Hey, it's Destana.  It'd been sitting with Ulfric, trying to figure out what the Thalmor did to him.  

 

A missive came to me from Damien.  The boys were in a tight spot with a giant dwemer robo.

"Are you needed?" Mynisera asked.

 

 

"Seems that way," I replied, charging up my Recall spell, "Thanks for watching him."

Gotta love Recall.  Because it is focused to a specific location it takes all the guesswork out of teleportation, and thus, has a pretty much infinite range (on the same plane).

 

I materialized on the deck of the airship (which was now in a different place) and without looking where I leaped, I jumped off the bow.  I was... above the clouds.

 

"Shit, where the hell's the ground?!" I panicked, though I knew I had Cushion on my belt and could just fly if I needed to.  But what possessed Fenrir to park the ship so high up?

 

 

I fell for about 9 seconds [about 1300 feet!].  It actually started raining as I was falling, then stopped, then started again as I reached the ground.

 

"Shoo.... just because I'm cushioned doesn't mean it's not terrifying," I said to myself.

The place was deserted, save for the many bodies from both sides.  I happened upon a building in front of me that seemed untouched in the battle.  Inside, I could hear a man yelling, threatening.  It was a small prison.  I decided it would be worth it to see if Sialius was here.

 

I snuck in and deftly picked the lock of the angry man's cell.  I grinned up to him and backed away.  The man kicked the door open and shouted curses at his jailer, who charged in to engage him. 

 

 

He billowed a huge cloak of flames, but the prisoner charged through them with nothing but a sack cloth pair of pants and started to lay into the man.  I snuck up behind him and stabbed him in the back.  Then the prisoner picked up the elf and threw his head into the ground.

 

"Nice moves, guy."

He turned, "Aaaah... good to see you again."

I raised an eyebrow,  "You're... you're on fire.  Also, I don't know you."

His skin turned black as the flames engulfed him, but quickly went out.  He didn't seem to even feel it.

"Might want to get you healed up..." I said, then, "A little bit cracked in this prison, huh?"

 

"So, what's your story?" I asked finally.

"I am Brutus Brutalus.  Commander of the Sixth, Legio Vindicitiva.  Or at least I was..." He started, "When the Thalmor sacked the Imperial City, my city... I stayed.  Stalking the streets, killing every knife-eared bastard I could get my hands on.  The Thalmor killed my wife, my children, my dog.  I loved that dog.  There was only one thing on my mind.  Revenge!  I tracked down one of their lords.  His wife and child were there, visiting him.  I picked up him child and beat his wife to death with it.  The weakling didn't move, paralyzed with fear.  So I tore his cowardly heart out and ate it!" He burst into laughter.

 

I replied, "That's pretty brutal, even for me.  You've been in here what, forty years?  The Great War was 175 and it's 216.  Why don't we get you some clothes?"

We stepped out and looted the dead.

"Here, I found some glass armor.  It'll have to do for the time being," I handed it over, "Listen, you don't look great.  Make your way back to the ships over yonder.  I promise you, you'll get to go back to Cyrodiil in peace."

"Who are you anyway?" Brutus asked.

"I'm the Queen of Skyrim.  A Dragonborn.  My father's the Emperor who got the throne by combat, like the original Tiber Septim.  We're here to stop the Thalmor, once and for all."

"Talos fuckin' bones.  Finally," he smiled.  And knowing how weak, tired and burned he probably was he said, "I'll leave you to it then.

 

 

Instead of seeing what was going on with the army I figured I'd attend to the boys, who were in immediate danger.  I followed the directions on Damien's note to a small cave.

 

I opened the door past the piles of wrecked dwarven spheres.  

"Let's see what we're working with.  Whoa... that's a big boy.  I mean, I've seen bigger..."  I mumbled.  A giant centurion, just like in Valenwood.  I nocked an arrow and took out a dwarven sphere to the left, then one to the right.

 

 

I smirked, drawing a third arrow.  I'm not without my surprises once in a while.  The Wood Elves are masters of the bow and nearly as skilled with magic as the High Elves.  They showed me how to store energy in an arrow as I hold it.  I concentrated, forcing my magicka into the arrow.  I'd fought smaller versions of these guys before.  I let my arrow fly for the core.  The thing shuddered to life, but I could tell I'd done significant damage to it with my initial shot.  I quick-loaded another arrow and fired before it turned to me, but it passed right through the thing.  

