.

The guards behind her all nodded, as one by one they began to remove their weapons from their holsters. The ringing of steel and the noise of bows being strung echoed around Kassim and Alto as the guards began to walk forward and spread out amongst the devastation.

"Keep your eyes peeled" Kassi'm said to Alto as he looked over his shoulder at the cart. "And if you feel the need to hide, do it" he said. Alto nodded as he withdrew his green orcish dagger from his belt, as Kassi'm withdrew his daggers from their sheaths.

Slowly the two of them began to walk forward, their eyes open as they surveyed the damage before them. The smell of roasted flesh and ashes invaded their nostrils and it was so strong there were unable to smell anything else.

Irilith was moving from corpse to corpse, using her brood to kick at the dead bodies as she checked them. Some of the bodies simply fell apart from the damage, which was too great for them to be held together any longer. Her facial expression did not change as she walked, her sword still at the ready.

some of the guards had already begun to carefully collect the bodies and slowly carry and drag them to the side of the road. But they were only able to grab the whole bodies, as the charred bodies were useless. One guard, being as careful as he could be, grabbed the boots of a half charred body and pulled. For a moment the entire body began to slide along the ground, before it disconnected at the stomach.

Also looked up as he saw the guard drop the body on the ground and wrapped his hand around his mouth, trying very hard not to vomit. Some of the other guards looked as if they wanted to do the same thing, and Alto had a feeling that these men did not see that much action. Or perhaps, they knew these men as comrades and friends.

Kassim did not pay them any attention as he kept his eyes peeled the dragon. After everything he had been through that day, he did not want to be caught off guard by a giant flying lizard. He made his way to the base of the tower, the stairs were still intact, although the door was broken, thick claw marks in the metal and the stonework. He held his daggers up as he slowly ascended the steps, pushing part of the doorway out of his way.

He stepped into a room that did not match the devastation outside. Several tables were set up around the circular room, chairs pulled out to the sides. Plates and cutlery was still set on the tables, food only half eaten. Mugs was still full of ale and beer, this was a meal interrupted.

"They were caught off guard" Kassi'm said as he spotted the stairs on the other side of the room. He made his way past the tables and began start up the stairs, but something very heavy collided with him as it ran down the steps

"You have to run" a voice said as Kassi'm was collided with a male. The two of them fell to the ground and were briefly entangled with the other before they separated. Kassi'm stood up to see a Whiterun guard was standing before him, blackened ash covering his uniform and a large gash across his forehead, ribbons of red down his neck and under his uniform.

"Woah, back up. Just...just calm down" Kassim said as he held his hands up, his blades pointing away from the distressed looking male. "Just calm down" he repeated to the guard. "We've come to help you."

"You can't help" the guard said as he reached forward and grabbed Kassi'm by his shoulders. Kassi'm lifted his hands up, showing the guy that he was no threat as he was pushed against the wall. He could see the desperation and fear in the mans eyes, but he was not afraid of him.

"we can help" Kassim said as he kept his hands raised. "just let me go and I will take you outside. There are more guards out there, we will take you back to the city where you can get help" he said.

"You don't understand" the guard said as his face was suddenly pushed against Kassim's moment, the only thing separating was about an inch of any of between.

"What don't I understand?" Kassim asked.

"The dragon is coming back" the guard said, the fear in his eyes wide and burning.

"It's coming back?" Kassim asked, but the guard did not have time to reconfirm what he had just told him, when they both heard the roar that came from outside. It came from the distance, but it sounded as if the dragon was right outside.

"You're all going to die" the guard said in such calm voice that it seemed he had already accepted his upcoming fate. "You're all going to die, don't you understand?" He said again.

"I am not going to die" Kassim said as he brought his hands down and pushed the gaurd backwards. He wasn't going to be gentle with a man who had just given up on the will to live. The man fell backwards over the table and the wooden structure fell to the ground with a loud crash, spilling its contents everywhere.

Kassim raced out of the door and stepped out just he heard the heavy flapping of wings. He felt the stone steps underneath his feet tremor, and he looked up in shock as something very heavy landed at the top of the tower above him. He looked up at the monstrous looking beast, feeling a flicker of disbelief pass through him.

Tthe only dragon Kassi'm had seen was the one that called itself Alduin, and he had been huge. Black with fiery red eyes, Kassim had been afraid the moment he laid eyes on him. But this dragon was ... different. It seemed smaller, its scales grey and its wings were made of a dark green membrane. It clung to the top of the tower razor sharp talons the colour of ebony. Its large pointed head gazed down from all eyes that flashed with an inner fire.

"By Kynareth, it's here" one of the guards yelled as they seemed to finally notice the dragon was there. For a moment they all shouted in fear at the site of the huge beast. But Irilith stepped forward, lifting his sword into the air and pointing the tip directly at the dragon she displayed no fear against it.

