Deleted3507349User Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 (edited) My name is Gladroon gro-Shurgak. I am an altmer born in Cyrodiil and abandoned at birth. A kindly orsimer noble, Lord Rudgumph gro-Shurgak adopted me and raised me as his son. Despite my altmer blood I have never shown a sign of magickal ability. Perhaps that is the reason for my abandonment by my birth parents. My training in heavy armor and the two-handed axe in the orsimer tradition more than makes up for it, however. Lord Rudgumph's daughter Rogbut and I had a happy life on his estate near Cheydinhal...until the Aldmeri Dominion invaded. I took service in the Imperial Legion and served honorably in many campaigns. The battle training provided by my father served me well, although people often looked askance at an altmer that favored orsimer tactics and gear. Shortly before the end of the Great War, Aldmeri destroyed my father's estate and killed both my father and sister. When the White-Gold Concordat was signed, I left the service of His Imperial Majesty and sought my own fortune and a life of peace. While I understand well the motives behind the treaty and my loyalty is unwavering to His Imperial Majesty, deep inside my heart burns. If only we'd had the strength to destroy the Aldmeri utterly. I have no doubt that the conflict will flare up again, I only hope I'm alive and fit enough to do my part when it happens. In the meantime I have decided to journey to Skyrim and visit the orsimer strongholds there. I wish to learn more about my adopted orsimer heritage. This may surprise many of you, since by blood I am altmer, but I doubt I could stay my hand if traveled to the Summerset Isle. For myself, I am orsimer. During my journey to Largashbur stronghold near Riften I chanced across a band of nords led by the radical revolutionary Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak. Even though I no longer serve in the Legion I swore an oath to His Imperial Majesty that binds me still, but before I could distance myself from them we were all caught in a trap set by the Legion. The Legion, of course, did not believe my claim that I had nothing to with Ulfric and his band and proceeded to take us (so I presumed) back to Cyrodiil for trial. That particular delusion of mine ended when we entered Helgen. It had been decided to make an example of Ulfric and his band by beheading the lot of them. It does make a sort of sense, nords are notoriously thickheaded and reason often fails in dealing with them. The Legion had a list of rebels and criminals, and even though I of course was NOT on the list Legate Rikke ordered my execution along with the lot of them. She was a bit overzealous, but as a veteran myself I can't really blame her. War is hell and calls for decisions we often wouldn't make in peacetime. Had our roles been reversed I probably would have done the same. Her assistant Hadvar showed honor and treated us with decency and respect. Sadly, I couldn't convince him to send my remains to Orsinium instead of Summerset. I was second in line to the block, and I must admit that the Stormcloak that preceeded me died well, setting an example for all of us to follow. My turn came, and as I knelt with my head on the block and the axe about to fall, out of nowhere a dragon attacked! I know it sounds unbelievable, but throughout Tamriel we've heard legends of these impressive creatures and I tell you now there is no doubt what it was. In the resulting confusion I made my escape, and along the way I met with Hadvar. I admire this man, he exemplifies everything the Legion represents. We made our way through the keep at Helgen. There were a few Stormcloaks inside making their escape as well. These Stormcloaks must really be fools; with a dragon attacking and trying to kill us all, they STILL fought against us instead of being rational and working together to get out. Hadvar and I were forced to kill them all, they won't be missed. At the end of it, Hadvar and I escaped Helgen with our lives. The only other survivor I know of was a torturer (disgusting occupation), but since he elected to stay in the keep I don't know his fate. I doubt he yet lives. I talked with Hadvar outside Helgen and decided to accompany him to his home in Riverwood. Since I lost all of my belongings I figured if nothing else I would be able to outfit myself there. Along the way I came upon Embershard Mine. Hoping to get some supplies or perhaps get some supplies in exchange for labor I approached the guard outside the entrance. I soon found myself in battle, for the mine had been taken over by bandits. Thankfully I had managed to acquire a two-handed axe and some armor during my flight from Helgen, so I took it upon myself to clear out these thugs. Skyrim (and indeed all of Tamriel) has suffered horribly from decades of war. Banditry is rife everywhere, it seems. With the mine cleared of outlaws and a few more resources to my name, I resumed my journey to Riverwood. Things are looking up! Hopefully I will be able to resume my journey to Largashbur soon. Edited September 27, 2012 by digitaltrucker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StayFrosty05 Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 I like your story Digitaltrucker....Thank you for posting it.... :happy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted3507349User Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 I finally arrived in Riverwood. It's a quaint, picturesque little hamlet. It's the sort of place I might consider settling down in if I ever decide to start a family. Some of the people there are a bit strange, though. For some reason the local bard wanted me to help him win the love of some woman named Camilla. I told him to try for her after his snowberries dropped, what a wuss. Hadvar introduced me to his aunt Sigrid and uncle Alvor. They're really nice folks, and set a fine table. They're generous, too; Alvor let me take some supplies and I know they don't have a lot to spare even though Alvor is the village blacksmith. Things can be hard to come by in these small rural burgs. Alvor asked me to get word to the local Jarl - a fellow by the name of Balgruuf - about the dragon situation and to see if he could provide some guards to protect Riverwood. He has a point, there appear to be no guards here at all and Riverwood wouldn't stand a chance. I guess my trip to Largashbur will have to wait a bit longer, I owe these folks something for their hospitality. I'll leave in the morning, it's been a long day. ... Alvor asked me to help him a bit at the forge this morning. I doubt he really needed it, I think it was just his way of helping me rekit myself without making me feel indebted to him. I took him up on the offer. I had basic smithy training in my childhood from my father, and of course I picked things up here and there with the legion, but it pays to never pass up a chance to learn new tricks. I made a quick tour of Riverwood before I left, getting a bounty notice from the local tavern. There's a thought; it's not that much of a stretch to go from Legionnaire to bounty hunter. It should be a way to fatten my purse. I'll have to give it a bit more thought on my way to Whiterun, the Jarl needs to know what's going on. I stopped by the general store on my way out of town. Apparently Lucan the proprietor had some valuable trinket stolen, and he's offering a fairly hefty reward for it's return. I think I'll try to collect on that after I get done with the Jarl in Whiterun if someone hasn't beaten already claimed it. Hehe, turns out the Camilla at the center of this town's love triangle is Lucanr's daughter! I left it alone, getting mixed up in that sort of thing is T-R-O-U-B-L-E. ... The trip to Whiterun was uneventful, but the sight that greeted me as I neared the gates made my jaw drop; there were a group of people battling a giant at a farm just outside the main gate of Whiterun! Holy Malacath that thing was huge! The group battling it seemed to have things fairly well in hand, but since I was there I figured I'd chip in and help. Between the four of us the giant went down fairly quickly, and that was how I met the Companions. A woman named Aela (who used a bow like few people I've ever seen) was apparently impressed by my performance, because she invited me to meet the leader of the Companions; a chap named Kodlak Whitemane. I may take her up on the offer, although I don't see my contribution to the fight with the giant as being all that significant. I hit it from behind a couple of times, is all. My entrance to the city proper was delayed by the gate guards, security is tight because of all the troubles I guess. I managed to persuade them to let me in on my word that I was bringing a message from Riverwood. You'd think that if security was such an issue they would've escorted me to the Jarl, instead I was let through with merely a warning that they were going to keep an eye on me. I must have an honest face. I made my way to Dragonsreach to meet the Jarl. From what I saw of Whiterun on my way, it appears have a thriving commerce. I'll have to explore the place more thoroughly later. I entered Dragonsreach and finally met up with some actual serious security in the person of the Jarl's housecarl, and dunmer named Ireleth. She also accepted my reason for being there, but she really did keep me under close watch. The Jarl should have her train the guard at the city gate. I told the Jarl my story (carefully omitting the chopping-block incident) and he immediately sent a detachment to Riverwood. This man truly cares about his subjects. After that, he offered me a reward if I would go dungeon-diving and retrieve something called a "Dragonstone" for his pet wizard Farengar. Farengar is doing research on dragons, and he's really not the type to do such dirty work himself. I'd have preferred to continue my journey to Largashbur, but the offer of a much-needed reward is too good to pass up. I'm nearly penniless after all, and I wouldn't want to count on the generosity of stronghold orsimer. This dragonstone is rumored to be in Bleak Falls Barrow, which coincidentally is also where Lucan's trinket was taken to. Maybe I'll find it along the way and collect that reward