Sundas, 21st of Sun's Height.
I am Hiro.
I am a Nord.
I am an adventurer.
I am Arch Mage of the Winterhold College. Harbinger of the Companions. Listener of the Dark Brotherhood. Leader of the Thieves guild. A Nightingale. ...
But most of all.
I am Dovahkkin. The Dragonborn.
It's 25 past 6 AM when I open my eyes. I look to the wooden ceiling of the Frostfruit Inn in Rorikstead. It's still early but I have a long day ahead of me. When I get out of my bed I notice that Serena is up already.
Who is Serena?
Serena is a woman, a vampire, I released from a dungeon. She was locked up together with her Elder Scroll, a very powerful 'weapon'. Her father needs the Elder Scroll to put Skyrim into eternal darkness so he and his clan wouldn't need to hide from humans anymore. Me, as member of the Dawnguard (a group that swears to defeat the vampires), and her, being afraid of her father's madness, are on a quest together to release Skyrim out of the grip of the vampires. But today we have other things to do.
I dress myself into my black armor It's a special Nightingale armor. It's my favourite armor. It's light and I'm able to walk quietly with it. I also carry a Deadric armor with me for when I get into heavy battles. We walk to the common room of the inn. A big room with a fireplace in the middle. There are no other guests except Eric the Slayer, a worthless sell sword I greet the innkeeper. "Good morning." I buy seared Slaughterfish, a jug of milk and half a bread for breakfast. I buy grilled chicken and Nord mead for later this day.
I put myself on a bench at a table. My back turned to the fire. It's quiet. Serena puts herself aside me and drinks a cup of... whatever vampires drink... I don't want to know.
We finish breakfast before 7 AM. I open the door of the inn and step outside. The sky is grey. I see that the sun is trying to reach the surface of the earth but the big grey clouds block any light. Wind blows firmly around me. My horse, Shadwowmare, awaits me. He is not a common horse. Horses in Skyrim are slow but very strong. Shadowmare is even more special, his eyes are red and he's not afraid to defend me in battle.
I climb on his back and lead him through the town. It's not much of a town. There are a few houses and a farm. Even though it's early there are some people up already. The guards, who guard the town day and night, some children who are playing tag and an old man. I follow the road, avoid a chicken that waggles around and follow a path that leads into the hills. Serena follow me closely. Right outside town there are two elks wandering around. I draw my bow and loose an arrow. One elk falls down, the other one flees. I get off my horse and take what I can get. Venison, his large antlers, the arrow that I shot and it's hide. Everything seems useful for later. I get back on my horse and enjoy the landscape around me.
The landscape?
Skyrim is a rough land. There are a lot of mountains. There are tundras but also forests and highlands. The hills I ride on now, here in the west of Skyrim, are rather flat. There aren't many trees, only low bushes. I'm on my way to a camp to fetch a book that the librarian at the mage's college of Winterhold is looking for.
I head west and arrive near the top of the hill. There are some wooden fences and I see tents between rocks. It doesn't look like I'm welcome here. A guard seems to have noticed me already and doesn't want me to get closer. I get off my horse and loose an arrow. The first guard dies with one shot.
Serena runs forward and uses magic on the second guard, ice spikes. Shadowmare, as brave as he is, rushes forward to help her out. But it's my arrow that kills him. I don't see any more guards so I sneak closer. I take a look at the men I killed. They're Forsworn. Aggressive Bretons that claim this lands as theirs. When I take a look of what the guards were carrying, I hear a voice behind me. "Is someone there?" A woman appears from out of a tent.
I draw my bow as fast as I can and shoot her down. But I wasn't fast enough, more Forsworn heard me. A Forsworn with two swords runs to us. Serena uses magic and reanimates the woman I just shot to fight for us. Conjuration magic. It takes two shots, and help of my horse and Serena, to take the man down. I look into the tents and notice a chest. It's locked but I lockpick it and take a look inside. I find Gold, a Sapphire, a Soul gem, a potion and Iron armor. I leave the armor and take the rest. Aside the chest I find a knapsack with apples. I take an apple and leave the tent. When I come outside I hear my horse screaming. A Forsworn Briarheart appeared. They're the leaders of the Forsworn camps. They have magical powers and are much stronger than the others. It takes a few shots to take him down. Only then I realize there was one more Forsworn, he drops his weapons and flees. "Enough!" he screams. My horse runs after him and hits him with his hooves. The Forsworn tries to heal himself but I shoot him down.
