Chapter One: The Last Dragonborn

The Last Dragonborn is the first chapter of Ikaram: The Last Dragonborn.
==Synopsis==
In helping Karliah and Brynjolf defeat Mercer Frey, Ikaram is killed, and uses his final regeneration to save his life. But something about this life is different...
==Plot==
[The scene opened up underground, in the chamber of the Snow Elf Prince statue. Ikaram, the last Dragonborn, wearing full Nightingale armor, fell to his knees in the water. Mercer Frey stepped up behind him.]
Mercer Frey: Tell Gallus I said hello!
[Mercer shoved the blade of his Dwarven sword through Ikaram’s chest, and instantly pulled it out. Ikaram looked at the wound, then at his hand. All that was exposed of his flesh was his fingers, which were glowing with yellow energy.]
Ikaram: Tell him yourself, Mercer!
[Ikaram ripped off one of his gloves, and whipped around, energy blasting from his now exposed hand. The energy threw Mercer back.]
Mercer: Agh! What the-
Ikaram: You shouldn’t have killed me. Because now I’m gonna kill you.
[Ripping off his other glove, Ikaram blasted Mercer with energy from both of his hands. The energy was so strong that it caught Mercer’s body on fire. Mercer screamed in pain as he was burnt alive, before finally falling to the ground, dead. Ikaram’s hands stopped releasing energy. Once the energy cleared, his hands were different. He put his gloves back on as Karliah and Brynjolf came down to him.]
Brynjolf: I knew you were full of surprises, lad. I didn’t realize how many.
Karliah: What was that? It looked like a spell that heals oneself while hurting another.
[Ikaram was silent.]
Brynjolf: Lad?
Karliah: Ikaram? Are you ok?
[When Ikaram spoke, his voice was much different. While it was a higher pitched voice, it was now deeper, with a Scottish hint to it.]
Ikaram: I… I don’t know.
Karliah: What… What happened to your voice?
Ikaram: It’s…
[Just as Ikaram began to speak, water began rushing into the chamber.]
Brynjolf: You’ll have to explain later, lad. Right now, we need to get out of here.
[Rocks came crashing down from above, just barely missing the three. Karliah ran over to Mercer’s body, and picked off the Falmer eyes and Skeleton Key. Ikaram looked up. A tunnel had opened up from where the rocks fell from.]
Ikaram: There… If we wait for the water to rise high enough, we can get out.
[The scene then changed to a small cave. Golden pipes were running through it. At the end of the cave, there was a puddle of water. From the puddle came the trio, gasping for air.]
Brynjolf: That was one hell of a plan, Ikaram. I don’t particularly mean that in a good way.
Ikaram: Give me a break, we didn’t have much choice. Agh… Besides, I’m still disoriented from the regeneration.
Karliah: Is that what you call it? “Regeneration?”
[Ikaram looked at Karliah.]
Ikaram: That’s what he called it.
Brynjolf: Who?
Ikaram: Whoever or whatever gave me this power to begin with. If I die… I don’t actually die. I change. Every part of me… changes. I’m like a whole other person with the same memories. I don’t know who or what gave me this power, but the first thing I remember is waking up with a note explaining everything.
Karliah: What exactly is “everything?”
Ikaram: Regeneration. Extended lifespan. Large brain capacity.
Brynjolf: When you say extended lifespan…
Ikaram: 1E 1999, 11th of Second Seed. I won’t forget that date. It’s the date I woke up. I’ve been alive ever since. But… I woke up fully grown. I don’t remember what happened before that. According to the note, I had experienced my first regeneration, and the memory of my first life was completely wiped away. And now, I’m on my… [begins counting on fingers] Oh… Oh that’s not good.
Karliah: What? What’s not good?
Ikaram: That note said that I only had twelve regenerations. Thirteen lives in total… That bastard Mercer… He cost me my last regeneration! Fuck!
Karliah: Just… calm down. He may have cost you one, but you cost him his only life.
[Ikaram sighed.]
Ikaram: Look… Let’s just… Let’s just go outside. I need to take a look at my new face.
Brynjolf: Your new face?
Ikaram: I told you, everything changes.
[The group walked outside, finding themselves at a lake.]
Ikaram: Perfect!
[Ikaram ran to the water, and immediately pulled off his cowl. He had long brown hair, brown facial hair, and brown eyes.]
Ikaram: Huh. Not exactly what I expected. Could’ve been worse. [turns to the other two] What do you think?
Brynjolf: You finally grew yourself a beard!
Karliah: I think this you looks cuter.
Ikaram: ...Was I not cute before?
Karliah: No, you were. You’re just more cute now.
Ikaram: ...Right. Right. Look… I know we agreed there wouldn’t be anymore secrets among the guild… 
Brynjolf: No worries, lad. If you want this to remain a secret among the Nightingales, then so be it.
Karliah: Of course.
[Ikaram smiled as he put his cowl back on.]
Ikaram: Now… The Falmer eyes and Skeleton key… They’ll have to wait. Or someone else will have to do it. I have to rest for a bit when we get back to Nightingale Hall. Regeneration and all that.
