The Price of Vengeance- A Skyrim Fanfiction

Four: Dragonborn

I followed Irileth out of Dragonsreach and into the streets of Whiterun, where she rounded up guards to accompany us. We ran out of the gate, and made our way towards the watchtower. Irileth was shouting something to her men, but I was lost in my own questions. The dragon at Helgen was here? How had they come back? Why had they come back? I shook myself out of my reverie as we approached the tall building, which now lay in shambles.

A loud growl sounded from the sky and I looked up to see a huge beast circling, roaring its challenge out towards us. A guard ran out of the wrecked tower in our direction, even as Irileth told us to make damn well sure to make every arrow count. This dragon was much smaller than the one at Helgen, and instead of jet black scales, they were a mottled purplish brown color.

The dragon swooped down at us, and gave another frightful roar. It opened its large jaw, exposing layers of teeth as it yelled something in a language that seemed strangely familiar to my ears, like a dream I had once had. Fo Krah Diin! It shouted, unleashing a blizzard of ice on us that made our reflexes lag, and slowed us down drastically.

I ran up to the roof of the destroyed tower, and pulling out the bow, nocked an arrow and sighted down the shaft at the dragon who was perched on a piece of the tower. I let it fly, only to see it miss by a few feet. By Oblivion. I swear I'll put in more time with my archery if I live through this, I thought as I pulled another arrow back with as much force as I could muster without snapping the string. This one struck the beast right in the flank, and while it searched for me, Irileth and her men got in a few more shots. I made my way down again before it could locate me and held another arrow ready to release.

The dragon took off again, but its wings had been pierced, causing it to land hard nearby. The dragon spoke. "I had forgotten what fine sport you mortals can provide!" Its voice was gravelly and rough, and it punctuated its words by snapping a soldier who had gotten too close into two and sending the body flying. One of the other guards charged the dragon's side, yelling the Old Nord cry, "Victory or Sovngarde!" as he drove his sword into the dragon's body and leaped back. Spurred on by their comrade's success at both wounding the dragon and not dying, my fellow armsmen ran towards the creature and hacked at it. The dragon's thick hide offered some protection, but ten swords poking at you will have some impact.

It killed another man with a well aimed bite, and sent two more sprawling when it shoved its wings outward. It also used its tail like a mace, lashing out at the men and then turning and snapping at them. It opened its mouth and let fly that powerful cry again, sending an avalanche of cold cascading around us. As it snapped its jaws shut, I noticed my chance. I drew Frostfang and decided to finish it off. Taking in a deep breath, I leaped towards the creature's head and sunk Frostfang into its eye socket, and drove it in as hard as I could with both hands. The sword itself seemed to glow blue, exuding an unearthly chill that passed through my hands as it flooded the dragon's skull.

The beast gave a final low moan and died saying something I didn't catch because of the guards' elated whoops. The body of the creature lay still for a while and just as Irileth opened her mouth, it started to smoke and let off a golden light. A strange mist coalesced from the now stripped and bare bones, and entered me, making me gasp. The word that had sung in my head, Fus, now made perfect sense. Before, I knew what the word meant, but now, I knew what the word could do.

The soldiers seemed to be staring at me with a mixture of confusion and awe, and even Irileth seemed stunned. "Dragonborn.", breathed a guard with a reverent bow. This seemed so out of character that I simply stared at the man like an idiot, until a huge booming voice rolled across us, sending us to our knees. "DOVAHKIIN!", it echoed, and I was seriously confused and nervous. Irileth pulled me to my feet and said, "I don't know about this Dragonborn business, but we better get back to Dragonsreach. The Jarl is waiting." Almost as an afterthought, she grudgingly added, "You fight well. For a civilian anyway." I searched the dragon's corpse, and after lifting as many of its bones and scales I could find, I ran to catch up with the soldiers.