Disclaimer: I do not Own Skyrim or any of the Elder Scrolls games. That right belongs to Bethesda. Some Characters have been written out of Character, but as lore Friendly as Possible.

Author's Note: (Available now on Archiveofourown ) Spoiler alert! Some missions you may obtain and complete in the Elder Scrolls game Skyrim have been written into the story but changed. This is only the first Chapter of Weaver, and I have already planned on making this a Free Form Skyrim. What this means is I will be writing my own rendition of events and such that will unfold in Tamriel. I will still be adding content of the game itself, references to Missions/Characters/Creatures that already exist in the game, and add some of my own to give Skyrim a, lore friendly, realistic setting. There will be a revelation in later chapters that is not lore friendly. THIS IS YOUR WARNING!

Chapter 1: The end of the Beginning

Mahrig

4E 201, Skyrim, Town of Helgen

All the running and hiding that never seemed to end had finally come to an end. I wished that it would, the irony of my situation was sickening. I guess you should be careful of what you wish for because the Divines might grant it, just not the way you had hoped. In my 19 short years on Nirn I had spent 17 of them being confined and hidden from the world. I doubt the Aedra even remembered my existence, until I gained my freedom. My life was over from the beginning. I can't deny that parts of me despised the Nine Divines in that moment. I could forgive the divines for the people who claimed to hold me under their authority. This however, this was different. I was free from the Templars, and the Priests. Free from my Captors who kept me from delving into this world. This fate though, the one that lay inside the gates I could see in the distance. This was not planned by those who kept me in the dark. This was no doubt the will of the Aedra.

There I was sitting in a wagon with three men, and imperial soldiers all around. In my two years of freedom I battled Bandits, Rogues, Mages and even Necromancer's. I hardly knew anything that could have provided aid in those times. All I knew was the few spells I was allowed to know. Basic things, something to keep me busy so I wouldn't become curious of the outside world. Yet somehow after my escape from my imprisonment, I made my way through the lands and somehow managed to survive all that time. Still, there I was after two years of wading fresh waters and getting to know the world, opening up my eyes to all the mysteries the world held, and it had to end. All the running and hiding from those who sought me, and it was something else entirely that would imprison me, death.

I knew where we were heading. I had heard about the Civil War that was raging in Skyrim. It's one of the main reasons I decided to travel to Skyrim in the first place. I could hide here, change who I am, make a life helping those around me. I wanted to wake up in the mornings and not feel dread that the Templars were only a few days behind me. No one would think to look for me here, in a land riddled with war. Who could possibly want to come to Skyrim and make a life in these hard times? I would, and so I did. Crossing the border though proved to be harder than I thought. Not even the best Invisibility spell or potion could have gotten me across that border undetected. Imperial Battlemages had the place canvased with wards, and spells to alert them of anyone's approach. I noticed the slight Aura the spells gave off, impenetrable. The Pale Pass North Of Cyrodiil's town of Bruma, and South of Helgen. It was the only way I was afforded into Skyrim without having to spend months of roundabouts and being a castaway to reach Skyrim. I couldn't decide whether the Imperials were trying to keep the Rebellion in, or supporters of the Rebellion out.

Those things didn't even really matter anymore, considering I had been caught in an ambush. Some of the Rebellion had been spotted and anyone in the vicinity was apprehended. Ulfric Stormcloak, the Jarl of Windhelm, and leader of the the Stormcloak rebellion had been among them. I knew in that moment we were all headed towards death's door. There would be no chance any of us would be set free, or even imprisoned. The Empire would make an example of us all, not even caring whether we were innocent or not. They would simply Justify their acts, and claim we were spies.