 

"What the heck?" I said aloud.  Some sort of intangibility shield, even better than the regeneration the standard big boys have (though, it seemed to have that too).

I unloaded several shots as I backed up into the entryway, all of them passing through the thing.  I could see why the boys had trouble with this.  I waited in the entryway for the thing to lose track of me, then I activated the Nerevarine's Bow, returning to invisibility.

 

"All I gotta do is front-load one more power shot and your ass is mine," I loaded my bow, charged up, and fired into the thing's core again, killing it.

 

I walked into the treasure room.

"Hey mom," Damien said, casting a light spell on the dark treasure room.

I smirked, "I was gonna give you shit about mama coming and cleaning up your messes.  But that guy was pretty strong."

Fenrir said, "Thanks for bailing us out."

"No problem, honey.  It's what I'm here for," I said, "Come give mom a hug."

 

 

I hugged him and he said, "Let's go help Runa."

"You know, I think I'm going to stay and look for that passage.  That Master Wizard Carahil told us about," Damien said. 

"Right.  Be careful.  Missive us if you need us," I replied.  Then Fenrir and I continued to the command group.

 

 

Jura smiled at me, "Look who finally showed up."

"Hey, everything okay?" Runa asked.

"Yeah.  Got the boys out of trouble," I replied, "Damien's looking for some magic spring or something.  Ulfric's stable."

 

 

"So what's the plan?  Bum rush?" I asked Runa.

"I can be subtle too, y'know.  I AM the Listener," she replied.

I chuckled, "Yeah, yeah, I know.  Just messing with you."

 

Runa turned to the stairs, "Oh my gods.  Look who it is."

 

 

I smirked, "Vignar Graymane, how'd you get here?

"Damien's friend helped teleport the companions here," the old man replied.  I had seen several new low-level companions in wolf armor I'd never met picking up the dead for proper rites.  Must've been in the note to Medora Direnni, though I wasn't certain how they'd done it.

 

"You too, Balgruuf?" I said, turning to find him on the stairs.

 

 

"Hey there!  Yep.  Me too.  I felt like I was missing out on your big war here," Balgruuf replied.

"Mom, I feel like we're almost at the end of a long, hard road," Runa hugged me.

 

"Yeah, let's go!" I said.

"Everybody ready?"

We stormed into Valasaremel, the six of us blowing through the royal guard in mere moments.  

 

I stopped, "There's no way that's the end of this.  Where is the supreme commander?"

 

I sat down on the Summerset Throne, "I'm going to sit and think about this."

 

 

"You just want to sit on the throne.  Admit it," Balgruuf commented.

"Maybe.  I sat on Valenwood's throne too," I smiled, "But we also still need to find Sialius."

 

Runa called from the meeting rooms behind us, "It's trashed back here.  Looks like they left in a hurry."

When she emerged back to the throne room, she said, "Nobody important here.  Makes sense they'd hide when things were going badly."

Jura said, "Comb the area.  There's got to be something helpful."

 

---------------------------------------------------------------

 

Hello audience, this is Damien.

I moseyed back to the region around the school, searching high and low.  Eventually I found a tough group of Thalmor, keeping watch on a specific area.  Wondering what they were guarding, I let loose a barrage of spells.

 

 

And... they put up a decent fight.  I'd already killed a few before they managed to get several solid hits on me while I was using the corner next to them for cover.  I nearly collapsed.  And in my rush to get away, I touched a specific spot on the wall and winked out.

 

"What the... A hidden teleport?  Oh wow I think this is the passage," I said to myself.  I was in some kind of jungle.

 

 

I ventured through the grass, which was so overgrown that I couldn't see anything.  Infact the first time a skeever jumped out I nearly shouted and blasted him to oblivion with an elemental bolt.

 

Before long I came to a HUGE spider, which I used my Advanced Flames spell to kill.  His mate shot a poison spray at me, which nearly killed me.  But I was able to chug a health potion and an invisibility potion and lose him in the debris of his nest.  I charged up a fireball volley and let him have it from a distance away, killing it as well.