"Kill it" she shouted as she pointed her sword at the dragon. "Open fire" she shouted as she looked at it with a fierce determination in her eyes. "Defend our home" she ordered.

Her orders seem to give fire under the men as they quickly assembled. Those that were carrying bows crouched down on one knee and lifted their bows into the air. With practised precision, the men pulled the bowstrings back, arrows already notched as they let go. With a single unison twang, the arrows soared through the air.

The dragon reared up on its hind legs as the arrows flew towards it. Most of the arrows seemed to simply bounce off its enormous body, its scales seemingly hard enough to protect it. However, some of the arrows found their mark as they pierced the dragons hide and buried themselves up to their shafts. The dragon let out a roar as it felt the arrows pierce its body as it reared up again. With a huge and heavy beating of its wings, it pulled itself off the tower and took flight.

Kassim watched as Alto ran behind a large broken piece of rubble, and disappeared from sight. Knowing his friend was safe for the moment, Kassim withdrew his bow and notched an arrow as he lifted it up and scanned the sky for the dragon. He could hear it as it flew overhead, but he could not keep up with it as the dragon was simply too fast.

"New prey" came a deep booming voice from above as the sound of fire cascaded down. A haze erupted in the air as the sky lit up, a fiery stream of liquid fire began to rain down as the dragon attacked. No, Kassi'm realised, it wasn't liquid. It was molten.

Several of the guards ran as Kassi'm saw the stream of molten fire as it rained down on the ground. The fire poured onto the ground with a sickening burning splash as it covered dirt and rubble in its path. The fire was quick to die out though, but the rocks and rubble that it struck began to bubble and melt from the sheer heat of the fire.

The dragon roared again as it swooped overhead and another stream of fire cascaded from its mouth. The fire poured over the ground as the guards were forced to scatter. A couple of them were too close to the stream of fire and the pure heat caused the leather in their armour to erupt in flames. The guards screamed as they erupted in flames as they waved their arms about and tried to put out the fire with their hands, their shields and anything else that they had.

The dragon circled overhead again and Kassi'm managed to see line up a shot. Taking a breath he let go of the bowstring and the arrow snapped forward with a high pitched twang. The arrow sailed through the air as it headed for the dragons head. But at the last moment the dragons flapped its wings and pulled upwards as the arrow passed by its head. However, it did not go unnoticed by the intended target as the dragon turned its head towards Kassi'm.

"Crap" Kassim said as the dragon opened its mouth, a glow in the back of its monstrous throat as the fire began to build up. Kassim turned and ran back into the tower as a cascade of molten fire followed him. Kassim did not stop running as he ran at the steps of the tower and pushed himself up the stairs. The roar of fire behind him was deafening as he felt a wave of heat wash over him.

He could feel the heat behind him as he tore up the stairs, clutching bow in his hand as he tried to hold on to his weapon. He only slowed down when he could no longer feel the heat behind him, and he slumped against the wall panting out of breath.

He chanced looked down and saw that the interior of the room below was now engulfed in red. He had to squint against the fiery glowing walls and the stone floor that was glowing brighter than a handful of rubies. However the glow did not last for more than a few moments as it began to die down.

There was nothing left of the tables and chairs from earlier, and Kassim could actually see that the walls were beginning to melt. The stairs were melting and dribbling to the floor like candle wax, and Kassi'm could actually see that the walls were beginning to sag.

Kassim carefully stood himself up, and he almost fell over as he felt the tower begin to tremble. The Dragons molten fire had damaged the tower to the point where the walls were weakening. It was holding on, but with the base half melted it was not going to withstand another attack of that magnitude.

"I've got to get out of here" Kassim said to himself as he went to the only way he could. The heat from below was so great he feared that if he took one step downwards he would erupt in flames. "I've got to up" he said as he pulled another arrow from his quiver and ran up the rest of the steps.

The stairs ended abruptly and he almost fell off the side of the tower. There was no landing, there was no new room. In fact there were no walls. The stairs simply ended, and if he had taken another step forward he would have fallen, most likely to his death.

Kassim looked around as he saw the dragon swoop to the ground. It landed with a heavy slam and he could feel the tremor beneath his boots. He saw that the dragons wings were peppered with arrows, and it had been forced to land as its wings now seemed useless.

But that did not make it any less deadly. The guards were still shooting arrows at it, trying to puncture its hard scales so they could injure it further. The rest of the guards had drawn their swords and were charging towards the beast.

The dragons tail whipped around, the end shaped pointed like an arrow head. It slammed into two guards and sent them flying into the air like two pieces of brittle paper. One collided with the tower and fell to the ground without a sound, the mans neck falling at a horrid angle. The other flew against a nearby tree, and the sickening sound of bone colliding with wood meant that the guard would not be getting up.

