Ekali of the Frozen Heights, Book one Options

[Saquira]

So, I've been working on this since before Skyrim came out now and I think it's about time I publish it. I'm still working on Felisas Memoires, I actually got really inspired yesterday and wrote up the ending so now I know exactly where I want to go with it. I just wanted to get started on publishing this story as well.

I'm no longer working on A Strange Love, you'll probably have gotten it by now but I just wanted to get it out. I might go back to it and continue sometime, but then I'll make a completely new version and it probably won't happen for a very long time.

I change a lot of the things in the main quest in this story, because the dragons really should be able to use all the shouts(it's their language after all) and a lot of other reasons. Ekali won't only follow the main quest though, not like Felisa did. And I'll also have this story be much more orderly, in that I'll divide every chapter in numbered parts and will be writing a "what came before" paragraph at the start of each update.

Anyway, this is the story of the khajiit Ekali, and her journey through Skyrim.

Ekali of the Frozen Heights
Book one

Prologue

The female threw herself across the cold stone just as fire lit the sky, melting the snow of her former location. The beast roared out his rage as he turned after the khajiit, pale fangs still hot from the fire. She thought up the words when its jaws clamped shut above her, forcing Ekali to roll out of the way as it brought its head down again.

“Fo Krah!” The shout was loud, and covered the beast in frost as he lifted his muzzle towards the sky in rage. He flapped his wings, unleashing more fire in her direction, and took to the air.

Getting up from her crouch, the khajiit sprinted across the ice crusted stone, coming to a stop at her pack from which she drew a bow and quiver. The bow was already strung in anticipation for an event just like this, and she put an arrow to it just as the beast came around for another go. Her hands wouldn't be still as she aimed for the creature, and it was by chance that the arrow stuck in its throat. She sprinted again as he roared in fury, black eyes intent on her body.

“Dovahkiin! Zun Haal Viik!” His powerful voice was triumphant as the bow flew out of the woman’s grasp, and she cursed, barely avoiding the swipe from his tail when he flew past. As it was the blast of wind knocked her of her feet, and she pictured a fireball in her mind as she got up again. The dragon was wrapped in flames mere moments before his feet connected with her shoulders and threw her backwards.

Her feline claws where out before she had time to process the empty space beneath her feet, clinging like picks to the ice encrusting the rocky mountain. The stone shuddered as the dragon landed and made his way towards the precipice on which she was hanging.

“Dovahkiin.” The beast smiled at her as he lowered his head, looking over her white body.

The tension on her claws was causing a numbness in her hands when she hung there, and the khajiit grunted when she tried to get a better grip on the cliff side as well as getting her legs up. She'd be damned if she didn't get up, she knew that all to well.

“Trouble, Dovahkiin? Perhaps you should have practised your claws before coming, they often make a lot of difference.” He smiled again as he reached one of his feet out, extending a claw. He looked at it briefly before turning back at her. “How is it you say... oh yes, any last words?” Ekali kept quiet and he smiled again, edging further out on the edge to get to her.

The light of the blue green aurora reflected on his scales when he got closer, making him look even more majestic than before. His head had the shape of an arrowhead with spikes that were angled backwards from his face. His eyes were dark, and the scales had a soft brown colour to them.

She narrowed her eyes at the dragon as she tried to get a better grip on the ice, and clung tighter when the wind picked up, tousling her fur. The ice was mixed with snow, and her hands were barely noticeable because she didn't wear any gauntlets at the time.

The beast crept closer still, and put his foot on her paw to be able to break her grip. With a last smile that caused the blue light to be reflected by his teeth, he tore her away from the cliff, and opened his mouth to shout.

“Fus Ro Dah!” The shout threw her further away from the ledge, away from any hope of survival, and caused her to yell out in shock.

Oh hellfire, was the one thought that went through her head as she looked down at the ground far beneath her, the wind wining past her ears.

* * *

End note: So, there's the prologue. You don't get to find out what happened for a long time though as the prologue takes place long after the first chapter, which I intend to post the first part of on Tuesday. And I really like constructive criticism.

[Saquira]

Previously on Ekali of the Frozen Heights: Meeting Sven at the inn, Ekali gave his note to Camilla Valerius, delivering a message he didn't want her to. This led to employment however, as it turned out that the Valerius siblings had had something stolen from them, a golden claw. Next, Ekali sets out to fetch the claw, and meets a friend on the way.

Chapter 3.1 Into Bleak Falls Barrow

The arrow flew past Ekali's head as she made her way up the slope in the clean snow. She ducked to the side, taking cover behind a rock and looked out and up at the Barrow carefully. Several bandits patrolled outside, and the archer who'd shot at her stood on a small platform that jutted out from the main structure. He hadn't raised the alarm yet, and his friends where too far away to see them.

Pulling out the Imperial bow she'd gotten of one of the soldiers, Ekali stringed it quickly and nocked an arrow that she preceded to aim at the bandit lookout. Another arrow went past her, sticking in the ground a few feet away, and she drew the string back further before releasing the deadly missile.

