Mara's Paladin

Chapter 1: FrozenHearth

"Beginnings are weird, as you probably know. Mine is sure no exception to that, I grew up in the mountains to the north of Skyrim near here. Living isolated in the mountains is hard, being a Breton in a land where the harsh weather is more forgiving to outsiders then the people are, didn't help. Luckily the College of Winterhold is a bit kinder then the rest." Said a young looking man, he had blue eyes, short blond hair and was wearing metal plate armor. Sitting at a table in a mostly empty inn he continued. "Life in the mountain was harsh but father made it work. That was until my mother died, then things became difficult. We started struggling and my father had to work harder. He had me stay home and do the things she would do, even though I kept asking him to take me hunting. Eventually he begrudgingly agreed and he took me out, it was rather boring until we were attacked. We didn't see or even hear the bear until it was to late. Father told to run as he stood his ground and tried to fight it off." Said the young man before pausing to take a sip from his mug. The flicker from warm hearth lit his face as he continued "So I listened, I ran looking back as I did I saw it tear my father apart and then charge at me. I lost hope as it closed in, while looking back I didn't see the cliff that I was approaching. The fall felt long in the moment, but thinking about it now it couldn't have been more then few moments. Hitting the ground, everything hurt all at the same time. I tasted iron as blood filled my mouth and breathing became difficult." The light highlighted the young mans now watering eyes. Blinking a few times he carried on. "I felt as the life faded from my breath and everything went dark. I don't know how long before i saw the ball of light floating down towards me. The light formed into the body of a beautiful women that said "Its is not your time." After she said that she leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. I opened my eyes and took a deep, long breath. Looking into the sky I laid there for awhile before I was found by a wandering mage from the college. They took me in, found out I was good at Restoration and now I'm sitting here in front of you." He looked at the Dark elf women that sat across from him. She sat listening curiously, her completely red eyes decorated by the red war paint that splattered the sockets tried to decipher him.

She adjusted her black mage robes, "So Arven, it's Arven right?" She asked.

He nodded "Yes, and your name is Silva, correct?" Arven asked.

Silva nodded "You're saying you fell off a cliff and some women resurrected you?" She shot a look of doubt at him as she asked. He nodded and she laughed, lifting up her cup to her mouth she said "I think you're a bit deeper in the cups then you may know." She took a long sip. "Well whether or not you're a drunken fool the story was a bit interesting." She said as she got up to leave.

Arven stopped her "Wait! I promise you I am not drunken fool. If you didn't like that story, I have something that I know will peak your interest." He hastily said as he he fumbled pulling a roll of paper and two books from his pack. "The college has this massive library in it full of books, scrolls, and maps." He said as he rolled out a hand drawn map of the east of Skyrim. "Have you ever heard of the Tale Of Veken The Risen?" He asked.

Silva thought for a moment. Turning around she said "Yes, the one about the necromancer and how he laid himself to rest in a hidden tomb to be woken sometime in the future. I've heard it sung within a few inns I've ventured."

Arven smiled, looking at the map he said "Well, then you know it says that he was buried with the wealth he obtained with his undead army. Through the story, and a few dusty long forgotten books I think I pieced together where it could be." As he was flattening out the map he knocked over his mug, the water spilled out on the floor. Frantically, he picked up his mug apologizing to a barmaid that moved over to clean it up.

Silva chuckled and waited for the scene to die down, eyeing Arvin up and down she asked "Why are you telling me this?"

Arvin sighed and looked down "I need help, I ll be honest you're not the first I've asked. Everyone else either doesn't want to leave or says I'm crazy. I can't do this alone, I've never even left town. Please, help me." He pleaded.

"Hmm," Silva thought "Sorry kid but I'll decline." She turned and walked away, she stopped as she heard the sound of a large sack of coins slam against the table.

"One Hundred and Fifty gold and a share of whatever treasure we find." Arvin said.

She turned and walked back. Opening the sack she glanced inside, the light from the hearth glimmered off the large amount of coins. "Meet me in the front of town, I need to pick up some supplies before we head out." She said walking out of the inn, taking the coins as she did.

Arven quickly packed up the map and books and cheerfully headed outside.