Until The Daybreak - A Skyrim Fic
This story is part of the ‘Seal Upon Your Heart’ Series, find the timeline here.
You can find my fanfic master list here.
“Dyre is new in Skyrim, and is ready to start her new life. But she is having to learn that sometimes for something new to grow you need to burn what was there before.” Farkas/OC Dovahkiin
Rated M, for some adult themed content, and drug use.
Ch 2 - Watching and Waiting For Thee
I held my bow at the ready as we circled one another. He held his shield and sword out, but in a defensive stance. As we made our way around I tried to match his movements; step when he stepped, shift when he shifted.
“Come on!” he yelled. “Come at me!”
Shaking, I drew my bow and without much thought, let an arrow fly. It hit his shield with a loud thud.
“Good!” he roared. “Again!”
I strung another arrow, more steady this time. I could feel the power behind this one as I allowed myself to focus. This one hit his shield as well, the thud louder this time, the blow made him stagger.
“You’re stronger than you look,” he grinned darkly, “and you’re good with that bow.”
He stood, allowing his shield and sword to fall to his sides.
I glanced to my left to see Farkas standing on the stone steps with his arms crossed. He was smiling with his eyes scrunched against the sun.
“I want you to try your luck with these,” Vilkas was coming towards me with a small axe and mace. I flinched when he thrusted them at me. “Take them, one in each hand.”
I slung my bow on my back and took them from him. “I… I have never used these before,” I mumbled.
“That’s fine,” he turned and walked back to his place across from me, “I just want to see how you handle them.”
I glanced back at Farkas, who still stood there, smiling. He must have noticed me glance at him, because he called out to me.
“Give him a thrashing!”
Vilkas laughed with a sneer. “Yes,” he mocked me, “I’d like to see you try.” He took a step to the left, circling again. “Now, come at me!”
The mace was heavier than the axe and I wasn’t sure I could get a good swing in. “But -”
“No!” he scowled. “No excuses! When you are in combat there are no excuses; only life and death. Now, come at me.” He lunged at me with his shoulder, but I was quick enough to move out of the way. I brought the axe up over my head and brought it down on him as he passed me. Again, I caught his shield.
“You’re quick,” he grinned. It wasn’t like Farkas’ smile; it was dark and still made me fearful of him. “That’s good. You’ll need to be, to hit me.”
We returned to circling one another. “Try again,” he said, “I want you to attack me this time.”
We went through two more step cycles and I was still trying to think of how I wanted to lunge when he came at me again. “You’re too slow, Lass.”
I moved out of the way again, bringing my mace down on his shield this time.
“Again, you’re too -” his face changed from a mocking smile to surprise as I brought my axe within inches of his neck. He smiled again, but this time it was the same, warm smile I saw on his brother.
“Well done, Lass. You’re a natural,” his arms dropped to his sides. “I’ll tell Kodlak that you’re ready for work.”
“Thank you,” I allowed my arms to relax also.
“Those are for you to keep,” he motioned to the axe and mace. “Kodlak says so. A warrior should never find themselves without close combat weapons.”
“Thank you, again,” I smiled. He turned and walked away without another word. As I watched him leave I felt as though I could see him for who he really was, not angry, but full of sadness.
“You did really well!” I turned to look at Farkas who was standing next to me. “Come to me if you want any help with your one handed training.”
“Thank you,” I smiled wider. This man was so different from others I had met. There was something deeply warm about him and it drew me in.
“This is yours too,” he held out my bag I had left on the steps.
“Oh, thank you.” I held my arms up, in an attempt to take it from him but the weapons filled my hands. “Um…”
“Here,” he took both weapons with one hand and held my bag out for me. “We need to get you fitted for a way to hang those on your belt.”
“Yea,” I slung my bag over my shoulder and held my hands out to take the weapons back.
“What’s in your bag anyway?” He ignored my physical request. “It smells nice.”
“I picked up some flowers on the way here for alchemy. I can take those back now.”
“That’s okay,” he smiled, “I’ll carry them for you.”
“Oh,” I could feel my cheeks burn red. “Okay. Thank you.”
“C’mon,” he swung his arm and shoulder towards the hill behind the hall. “I’ll introduce you to Eorlund. He can get you fitted for anything you need.”
I held the piece of paper in my hand. I had never gotten a letter before, yet alone one from a Jarl. I had read its contents so many times I wasn’t sure what to think of them. The Jarl of Whiterun was asking me for help, to fight a dragon. He mentioned that I had more experience than anyone else.
Experience. The word made me laugh. I had barely made it out of there alive. I just ran and ran until I met up with Ralof. We then snuck out under Helgen to avoid the beast, that’s the only reason I lived. The only reason I had ‘experience’.