after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnkhAscendant Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 (Your Altsimer doesn't pay too close attention, Camilla is Lucan's sister :P I'm sure short-lived human ages all look the same to Mer, though. ^^) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrettM Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Keep it going! I'm enjoying this greatly. A sterling example of how to construct back story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted3507349User Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 Reality break: @AhnkAscendant - you're right, I was kinda tired and messed that up. This is the first time I've ever tried doing something like this, and I'm rapidly finding out it takes as long to write it as it does to play it :blush: Thanks for providing ol' Gladroon an out for the screwup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnkhAscendant Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 ... This is the first time I've ever tried doing something like this, and I'm rapidly finding out it takes as long to write it as it does to play it :blush: ... You aren't wrong about that. @_@ I actually made a Tumblr for my Official Dovahkiin when I picked up Skyrim again last month... It lasted for about three in-world days before I realized I would have to change the format, because doing a day-by-day summary is just not feasible when so many different, unrelated things can happen in a game day. I decided to break it up by events instead, sort of a running commentary. (And then I started downloading mods, and I haven't taken the time to actually go back and play again.....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted3507349User Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 (edited) I made it to Bleak Falls Barrow, meeting more bandits and a hungry wolf along the way. This country is crawling with bandits! Decades of war will do that, I guess. Perhaps His Imperial Majesty should look into creating a public works program to provide jobs, the roads could certainly use some work! Bleak Falls Barrow; what a rambling, creepy pile of rocks. I'm not surprised it gave Hadvar nightmares as a child. There's definitely an air of menace about the place that turned out to be fully justified. There were of course bandits both outside and inside the place, looks like Lucan was right. My trip through the barrow was fairly straightforward until I came upon wads of spiderweb festooning every nook and cranny. I've seen this before in Helgen, looks like a frostbite spider infestation. As I pushed my way through the webbing I heard someone shouting for help, it sounded as if one of the bandits bit off more than he could chew. I hacked my way through a doorway and caught a glimpse of a dunmer caught in a web-filled arch, but my attention was soon captured by by a GIANT frostbite spider rapidly descending in front of me! I think I found the source of the webs and the bandit's problem. Luckily, spiders are fairly brittle and it fell easily to my axe. The fellow snared in the web was named Arvel, and of all things HE had Lucan's claw. Apparently it unlocks some sort of treasure or power. I cut him free of his bonds, but him being a bandit naturally I didn't receive so much as a thank-you. He just laughed and ran deeper into the barrow, which proved to be a mistake on his part. As his laughing faded into the distance of the barrow, his laughs turned into the sounds of battle. Seems like there's something else in here with me besides spiders and bandits. I cautiously made my way deeper into the barrow, following Arvel's tracks in the dust. As I entered the crypt area I found the source of the battle noise; walking dead! I'd heard the stories of Skyrim's draugr, and they're every bit as obscene as I expected. Apparently that fool Arvel didn't learn from his experience with the spider and his lack of caution woke up several of the nasty things. Oh well, at least it saves me the trouble of dealing with Arvel myself. Draugr can be tough opponents if you're overwhelmed by them, but they move fairly slowly and fall easily if you're cautious to take them on singly. After I dispatched the brutes, I found Arvel's body lying on the floor next to a spiked gate trap, guess the draugr didn't get him after all. Sure enough, the golden claw was on his body. It's a pretty thing, and larger than I expected. I noticed it was decorated with animal symbols, hmm. The rest of the way through the barrow was fairly uneventful as I avoided a few traps and dispatched a few more draugr. There was some decent loot in this place, there must be something special about these ruins that preserves food and potions. At length I came to a large mechanical door, it appeared to be a sort of primitive combination lock consisting of concentric rings surrounding a keyhole obviously made to accept the claw. The rings had symbols on them that matched the ones carved on the claw, clearly the claw itself provides the combination and the means of opening the door. As the door opened by retracting into the floor I was greeting by the sight of a large natural cavern dominated by semicircular wall covered