Dovahkiin

The next couple of days were monotonous for Marcus. Wake up early in the morning and go to Whiterun's market with one of the youngsters to purchase food for the Companions. Marcus had wanted to repay them with the septims he had received, but Kodlak refused and offered the alternative of buying their groceries. The Harbinger's idea was that Marcus could get used to the city and familiarize himself with the people living in it, and the younger Companions as well. As Vilkas had told him, he was already considered part of their group.

Marcus wanted to use his own gold to buy the food, but the Harbinger rejected that as well. Kodlak's exact words were. "The Companions are almost as old as Skyrim. We have so much gold on our hands that we don't even know what to use it on. Keep your septims and use them for your own. I'm sure you will need them."

Most of the food was bought from an Imperial woman named Carlotta. She was a single mother of a little girl named Mila. Her prices were fair, and her food was fresh. She had an agreement with the Companions to set aside a set amount of it for them. They've heard of her situation and made sure that she always sold as much as she could. And from what he learned, they gave her quite a hefty tip as well. After all, taking care of a child in Skyrim as a single parent wasn't an easy thing. Especially with the civil war going on.

Marcus also met his first Redguard, and quite frankly, the man didn't make a good first impression. Nazeem was the most arrogant man he had met so far. He spoke condescendingly to Carlotta or anyone that his eyes saw for that matter. He also made sure to mention how successful his farm was and how he personally advises the Jarl at least twice in every conversation. It's safe to say that Marcus already hated Nazeem as much as Farengar hated the Dark Elf that gave him the book.

After having a loud breakfast with the boisterous group known as the Companions, Marcus would start his training with them. He was someone that loved practice since he was a child. The feeling of improvement and knowing that you are better than the previous day, gave him satisfaction.

However, the training with the Companions was different than the one he was used to since it involved lots and lots of pain, but it was slowly growing on him. Mostly because he was getting less and less hurt during his spars with them. Marcus wasn't a prodigy that could pick up a sword and become an expert with the blade in a day, but he had the unfair advantage called Stamina potions. He still hated the dreadful vial, but he knew that he had to use it, despite no liking it.

After finishing his training with the Companions, Marcus would try meditating to connect to his Magicka. He managed to read the book that Farengar gave him on the first day since it wasn't that long. It had a few words that he had no idea what they meant, but he managed to make some conclusions on them. The book started with a few theories as to where Magicka comes from before jumping into what exactly it is. From what he learned, all the creatures in Nirn had Magicka, but not all of them knew of it or how to use it.

The first step for every aspiring mage was to get in touch with his Magicka, which involved meditating. On the first day, Marcus had absolutely no success. The only thing he achieved was getting himself annoyed and falling asleep while sitting. On the second day, he managed to feel something within him. It wasn't cold or hot, and he couldn't put into words how that energy felt, but he was sure he had finally connected with his Magicka. He still had no idea how to use it, but he at least knew that he had it.

Marcus had also asked Kodlak if he could borrow a few of his books since he learned from the rest of the Companions that the old man loved reading. He needed a hobby, something that would let him relax, and reading seemed like the only option, especially since he now knew that the books were in English. There was also the fact that Marcus could learn more about the world that he was thrown in.

One particular book really caught his attention, The Book of the Dragonborn. Marcus tried to be discreet about it and picked up a couple other books before grabbing that one from Kodlak's collection, but the knowing smile of the Harbinger spoke otherwise. He wasn't sure if he was found out, but he didn't question the old man in case he wasn't. Better to be safe than sorry.

The book was no bigger than The Basics of Magicka, but it had a lot more foreign words that he didn't recognize. At least he was able to understand what being a Dragonborn means, and he wasn't sure how much he liked that. The last bit of the book spoke about a prophecy that had originated from an Elder Scroll, whatever that may be. None of it made sense to him except for the last part of the prophecy. 'The World-Eater wakes, and the Wheel turns upon the Last Dragonborn.' Just that sentence alone made the weight on his shoulders even heavier than it already was. That was what the Dragon that attacked Helgen called itself, the World-Eater.