The bandit went down quietly, falling of the platform into a huge pile of snow beneath. The khajiit made sure no one had noticed his disappearance before leaving the cover of the boulder, and half ran to the steps that would take her to the barrow.

Crouching at the top of the steps, she nocked another arrow and aimed at the closest bandit. This one was walking back and forth across the platform, occasionally leaving the line of sight of his companions. She could see then that all of the bandits wore fur armour just like the one she'd found before they reached Riverwood.

Releasing the arrow, Ekali cursed silently when it clattered on the stone surface just beyond the bandit who turned towards the noise and called out to his companions. Ekali quickly hung the bow over her back, taking a firm grip around the handle of her new great-sword before pulling it out of its sheath. The closest bandit turned and saw her then, and with a snarl he pulled out his rusty axe before rushing at her. Knowing that the small axe would do little against her sword, Ekali placed herself so that she was ready to either deflect it or strike at the bandit depending on the circumstances.

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She got little chance to do so however, as a grey blur bounded past her and straight at the bandit. Before the man had a chance to react, the wolf got his jaws around his throat and tore at it. Ekali stood stunned for a moment, merely staring at the animal, but was brought back to the current moment when one of the bandits yelled out.

Leaving her shock for later, the khajiit lowered her sword and went for the next one. A Redguard woman came at her, and Ekali deflected her sword into the hard stone which allowed her to swing at the other woman when she tried to recover. The Redguard took a step back, and clumsily blocked the swing instead of deflecting it. The impact jarred both of them, and so it was that Ekali breathed a sigh of relief when the wolf went past her to attack the man coming up next to the Redguard.

Having recovered more quickly than the other woman, the khajiit brought her sword up again, and though the Redguard tried to block she tripped over the wolf who was fighting the man behind her. Ekali's sword tore through the fur armour and the dark skin with ease, and the Redguard went limp after a few moments of struggling.

Meanwhile, the male wolf skipped out of the way of the man's war hammer with light movements, coming from the side to snap at his knees. The man’s hammer wasn't light enough for him to be able to move at the speed of the animal, and he gave a guttural growl when he felt the sharp teeth rip through his flesh in the space between the iron pieces.

He swung his hammer around as he tumbled down and though the wolf quickly got out of the way, the khajiit had no time to react to what happened around her, and so the weapon connected with her left ankle just when the wolf got a hold around the outlaws throat.

When the wolf let go and looked over at the khajiit, she was bent over in pain, clutching at her broken ankle. He whined, not sure what to do, and Ekali made a soothing sound while still focusing on the wound. So the wolf sat back on his haunches, simply tilting his head slightly when the bright light started swirling around the woman.

She stood up after a while, hesitantly putting weight on her left leg, and let out the breath she'd been holding when only a slight pain spiralled up.

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“It's not completely fixed, but it'll have to do at the moment.” Ekali sighed tiredly, and looked over at the wolf for the first time since he showed up. He stood up again, looking over at her in the bright light before coming up slowly to put his muzzle against her side. “Hi there Gladio.” She smiled this time, barely having to crouch to put her arms around him to hold him close. He whimpered and licked her face before resting his head on her shoulder while she put her face in his fur.

They stayed like that for a long time, simply taking comfort from each others presence. Then she pulled back, and Gladio barked happily when she straightened up and picked her sword up from the ground.

Using a legion sign to tell Gladio to follow, she slowly ascended the stone steps to the entrance and pushed the door open.

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The dome-like entrance took Ekali's breath away when they stepped in and gazed at the ceiling. Rays of sunlight shone in through the large openings in it, and carving covered the walls. The pillars in the middle obstructed their view, and she stepped to the right of them to see further in.

Stepping back quickly upon seeing the two bandits, she signalled for Gladio to be ready before she took the bow of her back and crouched down where she could see the outlaws. He stood beside her when she rested the bow stave on the floor, nocking an arrow that she aimed at the bandit on the left. He carried a great-axe on his back, and would pose the greatest danger to the wolf when Gladio attacked.

So she took a deep breath, and pulled the arrow back so its feathers grazed her cheek before letting it fly. The man fell forwards, the shaft of the missile buried in his back, and the bandit woman spun on the spot, quickly finding Ekali's white shape. Gladio set of then, just as the outlaw drew her bow, and he pushed her to the floor when he leapt upon her.

Ekali came up to him slowly so as to not make her injury worse, and the wolf turned from the dead bandit to look upon her wonderingly. Smiling, Ekali sat by the fire at which the bandits had been standing, patting the bedroll next to her for Gladio to lie down. As he did so, she closed her eyes and wrapped her hand around her ankle, then a soft light swirled around her as she used her magic to heal it further.

She gazed around the place wearily when she opened her eyes again, before looking back at the wolf.

“You'll stand guard won't you? I need to rest before we continue, and I cannot do so without your help.” She put her hand on his head, and he gently held her hand in his mouth before he nodded. Smiling, Ekali sighed and lay down on the bedroll as Gladio stood, walking over to the passage leading to the rest of the barrow.

Author's note: The mod that now allows Gladio to accompany Ekali was made by Subrosa, and can be found here: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=9948