I continued downstream and was teleported again.  I looked around.

 

"This is... Cloudrest, I think?" I said aloud.  The entire place was overgrown and deserted.  What happened here?  It wasn't even one of the cities we attacked.

Still, the fact that two major cities had teleportation fields leading to this jungle and stream meant I was on the right track.  Maybe the spring was in that area.  I decided I would comb Cloudrest and see what I could find first.

 

 

After about an hour, I had confirmed it was deserted and bereft of any clues or items to loot.  So I stepped back through the passage to the jungle, to find it pouring.

 

"Guess I'll search the area for the spring," I said.  I flew gently into the air, slowly looking over what was before me.  Eventually, I found a hut and set down next to it.  

A few words I didn't understand, and three barely-clothed high elves jumped out.  I blasted them with A.Flames, killing them.

"Whoops," I said to myself.  They definitely had weapons in hand, but not the most useful approach.  I could've definitely used Illusion on them and at least gotten a few bits of information, maybe.

This happened again a few minutes later.  Thinking they'd catch me by surprise, I got them.  Still no information.

Tiring of the rain, I floated up to a cliff and took out my notebook.

"I have an idea," I murmured.  I cast Missive and wrote on the rain-soaked booklet, "Mom, could you stop the rain, I'm pretty close to my goal."

A return missive appeared on the page right away, "Yeah, yeah.  Sure."

 

 

From miles away I heard the thunderous shout, "LOK - VAH - KOOR."  

As the skies cleared, another group of the savages assailed me with arrow and spear, but I took care of them.  I followed their path back into the brush (now that I could see the muddy footprints), eventually coming to two ponds.  

 

I raised an eyebrow, "Are these the springs?  Is this all that's left?  To think the Thalmor were spending their life force to fight us and they still lost.  But, which is the bad spring and which is the good?"

I know Carahil said they were in a cave, and the sources of them both might originate in a cavern below, but I could feel a strong level of magic coming from them both.  One of them seemed innocuous.  The other seemed positive.  But, it might be a trick.  I took out two empty bottles (careful not to touch either liquid) and took samples of each.  And also the rain would certainly be diluting these.  I would need to come back later and search out the source.

 

 

For now, I decided to return to Master Wizard Carahil and ask more questions.

 

She looked up from her work in the courtyard, "What do you want now?"

"I think I found them, but I'm not sure which is which."

"What makes you think I'll help you?" She asked.

I smiled my daedric smile, "I think maybe our words have swayed you.  You're naturally curious, like any good wizard.  Here, I brought samples.

 

Carahil sighed audibly, folding her arms.  After a moment, she said, "Give them here."

"Thank you.  You won't regret this," I said.

"Oh, I'm almost certain I will," Carahil replied snidely.

 

 

Before I pursued this thread further, I figured I'd look in on the command group and the main reason we were here.  I made my way to Valasaremel.

 

"Aha!  Found him!" Balgruuf was shouting as I walked in.

I spent a minute drinking a health potion, a stamina potion and a magicka regeneration potion.  I readied Advanced Flames, cast Invisibility and made my way up the dais for the fight of a lifetime.

"Wait.  I surrender!" I heard.  I broke invisibility and entered the meeting room.

Runa had her greatsword to the commander's throat, while Mom's two weapons were pressed into his back.  Jura had his sword poised over the man's skull and Fenrir had his autocrossbow out, ready to unload.  The two Jarls were just chuckling.

"I said I give up!" Lord-Commander Harokir shouted.

"Well, this is a surprise," I smirked.

"What's so surprising?  You have beaten us time and time again.  I wanted to keep my life, so I'm prepared to bargain," Harokir said.

 

"Hey, Damien.  I could definitely use your help," Mom said, "Could you missive the Imperial mages and see when the other monarchs will be here?  We sent for them a while ago."

"Sure," I said, writing the message.

"So did you find what you were looking for?" She asked.

I sidled over to the corner, away from prying ears, "I think so."  Then I went about explaining the properties of the springs to her.  

