Chapter 2 – The Road to Riverwood

The bright light of the open blue sky blinded Twilight as she exited the cave. Once she could see again, the scenery took her breath away. The air was crisp with a chill that seemed to go straight to her bones. It felt natural to the environment but was also nearly the polar opposite of the warm breezes of Ponyville. The greenery around her seemed to stun her as the sense of cold further settled in. It didn’t seem possible for things to grow in this kind of cold weather. It was colder than she was comfortable with, and she knew that it would be even colder at night.

Before she could say or do anything, the dragon roared overhead, and she found herself ducking next to a giant rock beside Hadvar. To both their surprise and relief, the dragon continued on its way without spotting them, flying directly above an ancient nearby ruin and then, finally, out of sight.

Hadvar exhaled. “It looks like it’s finally gone. My home village of Riverwood is just up the road. I’d like you to meet my Uncle Alvor and see if maybe he can hook you up with some supplies. After that… you will be free to go wherever you please. Though… I would request that you consider traveling to Solitude and join the Imperial Legion. You handled yourself well against the Stormcloaks and we will need magic to take down dragons. The pay isn’t bad, and you’ll be able to fight for a worthy cause. Legionnaires typically aren’t allowed to loot but we could give you an exception to that little rule as an enlistment bonus.”

Twilight considered the offer while she walked beside him. “I will consider it, but I want to weigh my options. I still don’t know much about the situation here. If I’m being completely honest… I’m not sure it’s my place to interfere in the conflict.” She shivered as they walked. “Can you tell me more about where we are? Is it always this cold here?”

Hadvar looked at her with some concern. “Well… we are near the southern most region of the province of Skyrim, technically in Falkreath Hold currently but once we reach Riverwood… we’ll be in Whiterun Hold. Skyrim has nine holds, each with a different ruler, and is itself at the upper-most part of Tamriel as an important part of the Septim Empire, currently under the rule of the Mede Dynasty. It gets colder the further north you travel and… this is mid fall, the 17th day of Last Seed. It will get colder during the actual winter months and places like Dawnstar and Winterhold have snow on the ground year-round. You will have to dress warmly if you plan to travel at length, or carry soups heated with fire salts to warm you up or be prepared to set up a camp. Camping can be dangerous with wildlife or bandits, so you’d have to pick the camping ground with care. The safest option would be to stay at an Inn. It only costs 10 gold to rent a room for the night and nearly all the Inns will let you cook your own meals at their fire if you pay for the room first. Of course, if you have nothing to cook, you’ll have to pay for your meal. The meals at the Inns cost more than the room does, usually. It helps to be prepared.”

The road they travelled on was rustic and despite the dragon attack on Helgen, or perhaps because of it… deserted. The quiet allowed Twilight time to think.

That explains why he didn’t complain about all the food and wine I grabbed in the Keep even when it was slowing us down. I’ll have to cook for myself until I can afford not to. If I can ever afford not to… Life sounds expensive here and its not like I have a royal stipend anymore.

She reached into her bag and grabbed a piece of cheese and bread. She broke both in half and handed Hadvar his half. “Here. Eat something. After all that fighting I bet you’re hungry and we need to keep our strength up until we reach the safety of town.”

He took the food gladly and ate quickly, not wanting to be caught off guard by bandits or wolves. He swallowed the last of the meager meal and pointed.

“See that? That’s Bleak Falls Barrow. I used to have nightmares about that place… draugr crawling down the mountain at night… that sort of thing.”

Twilight looked at the ruin with both awe and dread. She pursed her lips. “What’s a draugr?”

Hadvar glanced at her curiously. “You’ve never heard of a draugr? I wish I could travel to where you’re from…” He cleared his throat. “Draugrs are Ancient Nords that were cursed with un-death for betraying their dragon overlords. Now, they guard the now ancient ruins, protecting it forever from all threats while waiting for the return of the dragons. Now that dragons are back… maybe their behavior will change. To be honest… it scares me to think what else might happen.”

Twilight was somber as she considered the fact that she appeared right at what would be considered an important change in daily life here in Skyrim. An important change that would be noted in history or stories or songs… however these people recorded such things.

I wonder if history will remember me… or if there will be a song about me?

Twilight turned back to Hadvar. “Do you recall any stories about ponies? From your reaction to my presence… we aren’t common here.”

Hadvar scratched his face. “You’re the only pony I’ve personally met, that’s for sure. And only two old stories stand out to me. The first story is from about 650 years ago. There was a pony named Celestia that traveled with Talos of Atmora and helped him conquer all of Tamriel, where he was then crowned Tiber Septim and founded the Septim Empire. She disappeared without a trace shortly after he was crowned Emperor. The second story is from about 200 years ago. Another pony named Luna traveled with Prince Martin Septim and helped him defeat Mehrunes Dagon to end the Oblivion crisis… although Martin did die in the effort… efficiently ending the Septim bloodline. If any other ponies did travel here, they did nothing to be remembered by.”

Twilight’s eyes shrank to pinpricks as the ramifications of the story filtered through her mind and she was having trouble trying to rationalize it in a way that made sense to her.

