The Call of the Wind, Children of Kyne, Volume I Options

[Kane]

I just finished up the long volume II of this series, so I thought I'd start posting them both here. This entry is one of my first real stabs at writing out a tale and one of only a couple I ever finished. The dialogue is a little stilted and the chapters are short (needed more practice) so it isn't a long read. If you are interested in reading it, I hope you enjoy! (PS, I'm too lazy to proofread this one and I wrote in 2018, so if there are any spelling or grammar errors, I apologize in advance!)



--------------------------------------


Prologue

The morning dew lay gleaming on the lush, green undergrowth of Cyrodiil’s Great Forest as the morning sun shined through the branches of its lofty trees. Deep in the heart of the woodlands, sat a small clearing and at its center lie a large rock, covered in silky green moss. Here upon this stone, sat an impressively large brown hawk - it looked far out of place among the other birds of the province, but it was not without purpose. Sitting as still as the unmoving stone beneath it, a wanderer could have mistaken it for a small statue to some long forgotten god.
Nestling its head into her wing feathers, she waited impassively for her prey. Soon thereafter, a crashing could be heard in the forests nearby. Quite suddenly, a pale, sickly looking Colovian emerged from the dense brush and scampered right through the clearing without so much as a glance at the large hawk.

Craning her neck, she listened for the pursuer she was expecting.

And sure enough, the gentle footsteps of a practiced stalker could be heard approaching the clearing, following the rampant destruction of the woodland left in the wake of the panicked, clumsy runner. The hawk lifted her head and waited for this new, but nonetheless expected visitor.

Ah, I see this predator is much too clever to wander into a forest clearing. The professional that he is knows to avoid such a thing, as it is ripe for ambush. Perhaps a little encouragement is needed…

-------------------------

The mercenary did not like what he saw ahead. Peering through the bramble, he intensely surveyed the clearing, looking for any sign of an ambush. The vampire he pursued had thus far been crashing through the forest like an ogre, but that may have been a ruse. Vampires, he had always thought, were usually much cleverer than this oaf was.

Hesitating outside the clearing was wasting time, but his instincts were kicked into overdrive as he approached it. Long ago he learned to trust those instincts, and many times they had been the difference between life and death. So there he sat, eyes darting around the forest opening, searching intently for signs of danger.

Quite suddenly, the once calm morning changed as a brisk northern wind began to flow through the woods, rustling the treetops and bringing a slight chill to the air. Our mercenary barely noticed the change in clime, until he heard the whispers on the wind. Startled, he relaxed his eyes, and instead strained his ears to the wind, where he swore a voice had whispered to him. The breeze fluttered once more, and this time he was positive…his name was carried gently on the wind.

Kirin...approach my child. Follow your instincts…and my voice…

Standing up nervously, he shouldered his composite bow, and walked boldly into the clearing. To his utter surprise, the hawk he’d mistaken for a statue hewn above the boulder stretched its impressive wings, and spoke to him with an undoubtedly feminine voice.

“It is time for you to return home, my child. Skyrim awaits you, and your destiny has come. Left behind will be your days of mercenary work and feeble pleasures. They matter not now, and only what you accomplish next will be of any consequence.”

This was unexpected, and temporarily froze Kirin, as a million thoughts raced through his mind. He settled on only one, though.

“And if I refuse?”

“It will matter not. The aspect of destiny is inescapable, and utterly final. Try as you might, it will simply catch up to you later, at a time when you may have less choice in its subtleties. Heed my words, and I promise you will not regret the choice to follow them.”

Kirin pondered on her words once more, and quickly realized what he was dealing with. One should not refuse the finality of the divines… He removed his helmet, and knelt on the grass before the large northern hawk.

“Lady Kyne, I see the wisdom in your words, and I pledge myself and my service to you.”

“Very well, young Kirin. Your time in Cyrodiil is at an end. Return to your fellow brothers and sisters of Skyrim, and your true journey shall begin in earnest.”

She then spread her wings once more, and took to the skies above Tamriel, flying ever northwards.skies above Tamriel, flying ever northwards.

This post has been edited by Kane: Dec 10 2024, 03:08 PM

[Kane]

A Call to Arms

Frustration couldn’t even begin to describe the sure of emotion that was coursing through Kirin’s body when he plucked the note off of Jurgen Windcaller’s ancient tomb. It took every ounce of restraint he had to not toss the note in the air and hack it to pieces with his longsword. Even Lydia, who was standing a few feet off to the side of the tomb could sense the anger pulsing out of her charge.