I find two nice swords on the Forsworn Briarheart and I take his heart which is a value alchemy item.
Steps lead me to a ruin of a tower. There are goat heads on spikes that are supposed to warn me for danger. I'm not afraid. With Serena behind me I enter the tower. Shadowmare stays outside. When my eyes get used to the darkness I notice traps. I avoid the first trap and shoot a man, that guards a door, down before he can see me. I pass the second trap and... A door with spikes comes my way. I look behind me and cuss. Serena activated the first trap. Thank you Serena. The door made a lot noise and all the other Forsworn in the tower are aware of our presence. I open the door in front of me, draw an arrow and wait in a corner. Soon one man appears. I try to shoot him before he reaches me. He laughs and says "You can't defeat me!" He manages to hit me a few times before he falls dead down.
A Hagraven appears. Hagravens are scary creatures. They look like big birds, but without feathers. They make an awful sound. I shoot her and decent the stairs. I appear in a big room with an altar, stairs lead to a locked door. I climb the stairs and another Forsworn appears out of the shadows. I shoot him and look around. Everyone seems to be dead. The door is closed. I look to Serena "What now?" I ask her. She lifts her shoulders. I look to the altar and notice a button. I step on it and run back to the door but it's already closed again when I arrive there. I walk back and clear my throat. "Tiid Klo Ul!" I shout. The shout slows time around me. I step on the button and run up the stairs. This time I get through the gate. I take a hallway to the right and appear in a small room with an enchanting table, a bookshelf and a big chest. The chest isn't locked.
I look inside the chest and find the book I was looking for: 'Invocation of Azura'. Besides the book I find a spell I didn't learn yet and nice armor. I take everything and go back into the hallway. There's a locked door. I trigger a switch on the wall and get through the door, I appear into a cave that leads me back outside.
I arrive on a cliff. A river runs below me. I look to the sun and realize it's almost 10AM. I try to find my way down and notice a bear sleeping under a low tree. I loose an arrow and kill the bear before he notices me. I walk away from the river and notice a few tents. I walk slowly closer, not knowing if they're friends or foes. I see a dog and suddenly realize they're vampires. It's a Death Hound! A quick fight follows and I walk away. It started to rain. I cross a path and avoid an attack of a Sabre tiger. I notice the town where I woke up this morning in the distance but I head North. I'm heading to another camp to find important papers for the Dawnguard.
I get onto a stone road and follow it. I see a river in the distance. I walk on a bridge over the river and see the bandit camp on the other side of the river. There are two wooden watch towers build aside the road, linked with a bridge that hangs over the road. I crouch down and draw my bow. I shoot one guard down. A second guards runs over the bridge to see what happened, I shot him down too. The other guards don't know what's going on. Because of their confusion I manage to shoot two more down before a mage realizes what's going on. He runs down on the road, parries my arrows and attacks me with fireballs. After a short fight I manage to kill her.
I run under their bridge and climb to the entrance of their camp. A bandit guards the entrance. I shoot him down and enter the camp. I see straw circles, used for archery practice. I might find trained archers here. I see a man at a fire place, his back turned to me. I shoot him in his back and he falls into the fire. There are tents all around me. I walk carefully between them, still remembering how that Forsworn woman surprised me earlier this day. At the end of the camp I see a hut. I look inside. I hear a heavy armored man murmuring. "Is someone there?" I hold my breath. It's the bandit chief! I shoot him in the back and run away from the door. He grunts. "It's nothing..." He runs outside and raises his mace. "Raargh! Prepare to die!" I circle around him, parrying his blows, and kill him. I take a moment to recover and take his shield. Then I walk into the hut. There are two small separate rooms and a common room with a table. In one of the rooms I find a chest with the papers I was looking for: Dwemer Exploding Bolt Schematic. I also find a lot dwemer scrap and jewelry. I take the jewelry and get in the other room. I find an entrance to a hideout. I counted the tents outside and don't feel much for facing so many bandits. I leave the hut behind me.