Okay… no problem… either time works differently here, or the Elder Scroll simply sent all three of us to random different parts of these people’s history without regard to the flow of time in my world. Just don’t panic…

Hadvar picked that time to ask an inconvenient question. “Have you heard of them? The legendary pony heroes?”

Twilight winced. “I have… um. Would you call me crazy if I told you something… um… completely unbelievable?”

Hadvar shrugged. “You seem to have a good head on your shoulders. You’re smart… well educated, if still a little naïve. You’ve said or done nothing to strike me as crazy, although, you do seem to be a little lost and unsure as to where you are or what you were supposed to be doing, which does give me some cause for concern. You do seem to be honest, whenever possible, and I doubt you could keep an important secret for very long, especially if it was weighing on your mind. If it makes you feel any better, I could promise to hear you out, and if I can’t believe it… I’ll simply pretend you never said anything, and we can still be friends.”

Twilight took in a deep breath. “Okay… first… Celestia and Luna are sisters. Second… they share the rule of my homeland of Equestria as immortal Goddess Princesses, and they are still alive to this day. Third… Celestia was my personal teacher and under her guidance… I became the 4th Goddess Princess of my people. And finally… Celestia herself sent me here… to become stronger. To learn the law of tooth and fang. To be worthy of replacing her on the throne of my people. I am lost… but only because I was sent here with magic and I only have a vague sense of how this world works. With enough help… I may be able to fulfil my destiny… whatever that may be. So… I’m sorry in advance if I ask any weird questions that should be commonsense.”

Hadvar took in a deep breath and released it. “Okay… well… oh! These are the Guardian Stones… three of the thirteen stones that dot Skyrim’s landscape. One is the warrior stone, another is the thief stone, and the final one is the mage stone. The stones are said to bestow a magical blessing to those that seek their power.”

Twilight face palmed. He doesn’t believe me. Oh well… it is hard to believe.

Twilight cleared her throat. “And what kind of blessing does it bestow?”

Hadvar pointed at each stone. “All experience is divided into 18 skills. These stones increase the experience gained from actions related to five to seven skills per class by a full 20% which will in turn help you gain levels and access more skills in the form of divinely gifted ‘perk points’. The mage stone increases Alternation, Conjuration, Destruction, Illusion, Restoration, and Enchanting magics. The thief stone increases Archery, Alchemy, Light Armor, Lockpicking, Pickpocket, Sneak, and Speech. The warrior stone increases Block, Heavy Armor, One-handed weapons, Two-handed weapons, and Smithing. The other ten stones across Skyrim do different things but could be more useful depending on the path that you choose to walk.”

Hadvar pursed his lips and offered his take on it. “In your case… you are naturally gifted in magic… so the mage stone would be a natural choice. The thief stone would aide you in general adventuring, if you wanted an early edge in those common skills. The warrior stone would help you survive combat… at least in the general sense of improving the core melee fighting skills faster… that is… if you ever put yourself into the position to use them.”

Twilight pursed her lips. “That makes it a hard choice. I expect that I’ll use enough magic that I won’t need a boost to the experience that I need to earn… levels? Also… my teacher made it clear that I need to learn skills other than what I already know. I suppose… that given that I’m wearing light armor and need more experience with both speech and lockpicking… the thief stone makes the most sense for me, at this time. Can I change my mind later?”

Hadvar cleared his throat. “According to legend, you can choose a standing stone blessing once every 24 hours. However… unless you’re very special… you can only have one standing stone blessing active at a time… so you’ll need to choose wisely.”

Twilight nodded and touched the thief stone. She hummed. “The legends appear to be true. I can feel the magical blessing enter me.”

Hadvar cleared his throat. “I’m sure that you are content with your choice, shall we be off?”

Twilight nodded toward him. “Of course… lead on.” She cast a quick glance at him.

He’s probably miffed that I didn’t choose warrior. Why would I choose the stone that gives the experience improvement for five skills over seven skills?

As they left the Guardian Stones, the conversation had stalled. Twilight was silently worried that she had ruined their friendship with the hard truth of who and what she was, or with her choice of thief over mage or warrior. She frowned as she observed Hadvar’s movements.

He seems rather tense. Maybe I should just observe and learn from him?

Hadvar was alert, as if he knew danger was nearby. As they rounded another bend, three wolves seemed to abandon a deer and charged for them.

Twilight raised her hands with the charged sparks spell immediately and took down two of the wolves while Hadvar had put the last one to the sword. The fight was intense, but short.

Hadvar sighed. “This seems like the perfect chance to teach you how to harvest a wolf skin as well as a deer skin, antlers and venison meat.”

Twilight watched closely, despite her stomach protesting, and quickly learned everything that Hadvar was willing to teach. He insisted that she take the dagger personally and clean the kill as well as make the cuts of venison. Under his expert hunting skills that seemed to come from having lived in Skyrim all his life, she managed to get 20 cuts at 2 pounds each.

He seemed pleased with her work and his own teaching. “40 pounds of meat is more than I expected from a deer this size. You did a good job of cleaning it. That should feed you for a decent amount of time.”

