Chapter 1
He opened his eyes to smoke and fire, the sounds of screams ringing in his ears as he was pulled from the ground to his feet. He was shoved from behind towards a crumbling tower as the great beast roared above him. Soldiers were shouting commands to take cover, or to go on the offensive and fire arrows at the beast. He quickly turned to see his executioner turned savior be grabbed by the beast not a moment after saving his life. He turned towards the tower and ran as fast as he could to the apparent safety inside, unaware that this was just the beginning to the rest of his life.
Arthius often thinks back to this day, the very beginning to this life he now lives. He's an Imperial/ Nord mix, at least that's what he's told. The elder that raised him told him that his parents met in the great war and fell in love shortly after. They had passed away not long after having him, so one of the town elders took him in until he had also died when Arthius was about eleven years of age.
After the old man's death, Arthius became a bit of a thief to survive. Robbing stores in the dead of night, stealing valuables from homes, and pickpocketing anyone foolish enough to turn their backs on him. He had travelled all across cyrodiil to avoid being sent to prison until he decided to venture into skyrim at age nineteen when he ran into an Imperial ambush.
Since that day he was pronounced to be the great dragonborn of legend. He did all he could to learn as much of the voice as possible from the greybeards, and spent countless hours with Paarthurnax learning to hone his powers in the voice. He learned how to fight from Vilkas and Farkas, and learned how to use a bow from Aela of the companions whom he is now harbinger of. He's learned stealth and quickness from the Thieves guild who he now leads as the guild master and as an agent of nocturnal known as a Nightingale, and he learned the art of killing and walking amongst the shadows from the Dark brotherhood as the listener.
As the day finally came to read the elder scroll dragon, Arthius felt prepared for whatever he might have faced when he left to battle Alduin. He was not however prepared for Alduin to appear immediately after he read it. The skies darkened as Alduin unleashed a thu'um conjuring meteors to fall from the sky as he and Paarthurnax took flight to battle amongst the clouds. All Arthius could do was avoid meteors and wait for the right moment to unleash his dragonrend shout. Once Alduin appeared from the clouds, he unleashed his shout sending Alduin to the ground below where Arthius could strike him with his sword. Alduin unleashed a blast of fire from his mouth, Arthius barely had time to leap out of harms way. As he got to his feet, he was swatted by Alduin's tail and sent tumbling across the mountain top. As Alduin prepared to swat him again, Arthius used his slow time shout, which gave him the chance he needed to duck before the tail struck him again. With Alduin's back still turned, Arthius ran in and stabbed Alduin in the side with all his strength. Alduin's rough skin barely allowed a small gash, but it was something at least. The battle lasted another hour or so before Alduin realized he was no match for Arthius' thu'um and disappeared from skyrim. That was almost two years ago as even Paarthurnax's Sovangarde theory was false. Ever since then, Arthius has been doing all he could to help the people of skyrim, including putting a standstill to the civil war that plagues the land.
Arthius thought to himself as he sat in his dining hall in Lakeview manor sipping black briar mead. Lydia soon walked into the room, seeing her thane in the same mood he's been in for about a week.
"Is something troubling you my thane? " she asked. Arthius looked up from the table, a little surprised by Lydia's presence.
"No, thank you Lydia. Is there something you need?" He had to get himself out of this mood, as Lydia was not the first to worry about him. The only person he talked to about these kinds of things were Kodlak, but he's been dead for some time now. Slain by the so called righteous silver hand.
"No, I'm about to head to Falkreath to gather supplies if you need anything" Lydia asked, a bit unsure.
"Please, let me do it" he replied, "I could use the fresh air and Jarl Siddgeir wanted to see me about something anyways". He had hoped not to sound like he was pleading, like a child hoping to play out after dark. Lydia's frown seemed to deepen as she took notice of this.
"Alright I suppose, I will gather ingredients from the garden in the meantime, take care of yourself my thane" she answered as he walked out the door.
"Always" he called as he left his home and started down the trail towards Falkreath.
The Jarl hadn't notified him of anything in quite a while other than a giant he put a bounty on which Arthius easily dispersed of. He just needed an excuse to leave his own home without Lydia being concerned or joining along. He just needed to be alone for a little while. He knew the Dominion would be kicking his door in any one of these days since there's still belief that he was the one who crashed the thalmor's little party (which he did but they have no proof).And he knew Ulfric's temper wouldn't be held down for much longer. He never really picked a side in the war between the empire and the stormcloaks, but he felt that if Ulfric won, he would start a second great war and pull all of Skyrim into it. Ulfric would have to be dealt with eventually but Arthius is hoping it won't end with Ulfric's head on a silver platter. That being said, he didn't agree with the empire either. He always assumed the Dominion would want something but he wasn't expecting the ability to punish the people of skyrim for worshipping talos, even if he didn't worship the Divines himself.
The walk to Falkreath was uneventful but he enjoyed living in this part of skyrim because of the seasonal changes. Winter brought snow, covering the land in pure white showing off skyrim's true weather. Spring brings out the beautiful colors of nature and wild game to hunt, even if the Jarl kills most of them. The walk reminded him of when he first walked to Riverwood from the destruction of Helgen, even if he didn't appreciate it at the time. The birds chirped and the only disturbance was the regular clunk from his steel plate armor as he walked the trail. He always preferred steel plate even though he was offered ebony as steel appeared nobler, as ebony made him appear as some sort of villain, and he didn't need that appearance since most people fear him as because of what he is. He wields Meridia's Dawnbreaker sword in one hand and Peryite's Spellbreaker shield in the other, and though he only wears it in battle to avoid frightening the citizens of Skyrim, he hides his features the Masque of Clavicus Vile. Arthius always had an interest in the daedric princes even if some are evil like Molag Bal or Mehrunes Dagon.
As he walked into Falkreath, he heard screams and someone shout "VAMPIRES!"
" Just great" Arthius cursed to himself as he unsheathed his weapons. "Just what I need today".