with carvings. I'd found the innermost sanctum of Bleak Falls Barrow. Edited September 28, 2012 by digitaltrucker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted3507349User Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 I explored the cavern thoroughly before approaching the carved wall, experience has taught me that it pays to examine your surroundings before getting anywhere near something that screams "TRAP!". As I studied the wall, the carvings were revealed to be runic writing. I've never seen their like before in my travels. I had the shock of my life as I ran my fingers over the runes; a small section of them glowed brightly and my body absorbed some sort of energy from them, allowing me to understand the meaning of the glowing runes! The word was "FUS" which means "force". Now, if I only knew what language it was in I'd be a lot happier about the whole thing. Naturally, all of this sprung the expected trap, in the form of a draugr rising to life from the sarcophagus directly in front of the wall. It's a good thing draugr move so slow, I had it half killed before it even got to it's feet. Surprise, surprise! A search of it's now truly-dead body revealed the dragonstone...couldn't have been more obvious, hehe. I grabbed it and headed for the back exit behind the wall. I hope Farengar finds this thing useful, it's going to take me DAYS to get the reek of draugr out of my armor. On my way back to Whiterun I stopped off at Lucan's, he and his sister Camilla (who I'd thought to be his daughter) were very glad to get the claw back and I was rewarded handsomely. As I left I idly wondered if Sven ever manned up and dealt with the problem of Faendal...ah well, none of MY business! ... As I entered Farengar's study in Dragonsreach I was more than a little surprised to see Delphine (the innkeeper from Riverwood) there, and wearing armor to boot. I wonder what HER deal is? Farengar relieved me of the dragonstone and directed me to the Jarl for my reward. He's a rather abrupt fellow. Almost as soon as Farengar stopped talking, a winded guard came running up with the news that a dragon had been spotted at the Western Watchtower. Jarl Balgruuf sent Irileth and a detachment of guards to investigate, and asked me to accompany them. Since I was the only one handy who'd even SEEN a dragon before, apparently that made me the expert. Silly me for thinking I could enjoy myself a bit now that I'd left the Legion, duty still calls me. I'll never make it to Largashbur at this rate. Off I trotted to the Western Watchtower. As I neared Irileth and the guards, it became obvious that the dragon had indeed attacked the tower. I wonder why the dragon attacked such a lonely spot when the nice juicy target of Whiterun itself was just down the road? We ran to the tower to look for any survivors, and soon discovered the dragon hadn't gone. Helgen all over again, except there was nowhere underground to escape to for protection, so we had no choice but to face the beast. Between all of us we managed to defeat the thing, and as I looked over the great body lying there I realized that this wasn't the dragon that attacked Helgen. Great, just great...there's more of these things. It wasn't long before the most shocking to happen to me yet in Skyrim occured. The body of the dragon burst into flame and waves of energy enveloped me. This proved to be just as shocking to the surviving guards; they immediately went into hysterics, calling me "dragonborn". Apparently a "dragonborn" can absorb the soul of a dragon and use it's power. Sounds like hogwash to me. They insisted that I try to 'shout' to prove their claim. The only thing I could think of was the word "FUS" which seemed somehow connected, so I shouted it at them. A wave of force DID come from me, staggering them back. They took this as proof of their claim, but since I couldn't repeat the feat I believe it was just a fluke. Probably some sort of one-shot deal between the wave of energy from the dragon and the energy from the stone wall in Bleak Falls. I suspect anyone who had both things happen to them could have done the same, hardly proves me to be "dragonborn". Besides, I'm an orsimer (ok, ok...altmer by blood), why should some nordish tradition involve ME? Thankfully, the ever-practical Irileth restored order, and back I went to Whiterun to report to the Jarl. Shortly before entering the main gate of the city I heard thunder roll from a clear sky and distinctly heard the word "DOVAHKIIN!" echo across the hills. If things get much stranger in Skyrim I may reconsider my trip to Largashbur and go back to Cyrodiil. At any rate, I made my report to the Jarl, and when heard about the whole dragonborn business he went right along with it. According to him, what I'd heard at the gates were some group of people called the "Greybeards" and the racket was them summoning me to someplace called High Hrothgar. He further informed me that I HAD to go, because it's a great honor and "no-one refuses the Greybeards". The Jarl decided to reward me for all of this with the title of 'Thane of Whiterun'. I'm allowed to purchase a home here and even got a nifty axe. Maybe