"I don't trust Nordic tombs," I say as Farkas and myself approach Dustman's Cairn. It's getting on for late afternoon and I really want to be back at Jorrvaskr before nightfall. I'm not scared for the dark, just uneasy around it. It reminds me of Blackreach.

"Neither do I. Our ancestors were incredible builders but the dead buried inside don't always stay dead," Farkas agrees. "Vilkas said something interesting to me this morning. He said you were Dragonborn,"

I let out an irritated sigh as we descend down the steps the lead to the tomb. "He's right. Ugh, for the love of Magnus, I knew this would happen,"

"Magnus? Is he a Breton divine?"

"Yep," I nod my head. I push open the door to the tomb and we step inside of it cautiously. "We Bretons worship Akatosh, Arkay, Dibella, Mara, Julianos, Zenithar, Kynareth, Sheor and Stendarr who are pretty standard divines. But we've also got the Elven divines of Magnus, Y'ffre and Phynaster,"

"This stuff usually goes way over my head," Farkas admits. The first room of the tomb is suspiciously empty. Someone's been digging around here and recently. The stench of death fills our noses. "You should talk to Vilkas. He loves talking about religion and politics,"

"Does he?" I ask curiously.

"Yeah. He's the smart one, I guess. Skjor says I have the strength of Ysgramor and my brother has his smarts,"

"I've met Ysgramor," I inform him.

Farkas looks dumbstruck. "No you haven't,"

"I'm Dragonborn - I fulfilled my destiny of slaying Alduin in Sovngarde...while I was actually there I got to battle Tsun briefly to gain entry to Shor's Hall. That's where I met him,"

"You...you've been to Sovngarde?" he asks. There's a hint of longing and jealousy in his voice.

I nod my head. "Indeed I have. It's pretty there,"

"Wow..." Farkas's voice trails off in wonder.

We continue through the crypt and then I hear the familiar scuttle of Draugr. Farkas doesn't hear it coming and he's taken by surprise. He retaliates quickly enough and slices open the Draugr with his battleaxe. As we make our way through the tomb there are more Draugrs and skeletons for us to deal with. We come to a chamber filled with frostbite spiders that we make quick work of.

Farkas really doesn't seem to enjoy the spiders, so I try to distract him. "Is it normal for new members to get a Trial so soon after joining?"

He shrugs. "Hard to say. Torvar had to wait a month until we deemed him fit enough to have one. Njada only waited two days. I guess it just depends on the person and how much of an impact they make. You saving Ria's life made you look good and Aela was insistent that you get your Trial as soon as possible. Kodlak agreed...which is weird. The old man never takes a liking to someone this easily," Farkas explains. "Why did you tell me about Sovngarde?"

"I had to tell someone," I reply. "I thought I'd be okay after killing Alduin but the memory of it won't go away,"

"Oh," Farkas sounds a little surprised. "I'm sorry,"

We come into a room with a dead end. We split up and have a look around, seeing if we can find anything useful. I find a small room with a lever. Feeling curious, I pull the lever and then spikes come up from the floor, blocking my exit from the room. I pull the lever again, but it's stuck and won't work. I'm completely trapped in there.

"Gods dammit," I hiss.

"Oh now look what you've done," Farkas rolls his eyes. "Hold tight, I'll try and find a way out. Don't go anywhere!"

I lean against the wall and then I hear voices nearby. Farkas backs into the room, suddenly surrounded by a menacing-looking gang of people who are all wielding swords and axes. The swords don't look like normal steel and have a strange silvery tint to them.

Farkas is completely cornered, backed up against the spikes blocking me from exiting. My heart starts thudding. Is this where we end?

"We've got you now beast," a Redguard taunts.

"Is this the right one?" an Orc frowns.

"Does it matter?" the Redguard snaps. "If he wears that armour, he dies,"

"What about the little one behind him?" a Dunmer asks. "Is she one of them?"

"Action first, questions later," the Redguard reminds the Dunmer and they all turn their weapons towards Farkas. "Get him,"

Farkas laughs. "Come at me,"

"You die today, beast!"

Farkas gives a growl of anger and then his body begins to twist and morph...he sprouts dark fur and his teeth enlarge into fangs. He becomes a huge wolf and slashes his giant hands with lethal claws, slaughtering the people surrounding him. I back away from the scene, slightly terrified.

He's a werewolf.

Farkas walks away from me in my trap and I hear a lever being pulled. The spikes come down and I step out with my weapons drawn. Farkas re-emerges, in his usual human form.

