Road to Cyrodiil

This is my first attempt at a story based in the Elder Scrolls universe, forgive me if it's terrible i'm still practicing. More to come.

Chapter One
3E 310

The warmth of the sun beats down on my face as I lean gingerly against the fountain near the Market District. The harsh light makes my orange hair glow bright so I stand out like a sore-thumb easily found by my friend Lockie who saunters towards me with a massive grin on his face.
"Hail!", He barks as he stands in front of me blocking the light of the sun. "What has you looking so glum, Imperial!?", He places a hand on my shoulder chuckling, Lockie is a Nord with bright golden hair and he often teases me for my Imperial ethnicity unlike the other nords who live here and look down on me.
"Nothing, it's just this place", I let out a solemn sigh and squint my eyes up at Lockie. He rolls his eyes since he knows what I am talking about: I have been boring him for a long while about coming with me to the Imperial City. Whiterun holds no future for me I only realised that when my father died, he was a City Guard and he met his fate at the hands of a bandit.
"Felix, I can't leave my parents", he twiddles his fingers, his parents are priests of Arkay and when they found out his intentions in life were not to join them in honouring the blessed dead but rather to become a card; their views on him changed.
"I don't want to speak about your relationship with them again, I am leaving tomorrow I will be at the city gates at dawn, I'll wait for you". I leave him to dwell in his thoughts and I make my way home.

"What in the names on the Nine are you going to do in the Imperial City?!", My mother wails as she sits behind her loom in our dimly lit and dank smelling house.
"I want excitement! I want to do something with my life instead of stay here and be singled out as that Imperial boy! I want to be in the heart of the Empire living the true Imperial life the way I was born to", I stand spilling my innermost feelings to my mother. Mara forgive me for breaking her heart.
"Your father and I came here because the Imperial City is a dangerous, evil place. Felix they will eat you alive there. Out there you will freeze to death! You have no money and I would not be surprised if you are killed by bandits. But, no, fine go to the Imperial City". She throws her hands up "and when you make it big you can write to me and if not come back home but be warned: I told you so" and storms off to her bedroom slamming the door behind her. I slowly head off to my own room where I lie in my bed staring at the wooden ceiling my heart is sore from hurting my mother. I fall asleep soon with the Divines blessing me with the wisdom and willpower to make my biggest decision in life.

My hand glides over the front-door handle, I'm ready now more than I ever will be and as I push down the handle my mother grips my arm. Her eyes burn bright red as if she has been crying all night, my mother is a confusing person the loss of my father shook her to the core her feelings are somewhat... unpredictable.
"Your father was an adventurer too once and I see him in you every day", she holds up a sheathed dagger and a coin purse, "Your father would want you to have it, it's only a dagger but it's something and there is fifty Septims in there. Do me proud son", she embraces me and I savour everything about her: her warmth, her love, the way she smells of sweetrolls. "Walk in the light", she blesses me and I leave.

The morning sun peeks from its slumber and the sky is dimly lit with the hope of warmth and prosperity. The city gates are shut and a guard stands in front of them.
"Where are you off to today?", he asks, I cannot see his face behind his helm but I imagine him to have a very kind face.
"I'm leaving for the Imperial City", I reply to him.
"That's quite a journey, I would definitely go through Riften. Be careful citizen, Talos guide you", he opens the large rickety wooden gate but even through the loud screeching I could hear Lockie running after me. He grins widely and shows me an Amulet of Arkay that his father is making him wear and so we begin to head off with the excitement of The Imperial City and the fear of adventure fuelling my fire.


Chapter 2

Whiterun sank slowly into the horizon. Dragonsreach which once dominated the skyline withered slowly away like a speck of dust floating away with the grace of Kynareth’s wind. We started heading east around the Throat of the World and now we are in Eastmarch There are not a lot of travellers on the road so it is deathly quiet and the sun’s light dwindles in the horizon, we need to make camp soon and it should definitely before we reach the volcanic geysers.
A small cavity in the rock on the mountainside is to be our shelter for the night. Lockie and I decided to take shifts in watching out for bandits or other predators. I sit at the mouth of our petty cave hands clasped on my lap as I stare into the sky. Masser and Secunda sit elegantly in the night sky, a scar of swirling blue sapphire, turquoise and aqua-marine moves delicately on a sea of black dotted with twinkling stars. There is so much beauty in the night sky, I believe that this when the divines watch down on us the most; only they could create something as breath-taking.
I can feel it: Aetherius, the magick in the air, flowing through my veins. It is as if the divine’s are staring down at me the stars are their eyes, do they commend me for my actions? Hopefully they will guide and guard me on this journey.

