Dorne, Sunspear
Year 115 BC
Neferion
With relief he noticed the city walls rising above the sands and the keep with its pointed towers standing above them. For two or three miles now, his silhouette striding right next to the snow-white steed had been attracting the attention of travellers passing or overtaking him.
Or rather, not him, but the monstrous, 20-foot-long snake body of the beast, which he was dragging by its tail. Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to drag it like that the whole way.
Just like in the past in Tamriel, for most of the journey he kept the beast's body in his magic bag, which he had won in cards from Sheogorath. As an aside, it was undoubtedly one of his greatest achievements, or at least he was the proudest of it. It ranked just behind defeating Alduin.
So why did he decide to pull the body out of the sack a few miles from the city? Of course, the reason was simple. Shaping the image. Rushing into the city like a hero from legend, dragging the body of a defeated monster behind him, stirred the imagination. Especially the lower classes.
He had dressed in his ebony Dragonlord armour for this purpose, despite the heat, but fortunately he had a ring that was specially enchanted for such occasions.
He intended to put the knowledge he had acquired at Bard College to good use during his several visits. Hmh. By the way, he should probably hire a bard or two.
In any case, the looks that the travellers gave him were a mixture of surprise and fear, but above all admiration. Well, he liked helping those in need, and if he could gain fame and renown in the process and ideally build his own legend. It was like killing two birds with one stone.
Despite the attention he attracted the closer he got to the city, no one dared to even talk to him. Well, even though the beast's corpse was well preserved, it didn't smell too good even when it was alive.
The guards at the gate watched him carefully as he approached, letting travellers waiting to enter the city pass. Even the few waggons present pulled over to the side, making room especially for him.
Without looking the gift horse in the mouth, he crossed the gate. One of the younger guards wanted to stop him, but the other, an older gentleman with greying hair, probably his commander, stopped him, shaking his head slightly. The same man probably sent another of his men to the fortress to inform them of this shocking event.
It didn't surprise him. The sight of the beast didn't impress him. He had seen bigger. He had seen worse. However, from what he had managed to learn, for the inhabitants of this world, or at least this part of it, it was a shocking and terrifying sight. Straight out of some myths and stories that scare children.
From the gate his journey to Old Palace itself became a veritable procession.
The first to follow him were the children, gathering from the nearest streets, full of curiosity about the monster and the knight who had defeated it. They were followed by passersby and several guards patrolling the streets, and even foreigners who were currently in Shadow City.
A large crowd was already following him when he reached the gates of the fortress, and since the news spread quickly, a much larger one was waiting in front of it. Everyone wanted to see the terrible, already dead beast.
Neferion could hear loud conversations everywhere, cries of surprise and disgust as their eyes fell on the beast.
At the gate itself, at the head of several Palace guards, stood a man dressed in light orange and yellow robes made of beautiful and probably luxurious material.
He was a handsome man of about thirty, with typical Dornish features, but his whole posture radiated combat experience and authority.
Neferion, who had dealt with all manner of highborn, from his own race to the Emperor of Tamriel himself, recognised his aristocratic lineage at once. Combined with the information gathered during his first stay in the city, Neferion could easily guess who the man was.
Prince Morgan Nymeros Martell, uncle of the Nymeria. ruling Princess of Dorne, and according to Niclas, her right-hand man.
He stopped a few feet from the Prince, then reached out with his left hand and unfastened the clasps of his horned helmet, then pulled it off to reveal the face hidden beneath.
The man didn't seem surprised to see him, which confirmed that Niklas, the tavern owner, had been reporting everything to him. His distinctive features, however, caused another wave of whispers and murmurs from the crowd, but he heard no insults or spit yet.
"I'm told that there's a monster loose in Sandtower that has killed many people, including Her Highness's brother," he said to the Prince, who was watching him intently but with well-concealed vigilance. "Here he is. I don't think I could have mistaken him for anything else."
Though he tried to control his voice, he couldn't completely shake the trait that came with frequent use of thu'um, namely that his voice commanded attention and compelled listening, as if every word was priceless.
Morgan took a few steps forward, then passed it and approached the beast, examining it closely. With his boot, he turned the beast's almost human face to examine it more closely.
He ran his gaze along its length, and his gaze stopped at the tail that Neferion held with the form, by which he had pulled the beast.
"You know..." he finally spoke, and although he didn't raise his voice, it was clearly audible, used to giving orders. "I once met a knight from the Stormlands, Ronald Strong. Your height, but twice as wide, and as strong as an ox. He easily wielded a two-handed hammer in one hand. However, I am certain he would not be able to drag this beast from the city gates, let alone from the Sandtower. It must weigh at least two tonnes."
He met the Dovahkiin's eyes but looked away immediately. There were few who could hold his gaze. And they were all in another world at the moment.
"That doesn't change the fact that I dragged it here." Neferion replied, then asked, "What now? Are we just going to stand here?"
Morgan shook his head slightly and replied, "No, no, I'll take you to meet the princess right away. However, it dawned on me that I shouldn't be asking how you dragged the beast's body here, but how you were able to defeat it. I can't even imagine fighting something like that."