My mother, the giga-chad of Tamriel was taken aback by this information.  Elves, not being long-lived?  Using their life-spans as fuel for chronomancy?  Sounds like them.  She said, "Well, okay then.  I may be able to use this in the negotiation.  Especially if Hammerfell wants their damn gold that I'm not going to bring up."

I got a return message and read it, "They're about five minutes out."

 

Harokir sat on his throne and I watched him for the duration while the kings started showing up.

 

 

After a while, Jura said, "Harokir, come in the back room.  We're getting started."

 

 

"First, all parties come to order," Jura said.

"Lord-Commander Harokir.  Representing the Thalmor and Summerset."

 

 

"King Lhotun III of Sentinel.  Representing Hammerfell."

 

 

"S'in Dunestride.  Mane of Elswyer."

 

 

"Mynisera, Queen of High Rock," she said from under a veil that hid everything but her eyes.

 

 

"Destana Stormblade.  Skyrim," Mom said, not wasting time with titles.

 

 

"King Silver-hand of Valenwood."

 

 

"And obviously, I'm Jura.  Emperor of Cyrodiil."

 

 

"Destana, make your statement.  Skyrim took the lead on this invasion," Jura continued.

"First I want to impress upon you just how thoroughly beaten you are.  We're going to tell you how things are going to be," she said.

"I suppose it was the way of the past that elves should be stamped under the boot of an empire," Harokir commented.

"No.  Let me make this clear:  we're not here to take your land, stamp out your culture or wipe you off Nirn," Mom said.

"So you say.  History books would tell me that men and mer will always want to stamp each other out.  We will not be your willing slaves like the traitorous Wood Elves," Harokir said.

King Silverhand growled audibly, but Mom put her hand on his, calming him.

 

She said, "Listen, here are our terms: 

1. You will join this league of nations as an advisory member. 

2. You will sign the White-Gold Accord. 

3. The organization known as the Thalmor will be abolished immediately, as well as your standing Army and Navy. 

4. We will install a regent, chosen by the coalition.  We will occupy, but not oppress."

 

 

Lhotun of Hammerfell broke in at this time, "Is that really all? I heard talk of spoils.  Also, there's the matter of the gold Cyrodiil owes Hammerfell."

Jura replied, "There will be some, but we won't be bleeding Summerset dry.

The Mane said, "They would have.  They've been doing the same to us."

"No.  Stop.  This is not about paying them back," Mom said, more insistent now, "This is about finding a new way.  For thousands of years, men and mer have been killing each other.  And for what?  Nothing."

Lhotun folded his arms, "Peace is all well and good, but Hammerfell is out a lot of money and men.  Don't forget we fought the elves on our borders while you took Valenwood."

"Lhotun, you will be paid.  I assure you," Mom said, "But I've got something that might interest you more than gold."

Jura sighed, "Seriously?"

Mynisera raised her hand, "Do not debase yourself, young lady."

 

"Gods!  No!  I found your damned spring.  Give me General Sialius and you'll get to use it.  You guys are assholes for even suggesting I was going to pay that way," Mom said, "Don't think I'm even worth that much."

Harokir smirked, "You do have quite the reputation.  Have your supposed allies offended you?"

"Nah.  Would you even be able to offend me?  Oooh!  C'mon!  Say I'm a whore!" Mom said excitedly.

"Okay... you're a .... whore?" Harokir said, unsurely.

"Whore who kicked your ass," Mom said back, and there was a general laugh from the men in attendance, "Anyway, where's Sialius?"

"In a cage, in the back, by the stream.  Near where you found me hiding," Harokir replied.

 

"Another thing:  no more Thalmor prisons," Mom said, "I'm going to send a man to flush out Skyrim's seven or eight Thalmor prisons.  And they'll be ours from now on!  We can have more negotiation.  But let's have a short recess."

 

Jura and Mom found General Sialius in the back and pulled him out of his cage.  It looked like he hadn't been tortured... yet.  Though he was dirty and in prisoner's sack cloth pants.

Jura was the first to ask, "Sialius, how you holding up?"

"I guess I could be tied up in some Dominion torture chamber.  I'm fine.  What about you?" He asked.

"Well, we won, as you can see," Mom said back.

"So much for elven superiority!" Sialius shouted into the meeting room with a light chuckle.

