DRAGONBORN.

the dragonborn is a mortal blessed with the blood and soul of a dragon by Akatosh, the Father of dragons and chief of the divines... ind dragonborn oc | penned by cam | blog under light reno

[xdovahkiinn]

The world slept, but Ardith was as awake as ever. Often, she imagined what it must be like, to sleep without worry, without the knowledge that the scope of the world was far greater than human understanding and that life was fleeting, brief, and hardly left a mark in the grand tome of time. She was in the mountains tonight. She’d considered walking the seven thousand steps again, but had changed her mind, as those steps would dump her at the doorstep of the Greybeards, and frankly, she was in no mood for them. So she’d headed to the mountains, not looking for anything in particular. At least it was peaceful up here; at least she was away from the push-and-pull of politics, of the fallout of the civil war. Greater things held precedence in her mind, such as Alduin, and the irony of being called dragonborn and instead, being expected to be a dragon killer. She felt a sort of kinship with the grand beasts, and she’d let go more than a few. She’d settled down and started herself a little fire with which she intended to cook the few mountain fish she’d speared earlier in the day when she heard a crack -- the splitting of a twig underfoot. Her horse was asleep, and she herself had sat down, so it certainly wasn’t her. As she scanned the clearing she’d settled into with her keen eyes, she stood up and slowly backed herself against a felled tree, crouching low, and ready to let off an arrow at a moment’s notice. “Make yourself known,” she hissed warily into the darkness.

[tesmasterlist]

REBLOG this to be added to the masterlist of elder scrolls roleplayers if you are a character from the elder scrolls series by bethesda or if you have a verse for it. PLEASE MENTION IN THE TAGS if you are :

i. an oc - dragonborn or not / an npc. 

ii. in what game your character is set

iii. if you are a character from a different canon with a verse.

[nightmaremiho-deactivated202307]

[xdovahkiinn]

                   𝖇𝖊𝖍𝖔𝖑𝖉, 𝖇𝖊𝖍𝖔𝖑𝖉, 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖉𝖗𝖆𝖌𝖔𝖓𝖇𝖔𝖗𝖓 𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖊𝖘.

                                  ind tes v dragonborn oc | penned by cam.

[xdovahkiinn]

𝖎 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 gotten back into playing skyrim lately & am considering a reboot of ardith over here ! is...is there still a skyrim rp community lol

[xdovahkiinn]

starter call.

like this & i’ll make us a little starter where i’ll randomly pick a line from this meme as our first line of dialogue c:

[xdovahkiinn]

invictus | xstormclad.

[xdovahkiinn]

xstormclad:

     “How interesting.” Thor could hear the darkness in her laughter, but he was still intrigued by the thought that perhaps this woman could take wing like the dragons themselves. They called her dragonborn, after all, and he had heard ancient tales about such hybrids. Where before, traveling with her had been his duty, now he could hardly wait for their journey to get underway. 

     “You really want to know?” He tilted his head, studying her face. His opinions on her kind were complex. He refused to let himself be swayed by propaganda, whether Asgardian or Draconic, and he preferred to see the state of things for himself. From what he had seen, he had formed his own opinions, and they were often at odds with those of his own people. 

    “I have fought dragons. I have killed dragons. I am a warrior, and I relish in the fight. But a war is only worth fighting if it is justified, and I am beginning to believe that this is an unjust war. And regardless of its cause, we have been fighting long enough. It wears on both sides, and it is destroying the world both races hold dear. You, Ardith Dragonborn? I believe you are one to be respected, one whose voice should be heeded, and one whom I do not wish to fight. I believe we can, and should, bring peace to this world.”

     He shrugged. “Forgive me if I say too much. Around the gods, one must explain himself clearly and thoroughly before they will consider a new idea.” He chuckled. “What about you, Ardith? What do you think of me?”

