Book One: Metamorphosis
Chapter 1
It all began on the lonely town of Iron-Gaine, located above Dragon-Bridge, East of Solitude, and hidden in the snowy Haafingar mountains. The town claims to be the home of many nordic warriors and adventurers. Beautiful women and strong men, who raise strong children and heirs to the throne, which is the town itself. It was fairly large, bigger than most towns, and considered a major city in the Haafingar Hold. It attracted many wanderers and pilgrims, both for personal and religious journeys. It was a very peaceful and kind-feeling place in the mountains. The large village boasted it's fine and wealthy estates and was called home by many large and powerful political figures. It was sometimes seen as a different Hold entirely, secluded from the rest of the world. It was ruled by a kingly man named Idar, and his son, Idarak. Idar was a large, fitting ruler with a long, blond beard and a large, kind heart. He treated the people of Iron-Gaine as his own kin, and provided the town with everything it could ever need.
There was no room for weakness in Iron-Gaine, and all of the children had to be brought up strong and tough, but Idarak, the king's son, was placed in a protective cocoon from the moment he was born. Other than the town itself, Idarak was all that his father had, and he was treated as so. He was given everything he asked, and when he asked the impossible, he only became angry and had men struck down "In the name of Iron-Gaine!". The town was perfect, but forced to be controlled by a brat. For a few years, the town endured Idarak's crudeness, but Iron-Gaine softened the long fall of the citizens with it's warm people and feelings.
Many years later, Idar, the leader of Iron-Gaine, died from disease. The men and women of the village were filled with sorrow for the loss of a great leader. They were mournful of his death, but mourned for the next generation, for it would be under the control of Idarak. Prayers were lifted to the divines and gods that his reign would be an easy one, and if things got out of hand, help would come from another hold or nearby city, but they knew this would never happen. The city was in an isolation beyond their help. They would have to face this task alone, all by their lonesome. Who knew that, although the city had lived hundreds of years and endured relentless winters, bandit raids, forsworn attacks, and the sparks of the Stormcloak Rebellion, it would be ended by a mere child?
It was a sad sight, indeed, to see the clueless child sat upon the throne of Iron-Gaine, the wise words of his father slipped from his mind. He was ruling with an iron fist, acting and relying upon instinct and a form of "inheritance" to guide him through his rule. Expectation hit him like a stampede. He was inexperienced and had yet to see his twelfth Winter. Executions were held daily for those who disobeyed Idarak's ridiculous laws. His harsh and cruel punishment led to loss of number and defenses, and the town often fell victim to the Forsworn and their relentless attacks in the mountains that bordered High-Rock. The death-rate skyrocketed, the town suffered from a maniacal leader, the people suffered from weak walls and forsworn warriors, and the children suffered from lack of food. The streets were littered with bodies and most children died at an early age due to starvation or disease.
Internal conflict sprouted from the dirty streets of Iron-Gaine. Rebellion erupted here and there, homes were burned to the ground, people were violently executed or killed, and the walls of the town were reduced to rubble before Idarak's eyes. He knew his reign would end. He knew it would also end violently. He needed a loop-hole. He needed an ace in the hole, a way out of this town. A way to cheat death. He needed a scapegoat.
Idarak sent out a small detachment of his most trusted men to find a boy who looked like himself. He wanted a perfect, harmless boy who wouldn't put up a fight or cause a scene. He hand-picked an orphaned, nordic boy, with white hair and soft skin, much like himself. He had a carriage prepared for him, and fled, but not before issuing a new law to cover his tracks;
"Any Child, male or female, under the age of five years, shall be put to death. Extreme shortages of food have left us with no choice but to conserve all necessary items for the well-being of our own selves and the town, Iron-Gaine. It heavies my heart that it has come to this conclusion, but our inability to collect enough to sustain our own lives frightens me and makes me fear the future of our beloved town." *Sealed with the Mark of King Idarak, Lord of Iron-Gaine*
The town was in shambles. Men, women, and children were massacred, every building was broken into, set aflame, and destroyed, blood flooded the cobble-stone streets of the once-beautiful city, and her peoples were in an outrage of blind fury. They charged the Palace of King Idarak and destroyed it entirely, beating the supposed "king" and leaving him as close to death as possible. The boy was beyond human recognition, and Idarak's plan had worked. The people surrounded the innocent boy, lusting for his death, but seeking justice. This was no ordinary condition. He deserved the darkest dungeon. The peoples wanted him destroyed, but from the inside-out. They wanted him to burn in the darkest circle of hell. They wanted him erased from existence. They wanted their loved-ones, their children, and their home. They wanted their memories, their town, their honor, and their sweet memories of Iron-Gaine back.
They declared that with his destruction, they will rebuild the city anew. They will demolish any trace of Idarak from this world and restore the town to it's former glory. They took the framed boy to Solitude, badly beaten, bruised, and gagging on his own blood, they dragged him into Castle-Dour as he took his last glimpse of sunlight, through the dungeons, down many long flights of stairs, past many iron-doors, and slammed into the floor of a cold cell. The door smashed closed, and written on the outside in a blood-like substance was the roman numeral: VII