The dragon reared up on its hind legs as Irilith charged forward, bearing her sword down as she almost caught the dragon on its head. When she missed, she didn't miss a beat as she turned her body and brought her sword back up. The blades edge caught the side of the dragons legs and the sharp metal sliced through its hide.

Blood poured from the dragons wounded leg as it roared in pain. Several other guards ran forward, seeing their chance to strike while the dragon was wounded. Kassi'm watched as they hacked and slashed with their swords, their blades dancing in the air as they took to the dragons vulnerable legs.

Its tail whipped around again but the guards were prepared as they jumped and rolled out of the way. One was unlucky as he was struck with the huge tail and he was sent flying into the air. He cried out as he plummeted downwards and landed with a heavy crash on the remains of the horse cart. Spikes of wood erupted through his back on the impact and a spray of red accompanied the piercing as he fell limp.

"Don't stop" Irilith shouted at she plunged her blade into the dragons broad foot. The dragon roared out loudly in pain as it lowered its head to face the dark elf woman as it opened its mouth. Irilith pulled her blade from the dragons foot and ran as molten fire erupted on the ground behind her. The rest of the guards retreated to a safe distance, keeping out of the way of the fire.

"so, this prey knows how to fight" the dragon said in a deep booming voice as it flapped its wings again. Its heavy body ran along the ground, as it tried to take flight again, but the arrows in its wings were preventing it from taking off. The dragon seemed to realise this as it gave up trying to gain its flight and instead turned back around.

Several of the guards ran forward with their swords held high as a cloud of arrows flew past. Several of the arrows peppered into the dragons face and it rear it up again as the guards went to attack its stomach. But the dragon lashed out with one of its claws and the sharp talons carved through one of the guards, tearing his body effortlessly into smaller pieces.

Still lethal even on the ground, the dragon turned around as it brushed its wings along the ground, sending several more guards out of its way. It began to rush forward, and its jaws snapped forward with frightening speed is it clamped its mouth around one of the guards. The man barely had time to scream as he was engulfed in the dragons maw. The dragon lifted its head back and gulped like a giant snake is the unfortunate guard was swallowed whole.

"The jarl actually thought we could fight this thing?" Kassi'm said to himself in disbelief as he watched the carnage around him. The men might have been good and strong, and they might have come here with the intention to fight but it was not enough. All they had managed to do was injure the dragon so far, and they did not seem to be slowing it down.

"I have to do something" Kassim said. He thought for a moment about what to do, and stumbled when he felt the tower groan beneath him. He literally felt the tower begin to move and lean over. He held onto the wall as his heart leapt into his throat, fearing that the entire thing was simply going to fall over.

But the tower seem to hold as it stopped moving, but it continued to grow as the stone work somehow managed to hold itself together. He panted as he tried to regain his breathing, and will his heart to stop hounding in his ears. He realised that he had just dropped his bow and watched in dismay as it fell to the ground below. All he had now was his daggers and his magic and he doubted they would work.

He held himself steady against the ruins of the wall next to him, and turned his gaze towards the giant dragon. It was a roaring at another guard who had dared to charge forward and attack it's mouth. With the dragons attention elsewhere, Kassim could try without worrying about being interupted.

He called on the power of his heritage, and the power that it helped him. Slowly, everything began to fall silent around him the noise simply died. He could feel his body relaxing as the dragons motions began to grow slower. The smell of smoke began to lessen, and Kassi'm could hear his own breathing becoming slower as well.

The world seemed to move as if through syrup, as the motions all around him dulled down. His senses began to fade, the only one intact was his vision as he watched the dragon's mouth stop moving, the glow behind its teeth dulled down.

Time was now moving out of sync and it would stop at any moment. Kassi'm knew that any moment now, time would be his. Reality would be h-

SLAM

He let out a scream as he felt the pain strike the back of his head as if he had been struck with a hammer. He collapsed against the wall as he reached up and grabbed the sides of his head as he felt his body give out through the pain. The pain erupted past his skull and into his brain as sparks began to erupt in front of his vision.

He couldn't make a noise past the scream as he held himself, crawling up into a ball against the wall like a frightened child. The pain was so intense that although it lasted only moments it felt like an eternity. His lungs burned with a need to breath as his throat choked upon itself. His vision was nothing more than a haze of red exploding with dark black fireworks and every single nerve in his body felt like it was on fire.

And then it stopped. His vision cleared as he was able to see again, and his body stopped its internal burning. Slowly, Kassim lifted up his head, and was only then that he realised that his nose was bleeding.