Karliah: They can’t wait for long. Besides, I can’t do it. I’m too ashamed to go back to Nocturnal after letting it be stolen.
Brynjolf: And I have Guild business to attend to. You’re the only option left, lad.
Ikaram: You said that if I went I’d have to go the Pilgrim’s Path, right?
Karliah: Yes. Why?
Ikaram: The Pilgrim’s Path isn’t meant for Nightingales. It’s meant for others. I can send someone else.
Karliah: No! We can’t ju-
Ikaram: I’m only… doing what makes sense. Look… Brynjolf, you take the Falmer eyes back to the guild. Karliah, you take the Skeleton Key… and go to the docks to the northwest of Solitude. You’ll find a boat that’ll take you to the island castle. Tell them I sent you and you need to speak with Serana. You can trust her.
Brynjolf: Are you sure the regeneration isn’t messing with your head?
Ikaram: I’m oddly fine, right now. It’ll take its toll eventually. But trust me. This is right, for now.
[The scene changed to the untidy Nightingale Hall. Ikaram fell into a bed near the entrance of the main chamber. He slowly drifted off to sleep. The scene changed to his dream. In his dream, he was watching over an island. The northern half was covered in snow, and the southern half in ash.]
Ikaram (thinking): What… What is this place?
[The people of the island were congregating to strange, stone structures, building on them.]
Ikaram (thinking): What are they doing?
[A deep, powerful voice was heard.]
Voice: Here, in my shrine.
Ikaram (thinking): What the fuck?!
Voice: That you have forgotten.
[Other people on the island were working on a temple near the middle of the island.]
Voice: Here, do you toil.
Ikaram (thinking): That… That place… Why is it so familiar…
Voice: That you might remember.
Ikaram (thinking): Remember… Remember… Remember what?
Voice: By night, you reclaim.
[Ikaram’s dream was interrupted when he was suddenly woken up, startled. He looked around, breathing heavily. Around him stood Serana, Karliah, Brynjolf, and Aela.]
Serana: Woah, take it easy. You’ve been out for almost a week.
Ikaram: So that explains the hunger… Right.
Serana: So, your face change happened again?
Ikaram: Yeah… Yeah.
[Ikaram removed his cowl, revealing his face to Serana and Aela.]
Aela: I’m guessing you’ve got his scent, too.
Serana: Of course I do. It’s him, alright.
Brynjolf: If we’re done with idle chat, there’s something he needs to know.
Ikaram: What?
Karliah: People are looking for you.
Ikaram: That’s not much of a surprise. I’m a well known person.
Serana: Not you as in Ikaram. You as in Dragonborn.
Ikaram: That’s a first.
[Suddenly, yelling was heard from the hallway-like cave between the main chamber and the entrance.]
Voice: Find the Dragonborn! Miraak demands he be slain!
Ikaram: Miraak...
Aela: Go hide! We’ll keep them busy!
[Serana grabbed Ikaram’s arm and pulled him down the hallway out of the main chamber. Karliah, Brynjolf, and Aela got ready, and two men ran in. They were wearing orange and yellow robes, and oddly shaped white masks.]
Cultist 1: Where is the False Dragonborn?!
Karliah: Your search has lead you to a dead end. We don’t know the Dragonborn!
Cultist 2: Your trickery won’t work on us, fellow Dunmer! We saw his associates walk in!
[Serana entered the room, chiming in.]
Serana: If you’re talking about me and Aela, us being here doesn’t mean he’s here.
Cultist 1: Don’t insult our intelli-
[Suddenly, the cultists stopped talking and froze. The group seemed confused. Their heads fell off simultaneously as their bodies fell to the ground. Behind them, Ikaram stood there, wearing full glass armor, though his gauntlets had the leather gloves removed, exposing his hands, and he was holding a bloodied, glass battleaxe.]
Karliah: Well, I see your rash decision making hasn’t changed!
Ikaram: They said they were gonna try to kill me, so I killed them first. Seems simple enough to me. Now… [kneels down to bodies] If being alive this long has taught me anything, it’s that these fuckers always have some sort of note on them telling them to kill you.
[Ikaram went to loot one of the cultists. As soon as his hand touched the cultist, the vision of the cultists within a temple underground. They were blurry. The voice from his dream was once again heard.]
Voice: Take care of the Dragonborn. There must be a clean slate for my return.
[The vision ended, and Ikaram fell back, unconscious. Everything went black as the chapter ended.]
==Major Events==
*Ikaram regenerates from his twelfth incarnation to his thirteenth.
*Ikaram and his team meet 
==Characters==
*Ikaram (regenerates from Twelfth incarnation to Thirteenth; debut)
*Karliah (debut)
*Brynjolf (debut)
*Aela the Huntress (debut)
*Serana (debut)
===Villains===
*Mercer Frey (cameo, death)
*Miraak Cultists (debut)
==Trivia==
*The title of this chapter refers to both Ikaram's status as the Last Dragonborn, and his final incarnation.
*The day Ikaram says he woke up, 1E 1999, 11th of Second Seed, is the Elder Scrolls eqivalent of Alanomaly's birthday, May 5th, 1999.