The Last Heir, FanFic Options

[redsrock]

I hope you all enjoy the story and as always please leave feedback or a word of wisdom. I'm always looking for help and suggestions.



The Last Heir

CHAPTER ONE

The goblins were rushing in through the barn door, but they had no clue I was sitting up above on a rickety plank, ready to jump down and slay the evil beasts.

With my trusty spear in hand I dove down from above and struck one of the monstrous creatures to the floor. The others shrieked loudly as they charged me, but it was of no use. My skills in battle were envied by all and matched by no one.

One by one I sliced my way through the goblin horde until only the chieftain stood before me. He held his magical battle axe in hand with a furious expression, but I knew his intimidating stature was unreal. He was truly afraid of me and wanted nothing more than to run back to his smelly cave, but alas I was guarding the only exit out of my barn.

Slowly I walked towards the monster and as I inched closer and closer I began to see the sweat dripping from the chieftain’s face. His hands that were clutched tightly around the axe were shaking wildly. He stood no chance.

“Lukas, have you finished cleaning the barn yet? Supper is almost ready!”

At the sounds of my mothers shrill voice the battle ended and suddenly I was unfortunately sucked back into boring reality.

“Not yet mother, give me another ten minutes or so…”

I quickly took the broom I was holding and started sweeping the floor because I knew it was only a matter of seconds until my mother came to see what the matter was. She told me to clean the place an hour ago but of course like usual I had dazed off into my own fantasy land.

“LUKAS! Will you please clean things up quickly? Supper is just a few minutes from being ready and you’ve barely even started! What have you been doing in here all this time?”

Sure enough she entered the barn with the same stern expression she gave me every time I angered her, which seemed to be often.

“I was fightin’ the goblins mama, I had to protect our barn from the enemy,” I said with a sly smile about me.

My mother hated it when I pretended to be a knight or a warrior, or whatever... For some odd reason she becomes very infuriated whenever I did so.

“Lukas, you’re fifteen years old! When are you going to grow up?” She said with her arms folding firmly across her chest.

“Fine, fine, I’ll clean the barn, it shouldn’t take too long!”

“The next time I catch your mind wandering about when you’re supposed to be doing chores you’ll get a whipping you’ve never imagined before.”

I simply rolled my eyes as she walked away. But of course she wasn’t yet finished with her tirade. “And stop pretending my broom is some kind of weapon!”

“I can’t help it mama, I’m gonna be a knight some day!” I chuckled back.

She grunted loudly and finally ended the argument with a threat I’ve heard millions of times before, “You break my broom and I’ll break your legs!”

I always laughed loudly at that one, for my mother wasn’t abusive as some kids’ mothers were. She would never lay a finger on me, besides my constant spankings of course.

Come to think of it, I’d hate to see what she would do if someone ever did laid their hands on me. It sure wouldn’t be pretty, I know that for sure. My mom is extremely protective of me.

I think that’s why I am home-schooled. She probably doesn’t want to even think about me being whipped by the school’s headmaster, which I am almost positive would be a daily activity. She’d rather do that herself…


Two hours later I finished sweeping the floors and bundling all the hay. It took me longer than I expected and mother wasn’t too thrilled about the delay.

“Sorry mama, it took me a bit long than I thought it would. Mama…?”

I yelled a bit more but was never given a response. My immediate answer to the silence was that she was most likely outside watering our garden and picking any already ripe vegetables.

So I threw off my work clothes and bundled into a pair of comfortable pants and an unbuttoned shirt. I went into the kitchen to see two plates resting on the table. One was full of cold food and the other was almost entirely eaten.

I walked over to the front door and poked my head out to see where mother was. I saw her standing just a few feet away from the porch. That’s when I saw two men in shiny silver armor standing next to her.

I walked outside to greet the men and I noticed she was sobbing.

“Who are these people mama, and why are you crying?”

Without giving me an answer she threw her arms around me and began to cry even more than before.

“Mama, what’s wrong?”

One of the men in armor spoke up with a deep and serious voice.

“Son, follow us into your house. There are some matters that need to be discussed.”

I was speechless. I didn’t know what to say. My mom took me by the hand and led me and the other two men into the house, where we all sat down at the kitchen table after she cleaned it.

“Lukas, do you have any idea who your father was?”

“Umm…no sir, I do not. Mama told me he passed away when I was still a baby.”

The man looked over to mother and she started crying again, this time thankfully a little quieter than before. I hated seeing her cry; it pained me more than anything else.

“You father was Martin Septim, son of Uriel Septim. Do you know who any of those two men are?” The man asked with a sterner tone.

“No sir, I’ve never heard the names before,” I said sheepishly.

