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.
Intro - Until the Daybreak
I looked into his face, my husband, my love. Our bond seemed so much stronger than that, it had been forged first with him as my shield brother and I his sister, and continued as we fought side by side for our lives and the honor of our brothers before us. We had been through the depths of agony and the heights of joy together.
He was my world.
I rolled off of him and onto our bed, feeling it creak and shift beneath me. He wrapped a strong arm around me and pulled me close. I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat as it slowed to a regular pace. We laid there, naked, basking in the warmth of the summit we had just mounted together.
The mix of physical exhaustion and warmth was making me tired. I could feel my eyelids growing heavy, like iron. I was jerked from my sleepiness by a muffled snore, he had fallen asleep. I smiled to myself and settled back into my spot under his arm. Sleep overtook me quickly.
I was standing in a field filled with red and blue mountain flowers, even though there were no mountains in sight. The field seemed to go on forever in all directions. I began walking, 'no sense in standing around.' I could feel the familiar weight of my armor and my sword slung over my back.
'Good,' I thought, 'at least I can protect myself if needed.'
I continued forward, wading through the flowers for what seemed like an eternity. The ground beneath my feet was slowly turning to mud, but the flowers continued to stand tall. There were still no mountains, no trees, no sign of anything. I stopped and stooped down, I wanted to see if I could tell how the flowers were growing in this thick mud, it was becoming hard to move.
As I was stretching out my fingers to touch the mud that covered my boots a dark shadow passed over me. My blood froze and my breathing stopped. I could hear my sword rattle against my armor, I was shaking. I slowly stood and reached behind my head, taking hold of my sword. I drew it from it's sheath and the dark metal seemed to glow a slight green color.
"We can do this Siri," I often spoke to my sword when I was nervous. I took my stance and searched the sky for what I knew was there.
"Show yourself!" I screamed to the clouds, "you coward!"
"Dovahkiin!" the word shook the ground. The voice was too familiar, it terrified me. The black dragon broke through the clouds and arced it's way back towards me.
'No!' my mind screamed, panic rising in my chest, and shooting out through my limbs, like a mage’s shock spell. 'Not here, not now! I am not ready!'
But Alduin was coming for me if I was ready or not.
I waited for his attack, thinking he would just blast me from the air, where I couldn't reach him, but instead he comes in close and lands only a few yards away from me. He was huge, much bigger than I remembered. He could have covered the whole village of Riverwood with his wingspan alone. His head came towards me and I held my sword over my head, preparing to come down on him with all my strength.
That's when I noticed his eyes. They weren't the red I was expecting. The red eyes that were full of rage and anger that I remembered. They were blue.
"Are you alright, Love?" he asked me.
I couldn't answer, the world that held the field of flowers and the blue eyed Alduin was breaking apart. Consciousness was pulling me back to reality.
My eyes opened and there were those blue eyes again. Blue as ice, but full of, worry.
"You were having a nightmare. What's wrong, Love?" he asked. I could feel his arm behind my neck and his other hand resting on my bare hip. In his arms, being wrapped in his warmth, the field seemed to fade into nothing. His hand left my hip and brushed my hair from my face.
I smiled. "I am fine," I sighed, placing my hand on his cheek and running my fingers through his dark beard. He smiled back at me. I loved his smile, it was so sincere and warm. I had often imagined this smile was the same one he would have had as a boy.
"I am glad. It seemed like a bad one," he replaced his hand on my hip, "but I shouldn't be surprised, you're the strongest person I know." I could feel his rough fingertips tracing my side and across my stomach, making me shiver with pleasure. They came to rest on my thigh.
"Dov," he breathed his nickname for me, "I want to stay here, like this forever."
"Me too," I breathed.
