Towering trees kept a sleeping group of travellers hidden from nightly predators' sights, just as they covered the pretty star-filled sky that should be seen above
The campsite was surprisingly devoid of noise and light, except the snoring that could be heard from the residents. The campfire finished smouldering long ago, only soft and silky ash remained, lucky to not be blown away by the cold, yet soft winds
It was peaceful, yet eerily quiet... the atmosphere felt comfortable, yet unusually tense... in a way, the campsite reflected the current situation throughout the lands of Skyrim. The rulers knew the land would soon face the crisis, the mages felt in their surroundings and magicka and the warriors felt it in their blood and bones...
Amongst such an atmosphere lay an equally peaceful, yet eerily silent boy, his body tense, as his tired muscles occasionally twitched and spasmed, but no grunts or other such sounds escaped his mouth
The boy's eyes remained closed, but if one was to look carefully enough, one would notice them moving around erratically behind the eyelids, in sync with the body's twitching, as if repeating the same actions again, and again.. and again...
Suddenly everything happening to the boy stopped and he became still... until he slowly opened his eyes. He seemed calm or maybe uncaring as he stared straight ahead for what felt like ages
'That felt great'
The bleaks of white light from the moon slightly lit up the face of the boy, a blissful expression could be seen adorning it. The eyes no longer dead and the yellow unkempt teeth on full display as Volfir showed a big, slightly feral smile
'That felt so great!' he was getting excited looking through his memories, there he could perfectly see how he cut down more than a dozen of draugr in a daze of bloodlust that made him move simply on instinct
'Am I blessed? Am I a chosen of a Divine?!' the more Volfir thought, the more he lost his rational mind
What happened inside that cave was nothing normal, the shocked expressions of the Companions he was able to register before blacking out was greatest evidence to that fact
'Killing just felt so right... so comforting...' even now the boy still felt the unexplainable joy and warmth he received from striking down the undead
'What will it feel like to kill a human..?' he started fantasising about grim things, expecting those actions to bring even more fulfilment to his dim and uncertain life
Murder... the act of taking away a life is so common in the Nordic lands of winter, cruelty and racism. At this point Volfir has witnessed the deaths of countless creatures, be they Beastfolk, Mer, Man, livestock or wild animals, yet he never had a thought of killing other than to hunt in order satisfy his hunger or sell for some spare septims
'I see... I understand why everybody is always engaged in a fight on our way to complete the quest! They are just like me! They find fulfilment in taking lives!' Volfir thought back on his journey with the Companions
Before he was confused and annoyed at them for always interrupting the journey to kill random things, yet because he never participated in those actions, only now did he get the reason for those actions
'Wait...' the boy interrupted his own thoughts, he felt he was missing something 'No, no, no... it's not like that... if I liked bathing in blood, I would have loved killed those wolves on the way to Whiterun, or those skeevers I eradicated one time...' Volfir's mind raced with different times he took lives
'... besides, the draugr are not living anyway, they stink of rot and so does their stale blood' the boy felt confused 'What is it then? That made me enter that invincible state? That power I felt as I ran around hacking down walking dead'
The dawn light now seeped through spaces in between the towering, beautiful and full of life trees and with that light, woke up the light sleepers of the group
'Was it the danger..? Was it because I felt death so close to me..?'
Aela the huntress was already stretching her body after getting up from the bedroll when she noticed that the weird boy that came along for this quest was no longer unconscious, and was just lying and staring far above
'But I always live on edge... so was it all a coincidence?' The more Volfir thought, the farther from the truth he felt, yet his mind screamed at him! He needed to understand what happened!
