The World-Eater's Eyrie

Ullr; The Most Bizzare of Days

  She'd been in the marketplace when the attack occurred, shopping for the ingredients of that night's dinner – mutton specifically. It was her father's favorite, and tonight was particularly special as he and his men celebrated the birthday of one among their midst. To the next hour's events, she and the other townsfolk were completely oblivious, milling about their everyday lives as though all were well. And it was!

Though it would not remain so for long.

The earth belched soot and ash as the world trembled, set ablaze – a fiery gold – by dragon fury in the form of flames. People ran, screaming and terrified, seeking shelter that would only topple down upon them in charred splinters. Fathers shielded their families while mothers herded their children to whatever safety they could find. Some ran in small, scared groups, aiding each other and assisting those they might stumble upon in the chaos. Others paid no heed to their fellows, pushing, shoving, and clawing to save themselves. A select few stopped and stared, seemingly accepting their fate and its inevitability.

Ullr was one of those few, however the orc girl had not accepted anything except the reality of the situation. Snapping out of her stupor, she moved with the crowd towards the outer gates. Some pushing was necessary to make her way through at a steady pace, but not so roughly as to hinder anyone else from moving forward. The same could not be said for others however, and she soon found herself shoved into a side alley.

But perhaps it was not such a bad thing. As the fires raged on, and the townsfolk continued to scramble, Ullr picked up on a soft scratchy voice amidst the calamity.

"...h-help......please..." Too faint to be detected by human ears, the owner of said voice would have surely perished had the halfling not been there. After searching around a bit, coughing as her rummaging kicked up clouds of grey ash, Ullr discovered the near unconscious form of a boy much younger than she, trapped under the collapsed debris of some structure. It was a miracle that he hadn't injured himself too badly, though he did groan as Ullr pulled him from underneath and rolled him onto his back.

"Hey," she called out to him, shaking him by the shoulders and patting his cheek to rouse him – it would do no good for him to pass out then. Succumbing would surely spell death for him. "Wake up......you cannot sleep, or else you'll die!" her last statement seemed to catch his attention. Clutching his forehead, he was able to rise to a sitting position, and Ullr let him orientate himself for a moment. Another rumble of the earth bade them haste – the boy, however, had to lean on the half orc girl, weak with the toxic fumes he had breathed for so long. She didn't mind; to her, his weight was almost nonexistent. A feather upon a scale. "Walk with me," Ullr urged, and the two made their way towards the gate.

They took back alleys and side streets at the boy, Faulner's, direction. It seemed he had a little better grasp of Helgen than Ullr did despite her many years living there. This allowed them to avoid much of the mad scramble to escape, though they did travel at a significantly slower pace than prefered. He'd also been traversing the marketplace, to buy bread specifically, when the dragon had attacked. Following the example of others in the crowd, the curly haired youth had sought out shelter, but his hiding spot collapsed on top of him and pinned him to the spot.

By the time they reached the gates, the dragon seemed to leave the town itself alone, focusing its attention on the Keep that lay at its center, much to Ullr's horror. Her father could be there, most likely was there. But to travel back would be suicide...

After leaving Helgen, the half orc girl allowed herself to be guided in the direction of Faulner's home. Unfortunately, it seemed some of the devastation had even reached the areas surrounding the town. Nearby farms smoldered with embers or still burned ablaze. One homestead in particular seemed to be stuck between the two, one part of it being hastily devoured by flame and the other the dying embers. A loud shrieking could be heard coming from what seemed to be stables – the building was no longer on fire, but it's insides still bled grey and black smog.

Upon the sounding of yet another shriek, Ullr approached it with equal parts caution and haste, emboldened by the thought of the horse suffering inside. The girl drew her sash from her waist, wrapped it around her face for protection from the poisoned air, and entered. A large bay stallion struck at his stable door in the corner, shrieking and rearing in a frantic attempt to get out.

"Woah, boy." Ullr called out to him, hands raised. She made sure to keep her voice steady and approach him with hesitance, however she couldn't take too long. Faulner was waiting and the smoke was beginning to get to her. The stallion stopped rearing at the very least, pawing at the ground as the half-orc struggled with the latch to his stall door. Once opened, he wasted no time galloping out of the stable, and Ullr ran out weakly behind him. Caught up in a fit of coughing, she didn't notice the equine circle around and approach her again until he was curiously sniffling at her hair.

Eyes watering slightly, the girl looked at him in disbelief. "What are you still doing here?" she rasped, "You're free now. Go where you like!" But the stallion simply tossed his head with a short whinny and struck the ground beside her with a hoof. He gazed at Ullr with eyes that belied a deeper intelligence, and when she slowly held out a hand, he pressed his muzzle against her palm.

"You're...staying with me then?" the orc girl asked, to which the equine's response was a snort – one of confirmation it seemed, as he followed her to where she'd left Faulner. When the boy saw the stallion and asked his name, the halfling responded with the moniker Bror – brother – and the bay tossed his head again as if he were in agreement.

• • • • •

With their new companion, it didn't take the pair long to reach Faulner's home. He rode Bror behind Ullr, arms wrapped tightly around her midsection, when they galloped up to his farm. Happy to be home, the dark skinned boy dismounted quickly.

"Father! Father, you must hear this –" Faulner ran inside his home. A man came out to meet him, wiping a large paw in the fabric of a torn cloth that was just as dirty as his hands were. He was much larger and bulkier than his son, but the resemblance was uncanny. They both had the same dusted mocha skin, long curly hair, and set jaw. He eyed his son down the bridge of his nose, waiting for whatever news the boy had to bring him.

