Neddre

Neddre is a Khajiit warrior and known Dragonborn who had illegally immigrated to Skyrim, due to his hard past. He is the official Thane of Whiterun, but some say that he controls the steward, who in turn controls the Jarl behind the scenes. He played a major part in the Stormcloak Rebellion, and broke race barriers as the first non-Nord to join the Rebellion. He even became one of its highest-ranking members. His heroic feats include killing all the Dark Brotherhood members in their dark coven. He did not kill Babette, but she was apprehended by the Penitus Oculatus and then executed for her centuries-old crimes.

=Timeline=

Pre-Birth (4E 176-89)
Neddre was born Neddraja on the 4th of Sun's Dawn 4E 189 in the house of a local lord, located in a slum of Dune, the largest city in Tamriel at the time, with a population of 500,000.

His mother, Abkhazzi, was a direct descendant of the Mane and prophet Rid-T'har-ri'Datta, who had ruled Elsweyr thousands of years ago as the first of the Datta Dynasty. The Datta clan still ruled after these two thousand years had passed. However, in 4E 176 the Jajaawir Clan of Pelletine, puppets of the Aldmeri Dominion, usurped the throne from them with large army of Altmer who called themselves the 'Pelletine Liberation Army,' who had only surfaced for this rebellion. This conicided with the Great War that was going on in the rest of Tamriel, and was virtually unnoticed because of this. Once the Dynasty was overthrown by the Jajaawir, Abkhazzi, then 12, fled from the palace in Ne Quin-al, and succeeded in making it across Elsweyr without being detected, but was captured on the border between Elsweyr and Cyrodiil, where she was heading to the Khajiit-friendly city of Leyawiin as a political refugee. Civil war soon began to rage, and Abkhazzi was sold into slavery by the Thalmor, and then shipped to the Summerset Isles. She was then bought by the half-breed (half Khajiit, half Altmer) Prince J'dara, who was well-known for being the son of current Queen with a Khajiit husband named merely "Jo." He was considered a prime candidate in taking the throne when she died. She had an affair with him, and soon became pregnant with illegitimate children who had Datta blood, and because of this, J'dara sold her to a minor noble named Basha who ruled over a section of the city Dune back in Elsweyr, because he did not want his wife to find out about his affair with Abkhazzi. He did not tell Basha that she was a princess, but instead told her that she was only a servant who had worked at the Palace, and had been captured when it was raided.

However, one of J'dara's servants who hated him very much told his wife and the Queen of this affair, and that Abkhazzi was of the Datta clan. The Queen was not troubled by this at first, saying that it was 'only another stupid clan of barbarians,' but was then reminded that these children could be advocates for the Throne of the Aldmeri Dominion. When reminded, she went insane and threw herself off the tower. J'dara then became king for a brief period before anyone found out about his scandal, but was soon removed due to this.

Early Childhood (4E 189-99)
Abkhazzi gave birth to Neddre and his siblings on 4th of Sun's Dawn 4E 189, in the Servants' Quarters of the Basha's mansion, and he was taken to a separate room, because Basha's personal wise man, Khurjo, could tell that he had special gifts that needed to be nurtured. His brothers were Ma'randru-jo, Kharjad, and Kharjo, and his sisters were Shahzee and Shahzee-ra, both named after an Argonian woman who greatly helped her in her escape, and Kuyara and Abiya as well.

Growing up, Neddre was taught only by the finest Elven and Khajiit tutors in Dune, as well as Khurjo, who taught him how to hone his 'voice,' which he was never able to do, disappointing the old man. His favorite instructor was Ri'saad, who was a slave on loan from the supreme clan head of the city, and who, as Ned did not know at the time, was also his uncle. His mother taught him valuable skills in combat that he would one day learn to use well. He also learned how to do many works of menial labor. He and his siblings were soon orphaned when their mother committed suicide when they were only 7 years old, only everyone knew that it was really the Dark Brotherhood performing a job, but, what the children didn't know was that it was the Dominion who had hired them. And the children knew that the assassin was a Dunmer woman with a deep voice and evil look in her eyes, because before his mother had died, she had had an 'upholsterer' come over to refurnish her chair. They knew what she looked like because she came after them, too, and hushed them, and smiled and said, "Shhhh...let me have my fun." However, just as she was about to slit Shahzee's throat, Basha's guards burst in and found her. She immediately fled out the window, and when guards looked for her in the street, she had vanished. After their mother died and they had been attacked, they were taken in by Basha, and he treated them like his own children.