"That... That never happened before" he said, fear in his voice as he touched his fingertips to the hot liquid streaming down his face. He knew the power was waning by the time his generation had come around, but he had never struck in that powerfully before. And it never hurt him that badly before either.

Perhaps the dragon was simply too strong be killed that way?

He heard another groan and the tower trembled again, but Kassi'm could hear another pounding. It wasn't the trembling of the tower nor the blood in his ears, it was something stronger. He slowly stood up and looked out as he saw that the pounding was coming from the dragon.

It was racing along the ground, its hind legs pounding into the ground creating tremors with every step. Its head was snapping forward like a snake after its prey as it gave chase to someone. Kassim felt his heart skip a beat as he realised that the dragon was chasing Alto.

"Shit" Kassi'm thought to himself as he saw his friend run literally for his life. The Khajiit was fast, but the dragon was catching slowly up to him. Each step bought it a bit closer and its jaws snapped a little further towards him. And every step it was taking was making the tower tremble.

"It's making... the tower... tremble" Kassim thought to himself as he realised that the tower was standing, but it had strained so far that it was ready to fall over. If the dragon got too close, nothing could stop it from ...falling.

"ALTO" Kassim screamed into the air as he realised there was something he could do. It was going to be tricky, and he only had one chance. He just hoped the dragon wouldn't notice. He screamed at his friend again as he waved his arms in the air to get his attention.

Alto looked up as he heard Kassi'm scream at him, and without breaking his stride he saw the argonian wave his arms at him. He was smart enough to realise that Kassi'm wanted him to lead the dragon towards the tower and he could see the way it was leaning.

Without breaking his stride he turned direction so quickly that the dragon actually stumbled in its gate. It paused only briefly to snap its jaws at another guard who had rushed up, and it clamped its jaws around the mans arm. The guard screamed as his arm was easily ripped from his body, clutching the remains of a stump on his shoulder. The dragon turned back to the khajiit and continued to chase him again.

"Come on, Come on" Kassi'm said to himself as he watched as Alto lead the dragon closer ot the tower. The steady pounding of its feet on the ground were making the tower groan harder and he felt the stone under him begin to move.

Alto ran past the tower, glancing over his shoulder once to see that the dragon was following him still. Kassi'm felt the tower shudder and groan again as the pounding got so close and heavy that the melted base could no longer hold steady. The dragon did not notice as it rumbled forward, its huge body close the tower as the entire structure began to fall.

It was only when the dragon was under the tower did it stop and looked up as, with a heavy crashing and rumbling the entire structure fell down. The dragon let out a roar, sounding like a bear caught in a trap as it tried to scramble out of the way, but pieces of brickwork were already striking its huge body.

Piece by piece the tower fell, the dragons body taking the broken stonework as it was crushed by the weight of the tower. It roared as its bones broke and its body was covered, its huge form buried under the rubble.

Kassi'm held onto the wall as the tower fell, the ground rushing up to meet him from below. He heard the dragon roar as the structure collapsed on top of it. Kassi'm realised in a split second he had to jump, otherwise he was going down with the tower.

With a deep breath and a loud cry he leapt from the tower, hoping that the ground was close enough to him that it would break his fall and not his bones. For a moment he hung in the air without anything to hold him, and he wondered for a split second if he had misjudged the jump. And then the ground rushed up to meet him as he landed.

He cried out as he made contact, feeling his entire body shake as pain erupted over his body. He rolled several times over on the ground, feeling dust and dirt spray up into his face. He stopped rolling as he crashed into a large piece of broken stonework. For a moment he lay there, catching his breath as he waited for a few moments in case anything happened.

Silence was filling the air around them all as he slowly pushed with his arms. He groaned as his arms felt as heavy as iron and his body was wracked with pain from his fall. He took a deep breath as he forced himself to get up. With a loud groan he pushed himself onto wobbly legs as he fully stood up.

He turned around and saw that behind him the tower had completely collapsed on top of the dragon, and the dragon was trapped. Parts of its wings and its head were free from the rubble, but blood was already seeping onto the ground like a river had broken through.

Kassi' panted as he pulled one of his daggers from hid belt and held it up in his hand, pressing the palm of his other hand behind the handle. With his weapon raised he slowly moved forward towards the beast. The dragon was struggling and a few pieces of rubble fell off its huge body, but its struggles were weakening as its strength was leaving its body.

The dragon moved its head as it saw that Kassi'm was moving towards it through the dust in the air. Its jaws moved and its huge tongue lolled out of its open mouth like a dying snake as it regarded the approaching lizard.

"Grik Aan Hun....come to kill me..." the dragon said. It barely moved its mouth, its thick sinewy lips twitching around the words it spoke. "I will.... not die ... today..." it growled at him as a noise escaped its mouth, its harsh panting sounding like it was laughing.