     ARDITH listened intently to Thor’s words, intrigued as he admitted his opinion of her, one that differentiated highly from those of his people. It came as no surprise that he’d killed dragons. Thor was a mighty warrior; it only made sense. She was surprised at her takeaway from his words: he believed the war was senseless.        “Do not apologize,” she said, her curious eyes landing on his, “and understand that I will give you my most honest answer, which I shall not coat with sugar and serve with sweet wine. I do not wish to offend; I wish simply to return the gift of your honesty with my own.”       She took a few steps, concentrating on the crunch of the twigs and leaves beneath her feet as she arranged her words. “I had thought you nothing but a self-righteous, over-powered buffoon who took pleasure in the senseless killing of dragonkind. But after you volunteered to journey with me, and after your truthfulness in answering my question, I find myself peeling back layers to see your true self, or at least a small part of it. You appear to be level-headed, smart, diplomatic, and even kind. I’m grateful to have encountered you the way I did; had we met in the wild, arrow and sword to hammer, we’d be making no forward progress in the ending of this war.”     She offered a smile, small but genuine. “Skyrim is my home, Thor. It is your home. And it is the home of the dragons. All I want is peace for all. That there is blood on my hands...”     Her sentence trailed off. I am ashamed that there is blood on my hands. I am Asgardian and Dragon, and a murderer no matter what side I choose to defend. Ardith cleared her throat and exhaled, letting the sentence evaporate with her breath as it met cool air. 

[xdovahkiinn]

invictus | xstormclad.

[xdovahkiinn]

xstormclad:

     “You are a warrior, milady. I respect your power and your fearlessness, regardless of whom you have felled, and I wish to see you in action.”

     Thor took no offense at her demeanor. In a way they were enemies, after all, but he sensed he had more in common with her than with most Asgardians. He knew, somehow, that he and Ardith weren’t so different. Had they not been on different sides of this foolish conflict, perhaps they could have been friends. Perhaps they still could be. 

     Again, he was struck by her savage beauty, the ferocity and intelligence in her eyes, the graceful movements of her body. She was stunning, like a the most powerful predator. Like a dragon.

     “I travel more quickly on foot than on all but the swiftest steeds,” Thor said, and he was not bragging or exaggerating. He was strong and fast, even by Asgardian standards. He moved like the wind. Like the storm. And that was just when he was on the ground. 

     “But what other means could you mean, Lady Ardith?” He tilted his head curiously, but there was a playful smirk on his face, and lightning in his eyes. “Could it be that you are, somehow, able to take to the skies, like your dragon-kin? I have heard some rather interesting stories. I would be more than happy to race you through the clouds, should you prefer.”

    SHE met his playful smirk with one of her own. “Perhaps I am,” she hummed, eyes sparkling. “But if I were able to, I certainly wouldn’t try it here. I’d be shot down as soon as I tried to fly.”      Ardith laughed, but it sounded humorless and dark, even to her own ears. She had flown in her dragon-form, of course, but knowing full well the risk that she was taking while doing it. Death was not something she was particularly interested in meeting so soon.      “I’m curious,” she offered a moment later, seeking to keep the moment light, for if Thor were to be a sort of liaison between Asgard and the dragons, she did not want to taint their relationship with negativity or darkness. “Forgive my frankness, but I know no other way to ask: what are your feelings on the dragons? And perhaps, even, on me -- considering I am some kind of half-breed? Your father’s trepidation is understandable. You, however, seemed not to share it.”

[xdovahkiinn]

BEARCLOAK.