He was never told by his mother about his royal heritage.

Later Childhood and Teenage Years (4E 199-204)
When Basha, who was very old, died from a heart attack, the children, age 10, were sent to live with Basha's best friend, M'aiq the Liar, who at this time was wandering Elsweyr. They wandered the land with M'aiq and his son M'aiq, with whom they talked about many things, learning about the world outside of Dune. They learned many catchphrases and useful lies in lectures by M'aiq.

Attempted Immigration to Skyrim (4E 204-5)
When they were fifteen, the siblings divided up into two groups: one bound for Morrowind, the other for Skyrim. Kharjo, M'aiq, Neddre, and Ma'randru-jo played their chances in Skyrim, where they heard were great opportunities, and fled across the border and ran into the Imperial checkpoints at Leyawiin, the Imperial City, and Bruma, but with their lying skills, these obstacles were passed with ease. At some point along the way, Neddre greatly offended all of his siblings and M'aiq, and was ostracized from the group.

Enslavement in Zainsipilu (4E 205-9)
After several weeks of wandering alone trying to reach Skyrim's border, he was exhausted when he reached it, and fell down on his hands and knees and prayed to the Two Moons and thanked them for keeping him alive during the hardship he endured. However, he was grabbed by Dunmer slavers who had taken a trip far out of the range of their cave, Zainsipilu, in the Ashlands to find fresh Beastfolk blood. He was soon taken to Morrowind, where he encountered his sister Shahzee-ra, who had been captured in Morrowind whilst trying to make a small living in the slums of Balmora. She had been captured in the streets in broad daylight, but the racist Dunmer did not care, for it is a common belief in Morrowind that all Beastfolk should be slaves. When talking to Shahzee-ra, he asked what happened to his sisters and Kharjad. She said that when they had been hailed by a gang of rogue Ashlanders, her twin Shahzee had been taken and Kharjad killed, and Kuyara and Abiya had split off from them after this happened and gone to Vivec instead of Balmora, and therefore she did not know the whereabouts of them.

Freedom and Resumed Immigration (4E 209-10)
When Neddre tired of his captivity, he found a strange power within him, possibly the 'voice' that Khurjo had told him about, and all of the slavers were thrown in different directions, many crashing into the hard rock wall of the cave headfirst, killing them instantly with hard blows to the head. He then grabbed a dead slaver's sword and brought down all of the slavers by his mighty hand. All the slaves were soon freed, but when he asked Shahzee-ra if she wanted to go with him, she answered no, and that she would instead play her chances in the Summerset Isles. Neddre accepted her choice and resumed his journey to Skyrim. He went around the mountains on the western border of Morrowind bordering Skyrim, and went the way he had gone before, as he felt he needed to 'conquer it' (he may have been high on Skooma during most of this past ordeal), and passed the gate without any trouble at all.

Skyrim
Capture and the Helgen Incident (4E 210) He wandered the roads for a short time, feeling very relieved and tired. However, he would not be at rest for long, as his tail sprung up when he was caught right in the middle of a dispute between the Imperials and possibly some bandits in blue cuirasses who were caught on a bad day. When these bandits surrendered, they were manacled and thrown in two or three wagons. Neddre was arrested by a soldier named Thorjar, who arrested Neddre because he thought, due to being a Khajiit, that he was a criminal. Neddre exclaimed, "I am not with the lowlives! I just a bystander!", but the stubborn Nord did not listen. He was thrown in a wagon with a whiny thief named Lokir, the leader of these bandits, who, as he was informed by a man named Ralof, was their esteemed leader. His name was Ulfric Stormcloak.