'That state is my ticket to power... to strength...' he was sure of that
*Smack*
"See the little skeever is alive an' kicking ain't he?" the suave voice of Vilkas filled the boy's ears, as his attention snapped to the group of adults towering above him, each with different expressions adorning their faces
"It was something reckless and unnecessary that you did back there" the disappointed voice of Skjor was next to be heard
"It was pretty inspiring actually, those are some good animal instincts you got there whelp" praised Aela
"There was nothing inspiring in that fight, the moves were sloppy, no skill or mind to the handling of weapons" countered Arnbjorn
"Never pick up a shield, those that do always need a clear and strategic mind to be a good wielder. You have none of that" demeaned Njada
Everybody was talking at the same time, loudly at that, counting the fact that he was still confused about his own state of body and how he lost control, Volfir felt rather annoyed, but did not lash out at those present
"How long was I out..?" he asked aloud, his voice hoarse and unpleasant, surprising the boy by how much it hurt to speak
"A coupla days, we are half-way back to Whiterun now" answered one of the other tag-alongs, the ones he remembers nothing about because of their insignificance
Volfir nodded to show that he understood and started to get up, before getting something shoved in his face
"Here, a man named Vosnyak gave us a sweet roll back in Riverwood, said that it's for you, after you wake up that is" said Farkas with a smile
"A great hunter, good in bed as well" unnecessarily commented Aela, earning a stink eye from all surrounding her, although she ignored everything, perhaps she didn't notice, maybe her skin is too thick or maybe she simply doesn't care
"Save your comments for those who care" Arnbjorn stated in a dismissive tone with a face that screamed 'not interested', swaying his hand back and forth, as if batting away a fly
"Go pack your things everybody" decided to interrupt Skjor, "And Volfir, follow me, I will make sure your body is able to move properly after all that lying down"
"Okay" answered the boy and slowly climbed out of the warm bedroll, after which he tried to find balance while slowly moving behind the imposing Nord
-Scene break-
"So you are saying he went berserk?" an old authoritative, yet calm voice filled the room, followed by the sounds of fingers tapping against a wooden table
"Yes, saw that a lot actually, during the war many Nord officers would shout something then go head into swords and spears, the men rallied behind such officers like flies on some horseshit" joined in another voice, not as old, yet it also held authority
"Hmmm... such men are always the first ones to die, never thought you would care for a youngin' going that direction" commented the old man
"Haha.. I bet even Arnbjorn secretly came to liking that whelp, he is one of a kind Harbinger" chuckled out the younger man
"We were meant to find him, yes... I think you should personally train him Skjor" Kodlak spoke his mind
"Huh? Not interested in babysitting, he is a calm, attentive child, but he is a child nonetheless" argued Skjor
"You will teach him either way, if only for small periods of time... but Volfir needs to grow up with discipline, a heavy hand if you may... Your past and character fits best with what the boy needs to grow up seeing and experiencing" countered the Harbinger of the Companions
The room got quiet, only the shouts and stomps heard from above interrupted the peaceful atmosphere underneath
"Njada is probably beating somebody up again in the hall..." Skjor broke the silence, changing subjects
"Hah.. you should think about what I said, it would do both of you some good" Kodlak sighed aloud as he got up from his chair and went towards his quarters
"How would looking after a whelp help me in any way..?" Skjor mumbled aloud, annoyed by the prospect of taking on a guardian role
"Discipline he says... not the army kind I reckon, the brat is not only organised, listens well, but he is also as quiet as a skeever... Pfft, looks the part as well, hehe" the middle-aged Nord started speaking to himself, probably some kind of war trauma consequence...
'To the Oblivion with it, Kodlak rarely makes bad judgements, if it would be best to take the whelp under my wing, then so be it... but if he whines to much, I'll throw him out to the College of Winterhold to become a pussy' the man caught himself talking aloud, so he concluded his decision inside his mind
*Grunt*
"Volfir! Come here right now!" Skjor stood up with some difficulty, since all the alcohol he downed weighed down on his mind, and shouted out a command that quickly spread throughout the underground of Jorrvaskr
"Coming!" came back a quick and just as loud reply
"Aela, come along as well" Skjor spoke to the huntress which was sitting close by, listening to the conversation between the old men, but not saying anything
"Well… he is certainly interesting, that berserker state of his fits really well with Hircine's blessing, just as the Daedric Prince predicted" whispered Aela, as she came close to Skjor and they started walking along the underground halls of Jorrvaskr
"Did you hear him as well?" asked Skjor surprised
"Yes… I was blessed to hear the Spirit of the Hunt's voice during the nights as we walked to the place of the quest and then back to Whiterun" answered the huntress in a rather reverent tone
Skjor furrowed his eyebrows, apparently the Prince wished for the boy to become one of them, but for what reason he couldn't understand… Sure the boy seemed to be able grow into somebody powerful, but he witnessed many more exceptional than him
"I see…" he nodded towards Aela, who was lost in thought as well, while watching a happy whelp running up towards them, his eyes full of expectations
"I guess we should shape him up into a great warrior then" Skjor continued, Kodlak and his patreon's expectation of the boy making him at least interested in his development if nothing else
"It will be fun~" smiled Aela sadistically, her uninterested and cold exterior dropping in the company of her friends and shield-brothers
"Where are we going?" asked Volfir who met them along their way through the hall
"Outside for training, your berserker state showed complete and utter incompetence in wielding blades of any sort, just like Arnbjorn said" answered Skjor
"I will teach you how to hunt after Skjor beats you up" added Aela in a dead tone, her gaze piercing through Volfir in his entirety, probably evaluating the strengths and abilities he has shown so far
"Un…" Volfir nodded in understanding, still uncomfortable with speaking freely as he always did in the past
Sounds of footsteps echoed through the hall as the group exited Jorrvaskr's underground, into the always bustling mead hall above it