Early in the morning, on the third day since his return to Whiterun, Aela asked him if he would want to go on a task with her. Unlike the previous time, she didn't force him, but she gave him the option to refuse if he didn't want to. Aela told him the task was about a bandit camp settled in a watchtower and attacking caravans that passed by. Marcus wanted to refuse, but he knew that she was doing this for him, she was helping him grow stronger as fast as possible.

In the end, he agreed, and the two left Whiterun, just as Skjor was returning. Marcus froze with his jaw hanging loose, seeing the Companion pulling a massive beast. Skjor's armor was banged up, but he didn't seem to have any injuries. The same couldn't be said about the mammoth that he was pulling, though. Marcus had read in one of the books he got from Kodlak that mammoths existed in Skyrim, but seeing one was a whole different story. The beast was massive, to say the least, yet Skjor was pulling it with only a bit of difficulty from what he saw. He couldn't understand how some of the Companions had a strength that seemed to be far above anyone else.

After a quick chat with Skjor and informing him that the two would be going on a task together, they left towards the bandit camp. Not before Skjor sent Marcus a nasty glare, which he couldn't understand why.

The watchtower that the bandits were taking residence in wasn't that far away from Whiterun, just a couple hours on foot. Riding on a horse was fun and time-saving, but spending time with only Aela made the journey nicer.

The task was the most successful one Marcus had so far. Which wasn't that big of an achievement, considering how the previous two went. He had handled almost all of the bandits on his own. Out of the 9 bandits taking residence in the watchtower, he killed 6 of them. That was already quite remarkable compared to his previous tasks, but the biggest achievement was that he hadn't been injured nor ruined his armor. Using a shield to block, rather than a dagger to parry attacks, was a lot easier. Who would have thought?

Marcus was still disgusted from killing others, but being praised by Aela and seeing her proud smile made what he had just done almost worth it. She didn't smile often, but every time she did, especially when she was smiling at him, he felt giddy with excitement. Even the face paint on her face couldn't hide how beautiful she was, but when she smiled, she looked stunning, to say the least.

On the way back to Whiterun, Marcus asked Aela how could such a little group of bandits be such a menace. From what he had seen so far, everyone that was old enough to hold a weapon carried one. If the people hired a few guards, surely they would be able to hold off and deal with the bandits.

"Before the civil war started, you wouldn't have been able to see such a small bandit camp. But now, none of the Jarls allow their men to be hired as bodyguards. There was also quite a lot of adventures going around, but almost all of them are now fighting in the civil war." Aela informed him.

"What about groups like the Companions?" Marcus asked.

"Hah." Aela let out a sad laugh. "Even we suffered from the civil war. Some of us picked a side to support and left the Companions to fight in the war. Vignar Gray-Mane, our oldest member, even older than Kodlak, had to leave since he is a supporter of the Stormcloaks. He wanted us to join him and help the rebels, but Kodlak refused him. The old man doesn't want us to get involved with this war."

The two walked back to Whiterun while casually chatting. They passed the city gates a bit before evening. As they were walking towards the market, a guard flew by them, running as fast as his legs could carry him. That caught their attention, and they thought something bad must have happened to cause such a reaction in the guard.

Pass the market, they found Skjor sitting on the steps leading to Jorrvaskr. The old Companion was staring at Marcus, evaluating the young man. Skjor had heard from the rest how he had cleared a Nordic ruin with only a single guard assisting him, and he was quite surprised by that. After all, he was the one that tested Marcus's fighting capabilities and knew that the young Nord didn't even know how to use a weapon no more than a week ago. He stood up from his spot and was about to address him, but before he could open his mouth, a terrified guard ran to them.

"Marcus! The Jarl needs you now!" The panic in his voice was clear to anyone that heard him. "Follow me! We have no time!" Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Marcus and pulled him towards Dragonsreach. Aela wanted to follow them in case the Jarl gives Marcus another task, which will make him leave Whiterun. Skjor stopped her, however. "He will have to pass here, let's just wait for him."

They entered the castle, and the guards didn't even take his weapons. That made Marcus have a bad feeling about this. The guard brought him to the second floor of Dragonsreach, where the Jarl and the people he trusted the most were gathered.

