Hello! I decided to remake Dragon Child after hitting a bit of a block - and people disagreeing with Hadvar's presence. I'm going to repost the first four chapters. The first one hasn't change all that much, but the others will already be different.

Now, time to enjoy!

Outsider 1.1

Music tracks: Prelude, Final Fantasy Dissidia – Equinoxe 4, Jean Michel Jarre

§ § §

Akatosh glared at Nirn. He was powerless, and it was something he hated. Not that it was uncommon: even more than the Daedric Princes, the Divines couldn't manifest in the world and their influence was limited to faith-related blessings. The Daedra had an advantage on them in that field.

"Hello, Marty! Something's the matter? Your scales look all ruffed."

The dragon god turned wearily to Sheogorath.

"Hey there, Sheo. Yes, something's bothering me. Really bothering me." He said as he insisted on really.

"What!?" The Mad God asked in disbelief. "Someone has managed to piss off my old pal the Time God? Who are they, that I teach them the errors of their ways as I hang them by their intestines?"

"The Thalmor, who else? Bloody elven supremacists…"

Akatosh's glare was positively murderous. Sheogorath felt a shiver run down his spine. Despite his influence being limited, the dragon was still Time itself, and a very bad foe once you got on his bad side. It seemed the High Elves of the Aldmeri Dominion had done just that.

"Alright, spill the beans. I know the who, but what did they do, where, when and why?"

Akatosh snarled.

"Who? The Thalmor. What did they do? They killed the Dragonborn before he could discover his true nature, at the Shrine of Talos south of Gallows Rock, and I'm furious because Alduin is coming back next week and the one person who could stop him is dead."

Sheogorath frowned.

"Sorry, my mind's a little fussy. Care to jog my memories?"

The dragon looked at his mad friend for a moment before sighing.

"Right, your ascension as a Daedric Prince is recent. You wouldn't know who Alduin is. Long thing short, he's the Harbinger of the Apocalypse, the World Eater. In one week, he will return to Nirn after being banished in Time and will try to destroy it. He is also the most powerful dragon in the world and my very first creation."

"If he's gonna destroy the world…" Sheogorath asked in disbelief. "Why did you make him?"

"Because all things come to an end and, as the God of Time, my first creation was the creature that would bring it. I didn't plan for it to come so soon, though."

"So, you don't want Alduin to end the world."

"Yes. It is way too early. Maybe in a million year or two, but not right now. Anyway, the only person who can stop Alduin is the Dragonborn, a mortal upon which I imparted a part of my essence. The Dragonborn is the only being able to kill dragons definitely by absorbing their essence, their soul, and take in their knowledge along. This is why he can stop Alduin."

"But the Thalmor killed him."

"Yes." Akatosh seethed. "Before he could realize he's the Dragonborn. Now, Alduin is coming back and there's no one to stop him!"

"Why don't you just make another one?"

The dragon god gave his friend a desperate look and hung his head.

"Because it would take too long! To create a Dragonborn, I pick a mortal before he is born and mix his essence with part of mine. This way, his body has time to grow while being used to my essence. If I were to draw an adult mortal in the Aetherius and impart him with a fragment of my soul, his body would shatter from being unable to handle my divinity and, before you ask, the process would be barely less risky with a teenager. Children bear the most chances, but even then, the risk that they may die is still there – and I need someone who has at least some notions of fighting. Do you know many children who can hold their own in a straight on fight without being older than ten?"

"Alright, then. If the solution can't come from Nirn, why not look outside of it?"

The look on Akatosh's face was priceless.

"Are you in – No, forget it. Of course, you're insane. Prince of Madness and all…"

"But it may work, right? I mean, look at all the worlds outside of Mundus! One of them's bound to have the right candidate!"

"Have you only thought of the amount of energy and skill needed to bring him there even if we find him?"

This shut Sheogorath.

"…Right-o, there is that little detail."

Both gods looked at Nirn silently.

"The world's going to end in a week… and there's not a bloody thing we can do."

"Actually… maybe there is."

Dragon and madman made an about-turn and starred at the newcomer in disbelief.