In the wagon with me was Ulfric Stormcloak, bound and gagged due to his notorious use of the "Thu'um," a supposed ancient language spoken by dragons. He had Killed the High King of Skyrim with his voice. The Imperials had done their homework on him, and were obviously prepared. The man who sat across from me had said his name was Ralof. He had joined Ulfric's cause due to the Empire siding with the Aldmeri Dominion, giving the Thalmor the right to vanquish Talos as one of the Divines. The man who sat across from Ulfric was a frantic horse thief whom hailed from a place called Rorikstead. As soon as the thief realized the identity of the man sitting across from him, it all came to him in a rush. The facts had been laid out, and he knew we were all going to face execution. I just sat there, observing all the things that were happening around me. I wasn't really vocal, I sat in silence. I took advantage of my last minutes of life and began taking in the scenery and smells that wafted from the houses. I could smell burning wood, and something delicious. I hadn't eaten anything for almost three days, and then in that moment more than ever I wished I could taste a sweetroll one last time, or feel the fiery release as Colovian Brandy wet my palate. I had spent all of my freedom running. How was I supposed to know I should have taken the time to enjoy the small things?

The convoy of wagons stopped, causing everyone to jolt slightly toward the front. Ulfric's shoulder bumped mine. I wasn't interested in observing the faces of the people I would die with, I knew I would have plenty of time to do that as I watched their heads roll around on the cold ground. I did glance though as Ulfric's arm bumped into mine as the wagons came to a halt. I caught his eyes, I seen no fear in them. The deep green eyes seemed to stare right through me, shaded by bushy blonde brows almost the color of wheat. His eyes darted towards Ralof. Ralof simply nodded his head in Ulfric's direction, a quiet agreement and understanding of what was about to happen. It was a goodbye. They began pulling us off the wagons, lining us up like animals to slaughter.

Two Imperial soldiers stepped forward. One, a man with a list, probably a Nord considering his height. The other an Imperial woman who kept barking orders to the men and women around her, and the prisoners in front of her. The man with the List kept calling off names. Some people weren't even on the list, including me.

"Mahrig huh? She's not on the list, what should we do?" He asked the irritated woman beside him. The Imperial woman almost looked like she was ready to rip the list in half as she grabbed it from his hands.

"The List doesn't matter, she goes too!" The Nord man almost looked sorry as he was ordered to send me to my death. He tried to console my already defeated soul with promises to send my remains back home to Cyrodiil. Little did he know I had no family, I never knew my family. He would be sending my ashes back to Cyrodiil for them to just sit in an office until someone tired of them and just poured them out.

"Next Prisoner!" I heard the imperial woman's voice, but I couldn't move. My body and my mind both just stood still. I had knowingly watched as a red headed Nord man had volunteered himself. I watched as the Executioner's double-axe came down and severed his head cutting off his rampage of insults toward the imperials. Could it just be that simple? You feel everything and then just nothing? Death, all these years I had never thought to run from death. My enemy wasn't death, it was those who sought to keep me from living. I guess this death would be more pleasant than the Templar's form of death. At least my mind would rest instead of reading the same books over and over again, or memorizing each crack in the cold stone walls of a cell. This death would be final.

"I said, next Prisoner!"

The Imperial woman became irritated at my hesitation. My thoughts had needed that last moment to come to terms with what was laid out before me, and now under me. The Block where my head laid was cold, maybe even colder than the frozen ground of Skyrim. I welcomed this cold numbing of my cheek. It would be the last feeling before all my senses would just dissipate. I closed my eyes, I could hear death's gate opening, sounding off a loud roar in the skies of my mind. I sat waiting, closing myself off to everything but the darkness that was the back of my eyelids.

"What in Oblivion is that?" Screams erupted all around me.

"General Tullius run for cover!"

I heard a loud metallic object fall to the ground beside my head. My eyes shot open to see the executioner scurry away on the ground from something that had yet to register in my view. I started to rise from my position off of the block, confused at what had begun to unfurl around me. The wind had picked up and my hair became unruly, blocking my view. I heard a loud thundering impact on a close structure. Losing my balance due to my tied hands I fell back onto the cold ground and rolled over. Just in the knick of time too, as a shower of stone and debri began falling and crashing around the executioner's block my body had once occupied. When I looked up through the dust I swore I must have died and this was oblivion. The sky was turning into a dark black swirl of energy, and the beast that sat upon the now crumbling tower stared down at me with his daunting crimson eyes.

