Hello, reader. This is my first try at a fanfic, and reviews are much appreciated. I hope I will get better at formatting, for I have no experience with writing on this site before. In any case, please enjoy.

Beware, beware, the Dragonborn comes,

with a hunger to swallow the world,

and a thu'um to command the sky

Mora gathered her cloak more closely about her as she trudged into Dayspring Canyon. In retrospect, maybe she should have made this journey in the daytime, and maybe she could have at least kept some feeling in her fingers. With a slight shiver, the petite Altmer pushed past the bristles of a conifer in her path, grimacing at the cold wind that swept through the canyon in howling gusts, managing to find its way into her hood and chill her pointed ears even further. More than ever, she was thankful for her Archmage robes and Nahkriin, at least they protected her somewhat from the biting wind. She hoped that this Fort Dawnguard she had been told about what at least somewhat nearby. One would think that someone like her would have plenty to do to busy themselves, between her high position in the College of Winterhold and the Dark Brotherhood. There was nothing for her to do at the College nowadays, Mora never fancied herself much of a teacher, despite her mastery of destruction and rejuvenation magics. As for the Brotherhood, she gained little pleasure in doing odd menial tasks for an organization she singlehandedly saved. Such jobs were far below her, and sometimes it took far too much of her will just to stop herself from killing the lot of them. Mora felt the fingers of her left hand twitch, almost aching to reach for the sword sheathed at her back. It seemed like that was the only thing that gave her comfort these days. These days, she had a lust for violence that she felt growing ever since-

"Oh, hey there!" The words cut through the night, startling Mora out of her reverie. Whirling on the spot, her gloved hand went automatically to the grip of her sword, and it was halfway out of its sheath before she stopped herself. A man, wearing a simple tunic with an axe on his right hip was jogging towards her.

"Are you here to join the Dawnguard too?" He spoke again when he reached her side, sounding far too cheery for both the current temperature and time of night. Mora fought a grimace, and instead forced a strained smile to her face. Damned Nords and their resistance to the cold. Mora opened her mouth for what she hoped might sound like a remotely friendly greeting, but the man began talking excitedly again before she could get any words out.

"Truth is, I'm a little nervous. I've never done anything like this before. I hope you don't mind if I walk up with you." Mora forced herself to relax and give a still rather tense nod in his direction before doggedly continuing, hoping to avoid any sort of conversation. The man seemed unperturbed, even though he may as well have been talking to a brick wall.

"Hey, uh, don't tell Isran I was afraid to meet him by myself. Not the best first impression for a new vampire hunter, I guess." Mora shrugged her shoulders in response, but she was inclined to agree, sparing a sideways glance at the small axe the man carried. He would probably be the first to die in a fight against vampires, but that was no concern of hers. The man seemed content with her response, and they walked through the canyon in silence for a few minutes.

"That must be it. Fort Dawnguard… Wow. Bigger than I expected." Mora glanced up and was able to just make the outline of a castle through the gloom. Small lights shone from slits in the walls, which seemed to be made from grey stone. It certainly was large, at least compared to the headquarters of most of the guilds she had visited. The man, in his usual fashion, didn't give her a chance to respond.

"I heard what's going on. The vampires, the Dawnguard, all of it. I wanted to help, so here I am." Mora wasn't sure how much help he'd be, what with his lack of armor and any more than mediocre weapon, but her silence was once again enough for the man, and the pair of them sped up their pace slightly, the man from excitement, and Mora at the promise of finally getting out of the cold.

"Where is everybody? This place looks almost deserted." More spared him a scathing glance that went completely unnoticed. Of course nobody is around, fool. It's fucking nighttime. Finally they were at the gates of the fort, Mora unable to suppress her glee at the prospect of finally being warm again.

"I guess this is it. Wish me luck," the man said before they pushed open the doors and entered Fort Dawnguard.

Mora was immediately and severely underwhelmed. Not only was the castle in a state of deep disrepair and neglect, but it was freezing inside. Mora hoped deeply that the fort had an ample supply of mead, because she was trying very hard not to kill anyone today. Despite the cold, she lowered her hood, allowing her chocolate brown hair to flow down her upper back, and removed her mask revealing strikingly soft features for an elf, with deep emerald eyes and gentle lips that were curled into a slight frown. A man with dark skin and a massive warhammer strapped to his back approached her.

"Ah, new recruits?" He had a deep gravely voice, it sounded almost like he was doing it on purpose to seem more intimidating. With effort, Mora avoided rolling her eyes.

"I'm Isran, leader of the Dawnguard. These days, it seems we need all the help we can get."

"And how exactly do I...help?" Mora drawled, earning a glance from her earlier companion at the sound of her voice, "It seems as if, judging by the state of this place, you're doing quite well." Isran sent her a scowl, but disregarded her last comment.

"I need someone in the field taking the fight to the damned vampires, while we're getting the fort back into shape… Tolan," he motioned to a tall bald man with a warhammer almost as large as his own, "was telling me about some cave that the Vigilants were poking around in. Seemed to think it was related to these vampire attacks." Mora listened boredly as Tolan told her about a Dimhollow Crypt, that supposedly held a sort of vampire artefact. It would be something to do at least. Something to keep her mind off things. Tolan promised to meet her at Dimhollow in the morrow before taking his leave. Isran, looking behind Mora, called out, "You there, boy. Stop skulking in the shadows and step up here. What's your name?" Mora's earlier companion walked forward nervously, seeming not to know what to do with his hands.

"I'm uh… my name is Agmaer, sir." Mora nearly scoffed at his pathetic stammer. The coward could barely even get a word out, let alone be able kill a vampire.

"Do I look like a 'sir' to you boy? I'm not a soldier, and you're not joining the army."

Isran seemed to be under the same opinion, and Mora smirked slightly, gaining a small amount of respect for the man.

"Yes, si-...Isran." Isran huffed,

"Didn't I tell you to step forward? Hmm...farm boy, eh? What's your weapon?" The man, Agmaer, trembled slightly.

"Uh, my weapon? I mostly just use pa's axe, when wolves are attacking the goats or something." Isran let out a deep chuckle, "'My Pa's axe', Stendarr preserve us. Don't worry, I think we can make a Dawnguard out of you. Here, let's take this crossbow and see how you shoot." Mora quickly lost interest in the conversation, and made her way past the two men to try and find a good place to sleep. Preferably somewhere with a lot of blankets and a roaring fire. Maybe tomorrow, at Dimhollow Crypt, something interesting might finally happen.