About this time I was walking through the meeting room as the kings and queens were milling about.

"We need to pick a regent of Summerset," Jura said, "We were thinking it should be you."

"That is ... quite a demand," Sialius said.  But he didn't have a wife and kids.  Didn't really have roots anywhere.  And it was clear the so-called 'Legion-in-Exile' didn't have much reason to exist in Skyrim anymore.  It would be a perfect station for him and his to relocate to Summerset, with both ties to Skyrim and Cyrodiil.

 

 

"This place is a paradise.  Call it retirement," Jura said, "C'mon, being a governor is easy."

"Easy for you maybe.  Being a regent of a people that don't want us is hard," Sialius spat back, but then he smirked, "Old friend, you have me over a barrel.  Very well.  I accept.  However, I would like to put it to the men.  Whoever wants to stay in Skyrim, go back to Cyrodiil, or come here, should be able to.  Also, we should extend the invitation to Balfhe and the Stormcloaks.  Within reason, of course."

"Sounds fine to me," Jura said.

 

"Excellent," Mom said.  Then she turned to me, "Damien, got a job for you."

"Yeah, I heard.  I know I'm the one who can get to Skyrim fastest, so I'll head back.  Call on the school here for info on the springs.  The Master Wizard there has been very helpful."

 

 

Mom put her hand on my shoulder, then I took off.  I said hello to Fenrir, Roheisa and Runa outside, then I took out a scroll to teleport to Direnni Tower.  Only four left.

I cast from the scroll, and when I materialized, I was in Jorrvaskr, the companions' hall.  I turned to find Balgruuf and Vignar sitting and feasting with all the new members.

"Hey boy!  Thanks for the action!" Vidnar shouted.

"Anytime, Harbinger," I replied.  I made my way outside.  Figures that she'd put a flowthrough effect on teleports to her tower right now.  I shrugged silently.  I definitely wasn't as good with magic as her and would need more private instruction later.

 

My first act was to fly to Northwatch prison.  Sure enough, Thalmor had reoccupied the fortress.  Perhaps they were already planning on re-staging another Skyrim invasion before we bull'ed through Valenwood and Summerset?  Well, there was no chance of that now.  I cast invisibility and set down on the far side of the fortress wall.

 

"Oh no you don't!  You'll never escape me!" I heard a female voice call.  I looked around to see if one of them had seen me.  But the Thalmor soldiers were running to the entrance to the keep.

It sounded familiar.

I took this opportunity to cast Comet Barrage and blasted the Thalmor from behind as they ran at the mystery attacker.  When the topside guards were dead, I found her.

 

"Carahil?" I asked, "Thanks for the help, but, why did you come?"

"Maybe, you won me over.  Maybe I've never been out of Summerset after 200 years.  And I wanted to see what my brethren are doing out here for myself."

"But how'd you get here so fast?" I asked.

"I found a note from Viranir that detailed all the Thalmor's old teleportation circles.  One led to the Midden in the College, one to the Embassy, one to one of the other forts (all deserted when I checked."

"Well I appreciate the company," I said, "You are aware we're going to be killing a lot of your kin?"

"I've been thinking, and realized maybe the Thalmor need to be removed so Summerset Isle can reset itself.  The first step: cleaning out," Carahil replied.

 

 

We proceeded to stealthily battle our way through the fort.  They weren't elite or strong like the Thalmor in Valenwood or Summerset.  When I got to the prison part, Thalmor had once again filled the cells with humans.  So I let them go, and they helped me take out the last few elves.  One fell in battle, but I resurrected him.  Of course, he was a total jerk about it.  

 

"Not even a thank you?  I don't even know why I learned this spell," I murmured, "But also, why is nobody leaving?  You're all free!"

"Leave me alone," one of the women said, and laid down on the bedroll in her cell.

I shrugged and we made our way back outside.

"I guess for due diligence I need to check the six or seven other prisons," I said, "Care to fly around Skyrim?  Good sight-seeing."

"Sure," Carahil smiled at me.  Such exotic beauty.  I smiled back.  Also, I guess, she was old enough to know flight spells before they became lost to time.

 

We held hands, about ready to go, and a voice called from the shadows, "You may have beaten my men, but you won't beat me."

