The Bears Shortcoming

Chapter 1 - Aiden

I'm Aiden, hazel eyes, blonde hair, short for a wood elf.

I was driven out of my village in Valenwood on my sixteenth birthday, sad right?

 Well, I wasn't too miffed about it. I'd been waiting for an excuse to get out of that gods-forsaken dump for months; I just wasn't expecting my mother to kick me out.

"You're lazy and useless" she would hiss at me "You won't survive a week once you cross the border". Well the jokes on you mother, here I am very much alive, a week and a half after leaving Valenwood.

I ended up in Skyrim, and typically I also ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time and I wound up in the back of a cart full of high profile criminals, being sent off to the chopping block.

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(4E 201 3rd of Rains Hand)

I woke up wearily and came to my senses, the air around me was crisp and fresh and I wasn't wearing nearly enough to be able to keep warm. Everyone in Valenwood told me stories about Skyrim's legendary cold weather, but this...it was something else. The cart was made out of cheap splintering wood and i thought i was going to fall out of my seat every time we hit a bump in the road. We were travelling through a forest when i woke, it might have reminded me of Valenwood if there wasn't snow everywhere. 

My eyes focused on a burly Nord with his hands bound tightly, sitting uncomfortably on the flimsy seat. His attention turned to me.

"Ah, you're finally awake"

His voice was deep but it had a friendly tone to it. He seemed unusually calm for a man who had just been taken prisoner, but then again i never did understand the Nords. I didn't grace him with an answer; instead I glared at him and tried to think what I possibly could have done to wind up in a situation like this.
"You were trying to cross the border right?" the nord said, interrupting my thoughts "Walked right into that imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there".

I glanced over to see another two men, one was a skinny thief with a sour looking face and dark, greasy hair and the other had dirty blonde hair, broad shoulders and the clothes he was wearing suggested he had a lot more money than me or anyone else on the cart; I bet he was a lot warmer than us too.

"You there" the sour faced thief said, staring at me "You and me, we shouldn't be here! It's these Stormcloaks the empire wants"

'Stormcloaks' 'Imperials' 'Stormcloaks' 'Imperials' I focused hard on the words and my brow furrowed in frustration. I could have sworn i heard my parents talk about 'Stormcloaks' back in Valenwood, but i couldn't quite put my finger on it...

We sat in silence for a few minutes until the thief spoke up, "What's wrong with him huh?" aiming his sarcastic question at the rich looking man sitting opposite.

 "Watch your tongue!" the burly Nord hissed "You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true high king!" 

I was wondering why the rich man couldn't speak for himself when on closer inspection, I noticed he was gagged.

I spent the next hour wondering what the hell a 'Stormcloak' was and why the regal looking guy sitting next to me was gagged until we came to a small village. There were a few tall stone towers and many small houses with straw roofs standing side by side. I looked up to see a group of high elves on horses and a man wearing similar red and silver armor to that of the men they called 'Imperials'.

"Look at him" the Nord sitting opposite me spat "General Tullius the military governor. And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves! I bet they had something to do with this!" The high elves on horses were the first elves I'd seen since leaving my home in Valenwood, and it didn't seem like they were very popular.

We came to a sudden stop where the prisoners were unloaded off the carts, I took the opportunity to look around and it wasn't until then that I realised just how many prisoners there were. At least 25 men and women, all dressed in the same blue and silver armour. These must be the 'Stormcloaks'. One by one, everyone was called to step forward towards the chopping block. The Nord who never shut up turned out to be a man called 'Ralof' and the sour faced thief 'Lokir'.