Just a test first chapter, hope you guys enjoy it. If you do please shoot me a review, if I feel there's some interest, I'll bang out a new chapter pretty soon.

Titus sighed contentedly as he stepped into the inn, savouring the warm air that surrounded him, dispelling the last of the cold tendrils of the Skyrim air. Before he had returned to his homeland, back when he was growing up on a Legion Camp back down south, he had believed that he known what cold was. Now after two years of living in Skyrim he would call that kind of weather summer. He chuckled at the thought, eight years with the Legion may have taught him how to fight but two years in his father's homeland had been the making of him. Choosing the darkest corner of the inn, he sat with his back to the wall, groaning in relief as he removed the heavy steel helmet from his head and peeled the sweaty lining that stuck to his short black hair.

Titus didn't look like much like a typical Nord at first glance, he had inherited his Cyrodillian Mother's grey eyes and black hair that were rarely seen north of Bruma, combined with the short shaven Legion cut and his clean shaven features the only thing that distinguished him from a Cyrodillian Legionary was his fair skin. Still as his father had like to say, you can take the Nord out of Skyrim but you can't take Skyrim out of the Nord, Titus had lived up to that, it would've been impossible for him not to have been, he had idolized his father.

"Good day sir, is there anything I can get you? Perhaps a hot meal and some cold mead to chase away the cold Skyrim air?" Lifting his gaze from the sword belt his numb fingers were struggling to undo, Titus smiled reassuringly at the young Imperial women who looked nervously at the two swords that hung at the side of his belt

"That sounds wonderful, could you ask Keerava to get a room for me while you're at it" He paused for a moment, watching the girl shiver slightly as she scribbled down his order into a small notebook. "And don't worry, you'll get used to the cold, it's not so bad in the Rift anyhow, it's almost comparable to some parts of Cyrodiil in the summer."

"Oh you were with the Legion?"

"Eight years, mostly down by Bravil. Spent most of my time hunting down some insane cult of werewolves that moved in after the Thalmor withdrew; I left when my father was killed. He wanted his ashes to be spread in Skyrim, I wanted a change of scenery from howling werewolves and ripped apart bodies." He chuckled darkly "Not that that plan worked very well."The girl blanched slightly at this but she seemed reassured by his Legionary past, they may not be the most popular men in Skyrim but Legionaries were revered in the Empire's heartland. Finally his fingers managed to undo the buckle on his belt and he thumped the two swords down on the floor by his shield.

"Two swords and a shield?" The barmaid asked, a sceptical eyebrow raised "You compensating for something?" Titus chuckled at the joke, enjoying the chance to talk with the girl after weeks of travelling on the road by himself.

"Blame a Nordic father and Legionary training." He tapped the short sword that was propped up against the wall. "Standard issue for the Legion, designed to stab not hack, you get in close, take hits with the shield and then hit the vitals till they go down." He shrugged, works well when you're fighting in a unit, not so much when your own, which is why I have this." He patted his longsword lovingly "As my father would say, it's a true Nord's weapon, much more effective when you're spending most of your time on your own."

"I thought you left the Legion to get away from all the fighting?" The barmaid asked shyly

"I did but sometimes what you want and what fate has in store for you can clash. I needed the time away from the bloodshed, I needed the time to get my head straight." Titus smiled modestly "I'm good at fighting; I haven't got the skills to be anything else."

"You are a Nord" The barmaid giggled. She stopped abruptly after a few seconds, staring at Titus with wide brown eyes and a horrified expression on her pretty face. "No…I….I didn't mean…that…please don't be…" Titus held an outraged expression upon his face for a few moments before he could contain his laughter no longer, his mirth stopping the barmaids attempt to stutter out an explanation.

"Relax" He reassured the barmaid, whose tanned face had reddened as she realized that Titus had been joking with her. "If I'm honest most of my kinsmen would take that as a compliment, strong arms, fine steel and sturdy horses are what most men, and women for that matter, are concerned with her."

"You beast" The barmaid growled playfully, swatting Titus's chainmail clad arm "I really thought I'd offended you."

"I am very sorry…I didn't get your name, mine's Titus, Titus Arnson"

"Flavia, just call me Flavia. Titus doesn't sound very Nordic?" Titus snorted, a smirk on his face.

"I know, trust me I know. I've been told that by every gods-be-damned one of my kinsman who know my name. My mother was an imperial and her grandfather's name was given to me, apparently she had quite the argument with my Father about it. But though my Father was a lion on the battlefield, with my mother he was like a mouse."

"I know the type" Flavia giggled once more, Titus stomach growled angrily and the young Imperial tutted "Oh Mara, look at me chatting away here while you're here wasting away. You stay right here while I fetch you that warm meal." She gave Titus one last shy smile before turned away in whirl of red fabric and sleek black hair, threading her way through the busy evening crowd.

Titus smirked as he watched her weave through the crowd; he had spent the past two weeks travelling alone through the wilderness of Falkreath hold. Someone had sent a note to his Falkreath home informing him that a dragon had been spotted deep in the forest which in turn had sent Titus deep into the forest which was an arduous journey at the best of times but even more so when the winter snow lay heavily on the forest floor. Titus had stumbled and suffered through the snow for two weeks before he had decided that the letter had been a hoax or some short sighted farmer had seen an eagle in the sky and panicked.