Again the man looked over to my mother, this time with sheer anger. I was almost afraid he was going to yell at her but he turned his attention back to me.

“Your father and grandfather were rulers of the Empire Lukas. Surely you’ve of the Empire, haven’t you?”

I nodded. Who didn’t know about the Empire? Even we, on this small island hundreds of miles from anyone else, know about them. But was this man serious about my father, and apparently my grandfather, once being rulers of the Empire?

“Martin and Uriel were both recently slain recently. Your grandfather was assassinated by the culprits and Martin sacrificed himself to save Cyrodiil. You, Lukas, are the heir to the throne.”

I was stunned beyond belief. Surely I was dreaming right? Perhaps I had fainted from the barn’s heat and I was imagining all of this? Surely I had to be, there’s just no way in the world any of this could really be happening.

“I’m sorry sir, but what are you talking about? I think you have the wrong person. I’ve lived here all my life and I highly doubt it’s possible that I would be related to any Imperial Kings.”

“Ah, but it is Lukas, what your mother has apparently forgotten to mention to you is that she was once a caretaker for the Chapel in the city that was once Kvatch. She happened to have a “small” mishap with Martin and that brought you into this world. Your mother fled the country and brought you here. And since you’re Martin’s only heir that makes you’re the rightful king of Cyrodiil.”

I looked over to my mother and she was able to nod her head slowly. I was the King of Cyrodiil? How could this be? I’m only fifteen years old!

“We’ll give you about an hour to get your stuff together and then we set sail for Cyrodiil where you will take your place at the throne, though it won’t be as glamorous as you might think. A war has just been won, but don’t worry, I’ll explain everything on the way.”

Things were happening so fast I didn’t know what to think. I was looking back and forth between the two men and my mother, then the next thing I knew I was toppling face first towards the table, and then everything went dark.

[redsrock]

CHAPTER THREE

Outside the city stood a magnificent wooden carriage accompanied by five black horses. The scene was truly beautiful in every possible fashion. The design of the carriage was breath taking, and the horses were just as gorgeous.

“Wow, this sure is a major upgrade from that rickety ship we just got off of. I might actually feel safe this time,” I said teasingly.

“What can we say? Only the best for the Emperor!” Baurus said while the three of us loaded into the carriage.

A neat looking Dunmer male was steering the fantastic wagon, and this was a definite first, for me at least. Back where I came from, Dunmer were for the most part dirt poor, and usually fairly dirty in its literal sense.

“So how long from here Jauffre?”

“Just slow down Lukas; there are things we need to talk about before we do anything. Ocato will not be an easy person to convince, even though it doesn’t even matter what he thinks or wants. What it comes to is that we need to stay away from angering Ocato. I know you probably don’t think much of him right now, and neither do I, but it would be the safest bet to keep him as happy as possible.”

“Then what are you suggesting, let him boss me around?”

“No, that’s not what I am saying Lukas, I’m simply implying that we do not want to get a smart mouth with the Altmer. Whether I like it or not he does have connections, and that could be deadly to our cause.”

“Which is?” I asked.

“That we uphold the Septim blood-line and bring Cyrodiil back to its former glory of course. We shall do it how your grandfather did, the right way. We just need to persuade Ocato and the Council that you are the answer for the country.”

It sounded like a nice plan, but I highly doubted it would work. It was easy to believe in such an idea, but it would be a struggle getting Ocato out of our hair. I feared it just might result in us forcing him out of the city, which was the next thing I wanted to ask Jauffre about.

“What happens if Ocato doesn’t listen and we have to use force in order to get him to leave? That certainly wouldn’t bode well with the Council. I don’t want my first impression to end like that…”

“Don’t even think about it Lukas; if it comes to that then we’ll worry about it then. Right now we need to decide on what you will say to Ocato.”

“What do you mean me? Why aren’t you speaking with him?”

“Because I am not the Emperor Lukas. That position falls to you. I believe if you are the one to speak with Ocato he just might think more highly of you. Even if he does it won’t be much, but it’s better than nothing.”

He was probably right; any kind of praise we could get out of Ocato would be great, if any at all that is. The way he’s been described to me I wouldn’t be surprised if he attacked me on sight. I really hope the soldiers think well of me. It’ll be strange fighting for someone so young, but if the army is as loyal as I’ve heard I have absolutely nothing to fear.

“Try not to think about everything at once Lukas. Right now is the time to focus on what you should say to the Chancellor. I believe you should try and act as confident as you possibly can, and hold your ground when he starts pounding you with questions, because he surely will, and don’t forget to…..”

