An Unlikely Guardian

This isn't my best work, but I'm currently recovering from a slightly...interesting mishap at the hospital resulting in an extraordinary amount of pain in my arm, meaning sleep's not really happening for me. So here you go, just a little idea I had about Riverwood's past, enjoy. Love from Spoi xx

Riverwood, as our town later came to be known, was in the infancy of its days. Two small wooden houses stood by the river, nestled among the thinning trees of the forest's edge, one either side of the rough road to Whiterun, pounded out by thousands of feet over the years. Rikhart was planning to put down some cobbles when he returned from the city, hopefully bringing a few more settlers to help.

To accommodate any new blood, we'd been working on a relatively large building for the past few months. A long, wooden hall with rooms for townsfolk and visitors to stay. I must admit, I was particularly fond of the place, even with no roof to speak of as of yet. Hraldon and I had often spent full days dragging lumber from the forests, splitting logs and gradually piecing together our own Jorrvaskr.

It was cold that day, snow seemed to sweep down from the Throat in sheets, blanketing our fledgling home in a serene coat of white, the very air hard and sharp with frost. I suppose that's why we didn't see the mammoth until it was too late.

The beast came thundering out of the white, screaming madly as it went. I didn't blame the poor thing, half the animal's rump was aflame, several arrows protruding from its hide. I never saw the fool clinging to its head, but Finna swore she watched the mammoth finally throw a man off, and we did find the old bastard's body in the undergrowth a few days later.

Hroldon was the first to break free of that odd, stunned feeling of utter helplessness as the terrified creature came hurtling towards the inn. He drew his bow, sending one, then two futile arrows at the tusked head. It was no use, the frenzied animal continued in it's hairy, flaming charge. Hroldon and I stood staring from the roof of the inn, with seemingly no escape.

The noise as the giant collided with it's target was sickening. The huge figure seemed to explode from the forest, a shuddering roar accompanying it with every hulking step, leaping into the mammoth, tackling it from the side, driving it off its previous course, into the river, flames engulfing them both. I never could tell the sound of the ice cracking from the shattering of bones.

And so there they lay. A huge, shaggy rock in the water, already gathering ice, slowly beginning to drift downstream. On the bank, the huge figure of the giant emerged from the waters, pulling itself up onto land. Hroldon raised his bow once more, but as our gargantuan savior struggled to stand, then stumbled to his knees, I placed a hand on his arm, shook my head, and began to climb down.

It was an odd feeling, sitting so close to the face of a being that could end my existence with a misplaced hand. But there I was, beside the giant as he lay, his feet in the water.

'You saved our village'

The giant's answer was deep and guttural, the words unintelligible. Though as he spoke, his eyes flickered over our little scattering of homes, something close to agreement in his tone.

'Why?'

A massive hand gestured towards the mammoth, now nearly out of sight as the current dragged it slowly though the icy waters, before landing with a thud upon his chest.

'It was yours'

He nodded, grumbling something again. I'd never considered giants to be particularly intelligent creatures, but as this one studied my face, his brow furrowed for a moment as he struggled to recall some half forgotten scrap of information.

'Dii' He growled finally

A smile spread slowly across my face, I felt as though the giant had just confessed his undying love for me. The flames of my excitement leaped up inside me.

'Do you have a name?'

The giant answered in his own language again, the noise sounding almost painful. Of course, a stupid question, why would I be able to understand his name?

'I am Jorgen' placing a hand on my chest 'we are in your debt, friend'

The face stared blankly back at me, those deep eyes studying my face. I like to think he made an attempt at my name, but for all I know of the giantish language, he could have been coughing. Whatever it was, he was coughing by the end of it, clutching at his chest.

'Ysmir..'

One of the mammoth's tusks had pierced his chest, sending the giant's body to shuddering with every breath. Instinctively, I leaned forward to examine the wound.

'Nid'

I was so taken aback by a second word that I barely noticed the fact that he had batted me away with the back of his hand, with such surprising care that the brutish hands left me only with mud up my legs and a graze over my cheek.

'Krosis'

'Can you...how much can you speak?'

'Krosis'

'You need help, you'll die'

Beneath the scraggly beard, a thin smile stirred. He grumbled something again, the deep noise of his voice shaking me to the core. He paused, closing those eyes that held worlds man would never know.

'Laag'

Hroldon approached quietly behind me 'Kyne's breath...is it dead?'

Our titanic guardian took a final shuddering breath, uttering a word I will never forget 'Sleep'