Chapter Text
Eris
My name is Eris Juniper Snow and I’m 22 years old. My parents named me after the Greek goddess of chaos, discord, and strife. (Which says enough about my relationship with them.) I’m a longtime fan of The Elder Scrolls. Its world and lore fascinate me. Though, I never thought I’d end up there.
Perhaps some context would help.
I awoke with a start. The last thing I recalled was pain. The details were hazy, at best, but my skin felt warmer than normal. I couldn’t remember what happened. However, I had the unsettling feeling that I had died. It was certain that I felt in my very bones.
Yet, I felt very much alive.
That’s when I noticed my surroundings. I was laying on a two person canopy bed, so I pulled the curtains aside. I was in a strangely familiar, medium-sized loft. One that reminded me of player home from JK’s Winking Skeever. Then I noticed the table with an alchemy lab, along with an arcane enchanter.
Was I…? No, I couldn’t be. Right?
I got up and opened a door. Then I stepped outside. I was on a balcony overlooking part of Solitude. The city was massive, easily dwarfing its Skyrim counterpart. I stepped back inside and closed the door.
“What the hell is going on?” I muttered. “This has to be a dream. A very vivid dream.”
Then I had an idea. There was an easy way to prove this wasn’t real. I searched the room until I found a copy of Harvesting Frostbite Spider Venom. I opened it and read the first few lines.
“My reserves of frostbite spider venom are nearly depleted. The injuries I suffered in my last encounter with these deadly arachnids prevent me from undertaking the task myself, which is why I’ve hired you.”
I closed the book. Reserves. Depleted. Arachnids. Undertaking. I then reopened it. The words didn’t warp or change at all. I repeated it a second time, then a third. Still, there were no changes to the words.
I felt a knot in my stomach. This wasn’t a dream, it was real.
I died and woke up in Skyrim.
This reminded me of a few fanfics that I’ve read. My favorite of that variety of them had to be that one story I found on Fanfiction.net. It was about a girl who was killed by a wolf then found herself in Skyrim. What was her name again? Tula? Talia? Something like that.
The question is, who did this? Was it one of the Divines or a Daedric Prince? I couldn’t rely on the fanfiction I’ve read. There were numerous variations of this scenario. I could only hope that the culprit made themself known at some point.
I looked around the loft. I soon found a knapsack with some stuff inside. Things like a handheld mirror, a coinpurse full of gold, and a Cyrodilic steel dagger. I used the mirror to check my reflection. All I saw was my own freckled face, olive green eyes, and lush black hair. I was still myself, good to know.
I then found an article from a newspaper called the Nordic Herald. It announced the cancellation of the Burning of King Olaf. The date below the headline said it was the 19th of Heartfire, 4E 201. One month after Helgan was destroyed.
There was another article from the 20th of Last Seed. This one reported the death of a dragon that attacked one of Whiterun’s watchtowers. It also revealed the identity of the Last Dragonborn; Valentina Euraxia Tharn. She’s my recent Skyrim character and was just like may other members of House Tharn. That is, an egotistical noblewoman who was devoted to the Empire, determined to crush its dissenters.
Except, she had the power of a fucking Dragonborn at her disposal.
Fuck.
What should I do now? I could try to live a quiet, normal life. Alternatively, I could try to make a name for myself. I knew this world quite well, after all. Perhaps I could use that to my advantage. Either way, I needed a plan.
So I started with information gathering. Knowing more about recent events would help me assess how much progress Valentina’s made. There were rumors of an incident at a party hosted at the Thalmor Embassy. Vague, but they told me enough. It placed Valentina just after Diplomatic Immunity.
With that figured out, I had a new problem. My self defence training was not going to cut it. Not in goddamn Tamriel. As such, I needed combat training to ensure I could protect myself. Luckily, I knew exactly where to go for it; Jorrvaskr.
Time to book a carriage to Whiterun.
Valentina
A few hours later…
I was attending a court session in the Blue Palace when Varnius Junius, a farmer from Dragon Bridge, approached. “I swear to you, unnatural magic is coming from that cave! There are strange noises and lights! We need someone to investigate!”
“Then we will immediately send out a legion to scour the cave and secure the town,” Elisif declared. “Haafingar’s people will always be safe under my rule.”
“Your eminence, my scrying has found nothing in the area,” Sybille countered. “Dragon Bridge is under Imperial control. This is likely superstitious nonsense."
Falk nodded.: “Perhaps a more… tempered reaction might be called for?”
Elisif sighed. “Yes, of course you are right. Falk, tell Captain Aldis I said to assign a few extra soldiers to Dragon Bridge.”
“Thank you, Jarl Elisif,” said Varnius “But about the cave..."
“Let that go, Varnius,” Falk ordered. “It’s likely just wild animals or bandits, nothing that’s worth our time with the war going on. You’re dismissed.”
“Hold on,” I interrupted. “What is this cave you’re so concerned about?”
He looked hopeful. “It’s Wolfskull Cave, Lady Tharn. “It has a dark history, as the Wolf Queen once used it for necromantic rituals.”
“That was five hundred years ago and there isn’t much down there now,” Sybille argued. “Lady Tharn, it would be best to ignore Mr. Junius. He is jumpy at the best of times.”
I turned to Falk. “Have there been any odd reports about Wolfskull?”