The rest of the trip was spent strategizing for the upcoming meeting, and the closer we got to the city the queasier I was feeling. I wanted desperately to rid myself of the hundreds of butterflies that were seemingly floating around in my belly, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get them out.

“Here we are Lukas, follow Baurus and I while we lead you to the Palace.”

We walked through the iron gates and I realized Jauffre was right; the city was filled with people. It was so mesmerizing Baurus had to knock me out of my wondrous trance. It was so unbelievable that so many people could fit in one place.

Unfortunately, just as in Anvil, the people were for the most part rude and immature. Many were rustling about looking rather drunk. Baurus said that since the war ended there really hadn’t been a lot of rules that were enforced, leading the citizens for the most part to do whatever they pleased.

Through the first section we went and after finding our way through the crowd we entered another sector, where we came face to face with a beautifully crafted structure that Jauffre explained was the palace.

“Alright Lukas, this is the palace. Follow me inside.”

As Jauffre started towards the palace Baurus stood in his place with his arms crossed, accompanied by an annoyed expression on his face.

“What about Baurus? Why isn’t he coming with us as well?”

“Because Baurus has a bit of a……problem with Ocato. The two don’t exactly get along with each other and I think having him with us brings too much of a potentially dangerous situation for your cause. It is in our best interests if he stays here. Isn’t that right Baurus?” Jauffre said with his eyebrows raised.

“Whatever you say boss…” Baurus replied with a sneer.

I followed Jauffre into the building and inside two guards dressed in silver armor were guarding the entrance, and I took it they were the palace guards. It was sort of awkward knowing that they were literally working for me. So strange it will be for them to work for someone so much younger than themselves.

We walked straight past the guards and then through an open entrance to a room with a humongous table with many chairs lined around it. In the chair nearest to the room’s entrance was a menacing Altmer with his arms crossed, almost identical to Baurus. He even had the same sneer, although this Altmer’s seemed more evil in a way…

“Hello Chancellor, it’s been a while since we last spoke,” said Jauffre cheerfully, but it seemed a warm welcome was of no use.

“It hasn’t been long enough. Is this who I’ve heard about?” Ocato said pointing at me.

“Yes Chancellor, this is Lukas Septim, son of Martin Septim and grandson of…”

“Enough Jauffre, you do not have to go on. I get the point. Before you go on with your speech that I am sure you have previously planned, I want you to know that I spoke with the Council just the other day about this very subject. The Council does not and will not recognize the boy as Emperor.”

“But you have no choice in this matter Chancellor, and neither does the Council. He is a Septim and he is also the only Septim. Whether or not you agree, the boy will be Emperor. There is no other way and you know this.”

Jauffre seemed to have put up a good argument, but now I was wondering what happened to our strategy of me talking and Jauffre keeping quiet, but then suddenly it seemed as if I had spoken a little too soon.

“Let me talk to the boy myself. So, Lukas, how do you suppose you’ll go about running the most prestigious and most hated country in all of Tamriel?”

I opened my mouth to speak but I was quickly cut off by Ocato’s harsh words.

“How will you deal with the situation in Solstheim, or have you even heard of the place to begin with?”

“Well, I…umm…”

“And what about Vvardenfell in the Morrowind province, what shall become of our soldiers over there?”

“I…”

“What about our county itself? How will you keep the other cities from civil war?”

“Enough! I will not stand for this any longer. The boy is young, there is no questioning that, but he will be an excellent leader, I assure you of that.” Jauffre’s words were full of both pride and anger. I had never seen him get mad, and at this point he appeared on the verge of attacking Ocato. His eyes were full of rage and his hands were shaking.

But nonetheless Ocato did not appear fazed one bit. He simply smiled an evil grin and gave us his last words. “I will no longer waste my time with the likes of you. I’ll leave this country now, along with the support of the Council. As long as the boy remains Emperor the Council will have nothing to do with the Empire.”

And at that Ocato walked swiftly out of the palace, slamming the doors as he went.

“That didn’t go as smoothly as I wanted it to…”

“I’m sorry Jauffre, I didn’t mean to sound so stupid…”

“It’s not your fault Lukas; I knew he was going to do that. I’m not surprised at all, but now things will change, and I’m not sure if it’s for the better or worse. Sure, it’s good that we will no longer have the Council breathing down our necks, but now the other provinces will be able to at least think about attacking us without the worry of sanctions from the Council.”

I was about to reply to his statements, but we suddenly heard guards running in the hallway and out of the palace. Jauffre and I hurried outside to see what the matter was, and we saw several soldiers holding back Baurus, who was yelling and cursing at the top of his lungs. No more than ten feet away was Ocato, walking away smiling that same malicious grin…