"Jyggalag!? What are you doing there?"

The silver Daedric Prince shrugged.

"I was wandering the realms of Mundus when I overheard your conversation. You need power and skill to bring a potential Dragonborn to our world to stop the Apocalypse, right? I believe I can provide the power. As for the skills, between Julianos and Hermaeus Mora, I don't think it will take them long to come up with a plan."

Akatosh was uneasy.

"Your help is appreciated, but why are you doing this? If you don't mind me asking."

Jyggalag looked at Nirn.

"For the very reason you mentioned: it is too early for the world to end. Furthermore, I am the Daedric Prince of Order, and the Thalmor killing the future Dragonborn greatly upset the order of the world. I want to correct that mistake, just like you do."

Akatosh and Sheogorath looked at one another.

"Alright." The dragon god sighed. "Let's do this."

§ § §

Julianos was not remotely happy having to work with the eldritch Daedric Prince, but it was this or seeing the world end. There were events dire enough that hated foes had no choice but set their grudges aside. Alduin's coming was that for the Princes and the Divines. It took them three days to figure how to cross the barriers between the worlds, and three more to find potential hosts

"There." The Divine of Wisdom breathed. "We are ready. Are you, Jyggalag?"

"I am."

Akatosh looked away sheepishly.

"I am sorry I can't grant you my own strength, but I need to save it to imbue the new Dragonborn with my essence." He turned to the other Daedric Princes and the seven Divines. "So, did you find a potential host?"

Azura, Meridia, Sanguine, Hircine, Peryite, Nocturnal, Malacath, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Talos, Zenithar, Arkay and Stendarr looked at one another.

"We did. Here."

Akatosh looked at the chosen of each gods and frowned.

Talos had chosen a young mercenary with the heart of a lion, who had been unfortunate enough to be trapped outside of time. The dragon shook his head. The teen had experience, but he was almost too old and his soul was too rigid.

Azura's choice was more interesting, a selfless and kind-hearted boy wielding a key-like weapon. Akatosh cringed. His very heart was also his greatest weakness. It was almost like a mosaic made of several souls, some deeply entwined to his essence. If the Time God tried adding his own essence, he wouldn't survive.

He shook his head at Hircine's choice, a full-grown man deeply attuned to the draconic energies and able to jump between worlds that had been all but retconned after meddling with time in his own world. Too old. Way too old.

He raised a brow at Zenithar's choice, a spiky-haired teenager who used cards to fight and shared his mind with an ancient sprit bound to the puzzle hanging around his neck. Interesting, but he didn't want to separate the boy and his spirit partner.

Kynareth had chosen a wind-manipulating boy, the last of his kind. He decided against it. The boy's world was also facing its end and needed it as much as Nirn needed the Dragonborn. Akatosh refused to sacrifice the elemental world for his own.

Peryite had chosen a girl from a fairly modern world, who had the ability to control bugs and was torn between being a Hero and being a Villain. Then he got a closer look at where her powers came from and decided to stay as far from her world as he could.

Every god had found someone that could more or less fit, but the Time God turned them down for one reason or the other. His mind finally stopped on Mara's choice. It was a thirteen-year old boy with a lightning scar on his forehead and innate magical abilities. In his world, his kind was known as Wizards. Quickly, Akatosh checked his background. His eyes widened.

Whole family killed by a necromancer when he was one, raised by his non-powered uncle and aunt who knew his true nature and hid it from him, all the while loathing him for what he was and outright abusing him. Currently going to a magic school where he had only two real friends, mildly gifted in magic, and courageous enough to make Talos proud, having faced both a possessed necromancer at eleven and a monstrous serpent able to kill with its eyes at twelve. He was good in a fight, but still had room to learn. And, finally, he wasn't alone in his head.

Akatosh looked closer. Just like Azura's Chosen, there was someone in the teenager's mind, a soul fragment that oozed with malevolence and darkness as repulsive as Namira. The dragon god nodded.

"Him."

Jyggalag, Hermaeus Mora and Julianos instantly went to work. Nocturnal shook her head.

