The Dragonrider- A Skyrim Fanfiction

Prophesy

I wiped the ocean of sweat away from my brow, not that that helped in the slightest. The beast's nostrils were a few yards away from mine, each breath a tsunami of wind. A daily walk throughout the grasslands outside Whiterun had evolved into a duel between man and beast. Good and evil. Nord and Dragon. I was hunting for my family, looking for any mud crabs or deer. Never would I have ever seen myself fighting this. I oversaw the giant beast destroy the Western Watchtower. I knew running was moot. It would easily outrun me. And helping was pointless too. They were all destined to Sovengarde anyway. But here I was, face to face with the legends of old. Fear had escaped me. I felt a strange peace overwhelm me. Was this what you felt right before you died? I guess so. I felt a howl from behind me. An Ice Wolf, but not my enemy. My friend. I found him, limping from the Throat of the World, the tallest mountain in Skyrim, a few months ago. He found his way through the woods to the plains, where I found him and nursed him. Now he was my friend and ally in battle. He would be with me to the end of this battle. Finally, after what seemed ages of deafening silence, the Dragon shouted with his monstrous voice at me. But all of a sudden, a whirlwind of memories rushed into my mind, of my childhood.

I was only a young lad at the small town of Riverwood, South of Whiterun, when a stray horse entered our yard. My father called me out of the house as we stood behind a tree, silently observing the beauteous animal. "Gwamyr, listen to me carefully. I'm going to teach you to ride this horse and to make it yours." My father's voice was gruff and demanding, but peaceful and gentle to me. I could hear his voice at my ear, and feel his bushy red beard rub against my cheek. He was practically sitting down, as he nearly two heads taller than most Nords. "The first thing you must do is make him know that you mean him no harm. You want to ride him, not kill him." I nodded my head in understanding. "Now the second thing you must do is let him know you're boss." Again I nodded my head, before finally breaking from my memory.

I shook my head as I awoke from my daydreaming. I lifted myself up from the ground, ignoring the ringing in my ears. "Step one." I pulled out my wooden bow, made fine from my work at the Skyforge, and dropped it to the ground, along with my arrows and my iron sword. "Sit, Breyor. Sit." I turned to my Ice Wolf. He cocked his head in confusion before obeying by demands. "Step 2." I ran towards the Dragon and screamed at his face. The Dragon, retreated, not in fear but in surprise. I took another step and yelled again, this time making the Dragon stay it's ground. I reached out my hand, as if breaking the wall that stood in place of the everlasting war and battle between our two kinds. The Dragon bowed it's head as it made contact with my hand. I could feel it's warmth. It's heartbeat, it's breath, it's knowledge, it's heart. I chuckled out loud as I realised; the dragon never wanted to harm me. It never wanted to harm anyone. We were the ones foolish enough to attack these magnificent creatures. My father's third step entered my memory. "Step three- Ride, lad, and never look back!" I walked to its side and leaped onto its scaled back after grabbing my bow and arrows. I leant forwards and whispered into its ears, "Ride, my friend. To wherever the winds lead us."