Fear froze me into place. I was looking into the eyes of a demon. A demon that would devour me whole, or crush me with his thundering growls of ferocity. A loud crack of thunder seemed to release from his throat and explode from his gaping jaws. The force was so strong I could feel my skin momentarily stretch against my bones. It was a painful instantaneous pressure that pinned my body to the ground. I couldn't move, the force from the invisible blow had almost crushed me beneath it. My breath was caught, and I couldn't draw the air back into my lungs. My vision had hazed as the dust began to make my eyes water and blur. I could have sworn I saw the dark shaped beast spread wings and take flight.

Another Dark figure appeared over me and grabbed my bound hands pulling me up to a standing position. Once I gained my balance I pulled away from the figure that kept dragging me. My vision began to clear and I seen the Blonde hair, blue eyed Nord that had sat across from me in the wagon. It was Ralof. I could barely hear his yell over the constant roar that filled the sky and the scream of hysterical citizens.

"Come on! This way, the Gods won't give us another chance!" Ralof bellowed. I didn't wait, I followed him to where Ulfric was ushering in his own soldiers. The small tower was Just a short run to the South side of the town. It was crammed with bodies of the living, injured and recently deceased. I knelt beside a small framed Nord girl, she couldn't have seen more than her 16th year. I couldn't do much to help stop the bleeding of her leg due to my bound hands, but I could extend my arms and flicker a small restoration spell that would help slow the bleeding until someone could bind her leg and cast a full restoration spell. I doubt anyone had a potion on them considering most of the people in this room had been the ones taken prisoner. All of our items had been confiscated.

I could over hear the frantic rumors flying behind me as I focused on the girls leg.

"Dragons? Dragons are just old legends," said a huffy Nord who was slowly slipping into Denial.

Ulfric's booming voice rivaled the commotion that was taking place outside.

"Yea, well Legends don't burn down villages!" Everyone in the room began slipping in to slight hysterics, including the young girl who sat in front of me. Her brown hair was messy from what seemed like maybe days on the road without rest or proper bathing. Her gray eyes kept looking around the room, then back to her leg, and began the cycle over again. I didn't have the time or focus to try and use a larger restoration spell. I never had proper training or the discipline it took for proper spell casting. This girl and I were both lucky enough that my spell hadn't just fizzed out from the beginning.

A thought came to my mind. I needed to get this girl talking if I was going to be able to heal the wound with my little amount of knowledge in the restoration arts.

"What's your name sweety?" Her eyes darted up to mine, her big gray eyes soon dominated by the widening of her pupils. She was terrified. I could see the fear emanating from her in ripples and shivers. I could tell she was no longer feeling the pain in her leg due to her fright.

"M...my na-name is S-Svella," the girl said through chattering teeth. I couldn't possibly imagine what life had been like for her. How she could join a rebellion, no, an army at such a young age. She was obviously not suited for this life. She didn't even look like her frame could support the weight of even just a one-handed sword. She was severely malnourished and by the way her skin fell plump below her eyes it was clear she had seen no rest in days.

"Svella, I need you to grab hold of your cloak, and bite down." The level of panic in her eyes began to rise, but she did as she was told. I had noticed earlier that the bone in her leg was protruding from her skin. There would be no way possible for me to heal this wound and her bone without resetting it first. I simply did not possess that much power. In one quick swoop I made it count. I pressed my knee into her upper leg, pinning her so that she could not squirm and disturb what I was about to do. With my bound wrists I spread my hands on either side of her leg and pulled up quickly with all my strength. Her muffled scream caused a few heads in the room to turn. Ralof was among them. His attention was on us now.