"I hope I didn't scare you,"

"You're a-"

"Yeah. I'm a werewolf," he mutters. "We all are. Well, the Circle is. Me, Vilkas, Aela, Skjor and Kodlak. It's a secret to everybody,"

Werewolves? Really? First dragons and now werewolves?!

Skyrim really needs to sort itself out.

"Your secret is safe with me," I assure him. "You didn't judge me for being Dragonborn and I won't judge you for being a werewolf,"

"Thank you, Skylar," Farkas says sincerely.

"One question though," I frown. "Who were those people?"

"The Silver-Hand. They're werewolf hunters and they've been trying to hunt us down for years," Farkas replies.

We keep on going through the tomb, fighting our way through more Draugr and Silver-Hands. It takes about an hour and a half to get to the final chamber in the tomb. There are sealed coffins and alcoves lining the walls of the final chamber, which make me feel very uneasy. I approach the table where the fragments of the battleaxe are. Before I pick them up though, I turn my attention to the Word Wall right in front of me. I walk towards it and kneel down in front of it. A soft orange light surrounds me and I hear the Word of Power echoing in my head: Toor. It's part of the Fire Breath shout...now I've got two words for it.

"Woah, what on Nirn was that?" Farkas looks amazed.

"A Word Wall. Because I'm Dragonborn I can use Thu'ums, which is another word for Dragon Shouts. It gives me powers that are like the dragons. You know, breathing fire. And calling storms, bringing animals to my allegiance..." I try to explain.

"Once again, I think Vilkas would understand this better than I do," Farkas laughs ruefully. "Let's just grab the fragments and get out of here,"

Farkas grabs the fragments and he stuffs them into his satchel. We're about to leave when we hear a rumbling sound echo throughout the chamber.

"Oh Gods," I murmur.

The sealed coffins and alcoves aren't sealed anymore. Draugr begin spilling out of them and I spot two Death Lords, who can use Thu'um like me. Gods fucking dammit.

"Farkas, let me handle the Death Lords!" I yell over the sound of the Draugr rushing towards us. "Fus...RO DA!" I shout and the Death Lords stagger backwards. While they're staggered, I rush towards them (killing the weaker Draugr on my way, while Farkas deals with Wights and Restless Draugr) and I slash at them with my sword and axe while they're down.

However, one of them retaliates with a Disarming shout, which also staggers me. I barely have time to get my bearings before I hear the rushing sound of a warhammer being swung at me. I roll out of the way, barely escaping sudden death. There's a Draugr Wight standing above me and I send a sudden rush of flames at it, silently praising Marco for teaching me magic.

I scramble away from the approaching Death Lords and I desperately try to find my sword and axe. Farkas has eliminated most of the weaker Draugr, but I can hear him struggling with the two Death Lords.

"Get out of the way!" I scream at him. "YOL TOOR!"

Fire comes streaming out of me. The fire hits the first Death Lord full on, sending him writhing in agony. Farkas plunges his battleaxe into it, ending its life swiftly.

However, the fire only mildly affects the second one, who pushes past Farkas and comes at me with his ebony greatsword. I suddenly catch a glimpse of my stalhrim axe and I throw it at the Death Lord. It wedges itself in its chest, but not before the Death Lord swings its greatsword down at me. I dodge it, but I still receive a deep cut on my shoulder. I let a sharp cry of pain.

"Skylar!"

"YOL TOOR!" I yell at the Death Lord, burning it to a pile of ash. I feel my energy deplete severely from Shouting so soon. The Greybeards told me that after every shout I need to rest and regain my Shouting strength, as it could kill me if I don't let my Voice rest. I lean against the wall of the tomb and I slide down, feeling in agony.

Agony from still not being fully recovered, agony from the cut I just received and agony from Shouting too much in a short time period.

"Oh Gods, are you okay sister?" Farkas kneels down beside me. He rummages around in my satchel, searching for any potions. I didn't restock after giving them all to Ria.

"My shoulder," I groan. I let out a small hiss of pain when I feel my armour rub against the wound. "I don't know how the bastard managed to get me through the armour,"

My armour is dented and part of that dent is sticking into my wound, probably infecting it and making it worse.

"Get the top bit of it off," Farkas says and he tugs at the straps, letting it clatter to the floor. I praise all of the Divines that I remembered to wear a shirt under the armour. If I hadn't, it would have been a little embarrassing. My wound feels a smidge better without the dent sticking into it.

"Let's get out of here," I smile weakly. I flick my wrist, summoning a healing spell. I hold the soft yellow ball of light in my left hand over my shoulder and it closes up the wound. Farkas helps me to my feet and helps me get back into the top half of my armour. I retrieve my stalhrim axe from the pile of ash that is the Death Overlord. I also find my Dwemer sword lying by the Word Wall, and I slip both of them into their sheathes, feeling a little relieved. I peek inside the satchel and the fragments are still there. Good.

