'What do you mean?' asked Drelis.
'Well, I mean he traveled to Skyrim to start a new life, as a blacksmith or ironmonger I presume; but since crossing the border he has been up for execution, foiled a bandit plot, explored a forgotten tomb, learned an ancient magical power, slain a dragon, and been elevated to the status of thane. I'm guessing that he didn't just pack it all in for the quiet life he originally sought out, otherwise you wouldn't still have a dozen books lying in front of you.'
'As always Phane, your brilliance seems undeserved of someone with such low aspirations.' Drelis smiled and picked up his wine cup. 'Consider that orcs have been known to be natural warriors, adventurers, and fighters. They are capable of living in harsh conditions through the most trying of times; ideal candidates for the trials Skyrim had to offer. Khargol gro-Mashnar may have wanted to be a master smith when he first arrived in Skyrim, but now he is being called dragonborn and seeing things that no one has seen for thousands and thousands of years. Do you know whom had the honour to be the last dragonborn in Tamriel?'
'Martin Septim!' Lalaine cried. 'He was the last of the Septim bloodline wasn't he? The last Septim emperor.'
'Quite right, and that was almost two centuries before Khargol was even born. If you, Phane, were the first dragonborn in Tamriel for two hundred years, what would you do?'
'I'd get people to respect me, surely,' Phane thumped his chest, grinning broadly. 'If the emperors used to be dragonborn, why not elect me emperor if I'm dragonborn too?' He laughed at his own joke, much to the chagrin of his friends.
'I'm glad the responsibility of battling dragons never fell on your shoulders, Phane.' Lalaine pulled a face and shook her head slowly. 'What happened next, Drelis? Did Khargol go straight to High Hrothgar to meet the greybeards?'
'I'm glad you asked,' said Drelis, returning to his place in the old journal. 'Jarl Balgruuf had much to say about dragonborn, it seems. The jarl, the castle steward, and the castle mage, all told Khargol what they could about dragons, dragonborn, and the greybeards.'
'So, who were the greybeards?' asked Lalaine. 'We know they live in High Hrothgar on the Throat of the World, but what do they have to do with the dragonborn?'
'Ah, well Lydia writes that Khargol spoke of them as "masters of the voice", the power to shout in the ancient dragon language. You see, it is not necessary to be dragonborn in order to use a thru'um, and the greybeards dedicated their entire lives to studying it. To be summoned to High Hrothgar was a great honour.
'Khargol spent the next day in Whiterun, buying supplies and trying to find out as much as possible about the journey that lay ahead of him. He visited Jorrvaskr, the mead hall of the Companions. The Companions function in a similar way to the empire's Fighters Guild, but Khargol did not make much progress with them. He found the Companions brusque and stand-offish. You might think that an orc would shrug it off and sign their charter regardless, but Khargol was looking for help climbing the Throat of the World rather than the responsibilities of joining a warrior company.
'Lydia also mentions that Khargol said the companions "reminded him too much of Orsinium," and that "he was no longer a mercenary, blind to all but gold," which probably reveals a little about his history, don't you agree?
'The companions did help in some small way, however. Just beyond Jorrvaskar, the master smith, Eorlund Grey-Mane, worked the Sky Forge, making the finest weapons and armour known to Skyrim. Khargol was eager to learn from the likes of Eorlund, but little is revealed about what they discussed. From Lydia's scant records on the subject, it appears that Eorlund dismissed Khargol as an amateur and did not take him seriously.'
'That's a shame,' mumbled Lalaine. 'I suppose being dragonborn doesn't guarantee that everyone will take you seriously.'
'Quite, but Khargol's smithing days are not yet over. He simply picks up the trade a little later on.
'There were a few other events of small importance in Whiterun. Khargol got into two fist-fights in the Bannered Mare tavern, spoke with a pair of armed redguard envoys who claimed to be searching for a fugitive from Hammerfell, and aided a priest named Andurs who, in Khargol's opinion, "sounded more like a thief than a priest" although he does not go into detail as to why.
'After preparing for the journey ahead, Khargol spent the night in the Bannered Mare. The next morning, he requested that Lydia accompany him on the road to High Hrothgar.'
'Now we're getting somewhere!' cried Phane, rubbing his eyes. 'What time is it?'
'Is that the sun?' Lalaine asked, startled by the glow of dawn that was creeping in through the shutters.
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