The Elder Scrolls: A Draugr Tale.

My Afterlife... It's not as grand as I imagined.

Pain. Fire. Fleeting glimpses of Memories and death. Yet, the pain and darkness lasted longer than I expected. I had thought it would last only two, maybe three seconds. At first, I continued to wait, expecting any minute now to see Tsun, a big, tall muscled man that I had heard through stories and books, the guardian of Sovngarde.

Or maybe Nocturnal and the Sepulchre, or Hircine and a forest with a view of the stars, followed by other Harbingers of the Companions. Or... Was this Sithis' realm? No, I do not believe so... But then again, I did not really know much about Sithis or his realm, since he's so mysterious. As I was thinking, I began to get panicked. Maybe... Maybe I was not worthy enough to go to any Afterlife?

It would make sense... I didn't defeat Alduin yet, or help the Empire reclaim Skyrim. What if I was to remain a soul trapped in a rotting corpse? I did something stupid next. I attempted to scream. Whether just out of frustration or hopelessness of hope that someone would notice, I do not know. I tried to calm  down, and slowly began to relax... Until I noticed silence. I mean, complete silence. No blood rushing, no breaths, no heartbeat. My chest did not rise nor fall, and no air was getting to my lungs. Yeah, that did it for me. I screamed again. Well, attempted, since I couldn't OPEN MY MOUTH!

Was... Was I to remain an active mind inside a rotting corpse, similar to the Night Mother, yet with no powers? Maybe... Maybe I can entertain myself with my memories? Or- Agh! What in Talos' name... Light. A dim light, and I felt heaviness, as if covered in heavy thick leather padding, many layers in fact. I felt another strike to my right, where... Where my shoulder would be.

My mind goes overtime, and I notice how I can feel my eyes rolling against my eyelids. Involuntarily, I instinctively smile. I do not feel my heartbeat, and I am still not breathing, but those small details could wait. I feel another sharp pain, this time at my stomach. I growl, and open my eyes. At first, everything is blurry, though the candlelight spell helps me see where the general direction of my foe is. I take a cautious step forward, testing my ability to walk. I land on my face, and the arrows dig deeper into me, making me groan.

I quickly get up and break off the tail ends of the arrow in my shoulder, and feel around for the tip of it at the back. Right as I get ready to pull it out, my left forearm gets struck with another arrow. Okay, this fucker is really pissing me off. I take a deep breath, and shout out the most useful shout for this situation.

"Feim, ZII GRON!" The words rush past my lips, and I smile as I watch the next arrow fly harmlessly through me, hitting my coffin. The arrows inside me fall onto the floor, too. A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. With my five amulets of talos equipped, I was ready to shout again.

Though, I could not while I was under the effect of Ethereal form. "Ronaan, hin ahkriin los morokei." I compliment, and heal myself with Close Wounds, dispelling the Ethereal Form shout. "LAHVRAAN, LAHVU DIIL!" I shout, and the lids of nearby coffins burst open, and my new brethren burst forth.

Ronaan, hin ahkriin los morokei = Archer, your courage is glorious.

LAHVRAAN, LAHVU DIIL!

= Gather, Army Undead!

(A shout unlocked by becoming a draugr, a shout I made up.)