The young man slowly awoke to the sound of horses pulling carts down a cobblestone road, his head pounding as the cart jostled him about. He'd had hangovers before, but never had one felt like this. As he opened his eyes he realized it wasn't a hangover from the liquor the night before making his head pound and hallucinate horses, but the real thing.

"What? Wait, where am I?" he said as his eyes finally began to focus on a strange blonde warrior in blue armor.

Hey, you. You're finally awake. You were trying to cross the border, right?...

"NO WAY!" he interrupted, "Ralof? Damn, this is one hell of a dream. I must have had way too much to drink last night."

"I'm sorry, you know me? Have we met before?" Ralof asked as he looked the young man up and down for some recognition. He was barely older than a boy, maybe 20 years at the most with long, brown hair and a slim physique that didn't look like he had done a lot of outdoor activity.

"Many times, but you wouldn't remember. I just hope I remember all this after I wake up."

"Not sure if you noticed, but you did just wake up. You seem to think you're still dreaming." Ralof said with a very confused look on his face. "Did you have a bit too much mead before you passed out?"

"Oh, I had way too much to drink, that's for sure. Jagermeister kicked my ass."

"Got in a fight with someone too? Interesting name this opponent has."

"No, Jagermeister is the name of the liquor, the drink. It makes mead look like milk."

"You still haven't told me how you know my name stranger. When have we met before?"

"Ralof, I've played this game more times than I can count, but I must admit, this feels very real."

"Game? I'm not sure what you're talking about, but this is very real. Are you sure you're not just trying to convince yourself that we aren't on our way to the block?"

The carts stopped and the guards ordered everyone out. Looks like I'm going to have to play along until I wake up, he thought as he stepped down out of the wagon with his hands bound tightly together. When Hadvar told him to step forward and asked his name he thought his own name would sound very strange in Skyrim so he decided to give the name Loki of Asgard after his favorite Norse god of mischief.

"I'm sorry, Loki, I'm not familiar with Asgard. Where is that?" Hadvar asked.

"It's not in Tamriel, I'm not from this land. I demand to know what crime I have committed to be sentenced to death."

"Captain, what should we do? He's not on the list."

"Forget the list, he goes to the block." the Captain said.

"By your orders Captain. I'm Sorry, follow the Captain prisoner."

"Really Hadvar? You don't even have enough backbone to stand up to orders to send a man to the block without a crime?" Spineless coward!"

As he walked to the group to be executed, Loki, as he had chosen, overheard General Tullius monologuing to Ulfric Stormcloak for his misuse of power and murder of the high king. He kept wondering to himself when this dream would end and he would wake up. Everytime he had become aware he was dreaming before he usually woke up within moments, but this seemed different. It was the most real dream he had ever had. He could feel the bitter cold of the wind blowing across his bare arms and face, feel the rocks under his feet, even smell the stench of manure from the animals around the town. He decided if he was going to live out this dream of Skyrim, he would have a little fun with it and do something he wished he could do in the game. He just prayed Alduin wasn't running late.

As he was looking around taking in his surroundings and deciding on his "final words," he heard Hadvar call out "Step toward the block Loki, nice and easy."

As he stepped forward, Loki smiled at Hadvar, then looked the Captain straight in the eye and said "For my final words in this life I call upon Akatosh to bring justice to those who would execute a man without a trial or even a crime to be accused of. Send unto me your firstborn son Alduin, that he may judge these murderers in blood and fire!" Loki then knelt before the block having noticed the very nervous expressions being passed between everyone present. He couldn't help but chuckle a little as the headsman looked at his axe, realizing he was about to carry out an execution without knowing if the one he was executing was even guilty. The moment of hesitation from doubt was just long enough. Loki breathed a great sigh of relief as he heard the great roar echo down from the side of the mountain. "Thank the Nine! They heard me" he said just as the Captain put him down on the block with her boot. Before the headsman could even raise his axe Alduin crashed down on top of the tower and let out a shout that shook Helgen to the core. As a storm grew over Helgen and rocks began to fall from the sky Loki jumped to his feet and made a dash for the tower on the far side of the courtyard followed closely by Ralof.

Once inside, Ralof shut the door and turned to Ulfric, "Jarl Ulfric! What is that thing? Could the legends be true?

"Legends don't burn down villages," Ulfric said. Then turning to Loki, "What have you done? You called on the World Eater himself? You've doomed us all."