"Now that everyone is here." The Jarl said with dread in his voice. "I will have to tell you the bad news. The guards have spotted a Dragon nearby."

That one word, Dragon, caused multiple reactions to the people there. The two most obvious ones were Marcus and Farengar. The court mage jumped with excitement before dashing towards his room. Marcus, on the other hand, visibly started shaking. Flashbacks of the monstrosity with its hellish eyes filled his head. 'Whiterun is doomed. The city stands no chance,' Were his only thoughts. Helgen was annihilated, and if he was correct, it should have been filled with Imperial soldiers, considering they were preparing to execute the leader of the Stormcloaks. Whiteruun stood no chance against the Dragon.

Marcus was scared out of his mind. He wanted to run as far away as possible, but resolve filled his eyes. 'No! I can't run away. The people of Whiterun have been nothing but kind to me. I don't know if I'm this Dragonborn, but I will do whatever I can to at least allow them to escape!' He didn't think he can protect them, but he was going to do whatever he can to at least give them a chance to survive. Except for Nazeem, the Dragon could eat him for all he cared.

"Where exactly was the Dragon spotted?" Marcus asked or more like demanded to know, catching them by surprise. His tone was not something they expected from him.

"The Western Watchtower. The guard said it was flying circles above them, but hadn't attacked them before he ran to inform us." Balgruuf said. The clogs in Marcus's head were spinning as fast as they could. "We fight it there while you prepare to evacuate the city."

Again, Marcus stunned the people there. They knew he was good-natured and mostly talked when spoken to. Now, he looked like a different person, however. Like someone who was about to go to war, a war that he knew he wasn't coming back from.

Balgruuf had to reevaluate the young Nord. He had called him to possibly get some input on what they could do, but he had no plans of throwing him against the Dragon. He liked Marcus and didn't want to send him to his death. He had already done enough for Whiterun, but now, he was willing to against a monster not seen in thousands of years, only to give the people of Whiterun a chance to survive. The worst part was that it was the best they could do. Farengar hadn't found any weakness, and they didn't have any sure way of taking it down.

"Thank you, friend." Balgruuf placed his hands on Marcus's shoulders. "For everything you've done." He then turned towards his housecarl. "Irileth, gather some of our men and go to the watchtower with Marcus."

Irileth raised her fist and hit her chest. "I've already sent word for my best men to gather in front of the building."

At that moment, Farengar came back, and if the situation wasn't as serious, Marcus would have burst out laughing. The mage was hugging a staff and a bunch of scrolls in his hands, in his mouth he had another staff, on his waist there were two big leather bags with scrolls sticking out of them, and two smaller bags, which most likely had potions. No one even knew how he even planned to fight like that while carrying so many items.

"Farengar, you are not allowed to go after the Dragon." Balgruuf said with a stern voice. Farengar's jaws hung loosely as the staff fell out of his mouth. "We need you in the city, you might end up being our last line of defense."

"Fine!" Farengar reluctantly said. He took one of the leather bags with scrolls and handed it to Irileth. The mage then gave her one of the smaller ones and handed the other to Marcus.

"Let's go, we have to stop it before it reaches the city." Irileth said, and Marcus followed after her, his eyes flickered with determination. He didn't think he was anyone special, but if his life could save the thousands living in Whiterun, then he was ready to give it away.

Balgruuf watched them run out of Dragonsreach with watery eyes. If he wasn't as old, he would be going with them, leading the way, but he was already past his prime. "May the Divines watch over you." He softly whispered. He hoped they would be successful, but deep down he knew, that was almost impossible. Helgen, a city filled with soldiers, was destroyed by the Dragon, and most likely, Whiterun will be the next. What he needed to do now was to make sure his citizens have a chance to live.

Aela and Skjor were waiting for Marcus in the market place when they saw him and Irileth quickly running and leading about 40 guards behind them. He was focused on what's to come and didn't even notice the two. The only thing on his mind was the Dragon and nothing else. The huntress was having none of that, however. She grabbed his arm and pulled him aside when they were passing them. "What's happening?"

