Various Tales from The Elder Scrolls (AU)

Dragonian Origins Tale

I love reading demi-dragon myth articles.

So for those of you who haven't read my art book, I love to play around with fantasy race ideas. Almost all of them fall into my AU of the Elder Scrolls in some way due to my love of the games and my AU, and the rare Dragonians are no exception, being a race comprised of the offspring of Dragons and Argonians thousands of years ago.

The history of Dragonians begins to tie into another noncanon topic I enjoy exploring in my artbook, a race or bloodline called the Dovahduraal or Dragoncursed; the descendants of ancient Alduin/Silmirnil worshipping cultists who wanted their bloodlines to have standing through thralldom when the dragons again came to power.

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The mother of the Dragonians was an Argonian cultist's Dragoncursed daughter named Hecina-Leel, she served in a temple with what few cultists were left after dragonslayers had attacked their other strongholds and done away with priests and cultists alike along with their scaly masters. She knew little of hr parent's work and nothing of the cursed dragon blood she carried.

The father of the race was Tiidyolriik, one of the few dragons still alive after Alduin's fall, and the only dragon at the time who knew about the thralldom aspect of the curse. He found Hecina-Leel to be entertaining and intelligent, and since Alduin could return anytime soon, he was displeased with the idea of letting his Thuri have her for a blood-bound soldier.

So Tiidyolriik prowled about outside the sanctuary on the day she would beat out the rugs and tapestries, knowing this among other menial tasks was her job in the temple. When he saw Hecina-Leel walking across the courtyard with her arms full of colorful weaving, he descended from his perch on the wall and greeted her.

The Argonian maid, having only seen a living dragon in person once or twice before, and never being permitted to speak with one, was frightened and asked why he came. The dragon told her he came to speak with someone in the temple. She assumed he meant a Dragon Priest, and informed him that the Priest who used to reside in the temple, Maankiraak, had been slain by Miraak the Betrayer, and there was no one in his place to speak with.

Tiidyolriik laughed and said he had no desire to speak with a long-winded priest, and that a lowly servant would make better conversation. So he followed Hecina-Leel to where she hung the rugs, and began to strike up conversation.
Hecina-Leel was hesitant to speak with him at first, doing nothing more in the temple than cooking and cleaning, but her tongue loosed after awhile and they talked while she worked, and she found she greatly enjoyed having someone to talk to.

The dragon's visits were at first exclusive to when she would do outside work, sometimes the others would see this and wonder why a dragon would visit a cultist with no significant standing, but no one dared question him, or make trouble for the Argonian maid. Then Tiidyolriik starting coming more frequently, bringing things for Hecina-Leel like soul gems and other strange treasures. Still no cultist confronted them, bu they all began to wonder if perhaps she was being singled out for a reason.

He knew how unnecessary it was for him to win her over with daily visits, idle chatter and gifts. All he had to do was shout for her to follow him and as she was Dragoncursed, she would have no choice in the matter; but the idea of her unwillingness to come with him, or being forced by the curse displeased him greatly. Hecina-Leel would agree to come with him on her own power, or he would not take her away at all.

Then one day trouble found the temple, tucked away from prying eyes, when dragonslayers sighted Tiidyolriik making another routine visit and secretly followed him to the cultists. When they were discovered, it was already too late, Tiidyolriik was surrounded, the temple was catching fire, cultists were fleeing for their lives, the tomb of Maankiraak was defaced and Hecina-Leel was caught inside, trying to save the ancient scrolls from the library.
In a bout of rage, the dragon crashed through the lines of warriors, caring little if their arrows or blades struck him as he dove into the flames of the burning temple.

He shouted for Hecina-Leel to come to him, and found her coughing from the smoke as she pushed through the burning rubble. Snatching her up in his claws, Tiidyolriik took off into the sky, shouting down ice on the dragonslayers who dared to harm his precious thrall, all those who followed him died along the way or lost him in the clouds.

He took her away to distant crags where he had made his lair, and there they stayed, far from blades and ruined temples. He was distraught that he had been forced to take her, and though she assured him she would have come had he asked, he knew not if it was she who spoke, or the curse. It took much time to convince Tiidyolriik that nothing had changed with Hecina-Leel, though she was saddened by the loss of those she had known in the temple, she was the same she had always been before the incident; but he was comforted by seeing that she could indeed still act and decide on her own power.

Their secret union was unannounced and unblessed, but they had three daughters together who became great in stature and strong willed, no thralldom curse dwelt in them and their souls were powerful.
Zopaar, Hez-Gein and Du'ul grew up and married, and their mysterious blood continued to flow out into the long but scarce line of Dragonians. Warriors, paladins, champions and guardians, whom despite their unusual origins, Akatosh blessed greatly, and many of their kind serve and protect his temples and servants to this day.