“What’s that?” Farkas asked, his mouth full of food.
I smiled up at him. He looked like an over-sized child, it was endearing.
“A letter,” I sighed. “From the Jarl.”
“The Jarl!?” he exclaimed sitting next to me on the bench. “What’s it about? You must be pretty important to get a letter from the Jarl.”
I laughed. “No,” I rolled my eyes. “I’m not. Before I came here I came from Helgen. I was meant to be executed as a criminal. I only got out alive because of the dragon attack. The Jarl assumes that I have experience with dragons now and is asking for my aid with one that has been seen nearby.”
“A criminal?” he raised an eyebrow.
“Nothing serious,” I frowned. “Why does everyone assume I am good at things? I’m not important, I’m not special.”
“You impressed Vilkas,” Farkas swallowed his food and gave me his warm smile. “I heard him talking to Kodlak.”
“That was pure luck,” I sighed. “I have never done anything like it before in my whole life.”
“Then it’s skill,” he patted my shoulder with his huge hand. “There is no luck in combat. Luck is for thieves. For warriors there is only skill, learned or natural.”
I rested my head in my hands. “But I don’t want to fight a dragon,” I groaned.
“He wants you to fight a dragon!?” he boomed, all excitement returned. “I would give my right arm to fight a dragon!”
“Then you go,” I tossed the paper at him.
“Ah, I can’t go in your place,” he picked up the paper. “But if you would like, I will accompany you.”
“Really?” I lifted my head up. “Why would you do that? You could get killed.”
“It’s what we do, Dyre,” he smiled wider now, “we’re a family here.”
“Here,” Farkas held the small purple flower out to me. “I don’t think you have this one yet.”
“Thank you,” I smiled and took the plant from him, “but I don’t think this is the time to be gathering plants.”
“You’ll need them when we get back to Jorrvaskr, if you’re going to try out your alchemy,” he smiled.
We had made our way to the meeting point where Irileth, the Jarl’s housecarl, had told the small company of soldiers to meet. The skies were clear and blue aside from the black column of smoke rising from the west. The day was cool enough that I wasn’t sweating under my armor yet, but warm enough that I wasn’t cold either. I had managed to, with Farkas help, attach my new mace and axe to my belt. My bow was slung over my back and I had a quiver full of new arrows.
‘I am as ready to die as I will ever be,’ I thought to myself. I was sure this dragon was going to kill me, but I was determined to go down fighting.
Irileth and the other guards accompanying her showed up sooner than I had hoped and I tried to listen to the pep talk she was giving us but all I could think about was the dragon I had gotten glimpses of at Helgen. It was like a nightmare. There had been smoke and fire everywhere, people dying in the roads, burning alive. Now I was willingly returning to a similar fate.
I was pulled from my thoughts by the sudden movement of all the guards and Farkas towards the column of smoke. I hadn’t been paying as much attention as I had thought.
We made our way towards the toppling tower and picked up pace as we got closer.
“Hurry!” a guard yelled. “Get inside the tower! The damned thing is still out there! It grabbed Tor when he tried to make a run for it!”
We hurried into the tower, but no sooner had we made it inside then the ground shook and the familiar roar of a dragon filled the air.
“You ready?” Farkas smiled at me. His smile was similar to the one Vilkas had given me during my testing the day before. “I know I am!” His eyes flashed with something I couldn’t recognize, and it triggered my flight instincts. Fighting back my urge to run from what I had seen in a man I thought I trusted and the sounds of the dragon outside I pulled my bow out.
Following behind some of the other guards we filed out of the tower and took to looking towards the skies, searching for our enemy. It wasn’t long before he found us.
The heat from the fire he poured down on us was overwhelming. Still, I tried my best to aim and fire as many arrows as I could before he flew out of range.
He landed about fifty yards away from where I stood, just outside of the tower and I took this chance to readjust my quiver so I could better reach my arrows. I turned to face the dragon again and as I did so I felt my quiver slip and fall from my shoulder, spilling my arrows all over the ground.
“Damn it!” I cursed myself, “you’re so damn clumsy!” I caught myself reaching for the arrows. ‘No time, no time, no time!’ I yelled at myself as I dropped my bow and reached for my axe and mace.
“In the name of Ysgramor!” I heard Farkas yell as he ran towards the dragon. He got in several strikes on the beast’s neck before being knocked aside. I heard his head hit a rock with a loud crack.
“You are brave! Balaan hokoron! Your defeat brings me honor!” I heard a voice boom and I stood in shock. It had come from the dragon and I swore I could see a smile on its face. He turned towards Farkas’ unconscious form.