"A Dragon has been spotted nearby. Tell the old man and the rest to get away from here as fast as possible." Marcus turned to follow the guards, but Aela's iron grip held him in place.

"And where are you going?" Aela asked with anger.

"I have to help them. No, I need to help them! Now, let me go!" Aela was taken back. This was the first time he had ever raised his voice against her. She wanted to punch him hard, but seeing his face, Aela knew she couldn't do it. He was desperate but filled with conviction, and she realized she couldn't stop him.

"I'm coming along." Aela declared. "Skjor."

"I'm not gonna let you two kill yourselves. And besides, I've never had the chance to hunt a Dragon before." Skjor said with a grin.

Marcus wanted to rebuke, he wanted to push Aela away and tell her to run from here, but her face said it all. She wouldn't take no for an answer. He cared for her a lot, a lot more than he would have liked to admit. "Please, if the situation gets dire, run away." Marcus pleaded, but from her lack of response, he knew that wouldn't happen. He let out a sad sigh and chased after the guards with the two behind him. They quickly caught up to them and shortly passed the city gates.

The people outside of Whiterun were panicking, already seen the Dragon. 'This will make it easier then.' Irileth though before shouting. "Run, run away as fast as possible, but those who want to slay a Dragon, follow me!"

Few took her offer, and most of them were Nords. But two of them stood out, and Irileth recognized them. They were quite famous around Whiterun. Both of them were large, far larger than normal Nords. They had nothing but pants on them and two massive war hammers in their hands. Norrmir and Morrmir Trollbane with their Banhammers. With the new additions, their group reached 60 men.

As they approached the tower, it became quite clear that the Dragon had already attacked it. Fire burned around it, and the building was already falling apart. Irileth was scanning around with her fierce red eyes, looking for any signs of the Dragon, but it was nowhere to be seen. "Spread out and look for survivors." She commanded.

Marcus and Irileth, with Aela and Skjor following behind them, went to the tower. They ran up the collapsing stairs leading to it when a guard popped out of the entrance. "No! Get back! It's still here somewhere." The guard yelled. "Hroki and Tor just got grabbed when they tried to make a run for it."

They didn't get the chance to question him when a roar echoed from behind the mountains nearby. "Kynareth, save us. Here it comes again." The guard said with a trembling voice.

"It's coming! Spread around and make every arrow count!" Irileth shouted. No matter how tall one or how big his weapon was, they couldn't hit a flying foe without a bow and arrow. Or magic, but she was the only one capable of that from their group.

Marcus ran up the tower with a few archers and Aela behind him. There were a few burned corpses on the top, but no one paid them any attention. They were all focused on the monstrosity that was flying towards them, and Aela was the only one that didn't freeze up upon seeing it.

Marcus was scared, even more so than the guards since they haven't seen what a Dragon can do. The determination that he had was slowly leaking out of him. Saying that you would do whatever it takes to fight a Dragon and doing it were two different things.

'No! I can't freeze up now!' Marcus screamed and quickly pulled an arrow from his quiver. As if in sync, both Marcus and Aela shot their arrows at the same time. They both hit the Dragon, but that only annoyed it since both arrows bounced off its tough scales. Despite that, they continued shooting arrows at the beast. That snapped the archers out of their daze, and they assisted them.

The Dragon opened its mouth, "Yol Toor!" and a collum of fire erupted from it. Marcus wasn't sure if he should be thankful or not, considering the Dragon aimed its fire breath at the people on the ground. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw at least a 5 of the guards get scorched from its attack. Nevertheless, he continued shooting arrows with the rest on top of the tower, but their attacks were still not as effective as he wished they were. From time to time, a fireball, ice pike, or a bolt of lightning would fly and hit the Dragon. Courtesy of Irileth and the scrolls that were given to her by Farengar.

Finally, they had some success when one of the arrows, shot by Aela, hit the Dragon's left wing, and it actually stuck there. "Shoot the wings! That's its weak spot. We need to take it down." Aela shouted to them, but that was easier said than done. They continued shooting it, and more than a few arrows found their marks.