Neferion smiled slightly. "I specialise in killing monsters and anything that threatens ordinary people who are just trying to survive from day to day."
These words clearly intrigued the prince, because he immediately asked, "So, do I understand correctly? So where do you come from? Are there more beasts like that? Because it's not something common and normal here."
Neferion shook his head slightly. "No, this is the first time I've encountered such a beast, but yes, we have our own horde of monsters and beasts that make people's lives difficult. I may know a little more about this particular one, though." He threw, and Morgan, catching the allusion immediately, invited him into the fortress.
"Come inside, my friend. You have avenged the death of my nephew and many good Dornishmen. You will not miss the reward."
Neferion decided to use the prince's words and instill a specific thought in the people. "I will gladly accept the hospitality of House Martell, but the reward is not necessary. I did what had to be done. I could not allow more people to die when I could stop the beast."
He could see from the people around him that his words had made the right impression and began to paint his image in their heads in the right colours. Morgan's face, however, darkened for a moment, which was understandable to him. He somehow suggested that the Martells were unable to deal with this problem or did not want to.
Well, in Tamriel too, it was the common folk who loved him, while most of the highborn feared or even outright hated him.
Morgan wordlessly moved into the keep, gesturing with his hand for Neferion to follow him. "Come, let's not keep Her Highness waiting."
Neferion followed, dragging the beast's corpse behind him, thinking not of meeting the ruler of Dorne, but wondering where he could find good bards. That one young man who played in Niclas's tavern seemed to have quite a good voice. He had to remember to stop by later. One had to strike while the iron was hot.
Crossing the courtyard, they caught the attention of more glances from numerous guards and servants, but it was before entering the keep itself that a surprise awaited them, for the young woman who stood there surrounded by several guards and maids could only be, as he guessed, Princess Nymeria.
"Your Highness, I thought you were going to wait in the solar?" His guide asked her, although a small smirk was painted on his face, so Neferion supposed he wasn't surprised by this turn of events.
Instead of answering, the woman walked up to Neferion as if in a trance and, passing him, began to look at the beast with an inscrutable face.
Neferion turned around and had time to take a closer look at her, and as a human, or rather a mer or dovah of culture, and a man who had seen many beautiful women in his life, he had to admit that the princess belonged to the very top, right next to Serana.
Ah, yes, Serana. A woman who, however, did not want to get rid of her vampirism in order to create a new Imperial Dragonborn House with him. Too bad, it was a beautiful dream.
But back to the princess. From what he had heard, she was only seventeen, but she was not only an intelligent and kind ruler to her subjects but, most importantly, competent.
Neferion's gaze travelled from her long raven hair, braided in a gold and jewelled braid, to her large amber eyes, straight nose, and delicate features. With a heart-shaped face and generally well-defined curves, he suspected that she couldn't keep the suitors from vying for her hand in marriage away.
Well, he wondered what kind of ruler she would be compared to, for example, Elsif or Ingrod, not to mention his friend Balgruuf
Nymeria tore her gaze from the beast and looked at him, carefully examining his distinctive features, before saying, "You have done me and Dorne a great service, noble knight, but I think we should speak privately now. I would like to hear how you managed to defeat this monstrosity. Follow me."
Then, turning to one of the guards accompanying her, she added, "Eric, gather your men and disembowel the beast, then impale it at the city gate. Cut off its head and bring it to the throne room."
The guard immediately bowed, "As you command, Your Highness."
Neferion, however, stopped him with a single word, "Halt." Then he turned to the princess. "Let them not disembowel the beast's corpse. Its origins are not natural but magical. The body would be best burnt outside the city, but if you want a trophy, princess, allow me to cut off its head."
Nymeria frowned at his words, once again looking at the beast's body, this time with concern, before nodding, giving him free rein.
Neferion had unsheathed the Dawnbreaker attached to his belt before entering the city, and the centre of the blade glowed faintly with a golden light. Neferion grabbed the beast's female head by the hair with his left hand and, with a single swing of his sword, severed it from its torso.
The Dawnbreaker not only immediately cauterised the wound but also cleansed any trace of magic that might still be in the head with the Light of Auriel.
Having completed his task, he tossed the head toward the guardsman, who caught it nervously, almost dropping it.
"A unique weapon," Nymeria said, examining the blade. "It must be magical, no doubt. But it's not Valyrian steel. It probably comes from your homeland, doesn't it?"
He nodded. "Yes. The Dawnbreaker comes from my homeland. I received it from a certain lady in exchange for a task I performed for her. It was later reforged by my father."
Nymeria looked at him with interest. "Your father must be a great master blacksmith, then, since he was able to reforge magical weapons?"
"You could say he's skilled with fire," he replied with a slight smile.
Nymeria clearly understood that he was keeping something from her and didn't want to discuss it, but she decided not to press the matter further, saying, "Let's go to my solar to discuss your payment as well. You can say you didn't do it for the money, but I won't let my brother's avenging go unpunished."
With that, she headed for the palace entrance without another word.