He rushed over, observing what was before him and soon offered his strength in holding the leg down. I had underestimated this young girls strength. Her wild flailing limbs had caught me off guard and threw the weight of me off her leg which Ralof now helped restrain. The Bone was no longer sticking out of her flesh, but it was still not set. There was not much I could do with bound hands. Ralof made quick work of her leg. I heard the crack that probably sent splinters of bone into her already sensitive flesh, but the leg was straight. Without hesitation I placed both hands on the wound that was only trickling blood. Her shaking body began to calm the longer my glowing warm hands rested over the area. When I was sure the wound had closed and the bone had begun to mend I stopped. The rest would be up to her. She would have to let her body heal naturally because my head began to swim with the loss of my magicka. I had used too much without even knowing it. My discipline was lacking. When I removed my hand there was a terrible pink scar that still had small slices along the grooves of skin my magic would not heal.

"Thank you so much!" Svella still frightened, regained enough of her stature to offer her thanks before the whole tower began to shake sending her back into a frightened state. She pushed herself backwards until she was in the corner where she hugged her legs to herself and lowered her head. I wanted to comfort her, but Ralof grabbed my arm, dragging me towards the stairs.

"We need to find a window, we need to see what's going on outside!" His blue eyes seemed to search the length of the steps upward. We both began climbing the steps, a man was a few steps ahead of me. He was taking the steps by three, his legs gaining speed. He almost looked like he was about to take flight. He stopped on the flat between stairs and turned towards the small opening that peered outside. I had almost reached the flat when my foot caught on the step in front of me. My awkward regain of my footing sent me sideways into the wall. Ralof caught my balance that had begun to shift backwards. I began pulling myself towards another step up when the man above us on the flat yelled. He didn't have time to move before the wall he had been standing against to peer outside exploded inward causing his body to fly with the debris. If the debris did not kill him, what came next did.

The dark beast's jutted face became visible in the fresh ruin of the wall and he released a blaze of fire that not even oblivion could contain. Ralof tried his best to shield the both of us from the flames. Though they were not aimed directly at us I could still feel the scorching heat. I could feel small blisters begin to form on the skin of my arms as I covered my face and crouched against the wall with Ralof hunched beside me. The flames though only lasting seconds felt like they lingered. The dark beast disappeared from the hole, and I could hear repetition of wind striking against stone, and then it faded. The heat was still apparent from the forge of hot stone that had formed from the Beast's fire. Ralof and I waited a bit longer to make sure it would not return.

I climbed to the top step and peered outside. Flames rose from the buildings that were visible through the thick smoke that claimed the air around the town. I could still hear yelling, and men shouting orders from down below. Ralof came up beside me.

"It looks like the Dragon is preoccupied with the Imperial Soldiers for now, You see that inn down below?" I nodded looking down below, maybe a 15 foot drop. Ralof positioned me on the edge.

"Jump from here, and roll when you hit the ground, don't stop just keep going." At first I was a little scared. I didn't want to go out into the town. I wanted to stay in the tower. What made me jump wasn't Ralof's persistence. I saw a young dark haired boy running out of the smoke towards the inn. I could hear a loud stomping coming from the hazy smoke filled clearing. By the God's the beast had landed and his gigantic form was coming into view. He had a clear view of the poor child. Before I knew what I was doing my body had already taken flight. The rush of wind was short lived as I suddenly felt the pressure of the ground meet my feet. I instantly dropped my weight to my side and rolled. I struggled up onto my knees and then my feet and took off into a sprint through the smoke filled inn.

I could see an opening and darted out, right into the path of the Beast that kept creeping closer to the frightened boy. I reached out with my Bound wrists, but knew I was still too far away. I wouldn't make it in time, and I would also be hit by the attack of flames. That didn't stop me from trying, I was supposed to die that day anyways. I grabbed the boys arm at the same time the huge beast opened its mouth to release our fiery deaths. Something hard flew against my body and the boys. Our bodies landed behind a pile of stone that had collapsed from the tower I had recently jumped from. I still held onto the boy as his screams were muffled by whatever had landed on top of us. I could feel that familiar heat burning the rags from my feet. The flame, though not a direct hit, was so intense I couldn't help but scream as well. Before I knew it, the heat stopped, and someone was pulling me and the child behind the building a little ways from our position. I held tight to the boy, going as far as to rap my bound arms around him in a sort of prison so that he could not slip from my grasp. It was a man in Imperial armor that had knocked us to the ground and shielded us from the fire, the Nord who had called the names off the list as the prisoners had been hauled off the wagon. One side of his face was terribly blistered, his hair singed and parts of the strands still smoldered. We reached the building as a distressed elderly man grabbed the young boy I held in my grasps.

"By the God's, Bless you Hadvar!" The elderly man hugged the crying boy.

Hadvar, The Nord Imperialist, turned towards him and spoke to the boy.

"Hammond, stay with your grandfather," he turned towards me. "Still alive prisoner? Come with me if you want to stay that way." I turned back to glance at the young boy, Hammond, and his grandfather. They hurried towards the tower that had began to collapse more by the minute. I wanted to hurry after them, but Hadvar's voice halted me.

"This way, now! We need to help the others."

Hadvar made his way towards a group of people who were huddled against a wall in what had once been an alley. I couldn't help but to feel a little helpless as I glanced down at my still bound wrists. Hadvar hadn't taken a notice to this little fact either. The smoke and heat from the burning buildings made an almost un-breathable atmosphere. The people who weren't being killed by the beast directly were slowly being suffocated. Another stone building stood not far from the alley. The only problem was that the beast was assaulting a group of soldiers in our path to the building. The stone structure seemed to be holding despite all the destruction around it. It was rather large compared to most of the structures in the town, probably the Keep. Hadvar looked around for another way to the Keep. All other routes towards the building had been blocked by debris. The soldiers kept firing arrows and the battle mages shielded and healed as needed. We were going to have to pass the battle. The group mainly contained of women, and some children, were crying and huddling close together. Hadvar yelled for us to hug the wall and push forward. We did as he said, and before we knew it we had all began running along the wall. The battle that was happening beside us was tense, and we could feel the heat from the winged beast's attacks, and the force released as the battle mages let their spells fly. The magicka in the air was almost as thick as the smoke, but disappearing quickly as the Battle mages began using too much.

We pushed forward and made our way to a clearing. From there Hadvar took off into a full sprint towards the Keep. I stayed with the women and children who seemed exhausted and slowed down by the air that was thick with everything but oxygen. I tried to push a few of them towards the Keep. I watched the skies anxiously hoping that we had not gained the beast's attention. I couldn't see the beast, but what I saw falling towards the ground was just as deadly. The sky began to bleed fiery rocks and they were falling towards Nirn's surface. More importantly one was falling right towards the building we sat against. With bound hands and exhausted aching legs I forced myself to start pulling people and pushing them away from the building. I began screaming as loud as my smoke filled lungs would allow. Most of the women just stayed put, ignoring me, frozen in either terror or exhaustion.

The area around us became volatile with crashing objects. More debris began blocking our once clear path to the Keep. The place where the women had been huddling was now covered and flames licked the debris that now lay on top of my own body. I began looking around, dazed at how the colors in my vision washed from gray to orange and red. Flames would engulf all of us. I was stuck in my position. My hands still bound gave me no strength to push the fallen debris off of my pinned body. I did not blame Hadvar for leaving us. He probably thought we would follow suit as we reached the clearing. By the time he would have made it to the Keep and realized we weren't with him, it would have already been too late. I tried one last time before giving up, I pushed with my legs and all my lower body strength that I could muster. A loud scream from my exertion released and for a short time, that was all I could hear. My scream echoed in my mind as everything else faded... It was the end of my life's beginning.