One arrow shot by Aela missed but managed to lodge itself between the scales of the Dragon's neck. And that infuriated the beast. At the start, it didn't care about the pesky archers and was having fun torching the mortals on the ground. Now, that changed. It did a u-turn in the air and flew towards the tower. When it neared, the Dragon opened its mouth "Fus Ro!". Marcus knew what was going to happen, but he didn't have the time to warn the rest. The only thing he managed to do was grab Aela and pull her in his arms, as the shockwave threw the people on top of the tower in the air. If he was going to make sure that someone survives the fall, he would choose Aela a 100 out of 100 times.

The Dragon wanted to fly up after using his shout, but due to all the arrows in his wings, it misjudged its strength. It crashed into the tower before falling on the ground. That was the moment everyone was waiting for.

Norrmir and Morrmir were one of the first to act. Both shouted "Mul!" before sprinting towards the Dragon. Skjor, who despite being older, and wearing steel armor, was even faster than them. He couldn't allow it to lift off the ground again, or else they might not get another chance. With his greatsword in his hands, he reached the Dragon in seconds. Mustering all the strength he had, he swung it with all his power towards the Dragon's wing. The sword cut deep, and blood spewed out of the wound.

The Dragon roared in pain and snapped its neck towards Skjor. It hit him with its head and sent the Companion flying towards the watchtower's walls. At that moment, Norrmir and Morrmir reached the Dragon. They swung their Banhammers with a mighty force and slammed them on its other wing. Effectively crippling the Dragon from flying again. But just because it couldn't fly, it didn't mean that the beast was defenseless nor scared from the annoying mortals. The Dragon roared in pain once again, but it didn't hesitate the slightest and chomped towards Morrmir. Its powerful jaws bit Morrmir and crushed the Nord, while its tail hit Norrmir and sent him flying.

Meanwhile, Marcus had fallen on the ground with Aela on top of him. He was breathing hard, and his vision was fading, but he was still alive for the time being. The only reason for that was because of Aela. She had crushed the contents of his potion pouch, and the liquid had spewed all over him, being absorbed in his body and slowly healing him. Seeing his state, the huntress remembered what Marcus had told her on their first task together. "I will protect you with my life if I have to."

"Don't you dare die on me!" Aela yelled with watery eyes while taking whatever potions she had on her and pouring them in his mouth. "I will never forgive you if you die!"

Aela was angry. Angry at him, angry at herself, and angry at the Dragon. She should have known that he will do something stupid like that. She should have told him that she wouldn't have died from such a fall due to what she was. She shouldn't have kept secrets from him, and she promised to herself that she won't, as long as they survive this.

When she saw that Marcus had stabilized and already attempting to stand up, she turned towards the Dragon. For a moment, she thought of transforming but shook her head out of that idea. If she did it now, and the guards survived this ordeal, she will have to run away from Whiterun, and most importantly, run away from Marcus. Else, she will put him in danger. Still, even without her transformation, Aela was strong, and she will show this Dragon exactly how strong she was. It will pay dearly for harming Marcus, she will make sure of that.

When Marcus regained his bearings, he slowly stood up and saw three figures dancing around the Dragon. The rest of the guards were either dead or dragging those that weren't away from the being of destruction. Skjor was chopping its scales with each swing of his greatsword. Norrmir was swinging his Banhammer in a frenzy. Clearly, he was enraged, judging by his shouting. While Aela was wielding a sword in each hand and taking its attention from the other two. She was moving incredibly fast and expertly dodging all of the Dragon's attacks.

Marcus unsheathed his sword and dagger, prepared to go and assist them. His shield was nowhere to be seen, but it wasn't going to do much against the Dragon. As frightened as he was from the beast, the thought of it hurting Aela scared him even more. Before he took a step towards the Dragon, he watched with wide eyes as it landed a hit on the huntress with its tail and sent her flying before shouting, "Fus Ro!" and sending the other two men flying as well. Aela crashed into the watchtower and weakly slumped down. Marcus's vision turned red at that, and a power he didn't even know he had erupted from within him.