I was suddenly filled with an overwhelming rage. This strange man was one of the few who had been kind to me and even treated me like an equal. I couldn’t bear the thought of such a kind man dying because I was too afraid to face this dragon alone. With a yell, I jumped from my spot on the pile of rubble and landed on the grass below.
“Coward!” I called to the dragon. “You dare kill a man while he cannot defend himself!”
“You dare speak in the tongue of the Dov!” he turned to face me, leaving Farkas behind him. “I shall crush you!”
It was as if the whole thing was a dance I had known in a past life. My body moved without my command and I found myself dodging the dragon’s movements, bringing my weapons down upon his head again and again, each blow more solid than the last. He was beginning to slow and the blood that was pouring from his wounds was running into his eyes. He began to flail his head about wildly, temporarily blinded. I leapt atop his head and with all my strength brought my axe down into his skull.
“Dovakiin! No!” I heard him yell as he thrashed wildly before collapsing to the ground, dead.
I returned to the ground and tried to stumble towards Farkas, wanting to see if he was even still alive. I didn’t realize it was happening until the heat in my chest grew uncomfortable. I dropped my weapons and clutched my chest. As the heat grew it made my throat burn and I felt as if there was something stuck in my wind pipe. I felt like I was going to be sick. Just as I was sure I was going to lose the fruit I had eaten for breakfast that morning, the sound tore from my chest.
“Fus!” The voice was my own, but it sounded surreal. I clapped my hands over my mouth and stared wide eyed at the guards standing around me.
“That…” one of them pointed at me, “that was a shout.”
“I heard her call to the dragon in their tongue during the battle!” another called out. “She is Dragonborn!”
I was confused. They sounded like they were talking nonsense.
“I just don’t feel well,” I said, picking up my weapons.
“No,” Farkas said behind me, his voice solemn.
I whirled around. “How did you -”
“That was a shout,” he stared at me. I didn’t think he was capable of looking this serious. “You are Dovakiin, Dragonborn.”
I sat in the hall of Jorrvaskr, my elbows resting on the table before me, and my head in my hands.
‘How did I get myself into this, Mother?’ I asked her. ‘I just wanted to return home like you told me. Once I got here, all I wanted was somewhere warm to sleep.’
“How long do you think you will be gone for?” the voice startled me and I jerked my head up to see Farkas sitting down next to me.
“I don’t know,” I groaned. “I don’t really even want to go.”
Farkas smiled, “you need to Dyre. You seem to be eager to get away from the path that has been laid out for you.”
“The path that was laid before me years ago has not treated me well,” I sighed, looking him in the eyes. “I have been trying to leave it my whole life.”
His smile faded. “Maybe you shouldn’t be.” He placed his tankard on the table. “It brought you here, didn’t it?”
“Yeah,” I returned to staring at the table before me, “it did.”
“You need to visit the Greybeards and stay there as long as you can,” he patted my back. “Learn as much as you can. There hasn’t been a Dragonborn in centuries. With the dragons returning, Skyrim needs you.”
I laughed. “Skyrim needs me…” I couldn’t stop laughing, I was beginning to feel hysterical. “Do you know how I ended up here, Farkas? I was caught trying to sneak across the border and was thrown into a cart with a bunch of men I didn’t know.” I caught my breath and wiped my tired eyes. “On the ride to Helgen I learned that one of them was Ulfric Stormcloak, the man who murdered the High King. When we got to Helgen we were all lined up to be killed. No one even bothered to ask us what we had been arrested for.”
His smile had faded and he was listening intently to my story.
“I only made it out of there alive, between the Imperials trying to kill me and the dragon trying to kill everyone because of sheer, dumb luck.” I could feel what had started as laughter turn into tears. “Whoever decided that anyone needed me obviously doesn’t know me very well. I have spent my entire life hardly able to care for myself let alone anyone else.
“And you have been so kind to me,” I turned to face him. “That almost got you killed today.”
“Dyre,” he placed his hand on mine. “I went today because I wanted to help you. Never mind what happened there, I’m fine now.”
“I noticed,” I eyed him. “You don’t seem to be suffering much at all from that blow to the head.”
He pulled his hand away from mine. “What blow to the head?” he reached up and scratched the back of his head. “That dragon hit me in the chest.”
“I know but,” I reached up and placed my hand on the back of his head, there was nothing there, “I could have sworn I heard you hit your head.”
“Well,” his cheeks turned a little red, “I didn’t.” He smiled again, and my heart leapt in my chest.
“I… uh,” I could feel my cheeks turning red too. “So, I need to visit these Greybeards, huh?” I sat back down in my chair and returned my head to my hands.
“I will travel with you,” he laid his hand on my back. “We’ll get you there together.”
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