"I have no idea what you just said" Kassi'm said as he held the dagger up in his hands. "And I honestly don't care" he said as the dragon watched him, Kassi'm noticing for the first time that its eyes were slitted and glowing like a felines that sparked with an inner fire.

Kassim had no words for the dragon, nor did he feel any sympathy for it as he brought his dagger up and slammed the blade between its eyes. The dragon let out a roar of pain as it was stabbed in its forehead, the sharp and beautiful elven blade driving into its skull like it was a piece of meat.

Then its eyes widened as a look of sudden realisation came to it and the look of shock and horror upon its jagged face made Kassim let go of his dagger and stepped back in surprise. To see such a look upon a dragon was not something he had thought of seeing up close.

"Do...va...khin...no..." The dragon said as its breath began to fail with it. Slowly the fire died behind its eyes and its head slumped against the ground and fell still. Kassim heard its breath leave its body in a long drawn out sigh as the dragon died before him.

For a moment, Kassi'm allowed himself to relax as he believed the dragon was finally dead. That moment was short lived as he realised its breathing was not done. Its last breath continued to exhale and it was starting to heat up.

Kassim took a step back as the dragons breath begin to light up. Its breath took on a colour of its own and turned bright. And then the colour turned into light. But it was not a light that Kassi'm had ever seen before, it was something completely different. It was bright, ethereal, and felt like the warmest most comforting breath he had ever experienced.

The light finally left the dragon's mouth and it spun around Kassi'm as if it had a life of its own. Kassi'm looked around as he felt a sense of panic and fear rush through him as the light spiralled around him as if it was a cocoon of silk. And then the light made contact.

Kassim saw... something pass his vision as a flood of images and experiences washed through him. He saw visions fly before him in a rushing howl of sensations. Visions of lands and skies that he had never seen before. He felt the rush of air and the touch of ground that he had never set foot on. He could smell sights and lands that he had never visited.

And he heard whispers against his ears as if the gentles tongues were dancing against his lobes. Whispers of words, stories and tales that he had never heard of before were spoken to him. Words that made no sense but felt so familiar at the same time.

He felt completely overwhelmed by the pure rush of it all, and yet he felt that it was beautiful at the same time. It should have been confusing, but he did not feel afraid of it. Instead he felt a calmness that he had never felt before.

And then the light faded. It simply disappeared into the air around Kassim and for a moment silence hung around him. The sensations and lights faded and he felt his senses return to normal. Kassim blinked several times, but the images and experiences that had flooded him were gone, as if they had never existed.

"Kassi'm, are you okay?" Kassim heard Alto say as the khajiit walked up to him. The feline seemed exhausted and he was covered in dust and dirt as well, but he was fine otherwise. And he was looking at Kassim with concern written over his face.

"What...what just happened?" Kassi'm asked, before he noticed the dragon in front of him. He actually let out a surprised gasp as he saw that the dragon was no longer a dragon, it was a corpse.

All that remained of the dragon was a skeleton. Still in place, the skeleton had not moved from its position and it was still held together. But the bones were not white as if they were brand-new, they looked as if they had been sitting there for hundreds of years. For a moment, Kassim felt that he had walked in on an ancient ruin from another time.

"What happened to the dragon?" Kassi'm asked as he heard footsteps behind him. Irilith was walking up to him, her face set in a confused expression that did not seem to suit her stern attitude. Behind her, were a few of the remaining guards that had managed to survive and they were gazing at Kassim as if they were noticing him for the first time.

"I can't believe it. You... You are a dragonborn" said one of the guards, awe and admiration in his voice.

"Ah...what?" Kassi'm asked as he felt confused for a moment. "What is a dragonborn? What was that light and what happened to the dragon?" he asked as he felt the questions tumble from his mouth.

"In the oldest tales of our land, from the days when dragon still roamed in the skies, there are lived a single person called a Dragonborn" said another of the guards as he lifted his helmet of his head as he spoke. Ash was streaked over his face and he was gazing at Kassi'm in total awe.

"He was the only one who could kill a dragon, and steal its power" the guard continued as he spoke. "he could take the powers of Dragons and used them against them. A dragonborn is a living legend like no other" he said.

"That is impossible" Irilith said as she found her voice at least. She shook her head in disbelief. "the dragonborn is nothing more then myths and legend woven into fairy tales."

"You do not believe because you are not a Nord" said another guard as he looked at Irilith, as if she had just insulted the Gods herself. "Every Nord knows these stories, and they treat them seriously" he said as he ingored the indignant look on his commanders face as he turned back to Kassi'm.

"That is what you did" he said as he stepped forward. "you took the Dragons power. This means you should be able to use it against them" he said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Kassim said as he felt completely confused by the situation. he had questions he wanted to answer, yet they seemed to act as if saying Dragonborn explained everything.

