Dear diary,

I believe in working hard to accomplish my goals, but lately I find it increasingly more obvious I may have offended some deity or maybe a demon from Oblivion. The world is set against me. Throwing ever increasingly bizarre events at me. Working at our farm didn't require much prayer, but even in times of need we'd dutifully keep our local shrine clean and stocked for travelers. Not a thankless task, but we never expected anything in return.

Today I made it to Kynesgrove, but what a day it had been. Though it started out pleasantly enough, I now remember it as a foreshadowing of things to come.

The woman from Darkwater Crossing had pointed me in the general direction of Kynesgrove. I realize now I never asked for her name... Nor did I tell her mine... What was my name again... I'm sure Hadmir would have called me the Devourer and this point... Anyway... I had caught a bit of sleep on the edge of an apparent wasteland. The Eastmarch basin is a renowned thermal hot spot. Warm water spews forth from crevices at a steady pace and minerals from said primal waters are renowned to nurture ones skin. Alchemists are known to recommend bathing here to boost ones health.

Once the sun had ordained to show its face I set out across the pond-riddled plains. Even though the terrain was jagged and uneven at the best of times I had covered a fair distance before the sun was at its peak. Uneventful was the morning... Until I heard a man shouting in the distance. When I went to investigate I could see a man running away. I could also see a cow with strangely familiar markings being accosted by three wolves. The cow seemed to be made of sterner fabric than the man... I decided to 'make my ancestors proud'. I'm not what you'd call a warrior and as I said before, I doubt I'll end up in the halls of Shor. But to be fair... The wolves were distracted, wolf meat is lean and I wasn't planning on going hungry any time soon...

With the element of 'we're tearing at this cow' on my side my dagger earned its new name, Wolfsbane. With a dead wolf on the end of my dagger the other two retreated a small distance. I was prepared for them, but they decided to run away. Feeling rather pleased with myself, holding a dead wolf by its scruff I turned to the cow... It was then that I noticed what the wolves probably ran away from... How foolish of me to consider myself intimidating... Stood a small distance from me was a giant...

He didn't look like I was offending his personal space... Which for giants is about a hundred paces in any given direction... But my heart sank when he started to approach... I could take a wolf or two, but a giant... One single blow from his mace would drive me straight into the ground. I admit I was too scared to move when he was all but two paces from me, but he seemed calm. He looked at me with large empty eyes. Then he looked at the cow... The cow with strange markings... "By Kyne how could I not have noticed!" I nearly shouted out loud. I dawned on me that some farmers bring offerings to the giants to appease them and stay them from 'visiting' their farms. This cow was such an offering.

As I started to back away slowly, the giant stepped forward and in a single stride closed the distance. I froze in my tracks. I was sure I had offended him... While my heart nearly burst with fear I stood petrified. Caught between 'fight' and 'flight'. He reached for me and picked the dagger from my hand. He stood towering over me for a while, looking at the dagger. To my surprise he started laughing. He set his mace on the ground and detached a large sack from his belt. From it he took, what to him must have seemed like a letter-opener and dropped it in front of me along with my little dagger... I would have felt offended somehow, but I had a giant take pity on me... Hadmir will never believe me... not in a hundred lifetimes...

At this point that day took a turn for the worse... In the worst way possible... ever... With a roar it made its presence know. From the sky descended a huge, winged, scaled horrifying creature. A creature of legend. A dragon. Old man Iverrig used to tell us young folk the lore of old, but I doubt even he believed that a dragon would ever roam the skies of Tamriel again... The dragon swooped down and picked up the cow in its massive claws. It then flew off to a rocky outcrop towards the center of the basin. The giant, slightly confused and utterly enraged, picked up his mace and set about heading towards the outcrop.

Feeling slightly inclined to aid this big friendly giant I took notice that my body was still frozen in place. I have never been this physically terrified... First the giant, now a bloody dragon... Whoever I have offended really took the whole disproportionate response thing to heart... It wasn't all to long before a sense of honor, curiosity and a fool's bravery granted me control of my feet again...

In the distance I could hear the dragon roar. I traversed the plains as fast as my feet could carry me and when I arrived at the outcrop I could hear the giant shouting as well. As I climbed the slope of the outcrop I came upon a clearing where the giant and the dragon were engaged in combat. The cow lay dead, impaled on a stone shard. The giant was staggering from a blast of freezing breath expelled from the dragon's mouth.

Close to the entrance of the hollowed clearing lay the remains of men, clad in fur. Probably bandits or hunters from the region. Prey in the eyes of a dragon. One of them had a bow and a sinlge steel-headed arrow. So If I was going to make a difference I'd have one shot. I could never match a giant in strength and even he was having a hard time to say the least. So I hurried and got in position off to their side. The years spent practicing my archery on hares would be put to their ultimate test...