He was taken to a village called Helgen, where the villagers pointed at him and stared. A little girl asked who they were, but she was hurried inside by her parents. When they arrived at a small clearing with an execution block, they were all shoved out by an impatient Imperial. They lined up and were asked their names. When it came Neddre's turn, the soldier said, "Who are you?". Neddre answered impatiently, "Neddre of Dune, son of Abkhazzi." A Thalmor soldier who was standing nearby looked stunned at what he overheard, but Neddre did not understand why. The soldier just gave him a fearful glance and kept his mouth shut. He found it suspicious when the soldier informed a Thalmor emissary about him. Her face turned a sickly shade of white.

This execution in the clearing was obviously an important one, as there was that Thalmor emissary, and an Imperial general. Maybe these bandits in blue armor were not really bandits at all. Their leader was called up, and the general angrily read a letter while the Thalmor smiled. All of the blue coats raised a riot about her being there, implying that they were not friends of the Dominion, which Neddre began like about them, as the Thalmor in his neighborhood would make the children due the worst kind of work that they did not feel like doing. When they did not comply, they were given beatings. What especially made Neddre hate them was that they laughed the whole time, saying how inferior  all other races except the Bosmer and Maormer were to them.

The general read the scroll, and then motioned for all of them, one by one, to be executed. Only one was executed, and the rest became very angry and barked at the officials standing there. When it was his turn he stepped up to the block. The headsman was about to say "Come with me," but did not have the chance when, suddenly, without thought, he jumped up and used martial arts on the headsman, kicking straight through his chest and throwing him twenty feet. The Stormcloaks used this chance to free themselves and their leader, grab the general and the Thalmor, and ran for the exit - when, all of a sudden, a dragon appeared out of nowhere and bellowed in Dovahzul, which he could somehow understand. He said, "I am free, free, to kill the folk of Nirn!" and as Imperial soldiers threw their arrows at him, they were consumed in fire, and fell, burnt all along their bodies, to the ground.

The blue coats, who, as he was told in the scroll, were called Stormcloaks after their leader, and Imperials alike, hid in the now-ruined towers of Helgen and tried to stay alive. He ended up with an Imperial named Hadvar. Hadvar tried to show him fighting techniques and how to put on armor, but Neddre assured him that he had been trained by professionals in Elsweyr. Neddre brought down Stormcloaks with ease, which he would later come to regret, and came out not only with Hadvar, but also with the assistant of a torturer whom he had killed when nobody was looking because Neddre thought that this man looked like the one who beat him as a kitten. He would later find out that this was indeed true.

Escape to Riverwood and Trip to Whiterun (4E 210)
He walked with Hadvar and the assistant to the nearest village, named Riverwood. He followed Hadvar to his house, but the assistant did not, and instead went to drink mead at the inn to wash the dragon attack away. Neddre sat down with Hadvar's family and ate a nice meal, something that he had not had in days due to lack of money. They also gave him two purses full of Septims because he assured Hadvar's escape. They told him to use them well. He was sent by Alvor, Hadvar's uncle, to Whiterun to inform Jarl Balgruuf of the incident. He did so, and Balgruuf was quick to send the reserve Imperial soldiers and a team of guards to explore the site of this supposed attack.

The Companions Tenure and Becoming Thane (4E 210-11)
While there, Neddre became enthralled with the Companions, and quickly rose through their ranks to the Circle. He only rose this quickly because he could turn into a Werecat, something that the Companions had only heard tales of, yet had not seen one themselves. He quickly became friends with all the members of the Companions, but was not liked by the hardcore Nord Vilkas, who was very suspicious of him. The rest enjoyed his company, even his brother Farkas, who assured him that Neddre was a good fellow, and not to worry.

He learned of the Stormcloaks through his friend Eorlund Gray-Mane, who directed him towards Windhelm. Before he did this, however, a dragon was sighted outside of Whiterun, and for some reason, Neddre found a strange thirst for Dragon blood inside him. He signed up and went with a group of guards and Aela and Farkas, to fight the dragon, which he brought down with ease. He was then named Thane by Jarl Balgruuf for it.