"Try the power" said another guard. "that is the only way to prove it" he said.

"this is ridiculous" Irilith said as she sheathed her sword into its hilt and looked at them all as if they were crazy. "the legends of the dragonborn are just tales that have been blown out of proportion. dragon souls and the breath of life and words of power, none of that is true and none of that exist in this day and age. You do not derive that kind of power from dragon. It can only be taught by the Greybeards, and that is fact, not a fable" she said with finality in her voice.

Kassim was about to object, when something seemed to awaken itself in his thoughts. The whispers that he had heard in the back of his mind will like the whispers back in the cave that held that strange wall. those same whispers had spoken a word to him, and the whispers from the breath of the dragon had whispered to him in the same time.

Perhaps, was it possible that they were connected?

He scratched his head for a moment, unsure of how to exactly go about it. so he decided that there was nothing to it as he simply turned to face the rubble behind him and decided to give it a shout.

"FUS"

he felt something escape his mouth, a type of magic that he had never felt before. it seemed to build up in his throat and then just simply escape with such force that he felt his head snapped back. A wall of air, not unlike the blast from the draugr back in the tomb, escaped from his mouth and blasted towards the rubble.

Unlike the previous blast of magic, it was nowhere near as powerful but it was still strong enough that it dislodged the skeleton in the rubble. Rocks and bones broke apart as they crumbled and scattered all over the ground.

"that sound could break a mountain" said one of the guards in complete and utter awe. Kassim turned around as he tried to take in what had just happened. how could he have possibly learned such a type of magic without having studied it ever?

"that... That was really cool" said Alto with a smile on his face. Kassim scratched at the back of his head as he didn't know what to say about it. Irilith though stepped forward with the same stern disapproving look on her face that she always seem to have when Kassim was around.

"I don't know about this dragon board business, to me it is nothing more than fairy tales. whatever that was, was nothing. you are no more talented then a student of the grey beards" she said with an annoyed tone in her voice.

"you know" Kassim said as he turned to the dark elf woman before him as he reached down and pulled his dagger from the dislodged skull now at his feet. "I just saved you and the remainder of your guards from this dragon" he said to her. "you had 20 men at your disposal, and I counts six of them left" he pointed out.

Irilith did not look very happy to be spoken to in such a manner and her hand went back to the hilt of her sword as she gave Kassi'm that familiar unpleasant galre. But the intimidation tactic had not worked in the past, and Kassim was not about to let it work now.

"I don't care how I managed to kill it, but I did. And you didn't" Kassim said to her as he sheathed his dagger against his belt. "how about you get out of my way?" he said.

"why would I do that?"Irilith said as she pulled a couple of inches of her sword from its sheath."I should just cut you down for your insubordination right here right now" she said, then she was suddenly stopped by a guard grabbing her arm.

"you will not touch the dragon born" the guard said in a fierce voice to her. both Irilth and Kassim were surprised to see the guards quickly move between the dark elf and the argonian and separated them from one another. All the guards were facing the captain.

"if the dragon born really is nothing more than a fairy tale of a legend, he is still a legend of Skyrim. And Nords are the sons and daughters of Skyrim. we will not allow anyone to harm him, no true Nord would ever raised his hand against a dragonborn" said another guard.

Irilith was so taken aback by her men actually standing up to her she was literally caught with her mouth open in a state of disbelief. One of the guards turned from his position to face Kassim and Alto.

"Go back to the Jarl and inform him on what happened" he said. "We will not allow the commander to follow you, or to touch you" he said. Kassi'm saw that Irlith was now recovering herself and she still had her hand on her sword. Knowing that he was weakened further and he wasn't up to fighting a skilled warrior like her after just defeating a dragon, Kassi'm wisely said nothing to her and stepped back.

"Lets go" he said to Alto. Alto nodded as Kassi'm turned and started to run off. Alto did not look back as he ran after Kassi'm.

Behind them they could hear the commander shout at her men, but the further they ran the less they were able to make out what exactly she was saying. Yet they could still tell how angry she was, and they were glad that she was not coming after them.

the Sun was finally beginning to set in the distance as they reached the ramp that led to Whiterun. They stopped for a moment to catch their breath as they bent over holding their knees, each one desperate for breath to try to refill their lungs. Alto was the first to break the silence.

"Did...did you know you were a dragonborn?" he asked. Kassim shook his head no as he slowly stood up, rubbing his sides a little. his entire body was still aching from the fall and from his so-called adventures throughout the entire day.

"no" he said honestly."I had absolutely no idea, and I have absolutely no idea what happened to me" he added. he shook his head in disbelief, still trying to figure out what was going on. he shook his head again as he simply could not wrap his mind around it, and he was suddenly aware of just how tired he really was.

