Talos.
The man who became the ninth god of Mundus, following the Eight Divines—Kynareth, Akatosh, Mara, Dibella, Stendarr, Arkay, Zenithar, and Julianos.
His race and birth remain a mystery, but he spent his youth in Skyrim, where the Greybeards revealed his destiny to rule the world.
Following their guidance to head south, Talos embarked on a forty-four-year campaign of conquest. He successfully unified Tamriel, eventually ascending to the heavens to complete the Nine Divines.
The Nords, awestruck by his impossible feats, revered him as their own god, worshipping him with more fervor than anyone else.
However, at the end of the Third Era, the Emperor was assassinated by the 'Mythic Dawn,' triggering the Oblivion Crisis and shaking the Empire to its core.
Seizing the chaos, the Aldmeri Dominion—hungry for dominion over Tamriel—revealed their ambitions and launched an invasion.
They even seized the Imperial City, the capital of Cyrodiil, but their total conquest failed due to the fierce resistance of the Imperial Legion. The capital was eventually reclaimed.
The war dragged on for over a century.
Eventually, both the Thalmor and the Empire, exhausted by the long cycle of war and violence, signed a peace treaty...
To the Altmer, who worshipped only the Eight Divines, Talos was a thorn in their side. Consequently, they demanded the ban of Talos worship as a condition of the treaty.
Naturally, the Nords of Skyrim revolted. Across the province, blades were drawn.
Chief among them was Ulfric Stormcloak, the Jarl of Windhelm. He organized a rebellion and declared war by slaying High King Torygg in a duel.
In response, the Empire dispatched the Legion to suppress the rebellion, appointing General Tullius as the commander-in-chief.
And after years of grinding warfare, we arrive at the present day.
The two were deep in conversation.
Since this was our first meeting, I offered a loud, crisp greeting to leave a good impression on Tullius.
"Good day, General!"
At my assertive voice, Tullius, who had been studying a map of Skyrim on the table, turned toward me.
"Did the guards not stop you? What business do you have at a military headquarters?"
Tullius's reaction was sharp, likely due to the constant stress of the war.
"We've come to enlist in the Legion, sir."
The mention of enlisting softened his mood slightly, and he looked almost pleased.
"Volunteers are always welcome in these chaotic times. Legate Rikke handles the applications. Speak with her."
Lydia, like me, offered a formal greeting to Tullius.
"General Tullius, it is an honor to meet you."
"I-it's an honor."
Following Lydia's lead, the female Ha-neul and Eloise offered awkward bows of their own.
"Yes, yes... wait. You, the blue-haired elf. I think I've seen you somewhere."
"Me? Oh, were you the one on the horse in Helgen?"
Tullius reacted as if the memory had finally clicked.
"I remember now. You were at Helgen. You were transported on the carts with Ulfric."
Panicking that he might mistake her for a rebel, the female Ha-neul frantically tried to explain.
"I'm not a rebel! Really, I'm not!"
"True, there are far too many suspicious circumstances for you to be a Stormcloak. However, that doesn't mean we can just accept anyone into the Legion."
An incompetent ally is more dangerous than the enemy. Ambition alone wasn't enough to secure a spot in the army.
He added that joining normally required completing a training course or bringing a letter of recommendation from a high-ranking officer.
However, one could be admitted as an exception if they proved their loyalty and capability through a test.
Fearing our enlistment might fail, I decided to reveal a partial truth about the Dragonborn.
"This elf beside me has successfully slain a dragon. And we possess strength comparable to hers."
Her status as Dragonborn was still a secret, but this much should be fine. At my sudden claim, Rikke stopped what she was doing and asked a question.
"Are you serious? If you are lying, you will be held accountable for those words."
I spoke without a hint of hesitation.
"It is the truth."
"He's right, sir."
"It really happened."
Lydia and Eloise chimed in as well. Legate Rikke, however, looked entirely unconvinced.
"A dragon appeared at Helgen, certainly, but we aren't foolish enough to believe such absurd—"
"I believe them."
Tullius cut Rikke off.
"G-General?"
I was surprised, and Rikke looked just as bewildered.
"Nonetheless, a demonstration of skill and loyalty is mandatory."
And then, an unexpected mission fell from his lips.
"Find the Jagged Crown located somewhere in the depths of Korvanjund. That will be your trial."
The Jagged Crown is an artifact made from dragon bone and teeth—a potent symbol for Nords who value tradition.
I wasn't entirely sure how it ended up buried under Korvanjund, but I felt Tullius had given a remarkably appropriate command for the situation.
The ruins where the crown rested would be crawling with draugr. If we could strike down the monsters and return that piece of history to the Empire,
It would verify both our strength and our loyalty. It was the perfect test.