Suddenly he shot upwards with such speed and grace I couldn't help but release my ecstasy and laugh in joy. We flew above the clouds, until even the Throat of the World seemed to be but a small mountain. I could see the 7,000 steps, and above them all the famed High Hrogthar, the home of the secretive Greybeards. "Lets go say hi to the Greybeards, my friend." He almost seemed to nod in approval as he gracefully dived downwards. We approached the courtyard of High Hrogthar, and the stunned Greybeards each exited their home, one by one. Too stunned to speak, I quickly realised that I was trespassing and they knew the Way of the Voice. "You... you rode a Dragon. Y...You're the one!" One said, stroking his long, grey beard whilst observing me and my Dragon. "Um... ok... What are you talking about?" I asked, curious of what they meant. "You know of the Dovahkiin, yes? The Dragonborn?" I nodded my head in understanding and in curiosity. "He is born with the Dragon's blood inside him. But prophecies foretold of one who, although they could not speak their language, or use their 'Shouts', could understand a Dragon's tongue and tame them." I jumped off of my Dragon and laughed at their comments. "Me? I'm just a young Nord from Riverwood! I haven't got any prophecy over my head!"
"But you do! The Divines foretold of one who would tame the Dragons and use them to bring peace over Skyrim! And now, in such a time as this, during Civil Wars and unrest, you are needed more than ever! The Dragonborn is gifted with the blood and the voice of a Dragon, but you are gifted with the taming and the ears of one!" I pondered... could they be telling the truth? Was I truly the one prophesied to bring peace to Skyrim? It took me two seconds to make up my mind. I burst into laughter. "I'm sorry, but if you think that I'm gonna bring peace to Skyrim, you got annother thing coming. I'm outta here!" I jumped onto my Dragon and we flew around the mountain. "We don't need them, boy." As we flew around the Throat of the World, I felt cold winds and bitter snow creep upon us. Soon we found ourselves in the middle of a deadly blizzard. "Dammit! How could I be so foolish? To ignore the Greybeards?!" Soon, nothing was visible save for the black-clad scales of my Dragon's head. "Toor-shul!" My Dragon breathed fire ahead of him, and he soon found a small, flat area of land for us to crash onto. As soon as we landed I leaped from his back and perused his body for any injries. There were none, so I just told him, "We're going to have to wait until the blizzard is over, my friend." He nodded as I approached the face of the cliff. Something seemed amiss. I used my rusted iron sword to clear away the snow from the bottom of the cliff face. Amidst the snow was an etched tablet, built into a stone wall. The writing was impossible to see, eroded away by time. But there was a note, written with black ink. I lifted it up to my eyes and read aloud.

"That blizzard was no accident, Dragonrider. You were meant to take this path. For here you may only see your destiny. Here you will realise, amidst the cold and the bitter winds. Turn around, Dragonrider. Listen, and he will speak, and you will know."
- Greybeards

"No way..." I stumbled backwards into my Dragon, shocked. The Greybeard's were crazy after all! Suddenly, a voice began to speak from behind me. "Mirmulnir. My name is Mirmulnir." I spun around and fell onto my butt, jaw dropped. "No...way..."
"I am one of the last remaining Dragons, and one of the only Dragon's that survived our extermination at the hands of the Blades. And I am at you service forevermore." After staying silent for a second more, I jumped upwards in joy and hugged Mirmulnir's neck. "You can talk! You understand me! I'M THE DRAGONRIDER!!!" He turned his giant neck towards me and seemed to smile, which frankly scared me a little with the countless rows of razor sharp teeth. "Ride me, Dragonrider." I leaped onto his back and we flew back towards High Hrogthar, due to the blizzard calming down. We rode around the mountain and again returned to High Hrogthar. I leaped off of Mirmulnir's scaled back and greeted, yet again, the Greybeards. "So you finally understand, Dragonrider." I nodded my head. "What must I do, Masters? What must I learn?"
"You have nothing to learn, but you must listen. Don't take this gift lightly, for it is you who is destined to bring peace to Skyrim. Choose your allies wisely, and your enemies wiser." With this they returned to their home, before giving a quick bow to Mirmulnir, and I was off. "Where do we start?" I asked.
"Whiterun. A key in the politics of this land. There, near your home, may we find our path." We made sure we were out of view, staying above the clouds, but it's hard not to be seen riding a black-clad fearsome creature of his type. I could hear faint shouts and yelling from the city below, and I realised that they didn't like Dragons as much as they did. "I'm sorry, my Dragonrider, but I cannot risk your life." I cocked my head, confused of his statement. He neared a river, and when a few metres above it he turned upside-down, forcing me to fall and watch him fly towards the Western Watchtower. As I fell, I quickly neared the approaching water, which unfortunately wasn't as deep as Mirmulnir had suspected, with sharp rocks visible in my view. A scream, a thud, then black.