Crash Landing - chapter I

• Posted by Benoit CozmikR5 Gauthier January 31, 2012 - 1,016 views

  I've never had such a headache before. As I try to open my eyes the sun feels like it wants to burn my retinas, and my brain feels like it has been violently shaken. Well, maybe it has because I can barely remember my own name or how I came to be bruised, bound and arrested. If I commited a crime I surely do not remember which, but my current position reminds me I do not have a say in the matter.

  "So, I see you are finally awake", says a broad-shouldered and blond-haired man, also in bounds, sitting in front of me in this slow moving carriage. That is when I remembered that I was a prisoner, along with the blond-haired man and two others, a shabbily-dressed man covered in dirt who had been arrested for theft, and a tall and proud red-haired man who was also gagged. It made me wonder why because apart from him none of us were. There was some banter about Imperials and Stormcloaks but my addled brains couldn't make much of it, but one part had me perk up: "Watch your words, you are speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm!". So the tall man sitting next to me is a political leader. And he is bound and gagged. This cannot be good.

  The carriage arrived in a village called Helgen by Ralof, the man in front of me. Another carriage filled with prisoners had also arrived just before us and seeing what was happening all around made it clear that we were to be executed. Upon learning this, the thief tried to make a run for it, only to receive an arrow in the back. Well, I'm about to die one way or another... let's just meet the gods calmly I told myself. "Ralof of Riverwood... Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm..." An imperial officer was lining us up towards to executor's block, when he suddenly looked at me with a puzzled expression. "Who are you?" For some unknown reason the question seemed to reactivate the headache I had as I was waking up, only many times more painful. I heard my lips say "Cozmiken Arrfimm" but when the officer called me a Redguard it didn't seem right. I wanted to say I was Minmatar from a place called Ammold but with my impending doom right in front of me the detail just did not matter.

  "My ancestors are smiling down at me Imperial... can you say the same?", said the man on the block an instant before the executioner's axe severed his head from his body. There had been a faint sound of thunder just before but no sign of incoming rain. "Next is the Redguard" said the stern-looking woman supervising the executions. And this was punctuated not by thunder, but by a deafening roar. "What was that?!". Everybody attending the grisly spectacle was asking this question, but the Imperial woman appeared unfazed. "I said, next prisoner!". I swallowed hard and accepted my fate. Better to die in peace than make a fuss about it. I approached the block, set my head on it looking towards the executioner and the tower behind him, and let out one last breath before the axe came down. And then the source of the roar manifested itself.

  A massive flying reptilian creature landed on the tower, easily dwarfing it. It opened its jaws as if to saw something but instead of words there was loud clap of thunder only instantaneous and more powerful, and the sky started raining fire. The weirdest part is that the presence of the dragon, as everyone around me seemed to be calling the beast, was doing bizarre things to my headache. It was still very painful but it was soothing at the same time. Very hard to describe. The dragon was now destroying the entire village by spewing fire, and each time it opened its jaws I heard words in a language I did not understand. "YOL TOOR SHUL!" the words said. The words were more felt than heard. I found myself pondering that event as every villager was running for his or her life, when suddenly the imperial officer who had questioned me reach out and grabbed me. "You, prisoner! Follow me if you want to live!". It was an opportunity I simply could not pass up, as minutes before my life was about to end.

  We made our way through the dying village as the winged monster was methodically burning down each building and headed towards the only place that could give shelter, the stone keep of Helgen. There we met up with Ralof who had also survived the dragon's furious attack, and as I heard both men argueing about Imperials and Stormcloaks it was clear that I was being given a choice. Thank you for helping me through this mess but a few minutes ago you were going to cut off my head! I thought immediately as I left the company of the imperial officer to side with Ralof. Once inside we met up with Jarl Ulfric and it was decided that after we escaped the hell that Helgen had become we had to warn the nearby village of Riverwood, and then the city of Whiterun of what had just transpired here. Ralof then finally set me free of my bindings and I grabbed whatever equipment I could. It was clear that I was now in a land full of violence, so I decided that in order to survive I would have to give as much as I could take. Remembering something about offense being the best defense I grabbed a sword in each hand and gave a few tentative swings. I'm pretty good at this! I thought.

  Ralof and I went deeper into the keep where he instructed me to find as many potions as I could and also to grab whatever gold I could. I also found other valuable items I could carry so I could sell them when we got to another city. A few Imperials were intent on stopping Ralof and his friends, along with me, but we made short work of them. There was also a bear that stood between us and freedom but a few well-placed arrows from a hiding position and our path was now cleared. "It will be best if we go our separate ways. Meet me in Riverwood; my sister Gerder will be able to give you shelter. We'll then decide what to do next." said Ralof. He then gave me a map of the province of Skyrim. Having an idea of where I was and where I had to go, I bade him farewell and set out into the wilderness. And that is when my headache cleared and it dawned on me: wait a minute... I am not from this world! Well, whatever had happened, this was my world now and if I wanted to survive I had better embrace it quick because one thing was clear: as beautiful as this land is it will chew me up and spit me out if I'm not careful...