Prologue

Torgund Windburn was born in Windhelm on the 17th day of Last Seed, 4E 175, to a serving wench named Helda. His father, Aeric Windburn, was away fighting against the Aldmeri Dominion in the Great War – a war that took Aeric’s life before he could see his son.

Torgund’s life was never an easy one, and his attitude towards it only exacerbated his problems. Helda died of sickness in the harsh winter of 4E 190, Torgund’s fifteenth year, and left him with no family or inheritance. Although most Nords were considered men by the age of 15, Torgund hadn’t embraced a very mature attitude. He was known to avoid work as much as possible and spend what little money he and his mother made on ale and mead. The Windhelm guards would joke that he slept more nights on the steps of the New Gnisis Cornerclub than he did in his own bed.

This certainly became true following Helda’s death. Torgund could not afford the rent on the little house she maintained in the Gray Quarter. He found himself working odd jobs on the nearby farms outside the city, sleeping in the stables, and, when he could afford it, renting a straw mattress at the Candlehearth Hall. But, regardless of whether or not he could afford a bed, Torgund always managed to afford some ale or mead. And, if he could purchase enough, he inevitably ended his night with a brawl and a trip to the dungeons. The moldy piles of hay on the floor of the Windhelm dungeon became as familiar to him as the calloused knuckles on the back of his bar fighting hands.

In the month of Last Seed, 4E 201, Torgund hired himself on as a porter for a Khajiit trader named J’Skir. His options for employment and a place to stay in Windhelm had rapidly dried up due to his reputation as a drunkard and for having a hot temper. J’Skir was a shady character, even for a Khajiit, and Torgund suspected the man of trafficking in the illegal drug skooma. But J’Skir was the only person in Windhelm willing to give Torgund a job.

For two weeks J’Skir and Torgund traveled the roads of Skyrim. Their first stop was Riften, far to the south of Windhelm, where J’Skir instructed Torgund to load some locked crates into the back of the wagon. Torgund knew Riften had a reputation for being the home of the Thieves’ Guild, and his suspicions that J’Skir smuggled skooma grew.

They traveled from Riften to Ivarstead, over the mountain pass and into Helgen, and then down to Whiterun. They were on their way to Rorikstead when Torgund’s luck took a turn for the worst.

It was the eve of Torgund’s 26th birthday, the 16th of Last Seed, 4E 201, when they were set upon by bandits. The ambush was quick and devastating. Torgund was knocked unconscious by the blow of a mace before he was able to crawl out of his bedroll. J’Skir was skewered in the back by an arrow loosed from an unseen bow.

Next: Chapter One, Part I