Twilight inwardly cringed at the idea of eating the meat herself but smiled at him. “Thank you for teaching me. If everything else you’ve said is true, I’ll need this food.”

They resumed their walk down the road and Hadvar asked her a question she wasn’t expecting.

“What is your unique racial trait and skill?”

Twilight blinked. “Pardon?”

Hadvar explained. “All ten common races within Tamriel have one passive racial trait and one activatable racial skill that can be used once per day. As a Nord… I am 50% resistant to Cold, which lets me take less damage from Frost magic and I’ll freeze to death 50% slower than a non-Nord, which would let me travel longer while taking fewer precautions. I can also use Battle Cry, which will force weaker foes to flee for a short time, allowing me to focus on the stronger foe. I’ve never met a pony… so I’m curious what your racial trait and skill is…”

Twilight looked within herself to the menu of information that was previously unavailable to her. She was more than happy to answer Hadvar although the information was weird.

“Um. I have four racial traits and one active skill.”

Hadvar stopped walking. “How is that possible?”

Twilight met his gaze. “There are three normal pony races; Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns… and then there are the Alicorns… which rule over them. Alicorns have the traits of all three of the other pony races. While I was born a Unicorn… once I became an Alicorn through magical means, I gained the traits of all three other races plus my own unique Alicorn trait. At any rate… I have four passive racial traits and one activatable skill.”

Hadvar nodded slowly, coming to terms with what she said. “And what are they?”

Twilight was slightly apprehension about sharing the information, worried that it might be used against her, but she trusted Hadvar and was willing to enlighten him. She spoke calmly and factually.

“The Pegasi in me… with their ability to control the weather, grants me a 50% reduced damaged from Lightning-based Magic. The Earth Pony in me… grants 50 extra starting Stamina with 25 extra carry weight because of their physical strength. The Unicorn in me… with our advanced understanding of magic… gives me a 25% reduced mana cost on the casting of any spell from any school of spellcraft. And the Alicorn in me, being a race of advanced magical prowess, gives me 100 extra starting Mana. My level one stats give me 100 health, 150 stamina and 200 mana.”

Hadvar seemed stunned but recovered quickly. “That is different from any of the other 10 races of Tamriel but isn’t overly overpowering… until you consider that you have all four at the same time. What is your activatable skill?”

Twilight cringed but answered. “It’s called ‘Panic Attack.’ It gives me 50% extra damage dealt while taking 50% reduced damage for up to 30 minutes at a time, once a day. It doesn’t specify physical or magical, so I assume it affects both. Prefect for long, planned battles. Or taking out large bandit camps?”

Hadvar snorted. “I’m just glad you’re on my side. I’m far above level one but I’m not sure I could defeat you with the skills you possess. Beautiful and talented… a rare combination.”

Twilight blushed under his praise, and they continued walking down the path. A short time later, they spotted Riverwood. Hadvar was more than happy to race forward towards his hometown, but Twilight was left with her jaw dropped, staring at the town.

It’s like Ponyville was dropped into the middle of the Crystal Empire. Riverwood is smaller than Ponyville, but the comparison stands. It’s such a quaint little town… a little too close to home.

Twilight was forced to recollect all the things she had learned today.

Things can grow but life is hard here. It’s painfully obvious that you would freeze to death if you tried to travel a full day without shelter… or at least a source of warmth. The armor itself seems to have a warmth rating built into the stats that I can see but only by the virtue of wearing both the armor and the robes am I not coming closer to freezing to death. Of course… it’ll probably get colder as night falls and my current level of warmth may not be enough for trying to travel at night. I may have to invest into getting some clothing to wear under the armor if it has its own warmth rating or researching ways to make the armor warmer. Once I discover what I’m meant to do… I don’t want to be slowed down by something as inconvenient as the weather.

Just as Twilight entered through the entrance of what had to be a guard station with no gate… that also apparently wasn’t presently manned by any guards, an elderly woman started shouting.

“A Dragon! I saw a Dragon!”

A nearby man looked over at her. “Really mother? Dragons now, is it? Perhaps you should go inside and rest…”

The elderly woman persisted. “I tell you, I really saw it! It was as big as the Inn and black as night. It flew right over the barrow.”

Her son seemed exasperated. “Mother! If you keep saying things like that, people are going to think you are crazy. So please, come inside.”

The women allowed her son to escort her inside but retorted. “That dragon will come back someday and kill us all. Then you’ll believe me…”

Twilight sighed. I’m going to have to work extra hard to make her that her prediction doesn’t come true.

Twilight witnessed Hadvar greeting his Uncle Alvor and she walked over to join them.

“Ah, and this is my friend, Twilight. She helped save my life today.”

Alvor looked her up and down. “Hmm. Any friend of Hadvar’s is friend of mine. It’s getting late and it’ll be dark soon. Let’s go inside and get something to eat and you can tell me the whole story.”

With that, Twilight entered Alvor’s home with the sense that her adventure was really about to begin.

Author's Note

Okay, so that's some backstory on how Celestia and Luna previously effected Tamriel plus an explanation of experience and perk points from the point of view of how it works from the perspective of a normal citizen.

Hopefully, the next chapter will finish what I had hoped to do with this one.