He then stayed in Whiterun a brief bit more, tore his way through a crypt full of Draugr, which he only knew about through campfire stories but were easier to defeat than said stories had specified. He retrieved the shards of Ysgramor's axe singlehandedly. He fought a fellow Khajiit named Do'Kazdul for the positon of Harbinger, and Do'Kazdul won briefly, but Neddre found all but one of the shards (the one that Do'Kazdul found) and was more beloved by the Circle. He soon became the Harbinger without questions asked. He was then briefly married to Aela, but they soon divorced due to many disagreements on vital topics.

Signing up for the Stormcloaks in Windhelm and Reuniting of Siblings (4E 211)
Neddre's journey began in Whiterun, where his housecarl Lydia and ex-wife Aela joined him on his journey to Windhelm to sign up for the Stormcloaks. His mission was to make things better for Khajiit in Skyrim, as he knew that his siblings were traveling in caravans. During his long stay in Whiterun, he had seen Ma'randru-jo in a caravan with his uncle, Ri'saad. He tried to talk to Ma'randru-jo, but he refused, and only said, "Here is Kharjo's amulet. I found it on the corpse of a bandit. Give it to him. He has wanted it for long time now." Ne. When Neddre spoke to Ri'saad about it, he explained that Ma'randru-jo was heartbroken over the loss of his wife, Khara, and Neddre's insult along the way to Skyrim was not appreciated. Then, when Neddre thought the conversation was done, Ri'saad beckoned to him, and explained his noble birth to him, and that he was the rightful heir to two thrones: The King of the Aldmeri Dominion and the Mane of the Elsweyr Confederacy.

Neddre traveled with their caravan, and took them out of the way to go to Dawnstar, where Ri'saad said Kharjo's caravan would be. He walked up to Kharjo, and gave him his amulet. Kharjo forgave him then and there, and agreed to follow Neddre on his resumed trip to Windhelm to join the Stormcloaks. When Neddre arrived at the Windhelm, he walked to the Palace of the Kings and talked to Ulfric. "Yes, I remember you now. You were that cat in the wagon at Helgen. Yes, I have a place for you." He motioned towards Galmar Stone-Fist, his housecarl and second-in-command, and Galmar directed him towards the Battle of Whiterun that would be happening on the 4th of Hearth's Fire. Neddre gladly accepted.

Joining of the Dawnguard (4E 211)
After he signed up for the Stormcloaks, Neddre walked around Candlehearth Hall, and was just at the gate, when an Orc named Durak, who had been previously running around crying something like, "Join the Dawnguard! Fight the undead who plague our Skyrim!". Durak stopped Neddre and asked him specifically to join, as he had heard from a courier of a new Harbinger and Thane of Whiterun who was a Khajiit, and had been recently journeying to Windhelm to join the Stormcloaks.

Durak told him specifically to come to Fort Dawnguard and sign up, and that a great warrior like Neddre would make a great addition to the vampire slaying. Neddre accepted, and went on his way with Kharjo and Lydia (Aela became tired and went back to Whiterun) to the Dawnguard, where all three signed up. He talked to their leader, Isran, whom he disliked very much because they had little in common in the wrong ways. Isran reluctantly accepted him, and told him that there was a cave named Dimhollow Crypt, deep in the mountains of Falkreath, which held something of high importance to the vampires.

Neddre accepted the quest, thinking it to be easy.

Dimhollow Crypt (4E 211)
Neddre entered Dimhollow Crypt without his friends, as they were given other assignments elsewhere, and approached the main chamber quietly. He ran into vampires along the way, but snuck up behind them and slit their throats. Now was no time for warhammers. He quickly made haste through the corridors, even killing the death hounds before they could howl. He eventually made it to the Crypt's main chamber, and saw them torturing a vigilant of Stendarr. He immediately jumped from where he was standing, made a silent and soft Khajiit landing, and ordered the vampires to stop in their tracks. Their leader, who was named Lokil, slew the vigilant before Neddre had time to do anything, and was on him in milliseconds.

