Of Snow and Bone - Part Four

20th of Last Seed, 4th Era 201

In the morning I made my way through the cool, earthy air to Whiterun. Guards on wooden ramparts set onto the old, crumbling stone eyed me as I made my way to the gates. Just inside, a dark elf woman was waving a sword, giving a rallying speech to some men. From what I could tell, she was taking them to fight a dragon. A dragon! Surely she was mad, and yet the men she was adressing were all wearing cloaks with Whiterun's sigil sewn into them and painted on their shields.
It was all very strange. Shortly they took off through the gates, and I was tempted to follow them and see this dragon for myself, but it seemed at best a death wish. Instead, I walked up the main path to the market in hopes of finding a tin of lard, or soft wax, with which to coat my steel and protect it from rust.
Locating a butchers stall, I procured some rendered lard for my needs, and a simple linen cloth to apply it with from another nearby vendor, and a thick woolen cloak, dyed brown. It would be warm for the south, but as I progressed north would quickly become a necessity. There was little else I needed to do here, and I wished to reach the Vigilant's Order as quickly as possible. I set out of the city, only to hear a great roar that turned my eyes to the west. Was that... could that be a dragon? Surely it could be nothing else, to be seen at such a distance, with massive wings and great gusts of fire spouting from it's maw.

I stood with my eyes riveted west, along with every guard in their wooden towers. The beast circled over a crumbling stone tower, once, twice, and then it dove, pulling up just before striking the earth, leaving a line of fire in it's wake. This went on for some time, until at last, with a piercing wail, it fell into the earth, throwing up massive clods of dirt. A moment later it erupted in flame, and then was nothing but bones.
My mouth was agape. A dragon, such had not been seen in centuries, had been felled. And by whom, or what? That dark elf woman, and her few guards? A crack of thunder interrupted my thoughts, coming from the same direction as the dragon's roars. And then, a minute later, the very air itself seemed to reverberate as a shout came from the heavens, "Dov Ah Kiin!" it roared.
Movement caught my eye. It was the guards. They were turning to each other, faces hidden under their steel helms. One of them said something, too quietly for me to understand, and then the others picked it up. "Dragonborn" they seemed to say, and then one shouted out "The Dragonborn comes! The Dovahkiin is risen!" The cry carried along the walls, and seemed to fill the city behind me.
Their voices were full of fear and anticipation, ecstasy and hope. I did not know to what I had just been witness, only that it was something both great and frightening. I felt as if I should do something, and yet what was there to do? Uncertain, I took a shaky step down the road out of the city, and then another. Whatever had happened, there was nothing I could do to act on it.

I headed north for some time, and as the sun began to descend I located the Order's home, a handsome lodge nestled between cliffs. Their leader thanked me for bringing news of their dead, and explained that others had already informed her of the walking dead withing Skyrim's ancient halls; Draugr, she called them.
However, when I asked if I could join their order, she denied me entrance. Orcs, she said, were children of Malacath: a Deadric god. Her bigotry angered me, but I said nothing, and stormed from their halls. If they would not have me, so be it.

Night would soon fall, so I found a stand of trees a short walk away, and set up camp and fire, a pile of logs set behind the flames to reflect it's heat back into the lean-to formed from my tarp. A layer of pine boughs and furs formed my bed over the snow, but I did not sleep for a long time, the Vigilant's words still stinging.