I'll go see the Greybeards later, right now all I want is a bath, a drink or ten, and a good night's sleep someplace not a tavern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted3507349User Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 (edited) Ah, a new day! I'm clean, rested, and only slightly hungover. I set out to explore Whiterun now that the urgency of the dragon business has died down some. I met several interesting people; a guy who wanted me to get his sword back for him, a priest of Arkay who can't keep track of his jewelry, a pair of redguards trying to find some woman, and a little brat by the name of Braith that needs a good paddling. Remembering my invitation to visit the Companions, I entered Jorrvaskr. The sight that greeted me was pretty much what you'd expect in a mead hall, a drunken brawl. I managed to get belowstairs and avoid getting splashed by the revelers, and met Kodlak Whitemane. He seemed like nice old fellow, and extended an invitation to join the companions pending a demonstration of battle skill. I had nothing better to do and these folks seemed pretty honorable, so I took him up on it. My 'testing' consisted of me bashing a Companion a few times with my axe...glad I was rested. A couple of gopher trips later and my first real task as a 'whelp' in the companions was offered to me. I guess hazing is a part of any group, but I found the term 'whelp' to be slightly offensive. Oh well, I've dealt with worse. My first task didn't really involve combat, it was more like an enforcer job. I had to find Sigurd, a rather weasely guy that works for Belethor at the general goods store (and boy will he announce THAT ad nauseum, I think he has some issues), and basically rough him up a bit. Now, I don't who wants this done or why, but somehow I expected something a tad more lofty based on the Companion's reputation. I did it, but if this is what being a Companion is all about maybe I need to keep moving along. There's a world of difference between being a bounty hunter and being a kneecapper. We'll see, I guess. I got my pay from Farkas and decided to do a bit of bounty hunting. The land is lousy with bandits and I need the cash. ... A few bounties and rewards later and I've managed to outfit myself with a decent set of steel armor and a battleaxe. I've even managed to afford some enchanted items to help protect me from elemental damage. Even though I can't do magic myself, my altmer blood means I'm particularly susceptible to magic damage. I can breathe a little easier now, anyway. I was on my way back to Whiterun around noon to collect my latest bounty on the bandits in Halted Stream Camp when I saw a woman running full-tilt towards me. She ran right on past me and headed towards Whiterun. No-one else was in sight and concerned that she was in trouble and in need of help, I took off after her hollering for her to wait. As fast as she ran, I had to sprint to catch her. She was hoofing it like the hounds of Oblivion were at her heels. I finally managed to catch her after we'd covered nearly half the distance back to Whiterun, and as she whirled around to face me I fell back with a startled "EEEK!" and immediately bashed her flat stone dead with one blow of my axe. She was a vampire! The glowing orange eyes were a dead giveaway. As I stood there in shock my knees grew weak, and past memories came flooding back to me. Her face seemed to shift in my sight and became that of my fiance, my one true love...that died by my own hand. We served in the Legion together, her and I, in the same unit. We saw a lot of action together, and as sometimes happened we fell deeply in love. She was truly sweet, and pure hell on the enemy with her black bow. We planned to marry once the Great War was over, and settle down on my family estate north of Cheydinhal. On one mission near Leyawiin we engaged the Aldmeri in a particularly fierce battle that lasted well into the night. After it was over she was nowhere to be found and was pronounced missing in action. I grieved as much as I could, but war is an urgent business, and I held out hope I might yet be reunited with her. Some months later found us back in the vicinity of Leyawiin, bivouacked in preparation to march to the Imperial City. In the middle of a moonless night our small camp was attacked by a group of vampires. The battle was fierce but short-lived. The last one standing had it's back to me, and I knocked it down a strong cross-swing of my axe. As it fell, nearly cut in two, it rolled on it's back and I could see it's face. It was my beloved! I was reunited with her all right, but I never dreamed it would be this way. I held her in my arms as her life bled out. She'd been caught wounded and enthralled by a vampire that had lurked at the edge of the battlefield. Her last words to me were of love, regret, and thanks for releasing her from her damnation. MAZOGA! Mazoga, my dearest, I'll love you forever. I swear to you, no vampire shall face me and not feel my wrath. Edited September 28, 2012 by digitaltrucker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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