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English
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Published:
2025-12-18
Updated:
2026-02-25
Words:
56,610
Chapters:
96/200
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So Bear the Sky, These Calloused Hands of Mine

Summary:

"This one's a favorite of mine, a legend we all know and love..."

The in-game journal of Elbryn. Failed mage, nobody, and somehow, the Dragonborn. Something closer to a Divine joke than a legend to be put to song, but who are we to question the gods?

Chapter 1: Forward

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Within these pages you will find the journal of Elbryn Dragons-Tongue the Last Dragonborn, spanning from 4E 201 to 202.

As you know, many of our records of this time period were lost in the Second Great War, so finding such a detailed account of the Dragon Rising, from the Last Dragonborn himself no less, I consider to be my crowning scholarly achievement!

The discovery was nearly as remarkable as the document itself. The location of his final resting place had always been a subject of debate, with no surviving records of a tomb of any kind being built for him. Some of my colleagues even argued that the Last Dragonborn was still alive, trapped in the Daedric Realm of Apocrypha. But to think he and his journal were right under our noses here in Winterhold this entire time!

I have taken it upon myself to copy its contents here for publishing before returning it to the Jarl. This was no small feat I assure you. It turns out that Elbryn was a very, very talkative man. The historical anecdotes about him spending nearly all his spare time writing turned out to be quite accurate.

And so I hope, dear reader, that this account proves to be enlightening in some way, for my hands suffered greatly in bringing it to you.

 

- Dorian Ervine of Winterhold -

 

Notes:

I discovered an unassuming mod for my latest Skyrim playthrough called "The Journal of the Dragonborn". I thought it might be a fun roleplaying thing to write out my Dovahkiin's thoughts as I played. Now, nearly 200 entries later, I realize that this has gotten far, far out of hand. At the very least, you all might enjoy reading it!

I've changed many parts of the story to fit with my personal headcanons or preferences, but tried to keep the overall tone consistent with the game (with all the dissonance that entails). Think of this as something like a novelization of a Skyrim let's play. I hope you all like my cringefail spellsword who's scared of magic as much as I do <3

Also I did end up resorting to using lyrics from another Fellowship song as the title. So sue me, the entire Saberlight Chronicles album is basically Elbryn's soundtrack at this point. (If you like power metal even a little bit I would *highly* recommend them)