       BEFORE discovering that she was Dragonborn, Ardith had very little interest in politics -- and even less interest in the civil war. Both sides had their flaws, and in her mind, neither pulled far ahead of the other in any way. It was racial bias versus religious bias; touchy topics, and ones she had to emotional connection to. Race was as simple to her as one’s hair color; she didn’t care if one was brunette or blonde. People simply were what they were. And as far as religious bias went...it was safe to say that Ardith was the last person you’d come to for spiritual advice. She cared not whom was worshiped, or when they did or how.        During the war, the story was a little different. She’d been thrust into the war (she blamed that wholly on Alduin) and into her true self (also something she blamed wholly on Alduin), but it had brought her some perspective and clarity. Both sides of the war wanted the same things -- in different ways. Each had something they’d wished to cleanse from Skyrim’s terrain. She had sided with the Stormcloaks. Ulfric’s strength and wisdom had been something she admired as she struggled to find her own internal power balance, so perhaps her reasoning was selfish.        Now, she wondered, had it been worth it? She understood entirely Ulfric’s motivations, she admired his dedication to his people, and she acknowledged his strength as a leader. After the war, though, she had distanced herself from the cause, uncertain if she had done right.         And here she was now, finding herself in Windhelm and  more specifically, in the Palace of the Kings.       “Ulfric -- it is a pleasure to see you again. You’re looking a little soft.”

[xdovahkiinn]

invictus | xstormclad.

[xdovahkiinn]

xstormclad:

     “So be it.” Odin rose from his throne, and all others stood and bowed or inclined their heads respectfully. “Ardith Dragonborn, you will take Prince Thor to speak with the dragons in their temple. Negotiations will be opened. But I warn you–do not betray us,or you will feel our full wrath.”

     The All-Father nodded to his son, then departed the throne room. Thor stepped down the stairs until he was standing before Ardith, looking her in the eye, marveling again at the ferocity he saw within her. 

     “Guards? Remove her restraints, before she removes them herself.” He said it with a smile, and the shackles fell to the ground. Then he held out his hand. “I am honored to be traveling with you, Dragonborn. I’m ready when you are.”

        ARDITH nodded gamely, acknowledging the All-Father’s threat -- she would not put it "full wrath” past him, and didn’t care to find out what that wrath entailed. Once he left, her shoulders untensed a little, like an animal unwinding when a potential predator had passed. The chains fell from her wrists, which she immediately rubbed, as the metal had been incredibly heavy and pulled on her limbs.         “It is best to walk,” she said, eyes flickering down to Thor’s outstretched hand. The gesture caused a bemused smile to bloom. “Honored to travel with a slayer of her own people -- our own people?” What a puzzle he was -- the embodiment of storms, of the unpredictable in its most powerful form, someone who could easily use said power to rationalize rash actions; and yet he had absorbed some diplomacy from his father, a bit of level-headedness and thought.          Attractive and admirable qualities, all of which were tied up in a handsome package. Blond, tanned, fit -- quite godlike, and rather funny standing in front of a woman who was lean, small, and quite pale. She wondered if there were any ways in which they were similar.           With a grin, she patted his hand as if to say, put it away. “Odinson, I do not need your hand, though I appreciate your attempt at amiability. Lead us out of this kingdom, and I will take over from there. I won’t blame you if you wish to use a horse on this journey. It’s a long one. I tend to travel via other means.”          ‘Other means’, or as it’s also known, ‘my dragonform.’

[xdovahkiinn]

starter call.

hmu yo

[xdovahkiinn]

invictus | xstormclad.

[xdovahkiinn]

xstormclad:

     Thor held the Dragonborn’s gaze for a long moment. His eyes narrowed, lightning flickering in their depths, a power to match hers. The corner of his lip turned up in the slightest smile. How could he feel betrayed by someone so clearly divine? She was as much an Asgardian god as he was. 

     Or perhaps the Lord of Thunder was, once again, distracted by the lethal mix of power and beauty. 

     “Father, if I may?” Thor spoke up at last, turning from the Dragonborn to the All-Father. He waited for Odin to nod, giving him permission to speak. “This woman has a point. She is of Asgard, my King, and so are the dragons. War has torn the surface of heaven for many centuries now. Perhaps this Dragonborn is the key to opening negotiations between our races.”