Falk nodded. “Just the usual; odd lights and travelers disappearing. Though as I’ve said before, it’s likely just bandits or wild animals.”
“Some are convinced Wolfskull is haunted,” Varnius added. “I’ve never really believed that myself, but I know something foul is happening in that cave.”
“I will look into it personally,” I vowed. “You have my word, Mr. Junius.”
He looked grateful. “Th-thank you, Lady Tharn. Thank you.”
Sybille glared at me once he left. “You’re making a mistake, Tharn.”
“House Tharn does not dismiss potential arcane threats,” I shot back. “Besides, scrying is not a faultless magic. There are ways to hide yourself from a scryer’s gaze.”
Stentor scoffed. “No one can hide themselves from my gaze.”
I rolled my eyes. “If you say so.” I turned to Elisif. “Apologies, my Jarl. It seems I have a cave to investigate.”
She nodded. “I understand, Lady Tharn. Good luck.”
I left Solitude with my housecarl, Lydia. She was outfitted in steel soldier armor, while I was decked in Nibenean leather. We stopped when we found a wrecked carriage on the side of the road. The driver and his horse were dead, but there was no sign of cargo or passengers.
I soon found one of the driver’s keepsakes. “There we go,” I muttered. “Let’s see if this can shed some light on the attack.”
With that, I used an auramancy spell to observe a scene from the past. Turns out the carriage was attacked by contemporary draugr. However, that’s when things got weird. For some reason, they killed the driver, then abducted his passenger. A lovely young woman who looked quite terrified.
I frowned. “Lydia, do draugr usually kidnap people?”
“No, my thane,” Lydia replied, shaking her head. “In fact, draugr patrols usually stick close to their crypts, so this attack is far from normal.”
“I see. Let’s follow their tracks. I think I know where they’re heading.”
She nodded. “As you wish, my thane.”
Sure enough, the tracks led us to Wolfskull Cave. “There’s an unnatural chill in the air,” I noted. “Junius is right, something foul is at work here.”
Lydia eyed me. “I know that look. What’s on your mind, my thane?”
“I think I know what is going on in Wolfskull Cave,” I murmured. “I’m just praying to the Divines that I’m wrong.”
With that, we entered Wolfskull Cave. The two of us fought past necromancers and contemporary draugr alike. Eventually, we arrived in a large cavern that contained the ruins of an old fort. Four beams of blue light were spearing from four of its towers, converging at a large orb of light floating above the tallest tower. Then, the chanting started and my suspicions were confirmed.
“Wolf Queen, hear our call and awaken,” a woman chanted. “We summon Potema!”
“We summon Potema!”
“Long have you slept the dreamless sleep of death, Potema. No longer. Hear us Wolf Queen! We Summon You!”
“We summon Potema!”
“Yes, yes!” Bellowed a deep, feminine voice with a vicious edge. “Return me to this realm!”
Lydia paled. “Shor’s bones… they’re trying to resurrect the Wolf Queen.”
“Mara’s tits, I hate being right.” I turned to Lydia. “Forget stealth, we must be quick and efficient about this. We cannot allow them to resurrect Potema.”
She nodded. “Understood.”
Eris
I felt groggy and uncomfortable, my head pounding. What happened? The carriage was near Dragon’s Bridge when… My eyes snapped open. Right, the attack.
I looked around. I was laying on a large circular altar, restrained by magic. There were people clothed in purple robes with a skull on the belt. One of them wore a skull mask and a Daedric-glyphed stole. Necromancers.
I looked around as much as I could. We were in a large cavern, at the top of a fort’s tower. A large orb of light was above us. Fuck, this was Wolfskull Cave.
I winced when Skull Mask used a dagger to slit my wrists and ankles. “As our voices summon you, the blood of the innocent binds you, Wolf Queen.”
“Summoned with words. Bound by blood.”
Cords of light protruded from the orb, wrapping themselves around Potema. “What are you doing?! You fools, you cannot bind me to your wills!”
“Summoned with words. Bound by blood.”
“You ants don't have the power to bind me!”
Despite her words, the Wolf Queen couldn’t break free as the chords slowly dragged her spectral form down towards me. Then the orb produced more cords, which wrapped around me, binding us together. I could feel the ritual feeding on my blood, strengthening the connection. What were they doing? Were they trying to make me Potema’s vessel?
My thoughts were interrupted by the telltale booms of the Thu’um. Valentina was here, which I had mixed feelings about. One one hand, it meant I would soon be saved. On the other hand she was a fucking Tharn.
In any case, it wasn’t long until she stormed the tower, Lydia at her side. “Fus Ro Dah!” Her Thu’um was directed at the necromancers, shoving a few of them off the tower with great force. She then turned towards the rest. “Yol Toor!”
Skull Mask and the others were burned alive by the Shout’s intense flames. Potema’s spirit seemed to disappear through a hole in the cavern’s ceiling. Yet, I felt something enter my body. I sat up, no longer restrained by magic. Valentina offered her hand, so I took it and let her help me to my feet.
I smiled. “Thank you.”
She returned my smile. “You’re welcome. What’s your name?”
“My name is Eris,” I replied. “Eris Snow.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Eris. I am Valentina Tharn, heiress of House Tharn.” She took my hand in hers. “Come, let’s get you out of here.”