Rath Sunvaar

Chapter 1: Orphan

I don't remember much from my childhood, but then again who could blame me for forgetting? From what I gathered I had a pretty rough childhood. Abandoned at birth, forced to work on that wretched farm, but then I was forced out of Windhelm and somehow ended up in the orphanage in the Rift. My 'father' would boast about how he had rescued me, a lonely defenceless child, left to fend for my self in the selfish cruel world that was Tamriel. Every guest that travelled by would be blessed with the tale, of how he was out fishing one day, and despite not catching any fish, he instead found a helpless child and rescued it from the icy cold waters. For he was a hero, and 'saving' an innocent certainly gains you popularity around these parts. He brought me back to the farm and to his surprise, where he was expecting a young fair-faced Nord, or a Khajiit at the most, he found a red skinned baby, with black markings etched into my skin. The shock I gave him with my appearance was enough to nock a grown man off his feet. He knew he couldn't show me to the world, as he knew the world wasn't ready to accept such a creature. So he hid me in the basement, away from the prying eyes of the world, and there I stayed for 8 whole years, with nothing to keep me company but the occasional rat that scurried by, for as far as the world above knew I did not exist. I had to complete jobs for them, my beloved 'mother' and 'father', washing, scrubbing, sewing etc, and in return I was rewarded food and shelter.
Little light could penetrate the darkness that engulfed my 'room'. They called it a room, but to me it was like a prison.

It all happened one morning, the jarl was doing his annual citizen count, so he could tax more from the families, 15 gold pieces per month per person, much to the dislike of many families in the hold. Many tried to hide their kin, to avoid paying extra tax, as they could barely afford to sustain their families with the poor pay from the docks, but failed as the guards were like bloodhounds, sniffing the victims out like their lives depended on it, this was not much true for the guards but was all too real for the citizens, for whoever was caught hoarding a citizen, would be trailed and executed before you could say Balgruuf. I heard a guard arguing with 'father' and he was getting frustrated, I heard a bang, as dust descended from the ceiling, I presumed the guard had pushed him over, as I could hear 'mother' plead for mercy'. The rattle of steel grew louder and a voice called out "down here!".
Before I knew it the guards were in the cellar and grasping onto me, all studying my face as I was dragged along the corridor and out into the blinding sun. I could see the horror on 'fathers' face, I knew this wasn't concern for me, but a concern for his neck. I was dragged up to the main gate, where hundreds of people stood trying to get a glimpse of the creature, that the guards had found dwelling in the cellar just a few kilometres from where they lived.
I was thrown into a cage, millions of eyes gazed upon me, but were scattered like rats when a horn was blown and the sound of hooves could be heard cantering towards me, and riding it was a tall dark haired man, no more than his early 20s, dressed In elaborate heavy Armor, climbed off his horse an cautiously crept towards me, like i was some vicious beast.
"Who are you!" Boomed his voice.
But before I had chance to reply, he  yelled again " what business do you have here?"
Dazed and confused I stood there and stared blankly at him with a look of confusion.
"I've had enough of this!" He shouted and gestured for his men to take me away.
"Take it out, far Into the woods and tie it to a tree, the wolves can feast on it, and we will have no blood on our hands"

It had been almost 3 hours since we had left Windhelm and we were deep into forest at this point. There was a nervous feel in the air, even the guards were nervous at this point. The air was growing colder by the minute, it would be dark soon, and the creatures of the night would come out to roam the earth again. It was often That a Nord was to get lost, and Skyrim's harsh winters would sneak up on them and catch its prey as easy as any beast that roamed these forests.
There was the occasional rustle in the bushes, but I payed no attention, for nobody knew more than me about the trick the dark can play on your mind. The same thing would happen again and again and again, the rustle of the trees and a shadow flying by. Somehow the guards didn't notice this, but deep down we all new we were being watched. Hunted.
Out of nowhere an arrow came flying from the bushes and struck the horse dead. The carriage came to a halt, and we were flung to the ground. A piece of wood fell onto my legs. I was stuck. I lay there, unable to make my escape, while I watched the carriage go up in flames and the men, one by one, slaughtered. The bandits looted what they could from the wreckage and took off into the darkness. The fire slowly burnt out and I was left alone, in the darkness again. However something about the forest reminded me of home, well the damp, stone cold basement I called home. I sat there and listened to the wildlife, watching the carriage burn, while I drifted in and out of unconsciousness.
I awoke to find a fire, but not as big as the one before, warm furs, a stew cooking over the fire and music coming from outside. I had been rescued by a Khajiit caravan, I could tell this from the various goods and treasures (and skooma). They explained that I was out for nearly a day, as we travelled towards Riften. We travelled through the trees to find the welcoming glow of the Rift, something about it looked so appealing, despite it's bad reputation for thievery. The Khajiits gave me 50 coins and sent me off on my way. I pleaded to stay and travel with them, but Destiny told otherwise and I watched as they rode off into the distance and once again I was left alone in the world. Life in the Rift was tough. I had to beg the smug nobles for some coin, but they just walked by, pretending I didn't exist. The more I begged, the more I brought attention to my self and the more the guards would question me. Who are you? Where are your parents? I replied I don't know, so fate took a turn for something better, or worse, as I was swept off to Honorhall orphanage. It was awful, all Grelod the 'kind' would go on about was how lucky we should be, but I listened to none of it as I hated this place and everyone in it. But there was one exception Aventus Arentino, a young nord boy, who hated the place as much as I did. We always dreamed of escaping, but never had the guts to do it, as one child attempted it and we never saw or heard from him again.

Tonight was the night that we would attempt it, months of planning had gone into this. We had nearly made it, but I only made to the gate, before a guard snatched me and I was sent back for a beating, while Aventus ran as far as his tiny legs could carry him. We hadn't heard from Aventus for weeks, and I was starting to get worried, as everyone who escaped was eventually found or had died.