     Odin stroked his grizzled beard, closing his one eye for a moment, then fixing it critically upon Ardith. He was a god of war, yes, but the All-Father was also a god of wisdom. He had sacrificed much in pursuit of both aspects. 

     “You have a point, my son,” he said, with a hint of wry amusement in his voice. Perhaps he, like so many, had forgotten that Thor had inherited some of the All-Father’s vast intelligence and thoughtfulness. “But this woman has slain many of our warriors. Should we trust her to speak for us, if we send her back to the dragons’ domain?”

     “Send me with her, father,” Thor said, quickly. “As Prince of Asgard, I can speak on our behalf, and I can ensure that the Dragonborn does not stray, should she allow it.” He turned his gaze on her again, tilting his head as though to ask, silently, if she would accept him as her traveling companion. 

     Odin thought for a long moment, looking first at his son, and then at Ardith. Then he spoke. 

     “What say you, Dragonborn? Will you open negotiations, that there might be peace between our peoples?”

     FOR a moment, genuine confusion tinted her expression. It wasn’t that she hadn’t considered Odin to be wise and thoughtful -- the entirety of Asgard knew that he was. She just hadn’t thought that he would really listen to her. Perhaps she did have some power after all. Her confusion became mottled by surprise as Thor volunteered to journey with her, and her eyebrows raised as he seemed to be asking for her permission to be a companion.      “I --” she began, before closing her mouth and swallowing hard. Her blue eyes glanced down to her chains. This...if this worked, it could mean freedom from this war for both sides. No more chains to be had. No more slaughtered dragons, and no more slaughtered Asgardians. She was half of both.       “I am..I am no pureblood, no ancient creature whose wings darken the sky. My blood is mixed, both dragon and Asgardian. Rather than claim a bias to either side, all I wish to do is bring peace between them. Between my two homes. Between my two peoples. I find myself in the unique position of being able to do just that.”      She seemed to stand straighter with the last words she had spoken. She had discussed this with her dragonkin -- if given the opportunity to negotiate peace, would they? Their answer had been a resounding yes. The slaughter was needless, and it had dampened the reputation of the dragons. If anything, they just wanted it all to be over.       “Let us open negotiations. I will take Thor with me. Together we shall journey straight into the temple of the dragons and end this senseless murder. He shall need to pack well -- the wilds where the dragons live are fearsome. They will likely desire some token of peace, as well. Some treasure or artifact that can solidify the negotiations.”

[xdovahkiinn]

starter call.

hmu yo

[xdovahkiinn]

invictus | xstormclad.

[xdovahkiinn]

xstormclad:

     The gods and the dragons had been at war for centuries, fighting over territory and resources. Asgard was vast, but Asgardians were slow to forget perceived wrongdoings, whether they were dragons or gods. Thor could hardly remember how the war had started, and sometimes he wondered why they continued to fight at all. 

     Yet in some ways, he needed it. He had been raised on combat and adventure, great deeds of strength and cunning and valor. The strongest bonds were formed on the battlefield, and the greatest honors earned in the fires of war. He was a thunder god, and he reveled in the storm. 

     The creature before him, however, gave him pause. He could see it in her eyes, in the lean muscles of her body, in the warpaint that streaked like blood across her face. She was one of his, in a way. He could sense the storm inside of her, and the blood in his veins beat faster in response. 

     He would have loved to meet her on the field of battle. Seeing her in chains… it saddened him, even if she had “betrayed” her own people. Such a magnificent creature should have fallen in battle, or not at all. Her voice sent a shiver down his spine. He could hear the power in it, the authority. He almost wished he could have fought at her side, in a different life. But she was a traitor… wasn’t she?

     “You stand accused of treason against the gods–your own people,” began Odin, from his throne. “You are being called Ardith Dragonborn, slayer of gods and defender of dragons. How do you plead?”