The two of us manage to find an exit to the crypt and we make our way across the plains of Whiterun Hold, with the city in the distance. We don't encounter any trouble along the way, thank the Gods, and we're at the stables within an hour. But I take one look at the sloped pathway leading up to the city and I feel a sudden sense of dread. I don't think I can make it up there. I can barely put any pressure on my ankle. The cut on my shoulder has reopened. All of the bruises on my body ache and I can't even begin to describe how my muscles feel.

During the way here my sheathes broke and I had to carry my sword and axe. They feel far too heavy in my hands and to my great shame, I drop them. The sound makes Farkas look over his shoulder and he frowns when he sees me stood still.

"Skylar?" Farkas calls my name, sounding concerned.

Suddenly overwhelmed with fatigue, I shut my eyes and I fall down the ground. I welcome the darkness around me.

***

I open my eyes and I don't recognise the room I'm in. The ceiling is very high and a sudden sense of vertigo comes over me. I shut my eyes again, take a deep breath and I clench my fists, digging my fingernails into my palms. I reopen my eyes and sit up slowly. I'm in an infirmary...oh. I'm in the Temple of Kynareth in Whiterun. How did I get here?

"Good to see you're awake," priestess Danica Purespring says to me. When I helped Danica with the Gildergreen she became a good and loyal friend to me, offering me some training in Restoration. I wish I had taken her up on her offer.

"What happened?" I rub my forehead. I've a slight headache.

"You collapsed outside of Whiterun a few days ago," Danica informs me.

"A few days ago!?" I yelp.

"Yes," Danica sighs. Then she frowns, her usually kind features hardening. "You silly girl, Skylar! Why on Nirn did you join up with the Companions so soon after killing Alduin!? Skjor of the Companions told me how hard you had been working...clearing out sabre cats! Skylar, you've been sleeping for a whole three days, why didn't you rest after Alduin!?"

"I can handle it," I murmur. Danica isn't helping my headache. But I suppose I've earned this lecture from her. I have been a little reckless.

"I don't doubt your strength, child, but you really must rest," Danica's tone softens a little. "You were very brave saving Ria's life and battling those Draugr with Farkas,"

"Thank you," I smile at her.

"You are very welcome, child. Now then. Eat this meal and get your strength up," Danica points at a tray of food on the end table next to the bed I'm on. The food is delicious as bread has been dipped in butter and the hot milk is sweetened with honey.

Someone enters my room and I look up eagerly, hoping it's someone from the Companions.

It isn't. It's a Courier.

"Letter for Skylar. I checked Jorrvaskr but I was redirected here,"

"Give it to her," Danica nods. There's a small alchemy lab in my room and she's working on a healing potion for me to take. Gods I hate healing potions. They taste awful.

The Courier hands me the letter and I hold it in my hands, feeling a little excited. The seal is of House Telvanni, meaning it's come from Morrowind...

Danica finishes up her potion and hands it to me, instructing me to drink it in ten minutes. Then the two of them leave me in privacy. Well, semi-privacy. There's two others in the infirmary: one of the Guards and a farmer. They don't pay much attention to me and I open up my letter eagerly.

My heart starts racing. It's from Marco.

Dearest sister,

Alduin? By the Gods, Skylar, I should never have let you leave Raven Rock! I knew from the second you stepped onto that boat that I had made a terrible decision. I am, however, glad you are well and am grateful you managed to defeat him. I always knew you would do something incredible with your life and I am proud to call you my sister. Everyone here in Raven Rock is very happy for you and wishes you all the best.

I am currently working as an assistant researcher for Neloth Telvanni, hence the Telvanni seal on this letter. He is a decent employer, if a little stern and erratic at times. His steward shows some romantic interest in me, but I am hesitant to return the feelings. I am still rather smitten with Dreyla Alor but I believe it is unrequited. There are rumours of her pursuing a relationship with a newcomer in town: Modyn Veleth. Regardless, I am happy to be here in Tel Mithryn.

As for our family...I am sorry, sister. I am sworn to secrecy until you come of age when you are eighteen. However I feel guilty for keeping secrets.

There is a man named Kodlak Whitemane and I believe he resides in Whiterun. The letter you previously sent me came from Whiterun so you may already know him. He has some answers...so seek him out.

With love,

Marco

P.S.: please send all future letters to the address Tel Mithryn, Solstheim,