"If only I had my Skeleton Key… Akatosh, you and I need to talk while they bring the boy to our realm."

The dragon god was surprised, but agreed. Despite being associated with thieves and shadows, Nocturnal was also the Daedric Prince of Luck and one of the nicest of her kind.

Meanwhile, the three gods were working. Hermaeus had dived two tentacles in Jyggalag's chest, draining him of his strength while another was stuck in Julianos, feeding the Divine with the power of the Prince of Order. The god of Wisdom drew an intricate pentacle in the Aetheric window that let them watch the young wizard's world. The boy had just run from his uncle and aunt's house and was wandering the streets, his only desire being to put as much distance as he could between him and his hated home. Hermaeus Mora looked at him.

"Let us grant him his wish…"

The pentacle turned into a gateway as the boy sat down on a bench. Fast as lightning, the Daedric Prince's tentacle snatched him.

"Akatosh!" Jyggalag called, his voice weary and wavering. "We got him!"

The Time God had just finished talking with Nocturnal. He instantly went to work as Jyggalag, Julianos and Hermaeus retreated to their realms to rest. As simple as the operation had been, drawing the pentacle and opening the barrier had done a number on them. The other gods stayed at a respectable distance and watched Akatosh get to work.

§ § §

Harry had no idea what was going on, just that he felt particularly sleepy. His eyelids felt heavy and his body seemed to be floating in the Void, except the little he could glimpse told him it wasn't the Void per se but a sea of stars. Then a mind-rending headache seized him.

Akatosh frowned. What had made him choose the boy over the others was that dark soul he hosted within him. His body was already accustomed to having another powerful essence mingled to itself. The putrid soul wasn't as powerful as that of the Time God, but if he performed the mingling carefully, the boy would survive. He seized the dark soul and tore it from the boy's mind, earning a scream. Then he took a part of himself and slowly placed it in the place where the essence had been.

The pain was replaced by a feeling unlike anything he had felt before. It was like there was a hole in his mind, and something that felt like warm, liquid honey was filling it. Harry hummed. The warmth progressively invaded his body until it had completely replaced the pain. Feeling like this, it was easier to fall back to sleep. Sleep, and forget the strange cold sensation as something had snatched him from the bench in an alley of Little Winding, as he was running away from Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, promising himself to never return.

Akatosh grinned. The process had gone flawlessly. He took the time to look at the soul he had removed and jumped.

"Anu, this can't be!"

"Is there something wrong, Marty?" Sheogorath asked.

Akatosh looked at him in disbelief.

"This soul is actually a fragment of the essence of the necromancer that robbed the boy from his family. This is why it felt so wicked."

"Give it to me." Hermaeus Mora called from afar. "It will be my pleasure to study it thoroughly and find out how it found itself within the boy."

Akatosh hesitated. The Daedric Prince waved a tentacle.

"Consider it the price of my help. It will make a fine distraction while your Chosen saves Nirn. I leave messing with him to my brethren."

"Fair enough." The dragon god sighed as he gave him the soul shard.

Nocturnal stepped forward.

"Akatosh…"

"Don't worry. I would have agreed to help you, bargain or not. The boy will help you retrieve the Skeleton Key. You showed me a little of what Mercer Frey had done. He will pay for it, I promise."

Nocturnal smiled.

"I am the Daedric Prince of thieves, Akatosh. Thieves do nothing without expecting something else in return, this is the way we are… and it goes both ways. The boy will have my support. He'll need it if he wants to stop the end of the world."

On this, she kissed him. Akatosh was so surprised he remained motionless for a moment. Sheogorath grinned.

"Did she just steal a kiss from you?"

"That she did." The Time God admitted. "And I'm not even mad. She's pretty. Now, back to the boy…"

Akatosh nodded. Gathering a tiny spark of energy, he crafted it in an amulet he placed on the boy's neck, then took him and carefully teleported him on Nirn.

Alduin may be coming back and the Thalmor may have killed the True Dragonborn, but Akatosh loved Nirn. He wouldn't see it end now, no matter what it took.

So, aside from the place where the True Dragonborn died, nothing changed. Next chapter, however...