Neddre made a quick move and broke his kneecaps with the warhammer, Tailbasher, making the vampire cry out in pain and fell. His friends soon came to help because of this. Neddre used his 'voice' and threw them just far enough so they fell to their deaths into an abyss which surrounded the chamber. As Lokil was still immobile, he took the time to make a clean job of it and bashed his head in. He then approached a central pedestal that looked like it would activate something, he pressed the button on it, and a spike came up, but Neddre had quick reflexes and avoided it entirely. However, it pierced his thick coat, and it was registered as skin, so the chamber opened up and a coffin appeared. It opened up, and there was a beautiful girl inside. Neddre knew better than to trust her, as he knew she must be a vampire, but did not kill her, because he was mesmerised by her beauty. He asked her about what seemed like, oddly - an Elder Scroll on her back. She told him to shut up and not worry about it. Then, something happened and he was knocked out cold.

Kidnapping and Hostage Time in Castle Volkihar (4E 211)
Neddre woke up in a strange place. Here, he was greeted by shriveled faces. They were cold and evil, and had red, glaring eyes. These were the vampires of legend. These was the Volkihar Vampire Clan.

Neddre heard this story around a campfire when he went camping in the forests of Anequina. It was told by the older M'aiq:

"For many thousands of years, there have been vampires in the North who will hunt humans in their homes and suck their blood clean, or sometimes, if you are unlucky, you can become their 'cattle,' humans who have been muted and whose only purpose is for the vampires' meals. However, do not fear, my kittens, for they only thirst for Human and Elven blood, not the blood of Beastfolk. 

''These vampires are led by an evil man named Lord Harkon, who likes to suck the blood of children, and once sucked a whole city clean of blood on the island of Solstheim. But that was before my time. They say that this Harkon was one of the first to be infected with Vampirism, when he had an encounter-gone bad with maybe Sanguine or Molag Bal, I am never sure. Anyway, it is said this Harkon is what they call a vampire lord, demons of old who can transform into horrific creatures that look like son of bat and man. My grandfather saw him in person, and this creature only said to him that he was a cat and need not fear, for he was only interested in the blood of man and mer. He then lifted off and soared to the sky. This my grandfather said, although I do not know if he was telling the truth, for we are all liars in this family. ''

''Harkon has a giant castle full of ugly vampires like himself. He even has a family of these putrid monsters. This is what I have heard. Or maybe it is not.''

Neddre saw the faces around him. He looked to his right and to his left. To his right, he saw a middle-aged, cold-faced monster. This must have been Harkon. He also saw the girl standing next to him. To his left, he saw a Dunmer, who looked as if he was living, but his red eyes gave him away. He also saw on this side of him some death hounds, a human, who seemed to be the cattle that M'aiq had told him about, lying moaning on a table. He saw these things, and he thought, What do they want with me? I see that you are one of us now, cat. You got yourself on our spike trap, didn't you? That trap was rigged with vampire blood. Welcome to the world of Sanguinaire Vampiris, my friend." Neddre replied, "I did not get myself on your little spike, you idiot. I spit on you. If I had, my fur would be white!" He checked on this, only to find his tail and arms were still brown. He was relieved. Harkon looked angry. His face became wrinkled, and he said, "Okay, cat, but maybe you want to become a vampire still. I can show you what power you can wield if you become one of us," and he began a transformation. His skin turned blue, he grew horrible skin-and-bones wings, and his face became like that of a bat. Then, he said in a strange voice, "This is what you can become, cat. Make a choice now and you may make the right one."

When Neddre saw this disgusting sight, he wanted to puke, and immediately said no before hurling on the castle floor. This bat looked very confused, and fell to the ground. It got up, and transformed back into Harkon. "Suit yourself then, but never come back!" he bellowed, and two creatures picked him up and threw him out of the castle gate. He never looked back at its blackened and unwelcoming towers. He climbed into a conveniently placed rowboat and rowed back to shore. When he arrived at a small jetty, he stopped and looked back, and was glad to see that the castle was covered in mist so he did not have to see it anymore.