A short jolt rushed through my body as Lockie placed a sleepy hand on my shoulder he rubbed his eye and told me I should go and sleep. I lay down on the bedroll behind him looking at his form against the divine night, growing up with his religious parents – does he view the divines in the same way I do? Or does he see them as a childhood sickness? A part of me will never understand why he really came with me – perhaps some childish adventure that we will return home from after going half way? But soon we will be at the border gate in The Rift and he will understand then how serious I am.
I saw her, Azura – In my dreams. She wore a midnight blue robe that snaked around her and fluttered verily in the wind. Her face was gentle yet harsh. I cannot be certain it was her but every inch of my mind and soul at that moment knew it was her; she smiled kindly at me and held out her hand from it hung an amulet one like I had never seen before it looked ancient, but not of Ayleid or Dwarven make, it shone polished silver and in it was a deep purple gem, everything about it however – looked wrong.

The next day shone bright and Lockie and I sauntered through the wilderness, Lockie walked with a certain masculinity about him apparently he killed a wolf during the time I was asleep and happily showed me its dead body when I awoke, its throat slit with a dagger he kept on his belt. “So, what exactly are you going to do in the Imperial City?”, he asked and his question almost brought me to a standstill – I didn’t really know.
“I’m not sure, maybe I could join the Arcane University, Magick has always been interesting to me”, I said solemnly with somewhat of a half grin towards Lockie.
“Ha! And you could climb the ranks become the Arch-Mage, maybe even join the Elder Council! Now that is a definite seat of power”, He remarked and he was correct since Uriel Septim VI was crowned at age 5 most of his powers went to the Elder Council and even when he was given full rights of Emperor 3 years ago the Elder Council used him only as a veto. “As for me? I might join the legion or the Blades! I have spent too long amongst the dead perhaps it’s time for me to be on the killing side”, he chuckled heartedly. “And anyway I haven’t seen you cast a spell in your life”, he punched the side of my arm. He is correct he has not seen me cast any form of spell and to be honest I haven’t done many. Whiterun is a busy place destruction spells would be chaotic and even though the priests of Kynareth used restoration all the time in their temple in the wind district I had not done that either. My mother was always against magick in the house she said it was dangerous and I’d end up killing myself or worse… if there is a ‘worse’.
“Well on you go then… cast something at – that deer, venison will be lovely for dinner”, he snickered pointing at a grazing stag that stood next to a tree. I looked over and I focused my mind – I pictured sparks of lightening flying from my hand to the stag killing it instantly. My hand pulsed with pure essence of magicka and with a small grunt I opened my fist and a blue flash flew towards the deer and it disappeared in a cloud of purple and silver smoke.
“Oh”, I squeaked not really knowing what I had done and I turned to Lockie who looked less than impressed at me losing his dinner.
“Congratulation Arch-Mage you successfully made it… not here”, He chuckled to himself and we continued to walk on towards the border.

Lockie and I had stopped off in Riften, a gloomy city that held a sinister atmosphere around it so I wanted to eat, restock and leave as quickly as possible without any trouble and luckily we did. We reached the border gate at around midday where a guard stood idly picking at the timber with a dagger; his face was hidden behind his helmet and his accent with thick and Nordic. “And where are you two boys off to, eh?” he laughed and if I could see his eyes they would be most definitely judging us.
“We’re from Whiterun and we are going to the Imperial City”, I tell him and I could feel a mocking grin spread across his face.
“And you both aren't dead yet coming from there yourselves? Heh someone up there is looking after you”, he says pointing to the sky. He unlatches the gate and pushes it open to show the snow-capped Jeral Mountains. “You want to travel west to reach the Silver road then travel south you’ll find the Imperial City eventually, you can’t miss it. That’s if you don’t get mugged and murdered before that. Talos guide you boys”, he said basically ushering us through the gate before closing it behind us.
We decided to start on the way to the Silver Road, hopefully we will reach there before night fall since the road would be the safest place to camp. We smiled at each other for the first time in our lives a different province was beneath our feet we wouldn’t be feeling the cold air of Skyrim for a long time. Our journey to the Imperial City is almost over and I can feel something new beginning.