Still in some ways he had preferred the solitude, though he could have done without the bone chilling cold. Truth be told Titus was fed up with being a damn hero, of being Dragonborn. Sure it had been fun at first however as time passed the constant adulation, the requests, the favours, the problems, the expectations of what he should and shouldn't do had begun to grate on his nerves. Titus longed for the anonymity that he had had before he slain Alduin, to be able to just stroll into an inn and not have to hide in a dark corner to avoid being recognised.

"Hello lad, how are you today?" Titus's thoughts were interrupted by Brynjolf, who clapped him on the shoulder as he sat down heavily on the bench, some of the ale spilling out of his pewter mug.

"Fine Brynjolf, any favours I can do for you today?"

"Aww laddie, your not still sore about the last one are you?"

"Just a bit" Titus exclaimed "I ask you whether one old man is hiding in the Ratway and you cash in the favour by asking me to accompany Mercer in the hunt of deadly former thief."

"Yeah" Brynjolf admitted "But she turned out to be completely innocent"

"She still shot me" Titus grumbled "And that whole affair dragged me into a Dwemer ruin filled with Falmer in the hunt for that bastard, which ended with me nursing some pretty painful injuries and you as the leader of the Thieves Guild."

"We had fun though" Brynjolf grinned widely as he drained the remainder of his ale "As I recall we also made a pretty penny out those giant gems we plucked from that Snow Elf statue, allowed you to build that fancy house."

"Yes well I hate Falmer, they freak me out" Titus muttered

"Says the man who slays dragons for a living" Brynjolf laughed "Well I see your lady friend is returning so I'll be quick. I just wanted to say that I know the Thieves Guild owes you a lot, you ever need anything, you just have ask my friend." Titus shook his hand and sent Brynjolf a genuine smile as the thief stumbled off into the night, no doubt some scheme rolling around in his crafty mind. Titus's hand moved to check his coin purse was intact, experience had taught him that while he could trust the man with his life, his gold was completely different matter, the man just couldn't seem to help himself.

His eyes swept the tavern looking for anyone suspicious as Riften, being the first major city after the border, always had a new influx of people. Ever since the civil war had ended travel over the border had become easier therefore Riften had become busier. It was of the reasons that Titus was so fond of the city, new faces meant it was easier to remain anonymous, just to be another travelling sell-sword looking for employment in the ever restless Skyrim. However that also meant it was easier for would be assassins to get closer to Titus, one of the many downsides to being a hero was that as many people as you saved, there were just as many that you pissed off, especially when you played a key role in a bitter civil war that had only ended six months ago.

"I'm back" Flavia trilled as she laid down a steaming steak in front of Titus along with a mug of equally hot liquid that he could not identify.

"It's tea" Flavia explained "My mother used to say there was nothing better for chasing the cold out of a body than a piping hot cup of tea and you look like you use it."

"Years of sentry duty on cold nights in the Legion confirm that particular wives tale" Titus confirmed as he sipped the tea gently, savouring the warm tendrils that spread through his body as it slipped down his throat.

"So get into any trouble while I was gone" Flavia teased as she settled herself down next to him once more.

"Me…in trouble?" Titus asked innocently "I never get in trouble"

"Oh?" Flavia asked in a sweet tone "Then what's large dent on your shoulder thingy?"

"You mean my pauldron?" Titus laughed "Ok maybe trouble has a habit of finding me but I'm usually pretty good at surviving it" Flavia's eyes shifted back to the large dent on his shoulder. "Orc with a greatsword" He shrugged "I was tired, he was quicker than most. It's rare to come out of a fight unharmed, most guys at least have scrapes and bruises."

"So what new adventure brings you to Riften? Hunting dragons?" She joked, flashing Titus a glance of white teeth.

"No, nothing like that" Titus laughed nervously "I'm actually looking to join the Dawnguard, vampires have been a bit of a problem. Shit" The last word came as the pewter mug shattered in his tight grip, boiling water spilling out onto him.

"Oh dear, I'll just get something to clear that up" She told him as she stood up hurriedly, making a beeline for the counter where Keerava was busy serving drinks to thirsty patrons. Titus pulled a jagged shard from his palm, staunching the blood with a strip of cloth torn from the table cloth. Hurriedly gathering his belongings, he jammed his helmet back onto his head, he'd spent enough time resting, it was time he got moving. He paused at the door to stare regretfully at the mess he had made, he had liked Flavia but she was better off without a fucked up old soldier like him around. Old, he laughed bitterly to himself, he was twenty eight, a young man in the prime of life by most standards but ten years of war, death, blood and slaughter made him old before his time, especially in the dead if night when he saw the faces of the comrades who died beside him, of the men he had killed and of those he had failed to save. Still he reassured himself, at least he wouldn't have any of those qualms with the Dawnguard. Vampires were beasts nothing more, he had more sympathy for the dragons he had slain than he did for the vampires who had met their end at the point of his sword.

He kept his head low as he strode out of the city, the last thing he wanted was to be recognised while he was in this mood, he'd never been fantastic at controlling his temper and if someone pushed him too far he might very well throw them in the damn canal. He sped up as he left through the cities southern gate, hoping to replace the anger with exhaustion. Damn vampires, he swore to himself, they had started causing trouble months ago but with the after effects of the civil war and continuing skirmishes between the Legion and the remnants of the Stormcloaks, which were still ongoing, had left the Empire ill equipped to do more than defend the towns from attack. Titus himself had had dragons to deal with, Delphine had managed to convince him that dragons were the greater threat so he had, reluctantly, stayed away from the fight. However with the recent lack of dragon sightings and the reformation of the Dawnguard he figured that it was time he joined the fight.

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