Other Jobs for the Dawnguard (4E 211-14)
Neddre carried out various odd jobs of clearing out vampire covens, although none were a challenge for him. He ended up meeting the vampire girl, whose name turned out to be Serana, and once the Dawnguard had her Elder Scroll in their possession, Neddre went and retrieved a Moth Priest to decipher it.

Joining of the Penitus Oculatus and wiping out the Dark Brotherhood (4E 211-12)
When Neddre was exploring Riften for the first time, he talked to various locals such as Mjoll the Lionness, who informed him of the city's corruption by the Thieves Guild and Black-Briars. He made note of it. He stopped in the Bee and Barb and saw a priest of Mara named Maramal selling amulets of love. He bought one for 200 Septims, as he was lonely and could have used a mate, or so he thought at the time.

After this, he visited Mara's temple and the Black-Briar Meadery, both famous tourist sites in the city. He then visited the orphanage. He was informed by a mean old maid ironically nicknamed Grelod 'the Kind.' Neddre could tell that she beat the children and called them names, and overall should not have been the orphanage curator. She motioned to Neddre to look at the children, but informed him that none were up for adoption. When he talked to a boy named Samuel, he was informed that there was a child named Aventus Aretino who had escaped from the orphanage and was now living in his deceased parents' old house in Windhelm. He visited this house to speak with the boy, and he soon discovered that this child was demented, and had tried performing the Black Sacrament to summon the Brotherhood, and had used various body parts of his mother to summon them, including her head and heart. He spoke to the boy, and had reassurance from him to what Grelod had done. Because of this, he had no problem in killing her, but he also realized a prime opportunity to find out where the Dark Brotherhood was hiding so he could discover where the Dunmer assassin who had killed their mother and tried to kill them. It was possible that he could find out where she was via information from the Skyrim branch of the Brotherhood on who to consult, and then hunt her down and kill her.

So, he took the job from Aventus, but also informed the city guards of what the boy had been doing. Aventus was put in a special school in Cyrodiil, where he is currently being rehabilitated. Neddre then made a long trip back to Riften, although it seemed to go very fast. He killed Grelod and put Constance, her apprentice, in charge. The children were all adopted within the following three years of the incident.

When he went to sleep in his house in Whiterun, Breezehome, the following day after making a trip there, he suddenly woke up in a small shack somewhere, possibly, based on the smell coming from outside, in the swamps of Hjaalmarch or Haafingar. He had no weapons, no armor, and was very afraid. Worst of all, he was blindfolded. But soon, a hand pulled it off, and Nord-blue eyes stared at his face. She was dressed in the attire of the Brotherhood, which meant undoubtedly that he was being targeted because the Thalmor willed it - but wait she was offering him entry into the Brotherhood. Neddre was horrified; he could not believe that the people that he had hated nearly his whole life were asking him to join them! Pha!, he thought, I am already thinking of ways to kill you, *&^$($E*RFN33T!. The assassin identified herself as Astrid, the leader of the Skyrim branch. She handed him a small dagger, and said that he had to kill one of the hostages, who were lined up and kneeling. He hadn't noticed them until she mentioned them.

Neddre took one look at the sad souls. One was a Nord warrior, who, when he talked to him, begged for mercy. He accepted the plea. The other was an Imperial woman, and a single mother of six. He decided not to kill her almost instantly once he heard this story from her. Then, lastly, there was a Khajiit. When Neddre spoke to him, it turned out that he was a fellow named Vasha, a lowlife who had grown up in Dune at the same time as Neddre had. He did not want to kill any of the three, and he turned around and looked at Astrid. She looked at him with a questioning look, waiting for an answer. All of a sudden, he whipped around and poised the dagger he had given her, and she was stabbed so quickly that she did not know that she was dead yet, and had a look of mere surprise on her face. She looked up at him, and toppled to the ground. He freed the hostages, who all thanked him, and knew where he needed to go next: the Penitus Oculatus.