Faulner met his father's steely gaze with his own round, worried eyes; distress showed in all of his features. "Today at Helgen! There was an attack! Fire, a-and smoke. And a dragon – !" The boy's words were rapid fire, and even Ullr had trouble following despite having been there herself. His father crossed his burly arms at the last part of Faulner's words, eyebrows raising with obvious disbelief.

"A dragon, eh?" his father said finally after moments of silence, though his words dripped with sardonicism. "Tell me then, son; how are you still alive?" Faulner stared silent, confused at the question presented, and his father grunted and clapped a paw upon the boy's head, rustling the mound of curls there. Though traditionally an affectionate gesture, it didn't feel as such when the man did it – his action was almost pitying in a condescending sort of way. "A little runt like you couldn't escape the likes of a dragon, boy! Run along now; your stories bore me today."


The curly haired boy refused, jaw set defiantly. "It's not a story! There was an attack, and a dragon, and –" Faulner glanced around until his eyes found the half-orc standing hesitantly in the corner, and he grabbed her hand to pull her into his father's line of sight. "And she knows, because she was there too. She saved me!"

The boy's father's eyes widened at the sight of Ullr, and he paid particular attention to her more orc-like qualities; the girl fidgeted uncomfortable under his gaze and dared not meet his cool brown eyes.

"Why did you bring this orc home with you?" Once again, Faulner was left confused at the questions his father presented. "They are nothing but barbarians," he growled, approaching the halfling with menace, "I want it out of my house!" Ullr's hands clenched into a fist at his words, sure she was only being treated so poorly because of her stature and size. If she were a real orc.... However, Faulner moved to stand in between her and his father. His dark eyes were round and wide as he looked up at the other male in disbelief.

"But, father, she saved my life....and she has nowhere else to go. Surely she can stay for the night, at least?" the boy begged. After a few moments of silence, the burly man relented. He allowed Ullr to stay only to repay her earlier deed, but made her sleep outside in the barn with Bror and the other horses.

"You'd better be gone by morning – first light, Orc. Or I'll make sure of it in less than pleasing ways." The promise was not taken lightly.

• • • • •

Bror walked steadily through the dense undergrowth that lined the floor of the forest between Helgen and Riverwood. The stallion's ears flicked every now and then, angling towards the small noises that would sound occasionally. Now equipped with a saddle and reins, the ride was much more comfortable than her bareback experience escaping Helgen, but Ullr's thighs and back ached from the length of time she'd spent riding.

That morning had been a rather brisk one in an effort to be on her way before she was forced in a less than friendly manner by the boy's father. Over the course of her getting ready, Faulner had apologized multiple times, even going so far as to give her parting gifts. One was the saddle she now used, another some coin he'd 'borrowed' from his father – enough so that Ullr could stable Bror and sleep at an inn for a night. There was one last thing he'd given her, and the weight of the item bounced on her hip as she rode. It was a hunting knife that he'd found, supposedly, but had no use for and insisted she kept it before directing her to where to go. The halfling girl reflected upon Faulner's words once again, running through them in her mind so as not to forget and reminding herself of the task she'd been given.

"There's a city a little ways down, Whiterun, that my father speaks of when there's serious trouble in Helgen. He always tells people to petition the jarl there – maybe you should too?"


Taking Faulner's advice, Whiterun was where the half-orc had set her sights.

• • • • •

However, she quickly realized that the journey would be much too difficult to make alone. Faulner had given her many things, but food was not among them. Completely unused to surviving on her own, Ullr had simply starved most nights on her way the Riverwood, the small town that lay betwixt Helgen and Whiterun. The halfling would occasionally stumble upon a recognizable berry bush, but those were few and far between. There was even an incident in which Ullr had been attacked by bandits of some sort – Bror was the one to save the day. The stallion had bucked one of the two thieves that'd approached, giving Ullr time to mount him for their getaway. Needless to say, the pair was run ragged by that point.

Thankfully, fate was kind to the girl and her steed, and within the next hour the outskirts of Riverwood could be seen. Urging Bror into a gallop, they were upon the town shortly after. After stabling her horse, Ullr made her way to the inn that lay at the center of Riverwood – there was only one it seemed – hesitating at the door. For the journey ahead, she would need assistance of course. But how would she go about enlisting it? The kind of people that offered the help she needed were not what one would call the approachable type. The girl swallowed dryly before entering.

Ullr spent a good bit of time standing just within the entrance looking around, doe eyed and bewildered. So much so, that upon the arrival of another patron, she was pushed callously out of the way. She stumbled a bit, but her antagonizer looked at her as though she hadn't fallen quite as far as she'd wanted. The girl was, however, left alone for the most part after that. The warning was more than sufficient for her: get on with your business, or leave.

The halfling had almost given up on looking for aid when her eyes landed upon a woman older than herself. Her attire was intimidation by far, as was her scar and what seemed to be a wolf that lay silently at her feet. Ullr's only reassurance was the calm demeanor she exuded and the tea that she drank almost delicately – mead seemed to be the choice of beverage for most other in the inn. Faced with no other option it seemed, the orc approached the huntress, hesitantly and shakily.

"E-excuse me." she stammered, almost freezing up once the huntress' attention was focused upon her. "I'm trying to venture to Whiterun... I need to speak with someone there urgently, but I...can't make the journey alone. Do you think you could help me?" Ullr held her breath, fully expecting to be immediately turned away. The woman's wolf watched her curiously, dark eyes glinting in the firelight.