"I'm not going to worry about it right now" he said as he stood up. "lets go to the Jarl and get my reward. maybe after a good night sleep I can work something out more on thiss" he said. Alto nodded as Kassim started to walk up the ramp towards Whiterun.

"My grandfather used to tell me stories about the dragon born" Alto said as he followed behind. "I'm starting to wish I had listened a little more seriously" he added with the somewhat embarrassed smile spread over his face. Kassim rolled his eyes of the remark, but he couldn't help but smile as well.

torches were lighting up all around the village as the Sun was setting, keeping the streets lit in the twilight that was surrounding them.the majority of the residents were now in their homes, but the guards still patrolled streets and only a few people were actually out.

warily, Kassim made his way up the long steps to Dragonsreach and pushed the door is open. his nostrils were invaded by the smell of dinner, roasted meats and vegetables and the smell of ale. obviously the Jarls dining tables were being laid for the evening meals.

"huh" kassi'm said to himself as he realised, while passing the table, that one of the setting was missing. One of the servers was pointing out the empty space to another, and they looked to be getting into an arguement over it.

They found the Jarl up in his study quarters, still studying the model on the table. He looked up with a rather expectant look on his face he realised that Kassim and alto had returned. Although he looked slightly crestfallen as he realised that they were both alone.

"you've returned" Baalgruff said as he stood up and walked over to them both. "well? Is the dragon dead, did you manage to kill it?" he asked rather expectantly. Kassim sighed and shook his head.

"yes I'm fine" he said to the Jarl. "The dragon is dead. I killed it myself" Kassim said. The Jarl looked visibly relieved as he slumped his shoulders and allowed a sigh of relief to escape his lips. He smiled and shook his head as he rubbed his forehead, which was covered in the sweat from worrying all afternoon.

"Most of your men died, and the Western watchtower is completely destroyed" Kassim added. The jarl looked up at that announcement, and the little joy that he had been feeling disappeared from his face.

"that is a heavy price to pay" he said as he brought his hand down and placed it on his hip. "I will have to notify the families in the morning that their loved ones will not be returning" he said as he stared off into space for a moment. Baalgruff shook his head again as he looked up. "but as tragic as this is, my city is safe for the time being."

Kassim said nothing as he watched the Jarl move back to the model and begin to inspected again.Alto gave a look to Kassim with a raised eyebrow. Kassim shook his head as he stepped forwar.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" He said with an annoyed tone of voice. The jarl turned around with a confused look on his face as he seemed to try and understand what Kassi'm was talking about. It took him a minute or two to figure it out before he nodded and walked over to one of the shelves in the room.

"For helping me, this is yours" he said as he handed the small box to Kassim. Kassim took it and looked at it. It was a small carved wooden box that was small enough to fit in his hands. It didn't look very remarkable of all, until he lifted the lid. inside the little box was a small folded piece of parchment sealed with a wax seal. on top of the parchment was a bright metal key.

"Breezeholme is now yours" said Baalgruff as he looked at Kassi'm. "As I promised, fully furnished and ready to move in. That parchment is the deed. it proves that you are the owner" he said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You will find it near the smithy at the main gates" he added.

Kassi'm nodded as he closed the box and kept it in his hands as he looked up at the Jarl. The jarl then took something else off the shelving and walked up to Alto.

"Because you helped us as well, this is for you" he said. "The Axe of Whiterun" he said as he handed a slender looking axe to Kassi'm. The handle was made out of fine iron and it was patterned down the shaft with images of galloping horses. The blade was round and sharp, the edge keened and honed to a point. Even as Alto touched it in his hands, he could feel the power of the ice enchantment that coated the blade.

"To signify that you helped us" Baalgruff said to Alto as he looked up at the feline. "this is from my personal Treasury, and I do not give such things out easily, nor willingly" he said. Alto nodded, not wishing to argue with the Jarl as he held the weapon in his hands.

"Too bad I'm not much of an axe person" Alto said with a light shrug of his shoulders. "but i do thank you for this honour" he said as he stepped back. Kassi'm stepped forward as he looked at Baalgruff.

"We both have our rewards. That means our business together is done" he said firmly. He did not let Baalgruff get a word in or have the time to make a comment, as he simply turned and left the room. Alto followed him as well, not looking back at the Jarl either.

"When were you going to mention to him that you're the dragon born?"alto asked as he caught up to Kassim, holding the axe in his hand. Kassim shook his head as they walked towards the doors and he didn't pause in his movements as he pushed the door is open.

"it's none of his business" Kassim said as he stepped out into the air of the twilight evening. "plus, if I told him most likely he would try and use that as a reason from him to use me in this stupid war that's brewing. Or get me to do a stupid fetching quest again" he said flatly.

