In the last episode Ellu'kha Kael, vengeance-seeking wood elf, teamed up with another Bosmer and set out to Solitude to destroy the Imperials from within. It didn't go as planned. Soon the Daedric Prince, Meridia, set her sights upon the young wood elf and bestowed her with a blessed sword with which to toast her enemies with. Buoyed by the realisation that the Divines, the Godly stones, and even the Princes had ordained her vengeance, Ellu'kha Kael returned to Windhelm to seek a partnership with the Imperial-Hating-Stormcloaks. They demanded she kill a frosty beast and return its frosty heart to them, and she succeeded.
Now she seeks her rightful place on the battlefield to face the Imperials.
Onward! π
Clutching her bow in one hand and the frosty heart in the other, Ellu'kha stood before Galmar, Stormcloak second-in-command, and brandished the icy organ.
"I have completed your quest!" she exclaimed. "Now will you let me fight by your side?"
"Well done, little elf," Galmar smirked. "You're stronger than you look. Alright. You must take this oath. Repeat after me..."
"An oath?" Ellu'kha cried. "Can't I just fling my arrows at them and revel in their blood?"
Galmar sighed.
"No, little elf. You must pledge allegiance to the wonderful, the great, the super awesome, Jarl of ALL the land."
Ellu'kha bowed her head. She didn't want to pledge allegiance to anyone. All she wanted was to kill those damned Imperials and then begin her life anew. But it seemed that she had no choice.
Placing one hand on her heart and the other behind her back, she crossed her fingers as she lied through her teeth and took the so-called "oath."
"Fantastic!" both Galmar and the Jarl exclaimed together. "Now, go forth to this old draug'r infested tomb and find this sacred crown. It will cement my rulership over ALL the land! Muahahahahaahahaa!"
Ellu'kha offered a small smile and bowed her head before shuffling out of the room. Grabbing Auveren by the arm, she hissed, "We have to do some sort of suicide mission before we can kill Imperials."
"That's always the way, innit?" Auveren rolled his eyes. "Blasted Nords can't do their own dirty work. Two hundred gold says they're drunk when we return."
On their way to the tomb, they killed some bandits that had taken up lodging in an old mine near Windhelm. More work they wouldn't get credit for.
"You owe me some gold," Ellu'ka whispered to Auveren as they reached the tomb.
The stormcloaks he had assumed would be drunk were actually waiting for them. They were going to search for this so-called crown together. Apparently they had no faith in two little elves, she grimaced.
Some Nord named Ralof approached her.
"It's you! It's you! I'm so glad that you joined our cause!"
"Do I know you?" Ellu'kha raised an eyebrow.
"Weren't you at Helgen? A dragon attacked? You followed me into the castle keep!"
"Dragons? Uh, I think you're thinking of someone else," Ellu'kha backed away. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe they were drunk after all. Dragons. Pfffffftttt.
"Quiet!" Galmar shouted, ignoring his own command. "The Imperials have beat us to the tomb. It's time to spill some blood!"
"At last," Ellu'kha hissed.
After a bloody battle that resulted in several fallen Stormcloaks and a lot of fallen Imperials, Ellu'kha wiped the gore from her face and at last reveled in the taste of fresh Imperial heart.
"Delicious," she murmured reverently.
"Disgusting," Galmar muttered. "Here, take this crown to the Jarl. Careful not to get any blood on it."
Leaping from snow drift to ice-peaked mountain, Ellu'kha and Auveren returned to Windhelm and presented the crown to the Jarl.
"Well, I'll be," he breathed. "Galmar was right. I have a crown. A CROWN! None shall defy me!" He clasped his hands together and stared at her. "You are proving most resourceful, little elf. Now, take this ancient axe to Whiterun and brandish it at this other Jarl. He'll know what it means. Don't even speak a word. Just brandish it."
"Um, okay," Ellu'kha said, grasping the battleaxe in both hands. By the Divines, it was a heavy hunk of metal. Did she really have to drag this all the way to Whiterun?
Tapping Auveren on the shoulder with the hilt, she said, "Here. Take this. We're taking it to Whiterun."
"Good grief," he gasped, then lugged it over his shoulder.
The two elves sped off to Whiterun, only to find the city gates had been locked.
"What in Oblivion?" Ellu'kha muttered before banging on the gates. "Let us in!"
"Go away!" shouted a guardsman. "There are dragons on the loose."
"Is everyone in this damned country drunk?" Ellu'kha yelled. "There are no dragons. Now let me in. I have a message for the Jarl."