"I didn't actually call him, I just already knew he was coming and used it to delay getting my head chopped off. Now someone cut my hands loose so I can actually do something." Ralof and Ulfric both glanced at each other and shrugged. "Really, no one has a knife? How did you two get free? Did they not bind you as tight as they did me? Am I really that much of a threat to them?" Then he thought to himself Wait, everyone knows flames at the beginning. Ok, how do I do this? He opened his palm and tried to will a flame to appear in his hand. As he focused, he imagined a flame igniting in his palm. He felt a strange sensation like the tingle of electricity in his arm and then, to his complete surprise, a small flame appeared in the middle of his open hand. "I can't believe that worked," he said as he held the flame to the wraps binding his wrists. Just as the wraps were about to burn through he felt he fire burning his wrists as well. "Ow, damnit! that really hurts. I've never felt this much pain in a dream before."

Ulfric looked at Loki for a moment with a very concerned look on his face, then casually said "This isn't a dream Boy, it's life or death" and walked away.

After getting his bindings burnt through Loki tried to summon a healing spell to sooth the burns on his wrists, but was interrupted as the wall up the stairs was knocked in by a very pissed off dragon. As Alduin shouted "Yol Toor Shul" and filled the stairwell with fire, the intensity of the heat came barreling down the stairs and right into Loki's face. It was so hot that it almost felt as if his skin would cook. It was at that moment that He realized this "dream" was no dream at all. The danger was real, the pain was real, and for the first time he got worried that death here might be real too, and so the fear became real as well.

Ralof grabbed him by the shirt and shook him back from his thoughts. "Pull yourself together boy, if you want to live. Come on, you've got to jump to that inn."

Loki glanced around and got his bearings, snapping out of the trance-like state he had been in. He ran to the top of the stairs and jumped as hard as he could, landing in a roll to absorb the blow. Through the inn and out the other side to find Hadvar trying to save a small boy.

"Still alive Prisoner? Keep close to me if you want to stay that way.

"Oh, NOW you want to be courageous. You can face a dragon, but not your Captain?

Hadvar just looked at Loki, then turned and ran toward General Tullius. As they ran past a wall Alduin landed directly above them. The Elder Scrolls games he had played for years did nothing to prepare him for this moment, staring up at the massive black dragon. They did him no justice on size or intimidating appearance. His scales were as black as a moonless night, his claws like shards of obsidian, his roar like thunder from a thousand bolts of lightning at once, and his eyes looked as deep as the void of Sithis. Loki felt another rush of pure adrenaline as a cold sweat came across his brow. Just as Alduin took to the air, Loki and Hadvar bolted away to where the General was mustering the remaining troops and ordering them to get everyone into the keep.

Loki ran for the keep with Hadvar close behind, just as the got near the door, Ralof appeared.

"Ralof! You damned traitor. Out of my way!" Hadvar yelled.

"We're escaping, Hadvar. You're not stopping us this time." Ralof replied.

"Fine, I hope that dragon takes you all... "

"Shut up you two, and get your asses inside now!" Loki screamed at the two Nords. "We have bigger problems than your petty civil war. Now both of you, FOLLOW ME!"

The two nords looked at each other and then at loki just as a rock crashed behind them. Loki opened the door and then ran back out, grabbing both men by the collars of their armor and dragging them through the door. Once inside, he looked back for any more survivors near the door; seeing none, he closed it.

Loki turned to find Ralof and Hadvar facing each other with their swords drawn, each waiting for the other to make the first move so they could fight. "Will you two put your damn egos aside so we can try to solve the problem of A BIG BLACK DRAGON TRYING TO KILL EVERYONE?! You are both from Riverwood, you both no doubt know and love the same people, and those people are right down the road in a wooden town with no keep to hide in while this dragon is flying around destroying stone towers like they were sandcastles on the beach. You need to put aside your petty differences for now and focus on figuring out how to get us safely out of here so we can go warn those people that they are in danger. Look, you both love Skyrim and it's people, you just have different ideas about what is the best way to protect it. Well, right now is not the time to decide the politics, right now is the time to join together and fight FOR those people you both grew up with and that you BOTH love! Do you understand me? Am I getting this through those thick Nord skulls? Now, put those damn swords away and help me find some gear!"

The two Nords stared at Loki for a moment as if in disbelief, then looked at each other for a second with what almost looked like shame in their faces as they sheathed their swords.

"Wait, how do you know so much about us and where we are from? This is the first time I've ever seen you? Hadvar questioned.

"I thought the same thing," Ralof replied as he began to look around the room for gear. "He seems to know a great deal about us. If we get out of this alive, I'd like to know how you know us so well."

Loki was trying to focus on summoning a healing spell again as he listened to the two soldiers talk. As he finally managed to get his palm to glow with the spell and apply it to his burnt wrist he replied to the obviously suspicious men "If we get out of this alive, I just might tell you. For now, I'll simply say that my knowledge comes directly from the Elder Scrolls and leave it at that. Now, let me get out of these rags and lets get to Riverwood."