I climb one of the wooden watch towers and realize that Serena isn't with me. I'm so used to her continue presence that I only realize it now. It's almost 1PM. I eat my grilled chicken and drink some Nord Mead. I leave the camp and head South West. I find a river with a big waterfall. At the foot of the waterfall I find a cottage with a fisherman. Or well, woman... She greets me. "I have been hunting and fishing in this parts for years!" I nod and cross the river. Hoping that there are no Slaughterfish. Those fish aren't afraid to attack any human that gets into their waters. I realize I have to cross this mountains to reach my next destination: Whiterun. I hear a dragon in the distance. I look around but I can't see him, he must be far away.
I find a shrine of Kynareth and pray. I follow the river for a bit and get bitten by a mudcrab. I grunt and kill him. I take his claws for alchemy. I see a lot of deer running away from me before I finally find a path. The path leads into the mountains. I hope this road will lead me safely to the other side of this mountains. As higher as I get into the mountain, how ground the snow covers. How higher I get... how louder I hear the dragon. I realize that the dragon's liar is probably on the top of this mountain... And this road is leading straight to it! At the side of the path a hunter made camp. He seems to have killed a frost troll. I pass him and continue. Suddenly I hear the wings of the dragon. I look above me and see the dragon flying over me. He found me. I start to run faster, to the top of the mountain. There I'll have a better chance to avoid his attacks than here on the narrow path. A frost troll blocks my path but the dragon kills him before he gets the chance to attack me.
I arrive on the top and see the Word Wall of the dragon. He flies over me, shouting at me. I loose a few arrows. Only some manage to hit him. He lands and uses his frost breath on me. I shout back. "Yol Toor Shul!" Fire breath. I shoot arrows at him, backing away from him. He tries to get me between his teeth but I manage to jump away each time.
After an intense fight he starts to burn. His skin and flesh burns away, only his bones remain. I feel his soul reaching to me. I accept it. Then I take some of his bones, I can make arrows with it later. I take a deep breath and decent the mountain.
I reach a small farm but I see no people. Did they flee for the dragon? I look behind me and hear another dragon. I don't feel much for another fight with a dragon so I walk away. The taiga of Whiterun hold spreads under me. I see small streams that carved their way through the rocky ground of the taiga. I see the biggest mountains of Skyrim in the distance. The Throat of the world.
I see a lot Elks walking around and... I feel the earth shuddering... Mammoths! I head closer and shout. "Raan Mir Tah!" The Mammoths and the deers calm down. I can get close to them now without them attacking me. The giant that walks with the Mammoths ignores me as long as I keep my distance. I move on.
After crossing streams, making my way through bushes, I get on a road. I see Whiterun in the distance but I sense something wrong. A woman runs to me. Her arms raised. Bloody red magic in her hands. Vampires, I realize quickly. I draw my bow. More vampires appear. There are many. Serena still didn't catch up with me, Shadowmare is probably with her. I'm alone. I shoot a few weaker vampires down and try to concentrate on the strongest Vampire. I can't parry their blood attacks. They drain energy away from me and add it to their energy. I shoot a few arrows at the strongest Vampire. "Do you think you stand a chance?" I feel myself getting weaker. Maybe I don't, but I can only try. With my last energy I shout. "Feim Zii Gron!" The vampire's attacks blow off on an invisible shield around me. It gives me a moment to drink some health potions. I draw my bow again and loose a few more shots to the strongest Vampire. She finally weakens and runs away. I finish the weaker vampires and hear a sound behind me. It's the strongest vampire again! She's holding a sword and swings it to me "Must... Kill..." I loose an arrow and she falls down.
The fight is finally over. I check their bodies. The Vampires were from Serena's father's clan. I take some Vampire's dust for alchemy and walk slowly to to Whiterun, avoiding the road this time.
When I arrive at Whiterun I remind myself of my task. I have to kill a pilgrim, a fake pilgrim. He's actually a dangerous vampire. But I have to do it quietly. The guards can't know about it. When I'm about to walk through the big gates of Whiterun I notice that Serena has caught up with me. She holds her hands at her eyes and looks to the sky. The sun is getting lower, it's almost 5 PM. "It's so bright out here, I don't know how you stand it." I enter the town and look around. I immediately see a strange face. It's a man dressed in ragged clothes, he looks like a beggar. That must be my target. I walk to him. He turns around. "Need something?" Being aware of Serena close behind me I reply. "What shrine are you going to?" "Well eh, eh, well. I'm going to them all... One at a time... Till I visited them all in Skyrim!" I'm sure that he's the fake pilgrim now. I look around and see people everywhere. I can't kill him like this. "Come with me." I say. "Why, what do you want?" I try to come up with something. "I'll take you to the monsters you're hunting." trying to sound persuasive. "What are you talking about, I don't know anything about monsters." He turns around and walks away from me.
I walk to the nearest house, the blacksmith of the town, and hide myself in the shadows of the roof. I wait. When I see that the square is free, I draw an arrow. Soon a little girl screams. I bite my lip. I've never been good at this. They noticed it already. I try to sneak out of town but at the gates the guards hold me. "You've committed crimes again Skyrim and her people, what do you say in your defense?" I sight. The bounty for killing someone is high. "I"m with the guild... I'll pay you half of my bounty, isn't that enough?" The guard takes the money and lets me go.
I walk away from the walls of Whiterun, it's 7 PM. I stop at a camp set right out of town, Serena is still in town so I can better wait on her. The camp is a traveling Khajiit camp. You can best describe Khajiit as big cats that walk like humans. I walk to their fire and a Khajiit called Khayla greets me. "A welcome to you fellow traveler. The roads makes this one weary." I agree with her and put myself down at the fire. I eat some of the grilled leeks that the Khajiit offer me and eat some roasted goat meat that I found at the Forsworn camp earlier today. When I'm done eating I walk to Ri'Saad. I buy some of the salt he's selling and sell the swords I found earlier today. Serena appears so we get on our way.
We walk on a road right outside Whiterun. There are a lot farms at the side of the roads. The sky is turning orange and stars appear. A guard greets me. "Staying safe I hope." I pass the Honningbew Meadery of the Black-Briar family. I walk over a bridge, crossing a river, and see a dragon in the distance. He's far away. When I don't see people around me anymore, except Serena, I concentrate. I feel things moving inside me and before I know I'm turned into a... Werewolf! I howl to the moon and two brother wolves appear. Then I start to run. As werewolf I'm able to run faster than as human. I'm heading to my house in the hills near Whiterun. While running I notice the dragon getting closer to me. I keep on running, as fast as I can. The dragon sees me and flies above me. I run and reach my house. I wait at the side entrance of my house and turn back human. I draw my bow and head back into the tundra. The dragon is too close to my house, I have to kill it before I give him a chance damaging my house, or even worse... hurt my family.
I try to shoot the dragon but I keep missing. I want to finish this dragon fast so I can join my family before they're asleep. I look around and make sure there are no other people but me and Serena around. Then I clear my throat. "Strun Bah Qo!" The clear orange sky turns dark. Thick clouds appear. It starts to rain. The dragon is still in the air, but not for long. A lightning strikes him. The dragon falls down. I'm able to shoot my arrows at him now. Soon the dragon dies. Once again I absorb his soul. I take his bones and scales and walk back to my house.
I get on stairs and enter my house by a side entrance on the first floor. There I find a mannequin with clean clothes. I take off my Nightingale armor and put my clean clothes on. When I'm dressed I hear someone coming upstairs. It's Samuel, my son. "You're back! Hi, eh, I got something for you. I hope you like it!" He gives me a potion and runs off again. I smile. It's good to be home again. I walk downstairs. I get into the common room. In the middle there's a big dining table, at the sides cupboards and chests. At one wall there's a fireplace. I greet my wife Mjoll. "It's good to see you again dear." says Mjoll. My house bard is playing on her lute. My steward, Ghorbash, is taking care of the fire. I can't see my housecarl. He must be outside guarding the house. I walk into our bedroom and see Julia, my daughter, asleep already. Her snow fox pet lies curled up aside her.
I walk to my armory and make some arrows out of the dragon bones I collected today. Then I head to bed too, my wife is already asleep. I lay aside her and dream of new adventures.
This was my day in Skyrim. This was a day of many days I spend in this amazing world. I'm glad I could share it with you today.