"Oh. Okay then."
The gates opened and Ellu'kha and Auveren stormed into the city and up to the palace. Just as the Jarl commanded, she yoinked the great battleaxe from her companion's shoulders and brandished it at this other guy.
The Jarl looked her up and down, then sneered, "How dare you? There are dragons about and you dare interrupt my council to bring this to me?"
Ellu'kha didn't say a word, as instructed. Only stared at the Jarl, back to the axe, then back to the Jarl. He waved her away.
"I'll deal with this when the dragon is taken care off. You. You help with the dragon, then I'll entertain this so-called 'message.'"
"These Nords are crazy," she whispered to Auveren.
He grimaced and nodded, "Dragons, right?"
"Apparently."
Following a snobby dark elf to the gates, they listened with glazed eyes as she tried to rile the men and encourage them to fight a mythical beast that simply could not exist.
The Jarl of Windhelm was never going to get his answer at this rate. Without an answer, she would never be able to fight more Imperials. This was not going as she had hoped.
Following a squad of guardsmen, and the snobby dark elf, to a tower just beyond the city, Ellu'kha's eyes widened. There it was. A freaking dragon.
Adrenaline coursed through her veins and a strange excitement thrummed from her heart. She would take down this mighty beast and...
"I'm gonna eat your heart!" she screamed wildly, notching her arrows and letting them loose.
The battle was disappointingly short but as the beast plummeted to the ground Ellu'kha raced for its corpse. A dragon heart would surely imbue her with great strength and wisdom. Surely. Surely!
Only... as she approached the fallen beast, something else happened.
The remains glowed bright and then dimmed to nothing, leaving only bones. Not the slightest flesh or organ remained. But she felt... more intelligent than before. Almost like the creature's death had indeed left its mark on her without the requirement of eating its delicious, juicy heart.
The guardsmen surrounded her and gasped.
"By the Divines. You are Dragonborn. Just like the old Emperor."
"Does that mean I should be Empress?" Ellu'kha grinned.
No-one answered. They just stared at her in awe. Suddenly, a voice rumbled down a nearby mountain and shook the ground harder than the dragon's landing had.
"Dragonborn! Come meet us atop this mountain!" the voice commanded.
"I-I..." Ellu'kha stuttered. "What is going on? I just came here to deliver a message to Whiterun's Jarl!"
"Do as the voice demands, Dragonborn," the guards continue staring.
Desperate to get away from the staring Nords, Ellu'kha grabbed Auveren's arm and tripped over her own feet as she backed away. She had to leave. Now. Before these strange people descended upon her.
In her haste to get away, the two elves stumbled across a tower full of bandits.
"Why are there so many bandits?" Ellu'kha cried, swinging her Daedric sword.
"Arrrrrgggggggghhhhhh!" Aureven responded.
"Aureven?"
There was no answer. Ellu'kha stabbed another bandit, then another, and another! And then stumbled over a body that wasn't her kill. It was Auveren. He had fallen to a mere bandit before he could claim his own justice.
"Don't worry, friend," Ellu'kha whispered. "I will seek vengeance for your untimely death as soon as I deal with the damned Imperials."
Turning back to Whiterun, she closed her eyes and prepared herself. She, apparently, was special, and she needed to stop running. And she still needed the Jarl's answer. She would deal with this so-called 'dragonborn' business after every Imperial in Skyrim lay dead in the snow, their flesh in her stomach, and their hearts on kebobs.
The eyes of the whole of Whiterun bore into her neck as she lowered her head and hurriedly passed each citizen.
"She sucked out that dragon's soul," someone whispered.
"She's dragonborn, she is," someone else murmured.
"She's a stormcloak lackey is what she is!" someone else shouted.
Keep walking, keep walking, Ellu'kha told herself, trying her best to ignore the gossiping crowds, and at last found herself in the Jarl's chambers again.
Taking a deep breath, she stood before him and once more brandished the Jarl of Windhelm's battleaxe.
With a steely glare, the Jarl eyed her up and down and said, "Thank you for vanquishing the dragon, dragonborn. Now. Return this axe to our 'friend'. He has my answer."
A chill spread across her shoulders as the Jarl said those words. What did that mean? Moistening her lips, she turned her back on the Jarl of Whiterun and prepared to flee the city.
There would be nothing more for her here.
Until next time π
Thank you for stopping by!
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All screenshots in the post taken by me, , from the game: The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim