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Thread: Pain and Courage - A Skyrim AAR - Finished

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    Default Pain and Courage - A Skyrim AAR - Finished





    Pain was the first thing that welcomed me back to the land of the living. My head felt as if someone was using it as an anvil to fashion a weapon like the blacksmiths back home in the Imperial City. Slowly I began to reclaim my senses one by one. With the pain, I also felt the motion that was unmistakably meant that I was on wagon and to confirm it I heard the rumbling to the wagon’s wheels, the hooves of the horses as they moved across the cobbled stone road. Next, I began to smell the familiar smell of pine trees I had grown so familiar with at the outpost I was stationed at along the border of Skyrim and Cyrodil. Ever since the start of the rebellion by Ulfric Stormcloak, in Skyrim, the Legion had doubled the patrol at the border and I had been one of the unlucky soldiers chosen for the duty. Since then I had grown accustomed to the cold winds that swept down the mountains from the land of the Nords and the smell of pine trees that was ever present in the air surrounding our fort.

    As I began to had a bad taste in my mouth, my sight began I come back to me. I saw that all my previous deductions were correct. I was in a wooden wagon with three other men plus the Imperial soldier who was our driver. I reached up to my head to see what damaged had been done, when I realized my hands had been bound. Looking around I saw that the other men were bound as well with one being gagged as I then realized I was too. With fear in my heart, I knew the terrible truth I was a prisoner.

    But how came I to be in this situation. Fighting through the fog that still surrounded me; I tried to remember what had happened before I fell into darkness. I remembered, coming back from guard duty, walking past the commander’s quarters open door, hearing a plot to assassinate ranking members of Cyrodil’s government…the plot! It was by sheer coincidence that the door had been slightly ajar that I happened to hear the commander and an unknown person speaking of the plot. I remember getting closer to the door to hear the rest of the conversation when I felt the impact of a heavy object against my head, the pain, and then darkness. Now I was a prisoner heading, I knew not where, because I had heard too much. They hadn’t killed me so I was probably going to a mine or dungeon to spent the rest of my days in darkness and silence. I would have preferred they had killed me outright.

    With nothing else to do but wait to see our destination, I began to look over the men I was riding with. The man across from me was a man from Skyrim, a Nord. I had seen some once as prisoners during my time in the Legion being brought to Cyrodil from Skyrim. He was about in his late twenties, six feet tall and looked as strong as an ox. He had long blond hair with a beard of the color on his face that complemented his piercing blue eyes and friendly face. He had on the standard uniform of the member of the rebels of Skyrim, called Stormcloaks after their leader. He had a peacefully look on his face as he stared at the passing trees and occasionally smiled to himself. He was a man at peace with the world. The same could not be said of the man sitting next to him.

    He man was about twenty years old, close to six feet tall with a small, but muscular frame. His hair was messy, his clothes, if one could call them that, were dirty, and he looked as if he hadn’t slept in a while. His brown eyes were continually moving as he rocked back and forth, murmuring to himself, as sweat in small beads slid down his face. He was obviously a man not looking forward to the end of this journey. Fear began to creep up in my heart, but I fought it down. Fear was not what was needed in this situation but a clear, focused disposition like that of the man next to me. He was an imposing man, though he was just under six feet tall. The Nord was dressed in a dark fur coat which told me that he was not a common person but someone of high position. He had brown hair and a face that demanded respect, which was covered partly with a gag like my own. The only emotion I saw was in his eyes that burned with anger that I had never seen before. Whatever had was the cause of that anger, I hoped that I would never be on the wrong side of it.
    Finished with my observation of the men riding with me to an unknown fate, I was turning back to my own problems when the Stormcloak spoke to me.



    “Finally,” he said with a smile, “you’re awake. I was beginning to worry that you would never wake up. Hope you feel ok. That’s quite a lump on the head you have there.”



    I touched my head and felt for the swelling I knew was there from the blow I had taken. It was there alright and very painful to the touch. At least my headache had subsided a bit.

    Seeing that I was alright the Stormcloak turned to dirty man next to him to say something, but the man had already begun to talk.

    “Darn Stormcloaks! If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be here! Your stupid rebellion has done nothing but make the Empire send more soldiers here. Life was good till you and your friend here,” he nodded at the gagged man direction, “started this mess!”

    The Stormcloak’s brow wrinkled at the dirty man’s statement. “Watch it horse thief. This man here happens to be the High King Ulfric Stormcloak!”

    The horse thief and I both looked at the gagged man in amazement. I could not believe that I was sitting next to the leader of the Stormcloak rebellion, the most wanted man in the Empire’s lands! I looked at the horse thief as his face turned from one of shock and amazement to utter horror.

    “But if you’re Ulfric Stormcloak then…”

    Suddenly I knew why the horse thief was horrified at the prospect of the gagged man being the infamous rebel. It meant we weren’t going to a mine or a dungeon. We were going to our deaths.
    Last edited by Scottish King; July 02, 2012 at 12:31 PM.
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    Default Re: Pain and Courage - A Skyrim AAR

    Last edited by Scottish King; June 06, 2012 at 01:56 PM.
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    Default Re: Pain and Courage - A Skyrim AAR



    I was still assimilating the dreadful truth when the walls of a town came into view. For the first time I saw that there was a wagon ahead of us with four more captured Stormcloak soldiers. I prayed silently that I would be the one of the first to die for I did not know if I would be able to brave go to my death as a man should after seeing others helplessly die before me.

    The Stormcloak in our wagon identified the town as Helgen. I knew the town from the maps I had seen of Skyrim and information I had gathered from soldiers coming back home when I was stationed at the fort. It was not far from the city of Whiterun and was deep within Skyrim’s interior. The walls were tall and made of wood not stone like the major cities of Skyrim. The walls protected a small population of people who made their modest living in the harsh Skyrm land. The town was a under Imperial control and allowed them to control access to the lands southeast of Whiterun. The garrison here was sufficient enough to ward off any scouting parties the Stormcloaks might send but if the Stormcloaks came in force there would be little they could do but fall back to Whiterun.

    My enemies wanted to be sure that there would be no escape for me. Even if I did escape I was so far from Cyrodil, I would never make it on foot with the Legion after me. I did not matter anyway. I could not return to Cyrodil with my enemies still knowing that I was alive and I could not imagine trying to make a living in Skyrim. The stories I had heard with my fellow soldiers back at the fort about the creatures and bandits and that was if you survived the cold.

    As we made our way through the gates, the watchmen called to a man, who by his armor I could tell was a commander in the Legion.

    “General Tullius, the prisoners have arrived.”



    The graying man with a hard face and voice to match glanced at us. “Very well, take them to the chopping block. I’ll meet you there.”

    When the horse thief heard these words, he slumped into unconsciousnee and almost fell off the wagon had it not been for the Stormcloak stopping him from falling. I looked back at Tullius who had mounted his horse and was in earnest conversation with a High Elf better known as the Thalmor. Since the White-Gold Concordat, the Thalmor and the Empire had been on friendly terms with the Thalmor gladly doing their part to hamper the Stormcloak rebellion if it only meant watching from the sidelines and haughtily offered their advice. If not for them and the terms they had us agree to in the Concordat there would be no rebellion in Skyrim and I would have probably been hundreds of miles away from the fort and never would have heard the plot that plunged me into the misfortune I now currently faced.

    As was made the last leg of our journey through the town, the townsfolk began to come out of their homes to see the procession. Children were ushered into their homes still pointing and inquiring to our fate as the adults knowingly began to walk to the town square. The town square soon came into view and I saw that all it contained was an execution block. It would seem that executions were not only common here but also the mainly attraction. By the time we came to a halt, the Stormcloak had managed to revive the deathly pale horse thief, who began to beg for his life as we stepped off the wagon.




    “Please listen to me! I am no Stormcloak! This has been a big mistake! Please don’t kill me!”

    “Quiet, prisoner!” shouted the female Legate who stepped up to us as we stood before a man with a list that I soon learned had our names. “Listen for your name!”

    The man with the list began to read off our names. The Stormcloak, I learned, name was Ralof and the crowd booed as Ulfric Stormcloak was identified. Soon the only name not called was mine and the horse thief’s who at the sound of his name bolted past the Legate before she could stop him. He was running free still he stopped dead in his tracks. Literally.

    The man with the list looked down at it and with a puzzled look on his face looked at the Legate.

    “His name doesn’t seem to be on the list. What should we do?”



    The Legate looked me up and down. The thought ran through my mind that I might actually survive. If my name wasn’t on the list then they had not reason to execute me.

    “Put him with the others.”



    The man looked at me with a genuine expression of sadness at the disappointed look on my face. I walked over to where the others stood awaiting their deaths. I didn’t hear what General Tullius said to Ulfric as the pounding of heart and the rushing of my own blood filled my ears. The priest present began to say our last rites when Tullius was done but was interrupted by a Stormcloak who seemed to be in a rush to die. As the axe came down upon him, I turned my eyes and fought to keep from fainting myself. Suddenly, I felt rough hands grip my arms as the soldiers began to lead me to the block. The executioner smiled as he saw the pleading expression on my face. I tried to say something but the gag prevented my doing so and I sounded instead like a whimpering dog. The Legate came behind me and pushed me to my knees and then used her foot to position me on the block which they hadn’t even decided to clean.

    I knew at that moment that my fate was sealed. I was a victim of unfortunate circumstances and life’s injustices. As the executioner readied his axe, fear and anguish filled my soul for I saw the reaper of souls coming to take my mine to the afterlife. I shook in horror as I saw its terrible form and my end came closer...


    Last edited by Scottish King; July 02, 2012 at 11:44 AM.
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    Default Re: Pain and Courage - A Skyrim AAR

    Quote Originally Posted by Chirurgeon View Post
    ahhh the suspense. I like this! Cant wait for more
    Thanks! I hope I can keep it up!
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    Default Re: Pain and Courage - A Skyrim AAR

    Sadly ill be ending this AAR right here as I've moved on to other projects.
    The White Horse: Hanover AAR (On going ETW AAR)
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    To Conquer the World for Islam A Moor AAR (Finished)

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