     SHE weighed her words carefully. Treason against the gods; she could’ve chuckled. Had gods not slaughtered gods for centuries and gone unpunished? There was nothing new about that. But the dragons -- that was new, or at least, an Asgardian’s involvement with such a creature was.       But she was no longer Asgardian, was she? No, she was half. Half-god, half-dragon. The silence dragged on as she thought carefully. She didn’t want to incriminate the dragons, and she didn’t want to sever her ties to Asgard, but this was a situation she may not win. Still, she had to try something. Anything. She may be locked up -- or killed -- but she would not be silenced.       Here, she called upon the authority in her dragon-tainted voice.       “I am innocent. I plead wrong to nothing, as I have done no wrong. I have created a bridge between the dragons and the Asgardians, perhaps even a solution to ending this needless war. I am Dragonborn. My blood is theirs, but it is Asgard’s too. I am not guilty of any wrongdoings. Only guilty of defending those in need from bloodthirsty, thoughtless ‘gods’.”       She didn’t mean for her eyes to land on Thor’s again. But this thunder god was supposed to have been the epitome of battle-hungry -- and also the future king. She kept her icy gaze on his.      “I am Ardith Dragonborn, and I have done no wrong. Release me, or I shall do it myself.”

[xdovahkiinn]

invictus | xstormclad.

@xstormclad.

      ARDITH had considered defending Asgard’s dragons an achievement. The slaughtering of the creatures for a centuries-old crime had seemed senseless to her; why punish them for an act done ages ago, by a dragon no longer living? Did they not deserve a chance to learn, too? To rectify their ancestor’s wrongs? It was an achievement, a victory, to defend them, to give them the chance to live and to change.         When she had been summoned to their temple, she had expected kind words of thanks, or perhaps even an honorary title. Instead, she received a gift so precious, so...incredible, she hadn’t had the words to thank them. First there had been a blood ritual, something quick but powerful, in which her soul twined with that of a dragon’s as dragonblood flowed through her veins. Next -- next was what she hadn’t had words for. Next was her very own dragonform. In thanks for her saving their lives, they bestowed upon her the gift to become the very kind of creature she had defended. She had flown with them that night, in her dragonform, midnight blue scales glittering in the moonlight. Her new blood was humming with energy, with power so raw she felt as if she could do anything, absolutely anything she wanted to.        She’d been found out, of course. People talk. Whispers began to spread through Asgard, and soon enough, she’d been shackled and brought to a trial so hilariously biased she nearly laughed.  Well, she thought, when they throw me in the dungeon, I can turn. This whole palace will crumble as I escape.          So it was now that she stood before the very elite of Asgard, hands bound. She’d only been minimally mussed up on the journey out, so her wild curls and the blue warpainted streaks down one side of her face were intact. Her various furs, pieced together with rudimentary stitching, and scuffed boots were practical in the wilderness, but in this palace of kings, she looked like a vagabond, as wild and dangerous as the creatures she rescued -- and became.       “SO,” she said, the ghost of a chuckle echoing in her voice, like she knew what was coming and it amused her. She noticed that in the echo of her voice was a deeper resonance, as if it hinted at the raw power locked inside. It made her smirk. She leveled a stare and passed it around the room, from the Warrior’s Three to Sif to Odin and even Thor, the thunder god himself. “Let’s hear it. Who’s first?” 

[xdovahkiinn]

archetypes quiz.

tagged by @xstormclad​.

ardith is:

34% intellectual.

the intellectual is the ultimate dinner-party guest. engaging questions and thoughtful debate are their trademarks. 

33% visionary.

leave it to others to live by the status quo. the visionary is interested in new ways of seeing, solutions not yet imagined, products not yet built.

33% spiritual.

the spiritual seeks a deeper meaning. for them, the journey of faith is never-ending. thoughtful and compassionate, they have a strong sense of moral obligation.

tagging @ everyone who wants to do this bc it’s really cool! link here.

[fetch-me-a-block]