'I thought I'd be clearing out a bandit camp.'
In the game, the entry quest was usually just clearing a fort illegally occupied by bandits, but I didn't mind the change.
"Yes, sir. We will complete the mission."
"Good luck."
Inside Castle Dour, after the party of adventurers had left,
Legate Rikke questioned her superior.
The Korvanjund ruins were full of draugr and other monsters, and Stormcloak soldiers had already occupied the area to seize the Jagged Crown for themselves.
It wasn't a mission four people were expected to handle. Mediocre fighters would be slaughtered.
Of course, the story changed if they had actually slain a dragon.
"General, why did you order them to retrieve the Jagged Crown? It seemed more sensible to have them clear out Fort Hraggstad."
"..."
Tullius hesitated for a moment before explaining that he felt an alien, disparate energy coming from the elf.
"An alien feeling?"
Tullius had been a soldier for long enough to sense a person's aura and gauge their strength,
But what he felt from her was on an entirely different level than the mere aura of a strong warrior.
Combined with the claim that she had slain a dragon—whether true or not—there was undoubtedly something special about her.
"What was it, exactly?"
"I'm not sure myself. But we will find out soon enough."
Tullius was dead serious, but Rikke privately wondered if her superior was finally going senile.
As soon as we left the castle, we found a secluded spot and teleported to Whiterun. Even though the Dragonborn had gotten used to it, Eloise and Lydia were still floored by my ability.
"Wow. No matter how many times I see it, this magic is incredible!"
"If only I had talent in Conjuration..."
Eloise, who was fascinated by magic, had nearly fainted the first time I showed her.
She was deeply disappointed that this ability, made possible only through a unique mechanism of Conjuration, was something she couldn't replicate.
To be clear, we went to Whiterun because Korvanjund was closer to there. I wanted to save time.
I had left a Soul Gem with Balgruuf in Dragonsreach. He, too, had been wide-eyed with wonder when he first saw the portal.
Regardless, the four of us pushed through the snow toward Korvanjund, eventually infiltrating the area near the entrance to claim the Jagged Crown.
Korvanjund's entrance was a deep excavation. Currently, two guards were positioned above, two were on the stairs leading down, and one was directly in front of the door.
Soldiers aren't criminals, but there was no reasoning with them.
We hadn't officially joined yet, but we were on the Legion's side.
Still, I didn't want to cause needless loss of life. Having played both the Legion and Stormcloak sides in the game, I understood the rebels' perspective to some extent.
First, we crawled low to the ground toward the upper part of the entrance. My Bound Bow was already summoned and in my hand.
I'd summoned it beforehand to avoid the distinct noise giving us away.
'Sorry about this.'
I pulled the drawstring, and an arrow imbued with dark magic pierced the throat of the Stormcloak guarding the entrance.
"Khhk!"
The soldier let out a pained groan as he went down. Another soldier near the stairs looked up at the sound.
The first Stormcloak soldier hadn't died yet.
'Hurry up and die.'
He finally bled out, and the hidden power of the Bound Arrow activated.
The summoned arrow was inscribed with a reanimation spell.
The moment he died, the Magicka contained within the arrow flooded into the corpse, turning the Stormcloak soldier into a walking cadaver under my control.
"Uuugh..."
The revived soldier stood up, making zombie-like noises. I made the summoned arrow in his neck disappear for good measure.
"Sted? Something wrong?"
This was where my talent for Necromancy would shine. This was an act nearly impossible for most,
But using magic, I expanded the cadaver's lungs to draw in air, then contracted them while manipulating the throat and mouth to form words.
"N-nothing's wrong... just fell asleeeep... fell over."
Gods, this was exhausting work. Even with my extreme focus and talent, the lack of familiarity made the corpse's pronunciation incredibly slurred.
"You sound exhausted. It's almost time for the shift change, so hang in there."
Fortunately, he didn't seem to suspect anything.
Once the Stormcloak soldier turned his gaze back from the door, we slipped out of the bushes and landed softly in front of the entrance.
One by one we entered, but the clumsy Eloise lost her footing as she hopped down toward the door and landed right on her rear.
"Kyaa!"
The dead soldier at the door was male; hearing a delicate female voice, the soldier on the stairs whipped around again.
"!"
Using her quick wits, Eloise hid behind the standing corpse. Thanks to her agile movement, she wasn't spotted immediately.
'Whew—'
We were about to sneak in, when—
"I can see your hem behind him! You idiots!"
Eloise's robe was too large, and the poking fabric gave us away. My plan to avoid unnecessary killing went right up in smoke.