The slow crawl through the barrow had not been exceedingly difficult, but it had been long. Ustengrav stretched out for what seemed like miles underground, eventually culminating into a huge underground cavern with another word wall at its base. Draugr and skeletons patrolled the expanse in large numbers, never giving Kirin and Lydia a chance to rest.
And all that…only to find that someone else had come first and taken the Horn as bait to meet them.

“By the Nine, I will strangle whoever is playing this game with us,” said Kirin. “Now we have to walk all the way back to Riverwood.”

“Not necessarily,” replied Lydia. “Come on, there looks to be another way out down that tunnel. We’ll head back to Morthal and take the carriage to Riverwood. It will save us time, and give you a chance to cool down.”

“Tell me – why exactly should I cool down? We just risked life and limb for nothing. NOTHING!”

“I know, I know. But whoever did this is obviously skilled, and may have something important to tell us. Now hand me that note, before you rip it to pieces.”

-----------------------------

A day later, the carriage they rode stopped just outside of Riverwood and dropped off Lydia and a much calmer Kirin. The Sleeping Giant Inn was right near the village battlement, and so they went straight to it without stopping anywhere else. Kirin went to see Orgnar about a drink, while Lydia asked about renting the attic room. They hoped a little deception would give them an edge with whoever they were dealing with, so they decided Lydia would take the lead on the matter.

Kirin sat at the bar with a mug of Honningbrew while he listened to the innkeeper, Delphine, respond to Lydia’s inquiry.

“Attic room, eh? Well, we don’t have an attic room. But you can have the one on the left.”

Lydia thanked her, and headed for the specified room. Shortly after, Delphine followed her in and shut the door. Kirin heard muffled voices, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. A few moments later, Delphine and Lydia both came out of the room, and headed across the inn to the largest room at the back. Lydia glanced at Kirin and winked, letting him know to follow.

Delphine seemed to have taken the bait, but now Kirin had a new challenge. How to follow them through what was obviously the innkeeper’s bedroom without attracting Orgnar’s attention. He reckoned that he would handle the burly barkeep in a fight, but he rather liked the man and didn’t want to hurt him.

Thinking quickly, made a move to grab his coin-purse and knocked over his mead bottle in the process, spilling out its honey-colored contents all over the bar and down behind it. He apologized to Orgnar with a slight, faked slur and when the he bent down to wipe up the mess, Kirin darted into the bedroom. He’d heard the wardrobe open and shut, so he knew where to look. Sliding back the false panel in it, Kirin slowly crept down the stairs to find Delphine waiting with an amused look on her face.

“Finished playing around up there? Maybe now we can get down to business.”

Lydia sat on a chair nearby with a bored look on her face.

“So, I guess you didn’t buy her as the Dragonborn?” said Kirin.

Delphine chuckled, “Not quite. I knew who I was looking for when I took the Horn from Ustengrav. Lydia has it, by the way. I gave it to her to show that I just wanted to talk.”

“Well, you have me here, now. What is so important that you felt the need to waste our time?”

-----------------------------

Kirin wasn’t any happier than he was when they found the note deep inside Ustengrav. He had his own things to deal with before going off on some wild goose chase with Delphine to prove to her something that he already knew. And that was why he decide to make her wait for him at Kynesgrove, while he and Lydia returned to High Hrothgar.

The climb wasn’t any easier than last time, but the animals they encountered last time hadn’t been replenished by nature yet, so the climb was less dangerous. Once at the summit, the Greybeards allowed him to learn the final word of Unrelenting Force, and gifted their knowledge of the word to him. Now all that remained was to formally recognize him as Dragonborn.

Kirin stood at the center of the main chamber, bracing himself while Lydia stood in the back near the shadows and watched. All four Greybeards then began their incantation.

“Lingrah krosis saraan Strundu'ul, voth nid balaan klov praan nau. Naal Thu'umu, mu ofan nii nu, Dovahkiin, naal suleyk do Kaan, naal suleyk do Shor, ahrk naal suleyk do Atmorasewuth. Meyz nu Ysmir, Dovahsebrom. Dahmaan daar rok.”

Once they ground beneath their feet quit shaking, the other three Voices filtered off, leaving Arngeir to talk to Kirin. In her corner respite, Lydia sat with her head in her hands, waiting for the ringing of her ears to subside. Kirin excused himself from the Master, and tended to his companion.