The Elder Scrolls: Dominion (BOOK 1: Legionnaire)

Chapter 1 - The Life He Never Wanted

As they approached the stable, Karl's Nord mother, who was tending to the chickens, spotted them. "Why, hello, Adania!" She greeted Nia, who smiled in return.

"So, this is where I leave you, Karl. See you tomorrow." Nia bade goodbye, as she slung her bow on her back, adjusted her quiver of arrows, and galloped away.

Karl got off of his horse and hitched it towards its respective stall. "So, what did you find?" His mother asked, while tossing grains towards the chickens.

"The usual. A pheasant, a boar, a wolf, a stag." He answered, uninterested. His mother was used to this answer, and thus, ignored him. He headed inside the house, thinking about when he would talk to his parents about his lifelong dream of joining the Legion.

-

It was suppertime when he finally found the courage. Their meal wasn't lavish: simple vegetable soup. His Imperial father was drinking his daily supply of juniper berry-mixed mead so much, it was a miracle he was still sober. His parents were talking about a recent dragon attack in the hold.

Karl kept quiet during the conversation. He had been thinking about what he should say. He imagined himself as a Legion general, planning a wise strategy. Somehow, the daydream motivated him. Perhaps they would agree, he thought. Thank the Divines his parents were not Stormcloak supporters, or else he would be stuck living in this dreary life, or worse, he would have to become a Stormcloak himself. Finally, after much thought, he braced himself and asked, "Mother, Father, I've been meaning to ask you..."

The couple stopped talking and faced their son. "What is it, Karl? Is it bone break fever again?" His mother asked, always the concerned one.

"So, I recently...turned fifteen...and thus I just came of age..." Why in the world did I have to stutter right now? He thought. "And, I was wondering...if...I can join the Imperial Legion."

The dining room was so still and quiet, that the crickets outside can be heard through the walls. The family stared at each other, not knowing what to say.

"Karl...just, why?" His mother broke the deafening silence.

"Because...Mother...I want to live freely. I want to be like all of those heroes that you told me stories of before I slept. Like the warriors, and mages, and even thieves that I read...I want adventure. I want its excitement, its dangers, its merits. What's the purpose of life if you're not living it the way you want?" Karl explained, with determination in his voice.

"Well, I think-" "-that is a great idea." His father cut off his loving wife, who was dumbstruck at being interjected. "But, Nermus, he'll die out there!" She exclaimed.

"Well, he'll train, won't he? And he's got his fellow Legionnaires covering his back." His father explained from experience.

"Easy for you to say! You've been there, fighting alongside your Legion brothers and sisters back in the Great War. Me, I have to tend my father's leeks and milk my mother's cow during that time." His mother shot back.

"Yes, my dear, and as a former Legionnaire, I can say that Karl here has the makings of a fine soldier." His father announced. Karl was absolutely overjoyed to hear his father say this.

"Well, I don't." His mother snapped. "You, young man, head to your room. High King Ulfric will bend his knee to the Empire before you join the Legion."

Following orders, Karl left the table, leaving his parents to argue about his fate, and walked sullenly towards his room in the cellar. He knew his mother was always concerned about him, but he always thought that she would grow out of it when he got older. Guess not. Karl reached his room and hurled himself onto his fur-covered bed. As he laid down, he thought about his father, whom he assumed was going to be the one who'll disagree first, seeing as how he was scarred by the horrors of the Great War, but, again, guess not. He now had much more respect for his father. He actually thought he had the makings of a Legionnaire. Now that's believing.

Karl drifted to sleep, dreaming that tomorrow, he would wake up to his father telling him that he was taking him all the way to the Imperial City to sign up for the Legion. He then saw himself training with the other new recruits, smithing his own sword and armor. Then, he saw himself as a general, leading an entire Legion towards the battlefield. What he saw on the other side of the battlefield, however, was what turned his dream into a nightmare.

An army of elves were marching down on them, holding swords literally made out of purple smoke, and together with them, were a bunch of terrifying atronachs of different elements. The leader of the elven army was leading the vanguard, equipped with, what he saw, the finest glass armor. He placed his hands together to form one gigantic fireball, almost meteoric in size. And, with one hurl, he sent the fireball towards him. Karl could actually feel the heat moving towards him and braced for impact, when suddenly, he woke up, his face and body sweating.

That wasn't the worst part. He didn't wake up from the nightmare. He woke up because he smelled smoke and his room was on fire.