The smell of twilight and evening coated his nostrils, a very welcome smell as opposed to the smell of ash and burnt flesh.Kassim did not speak as he felt his steps slowly begin to get heavier as he forced himself to move along. the incredibly long and tiring day was finally catching up with and he felt as if he was about to fall asleep in the middle of the Street.

"where is this damn house" Kassim said as he reached the streets at the lower level of white run. he could see the gates in the distance where the smithy lay. The Jarl had said that the house was near there, although he hadn't been altogether specific about it.

"I think this is it" Alto said as they found a rathers comfortable looking house set just off the main road of the city. A rather medium-sized structure with what looked like a second story above it, the house looked as cosy as any cottage Kassim had seen before.

"one way to find out" Kassim said as he opened the box and pulled out the key. "there had better be a bed in here, or I'm going right back up there and punching him in the face" Kassim said. he wasn't sure if he was saying that just because he was tired, but he felt reassured once he actually said that.

He pushed the key into the lock, and turned it. There was a very satisfying click as the door was unlocked. With a smile and a sense of relief, Kassi'm gave the door a push of his hand and the door swung inwards easily, allowing him entrance into his own home.

"wow" also said as he stepped into the first room of the home. The base room seemed to cover the entire bottom for in one open space, although it was rather narrow. They were greeted by two chairs sitting in front of a large open coal fireplace sat on the floor, although it was not lit. A cooking pot hung above the grating.

behind the fireplace was long dining table, and beyond that lay several large shelves and cupboards. However, in the dimly lit building Kassi'm could see that the table was bare and the shelves were empty as well. The house did indeed look furnished, but it wasn't decorated as far as he could tell.

A set of wooden steps almost like a ladder off to the side of the room led upstairs. Guessing that, hopefully, it was where the bedrooms were, Kassim reached up and warily undid his backpack and he allowed it to fall to the ground beside him.

"I guess this is the appropriate time to say welcome home?" Also said to his friend. Kassim nodded and he couldn't help but smile as he could look forward to a long and good nights sleep. He was surely finding it harder to actually stay awake.

"first thing in the morning, I am getting on the first cart to Winterhold. I am getting the hell out of here" he said with a grin on his face as he stepped into the open door away. "No way am I hanging around here any longer then I have too" he admitted.

He took only one step something overhead in the night sky. it sounded like thunder mixed with lightning and for a moment Kassim thought a storm had actually broken out. he ducked out of the door way and looked up at the night sky as he saw something thundering in the clouds above.

"What the heck?" Alto said as he ducked out as well, stepping into the dark street as the sky above seemed to light up with an array of lights and sounds hidden within the dense clouds.

It was a voice that seemed to own the twilight sky and thunder through the clouds, causing a storm within itself as it echoed around them. And then, as quickly as the voice had come, the sky calmed and the storm passed. Whatever words had been spoken within the sky, Kassi'm had no idea what they had said.

Kassim and alto stood there in the Street as they looked up at the sky, a couple of the guards nearby and indeed some of the passers by looking up as well. the looks on all of their faces, nobody had expected such a thing to occur.

"what... The hell was that" Kassim said "was that a storm?" He said as he turned to Alto. Alto shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. He didn't look like he had something good to say, and he seemed a little afraid to tell him.

"that wasn't a storm. That was... Something else entirely" he said. Kassim looked at him in confusion as he waited for a further explanation, but the feline seemed hesitant to divulge any more information.

"so what was it then?" He said, feeling slightly frustrated.

"that, that was the grey beards" Alto said as he seemed a little uneasy. "I know you don't want to hear this, by I'm pretty sure they just summoned you" he said in a small voice.

"summoned?" Kassim said in disbelief as he felt his arms fall to his sides and his jaw simply hung open in surprised. Did Alto just say that he was summoned?

"yes" alto said. "you've been summoned to High Hrothgar. It's said they call in the sky to summon the dragonborn to come back to High Hrothgar at once, at least that's according to my grandfathers stories" he said as he gestured a hand into the distance.

Kassi'm followed the gesture in a stunned silence as he saw where Alto was pointing too. In the distance, he could make out a mountain that lay beyond where the small town of Riverwood lay. The mountain was a towering behemoth of stone and ice, and the top of the mountain seemed to disappear into the clouds.

"You're supposed...to go up there" Alto said quietly as he brought his hand down. He felt a little reluctant to go anywhere near the silent standing argonian, and the silence was starting to unnerve him.

Kassim looked at the mountain in complete and utter disbelief for what felt like several long minutes. Then he suddenly looked up in the sky and shouted so loudly those still standing nearby jumped in surprise and in shock from the sudden intense outburst.

"are you kidding me?"