Um the Argonian rode valiantly through the dark marshes and forests of Skyrim, outside of the city of Solitude. She gleamed under the moonlight; imposing and frightening. The dragonborn wore a sharp, jagged Orcish helmet, where an artificial, black ponytail shot up from the top of the helmet and drifted down like a black waterfall. Um donned her body with sleek, decorated Nightingale armor which hid her well in the shadows. A cape blew behind her fiercely into the wind as her horse whinnied and galloped forth.
Um was returning from yet another successful outing in Skyrim. She retook Fort Dunstad from the Stormcloaks singlehandedly, and lead legions into Dawnstar to take care of any remaining, pesky rebels. With more of Um's doings and victories, Ulfric the Killer of Kings would soon be defeated at his own keep in Windhelm.
The Argonian maiden docked her speckled, chocolate colored horse at the Solitude Stables. The stables were only populated by tired, bored horses and the lone Imperial soldier.
"Good morning, Dragonborn!" He cried quietly as she strode past him, her artificial ponytail brush bouncing up and down as she walked. It was 4:17 AM.
The city was dead asleep. Um was only lit by the sparse street lanterns, her reptilian features glowed radiantly as she walked to the Castle Dour. Something dreadful curled and swam around in her gut. She looked up to the black sky. Something's up there...
Only a few city watchmen, soldiers, and vagrants roamed the city at this hour. Um was by far the strongest, and the only female, on the streets. The feeling in her gut intensified. She wriggled her fingers around in their Nightingale gauntlets for a few moments as she inched closer and closer to the Castle Dour. Soon, Um found herself in the courtyard, where a few early rising soldiers were practicing archery against a poor, helpless dummy. The dummy was soon painted by a collage of different arrows.
Um watched the soldiers for a few moments, laughing and talking amongst themselves. Steeling herself away, Um retreated into the fortress.
General Tullius stood, governed by a dim light, and surrounded by the stone dominated Castle Dour. He stood stiff, reviewing a map of Skyrim. Miniature red flags, the Imperials, thankfully outnumbered the Stormcloaks blue towns and cities. Behind him stood Legate Adventus Caesennius, partially blanketed in the shadows. Tullius flinched when Um slammed the doors.
"Ah, Praefect! I assume the battle at Dunstad went well?" He asked
"Yes. Forces are now in Dawnstar. The region will be ours."
"I assume Legate Rikke stayed behind, Um?"
"Of course," Um replied, folding her arms. "She opted to stay behind and assist in dealing with any resistance."
"Good, good. We will rest for a short time, and then we will push deeper into the east." Tullius looked back onto the map.
Caesennius wearily looked at Um and Tullius, half asleep, standing statuesque. He was obviously tired. Tired from the cold, from the war, and from the everlasting lack of sleep. His eyes seemed bloodshot and lost, like he'd seen many battles. Blinking a few times, he broke his stance to itch his head. He wore a short buzz cut; common Imperial hairstyle. Several others mingled about in the fortress, mostly auxiliaries and soldiers.
"Soon, we'll get that King Killer in his own city, and it'll all be thanks to you." Tullius re-assured.
"Thank you, General."
Suddenly a booming rattle swept through the fortress. Everyone stumbled in shock. Silence. Another boom jolted through the spines of the populace.
"Earthquake?" An auxiliary yelled out.
"No." Um said. "Not an earthquake." The sickening feeling was back.
Um then drew her trusty, barbaric axe of the Forsworn. The two men in front of her did the same. Leading the way, Um walked past all of the startled auxiliaries and soldiers. The blast of cold, windy air enswathed the group as they progressed outside.
Many people were shaken awake and now roamed the streets, confused and agitated. The air was filled with “What the hell was that?” and “Did you feel that?”. As Um walked out the cries changed to “Dragonborn!” and “Dragonborn, what was that?”. Um ignored them and pushed forth into the stone-paved city.
Suddenly, another loud boom thundered in the sky. Um froze and her lizard instincts took over. She held out her axe to pause the men behind her, and she looked deep into the sky. Her reptilian, slit pupils narrowed as she searched the black, star-less night. A mumbling began to sound, causing more confusion as people wondered what it was.
Then, a roar teared through the sky! A loud bellow that lasted many seconds, one that awoke the rest of the population. A dark, ominous mass soared over the city as Um darted her eyes around the sky, trying the find the mass. It flew away, and then a scared city watchmen shouted with all of his might.
“Draggooooonnn!” He screamed as boatloads of people rushed out of the safety of their homes. Anxiety and fear spread in moments like a wildfire as everyone panicked in the streets. Houses lit up as more and more people were awakened from their restful slumber. A gigantic, fierce lizard was attacking the most populous city in Skyrim.
The dark mass flew over the city again as people screamed in terror. It roared once more as it began to encircle the city. Um watched her giant, lizard kin like a hawk, zooming around ferociously. Seconds later it flew over a fork in the city road, and hovered over a few citizens. With one horrifying exhalation of fire and sulfur the citizens were soon twitching on the ground, charred and solidified. The whole city watched in shocked horror as their city was being lit ablaze.
The dragon continued to hover as Um began sprinting forwards, leaving Tullius and Caesennius in the dust. As she ran, the archers from the Castle Dour lined up behind her. In one swift act of fear and vengeance, an array of arrows bloomed and darted towards the dragon. It roared in exquisite, intense pain. Um sped forth even more, becoming faster every moment.
Suddenly, Um shouted.
“Joor Zah Frul!” Mortal. Finite. Temporary. The shout produced a magnificent burst of raw energy and force coming directly from the Argonian Maiden herself. It struck the dragon with unimaginable force. It screeched and slowly hovered down, crushing the charred bodies of former Solitudans.
In mere seconds, the dragon was flanked by dozens of soldiers and guards, all swinging swords and daggers, and pulling back their bows with mighty fury. Um arrived and immediately began hacking at the beast with her axe. The survival of the menace was slim, and its scared and radical behaviour only testified to that truth.
Um kept shouting and hacking and slicing as the rest of the city boomed with chaos; people perishing, buildings burning, confusion colliding. The city was awash with fearful excitement as the High Queen herself was notified of the possible doom that eyed the city.
However, no doom would overtake the city, because Um would then swing her axe one last time, and the last Imperial arrow would lodge into the dragon, and soon it was dead. The city became immensely quiet, except for the crackling of the burning wood and embers of the buildings. Guards were bug-eyed and were struck with disbelief at what they saw. Right there the dragon's scaly, black skin rotted away and its yellow, brittle bones clacked against the stony pavement. From its hidden interior, a stream of soulful, energized power floated out of the skeletal beast. It flowed directly into Um, as she absorbed the dragon's power. The city watched in awe. The beginning of a golden sunlight reached from the eastern horizon...
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Over the course of the whole day, the entire populace of Solitude visited the bony remains of the giant, dead lizard. Um spent time mingling among the city-folk; taking in their shock, thanking their compliments, and receiving their gratitude. Groups upon groups of twenty people conjugated to form one large mass, all silent and contemplating what just happened.
Um talked to a high-elf woman, one who works at the pretentious Radiant Raiment. She said, solemnly, “It's dead then, isn't it?”