The Dragon sensed something and snapped his head towards Marcus. "Dovahkiin." It uttered, and for the first time since the beginning of this fight, it felt fear. Even when its wings were crippled and his body damaged, it didn't feel the primal emotion. For the Dragon knew that mortals couldn't kill it. They could even chop its head off, but in the end, it will still come back. Alduin would make sure of that. But the half-mortal, half-dragon that was running at it with a faint blue aura of Magicka around him was a different case. The Dragon wanted to fly away from his half-sibling, but with its wings crippled and body bleeding, the only option left was to fight its most dreadful enemy in a weakened state.

Dovahkiin had two meanings in the Dragon language. The first, which was known amongst the mortals, being Dragonborn, a mortal born with the blood and soul of a Dragon. The second, which was known amongst the Dragons, being Dragonkind-Hunter-Born, the natural enemy and predator of the Dragons, the only being that could truly put them down.

Marcus knew what he was supposed to do. This was his calling, his mission, his purpose. With Magicka empowering his muscles, Marcus was sprinting as fast his legs could carry him. Time had already slowed down to a crawl for him when he neared the Dragon.

The beast opened its mouth, and its head shot out, trying to chomp on the Dragonborn. Marcus was clearly able to see the attack coming and allowed the instincts of a Dragonkind-Hunter-Born to lead him. He spun away from the Dragon's jaws, narrowly avoiding them. With the dagger, held in a reverse grip, he stabbed the Dragon in the eye as he turned around. Using it as it a leverage, he pulled himself on top of the beast. And with the Skyforge Steel Sword given to him by the Companions, he stabbed, and stabbed, and stabbed, the top of the Dragon's head where its scales were missing.

If Marcus didn't have a sword made of Skyforge Steel, if the Dragon wasn't in a weakened state with many of its scales missing, if Marcus's muscles weren't empowered by the small amount of Magicka that he had, and if the Dragon had attacked the people on top of the watchtower first rather than playing with those on the ground, he wouldn't have had a chance against it. But alas, the odds were in his favor.

Marcus didn't know how many times he had stabbed the beast in his maddened state, but at some point, the Dragon had slumped down. He was still stabbing it when the body of the Dragon began to glow. Soon its flesh began burning into orange and white energy that flew above Marcus before that energy rushed into the Dragonborn.

Marcus's entire body felt like it was burning, and a massive amount of memories flooded his brain. The energy from the dead Dragon was slowly changing his body, molding it into a true Dragonkind-Hunter-Born. The process was more than painful, and he couldn't stop himself from screaming in pain. He didn't know how long that lasted, but at some point, the pain faded, and the only thing left was a strange energy in his body. An energy that he desperately wanted to release or his body would explode.

The Dragonborn raised his head towards the skies and shouted. "Fus!" And a shockwave erupted from his mouth. After the incident at Bleak Falls Barrow, he had tried numerous times to mimic the Draugr and shout the word engraved in his soul, but he had never managed to succeed. Until now.

No longer feeling as if he is about to explode, Marcus wanted to rush over to Aela. However, he couldn't take even a single step before he collapsed unconscious. The fatigue of his body being reconstructed was too much for him, and he fell on the ground.

The people that had survived the fight stared at him in disbelief before someone weakly said. "Dragonborn." That was all it took before all the Nords started shouting the same. A few of them couldn't resist and bowed down to Marcus, thanking the Divines for sending him there.

Throughout the history of Nirn, Dragonborns had always been great heroes and leaders of their people, to the point where they would ascend as divine beings upon their death. Reman Cyrodiil and Tiber Septim being examples of that. Both of them were heroes, kings, emperors, before finally becoming Gods. And now, someone who could potentially follow in their footsteps was in front of them.

Aela was the one that broke their cheers when she ran to Marcus in a hurry. She didn't care if he was a Dragonborn or not, she only wanted to know if he was okay. After finding out that he was breathing, she cupped his head and hugged him tightly, afraid that he will disintegrate like the Dragon.

Irileth was the next to make a move. "Everyone, gather the wounded we need to return to Whiterun for them to be treated! I promise you will all be rewarded by the Jarl for this ordeal!"

Aela picked up Marcus, not allowing any of the Nords to come close to him. Which they dearly wanted to, judging by the looks on their faces.

