Shadows of the Dark Path (A Skyrim Fanfiction)

Chapter 3 - In Search of Peace

14th of Sun's Dawn, 4E 201

Castle Dour, Solitude

Halund's father stood before him, basking in the purple hue of the heavenly place they were in. Rays of light reflected off the smooth, metallic breastplate that he wore. His crimson leather underarmor highlighted his matted, brown hair which was longer than ever before. The stains of blood were still visible on his chest, where the sword had plunged through him.

"Hello, my son", said Hadvar, grinning from ear to ear showing his bright white teeth. He had a misty white aura surrounding him. But, Halund then saw it was not only around his father, but it was everywhere.

"F-father?", asked Halund, his eyes glittering in disbelief. "How. . . Wh-What is this sorcery? How are you here?"

"The same way you are", said his father, his smile still wide, making his cheeks bulge a little. Halund waited for an explanation, but received none.

"What do you mean? I'm in Castle Dour! I'm in Solitude!".

"Is it so? Then what are we doing in Sovngarde?", asked the Imperial warrior. His grin disappeared and he pointed to the sky.

Halund followed his finger and understood what his father meant. The purple clouds, the spiral sky, the hazy ground . . . and the dead people! His mind working rapidly to try and figure out how he had died. He looked at his hands and feet. I'm still a boy and not a man. He then checked his armour for any sign of battle damage, but there was none. Strange! I wasn't killed by a wound. Am I really dead?

"Of course not!", said Hadvar, synchronizing with Halund's thoughts.

"How did yo-. . .What am I doing here then?", asked Halund impatiently.

"Don't you remember? You had a-. . ". His voice was cut-off by an even louder voice. . .

. . . The voice said, "Halund! Halund! Can you hear me?" Halund slowly opened his eyes. He had no clue what happened or where he was at that moment. He felt his temples throbbing with pain. "You're awake, at last. The hilt hurts a lot, doesn't it?" He raised one brow in question but in a flash it struck him.

Over the past two months, Halund had been training only with General Tullius. While there were occasional threats from a few Stormcloaks (who had all been imprisoned easily), Halund had almost mastered the art of swordplay. He had been learning how to use the pommel of a sword to attack an opponent and how to dodge the same. And that was when he had been knocked out by General Tullius by the tail end of his sword.

"Up you get", said General Tullius as he heaved Halund to his feet. Halund managed to stand, quite unsteadily, and touched the part on his forehead which was aching and winced in pain when he found out that he had a bulge there. "Ooh. . . That's not good. Well, we better get that fixed soon. Go meet Sybille. She'll heal you quickly and you'll be good as new". Halund nodded and headed off towards the Blue Palace, the residence of the Jarl of Solitude.

Sybille Stentor was the Court Wizard who specialized in Destruction magic. She was a very important figure in the Blue Palace and had been a Court Wizard since the present Jarl's grandfather had ruled the land. She was always busy with managing expenses, conducting experiments and often bossing over the other members of the court, even the Jarl herself. Halund found her conducting one of her 'expensive experiments' with Falk, the steward lingering near her. The odour from her study was so unpleasant that he felt slightly sick. She raised her head from the pot when she head footsteps and saw Halund walking towards her with the lump on his forehead.

"Oh, no! Not again! Why does not General Tullius understand that wounds should only be obtained in battle and not during training?", said Sybille.