Two Years Prior
I couldn't believe how blue the skies were! I had heard of the beauty of Skyrim, but never in my life did I believe a place this beautiful would exist. I had to force myself to stay on the simple stone road I had been following. My heart longed to run to the forest, to explore the clean clear river and to climb the tallest trees. To learn it's secrets. The problem with doing so was that I didn't know this land and it's forests. I didn't know what dangers could be found and as much as I wanted to explore, my desire to live was stronger.
I did take the time to stop and gather the few botanicals that seemed like they might come in handy while learning the alchemy of my new home. Some red flowers with their stems and roots, some blue ones that looked almost identical to the red ones, and what I assumed was the local cotton. I carefully placed all these in my small bag.
'Don't get too distracted,' I told myself, 'you promised to make it to Whiterun before the sunset.' Truth was, I didn't know how far Whiterun was from Riverwood.
"Not far," Gerdur had promised me, "you should make it there before it gets dark." But I don't think she had anticipated my stopping to gather and to take in the wonderful view. However, despite all my doubts, it wasn't long before I could see rooftops that I assumed belonged to the hold of Whiterun.
I was within running distance to the main gate and walls of the hold when I heard the yelling. Instinctively, I began to run. I grabbed an arrow from my quiver and strung it on my bow. It wasn't long before I found the source of the yelling. There were three warriors standing around a fallen beast. Two of them were women and the third a man. I had never seen anything like what they had brought down before, so I wanted to get a look at it.
It looked like a man, but it was more than twice the size in both girth and height. It wore clothes and a very large club laid on the ground nearby.
"A giant," I breathed. I had never seen one, and hadn't expected to, but I had heard about them.
"We took care of him. No thanks to you," the taller woman said, she was obviously in charge of this group. The second woman simply turned and began walking back to the hold we were standing just beyond.
"You look strong," the man told me. His gruff voice sounded like a boulder being drug through gravel. "New to Whiterun?" he asked.
"Actually..." I was hesitant to share too much with a man I didn't know, "I am."
"You should join the Companions," he smiled slightly, "Kodlak is always looking for new, fiery blood."
"Companions?" I could feel my eyebrow raise.
"They're my family. We fight so that others don't have to. We bring honor and glory to ourselves and each other," he stated, and just stared at me.
I couldn't stand it anymore, the silence building between us was becoming unbearable, he either meant for it to, or was simply unaware of how uncomfortable it had become.
"I'm Dyre," I finally broke the silence.
"I'm Farkas," his smile widened.
"Ice brain!" a voice yelled. We both turned to see the taller woman. "Are you coming or not?"
"Meet us in Jorrvaskr if you'd like," he turned and hurried after the others.
As I walked through the gate of Whiterun I was unsure where to go. This was the first time I had entered a city since I had left Leyawiin two months prior. I roamed through the streets, simply taking in the beauty of the buildings. Leyawiin was about the same size as this hold, but the buildings were all run down and rotting from the moisture in the air. Here the houses stood tall and strong, like the people and the mountains beyond the great stone walls.
I found myself at the bottom of some stairs that lead up to the biggest wooden building I had ever seen.
"That's Dragonsreach," a guard that was passing by me commented, "where the Jarl resides." He had stopped and was looking at me. I must have looked overwhelmed.
"And that over there is Jarrvaskr, where you can find the Companions," he pointed back behind me to another large building, "and down the steps over there you can find the shops and the local Inn, the Bannerned Mare."
I looked down the walk way where he was pointing and shook my head, "I am suppose to see the Jarl. But thank you for your help."
He raised his eyebrows at me, "the Jarl?"
"Yes, sir. I have news of the dragon that was see at Helgen," I tried my best to be polite, the last thing I needed was to be on the bad side of the guards.
"Oh! Well then, you should head up there quickly, he'll want to talk to you in person I am sure," he smiled and turned to be on his way.
The higher I climbed the steps, the more amazing the view became. I felt like I could see all of Skyrim. I stopped once I reached the top of the steps, just to gaze at the mountains.
"They are beautiful Momma," I whispered, "just like you always told me."
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.”