The return to Whiterun was filled with emotions. The guards that died in the fight against the Dragon had families and friends, which will never see them again. They were sad that their comrades have fallen, but they also had a spark of joy, knowing that a Dragonborn was amongst them.

Aela wanted to bring Marcus to Jorrvaskr, but Irileth demanded for him to be brought to Dragonsreach. Word will soon reach the citizens of Whiterun that Marcus was the Dragonborn, and the safest place for him will be in the Jarl's castle. Aela couldn't disagree with that and relented, but only if she stayed near him. Irileth had no problem with that since everyone that fought the Dragon will certainly be rewarded by the Jarl.

After bringing all the wounded to the temple of Kynareth, the rest made their way to Dragonsreach. Seeing them return victorious, Balgruuf barely stopped himself from crying tears of happiness. Irileth had served him for many years, and she was someone dear to him. Sending her against the Dragon was one of the hardest choices in his life.

"I'm so happy that you are back!" Balgruuf hugged her tightly.

"My Jarl, this is not appropriate for your image." Irileth whispered in his embrace.

"My image be dammed. It would mean nothing if the people close to me are gone." Balgruuf said without loosening his grasp on his housecarl. He hugged her for a minute longer before releasing her. "Tell me, Irileth, what happened?"

His housecarl informed him of the fight with the Dragon, from the start when it appeared to the end when it died under Marcus's blade. Just as she mentioned how everyone called him Dragonborn, a thunderous voice echoed throughout Skyrim. "DOVAHKIIN!"

"The Greybeards?" Balgruuf said in surprise before turning towards Marcus, who was still unconscious in Aela's arms. "That confirms it." The Jarl thought for a moment before turning to everyone else that had entered his castle.

"I thank you all on behalf of Whiterun for protecting the city when I couldn't do the same. Please follow me to the hall where all of you will be fed, and we will discuss your rewards." He then addressed Irileth. "Bring Marcus to a room where he could safely rest and recover."

"Yes, my Jarl." Irileth nodded and wanted to take Marcus off Aela, but the sharp glare from the huntress made her realize that won't happen. "Follow me." She told her.

The housecarl brought Aela to a guest room in Dragonsreach, where the huntress laid Marcus on a bed. "Let's go to the hall for the feast." Irileth said, but the only response from Aela was her taking a chair and placing it next to the bed. The huntress sat down and stared at Marcus, lost in her thought. Understanding that Aela wouldn't leave, Irileth let out a sigh before closing the door.

During the feast, Balgruuf rewarded everyone that participated in the fight with gold and a weapon from his personal treasury. He also promised that to reward the families of those that passed away. Finally, it was time to reward their missing hero. "I, Jarl Balgruuf the Greater will announce that Marcus Nord will be now known as Thane of Whiterun. He will be awarded a weapon from my treasury, a housecarl, and Breezehome as his personal home in the city!"

That wasn't a hard decision for Balgruuf to make. Knowing that Marcus is a Dragonborn, he planned to take advantage of him, as much as he didn't want to. But he had no other choice if he wanted to protect the people of Whiterun.

Normally, a Thane wouldn't be given a house, but rather given the option to purchase a property in the city. That didn't seem like the smart choice for Balgruuf in this situation, not when he knew how much political power Marcus would have when word gets spread that the Dragonborn was living in Whiterun. Both the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks would have to think twice before attempting to attack his hold.

The Imperials were the milder group from the two, but if they attacked, they would lose any kind of support they have in Skyrim. The same was for the Stormcloaks, but for them, it would be even more severe. Ulfric's greed knew no bounds, that much he knew, considering he walked up to the newly crowned High King and murdered him on his wedding, just because he wanted that same position. But if the greedy Nord attempted anything against Whiterun and the Dragonborn, all the Nords would turn against him. For the main reason Ulfric was able to get so much support from the Nords, was because of the worship of Talos, also known as Tiber Septim during his time as a mortal, being banned.

Now that Marcus was the Thane of Whiterun and had a house in the city, that would give Balgruuf a lot of breathing room with denying the requests of both parties.