"Don't hold your breath." Uncle Throm said. "Clear your lungs and keep them purged." "Look for the killing shot. Any animal, big or small, has a kill-zone where its eyes are. Hit the eye and you can take down even the largest troll."

Those words had better be true uncle, or this could be the grave of Thermis the Devoured in a few moments... I thought to myself as the dragon tore in to the giant's side and ripped off a chunk of his skin. The giant staggered and cried out in pain and the dragon drew a deep breath... Now! I thought as I let the arrow fly.

With a tremendous roar the dragon flailed about. I had caught it unaware, right in the eye, I had bloodied it... The giant, who had recovered his footing, raised his mace high and with a sickening smack laid waste to the disoriented dragon. Had it not been a dragon, its head would have come clean off... The giant then collapsed to the ground. He had sustained grievous wounds and I recognized that he would not survive this day. With the giant's letter-opener I skewered the motionless dragon where I guesstimated its heart would be.

The giant had cropped himself against a rock. His face had turned pale and his big empty eyes were dim. The tear in his flesh he held tightly as the blood poured on the floor. I put my hand on his, though it was naught but a gesture. I had never learned anything more basic than the weakest of healing spells. It was hardly suited to stop a wound like this, but at least it would relieve some pain. The giant turned his head to me, as if to acknowledge my kindness, but turned his gaze upon the dragon's lifeless body before too long. He raised his arm and directed me to look as well.

The dragon looked like it was burning. Its flesh vaporized as ember sparks from a hearthfire. The embers swiftly started making their way towards me and dove into my body. A warm sensation filled me as I absorbed the essence of a dragon... The giant looked at me and spoke in a deep voice, in a language I could not understand. He pointed at me and spoke his last words; "Do Vagh Gee". With that he collapsed. He had bled to death and there was nothing I could do. Tears welled in my eyes and it started to rain.

After the rain cleared I spent some time collecting furs from the dead. I used them to wrap 'Friend' the giant's body. I had not got a clue as to the rites of passage upheld by the giants, but for me it felt right. I would stay with his body until night came and his spirit could leave his body. I assume my ancestors would welcome him If we do all travel the same road in the afterlife.

While searching hollowed clearing I came across an inscribed wall. The markings were weathered and rough, but strangely alluring. When I cleaned the dust off most of the carvings I began to hear chanting... "Pah WERID SONaaN LUNERIO, WEN YUVON LOVaaS MeyZ FO HET KO VULON." "Fo, Fo, Fo..."

My mouth went dry. When I tried to speak I felt intense cold building in my throat. "Fo..." I whispered and watched as crystals of snow formed around my breath. I remembered now that I heard something when the dragon roared. I heard this word...

I buried Friend this day, I shall tell his tale and remember him as a warrior worthy of Shor's hall. May he be judged favorably for his valor.

So here I am. Kynesgrove. I had snagged a hooded cloak from one of the other dead. He wasn't going to use it anymore anyway... It made my iron collar a little less conspicuous. 5 Gold for a bed, 2 for a pint of mead and piece of bread... Well spent I guess... I got to use the kitchen to prepare some beef cuts I got off the skewered cow... Something which Iddra, the Innkeeper, gave me a discount on a bed for... Beef seems to be a good trade supply here. I'm tired... I might just sleep till noon tomorrow... Anyway... Here's to you Friend, slayer of dragons! May you be greeted kindly wherever you have gone, just don't tell them Thermis sent you...

Notes:

This writing follows a play-through using the following mods for the core experience;

- Alternative Start - LAL

- Immerslave

- DD assets, integration, expansion

- DD Cutting

- Fill Her Up

Also used, but not essential at this point:

- Death Alternative - YMOYL

- Sanguine's Debauchery Enhanced

- Sisterhood of Dibella

- SexLab Solutions

- SexLab Romance

- The DD Manual

- Xaz Prison Overhaul

The world this all takes place in:

Using Hydragorgon's Slavegirls, Slaves for vanilla Bandit Camps by pchs and Valadarius' DD for the Masses II to create a setting where slavery is commonplace. Bondage is an integral part of society in Tamriel. A slave owner is obliged to provide basic needs by law. However, like everything in Skyrim, the law outside of the holds is upheld by honor... and there are enough honor-less lowlifes to fill the fields of Whiterun...

My set-up is tweaked to be more Amazonian in nature than Gorian.

Disclaimer (thanks to thebookdesigner.com ):

This is a work of (pure adult) fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.