A woman materialized in the golden elven armor, summoning animated weapons.

 

 

"Come on.  We can take her," Carahil readied herself.

The commander shot a few powerful destruction spells and hurt me pretty bad, pretty fast.  I threw up Shalidor's Mirror to reflect and protect, but the animated axe chopped me in the shoulder.  I fell to one knee.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Carahil, but I think I need help!" I said.

She distracted the commander long enough for me to duck around the corner, chug a potion and reassess my battle plan. I readied Elemental Blast and went invisible.

As soon as I peaked my head around the corner, I found the commander rushing after Carahil, back turned.  I blasted her, two-handed, and laid her down.

"Thanks," Carahil sneered.

"You did most the work.  I just got the last hit in," I replied.

"I thought you were a Master Wizard of Winterhold?" She shook her head, smiling a little.

"Not everybody has 200 years of practice.  Maybe you can give me a private lesson sometime," I smirked at her.

"How about right now?  I can teach you so many things," Carahil asked, and her devious smile was confirmation that we were talking about the same thing.

 

----------------------------------- (NEW SECTION)

 

After a full day of checking out the many Thalmor prisons, I decided it was time to go back to Summerset and see what was going on.  Carahil said to me over dinner, "So how are you getting back, anyway?"

I smiled a dumb smile, "I see you noticed I forgot to set my Recall."

"Silly boy, don't you know how to craft new teleportation spells?" Carahil shook her head in judgment.

"No.  I do not," I replied sheepishly.

"I swear, humans have lost so much.  I can teach you.  It just takes a few hours and a place of magical power, or where people have lived for many years.  For now," she finished her last bite, "Grab on to me."

I smiled, she smiled, then she giggled and said, "For the teleport, you fool."

I grabbed her hips.  She grinned at me and we whisked back to her school, where we slept for the night.

 

In the morning, I could see the negotiations were mostly finished, on recess for breakfast, but still going (not that I had any say), so Carahil and I decided to take a trek to find the real spring.  We made our way to the jungle and she pointed out an illusory cave wall that hid a passage to the underground spring.

"The above-ground portion still grants the blessing, but it is diluted by rainwater and thus, not as potent," she explained.  She cast a light spell as we entered the medium-sized cavern.  

"What the hell?!" She pointed, "Harokir, what are you doing here?!"

The elf stood, bucket in hand.  I could see his hands were gaunt and gnarled.  For only a few seconds they'd dipped into the dark spring along with the bucket.

"Now I see who showed them our last gift from the gods who abandoned us," Harokir said.  I readied a spell, but he threatened, "Not another step or I foul this entire spring."

 

"Why would you do this?  You'd rather destroy this gift of life than share it with men?" Carahil asked.

"Share?  They won't share with us.  They'll take it from us!  There's not enough to go around!  And then they'd take our.... only advantage for themselves!" Harokir shook with rage, nearly to tears with the anger against his gods.

 

"I can assure you, my mom wouldn't take it away from the innocent High Elves that wanted no part of the Thalmor," I said.

"Please.  We can share this with them," Carahil pleaded.

Harokir lowered his head, "Very well.  You've convinced me."

Then he dropped the bucket.

"No!" Carahil shouted, casting a paralysis spell at Harokir.  He fell limp, stiff as a board, onto the ground.

I cast telekinesis with all the speed and acuity I could muster and snatched the bucket.  But momentum splashed the liquid around, causing just a bit of the foul liquid to tumble over the side and drop into the pool.

"Dammit," I said.  Though it was water on water, anybody with magicka senses could see it like blood spreading in milk.  The waters coalesced, mixing quickly, causing the spring to be rendered useless.

"Wait, what is that?" Carahil pointed.

I could see it.  I reached out with telekinesis again and grabbed the shining 'thing' in the depths.  As it was freed from the pool, she took it in her hands.  It looked like a teardrop made of ivory.  And when it came out of the water, all magic affecting the spring seemed to dim by the second.

"Is this... the source of the magic?" I asked.

"It's certainly divine," Carahil replied, focusing her senses on the thing in her hand.

 

I looked over to Harokir's paralyzed form and found his head under water.  I angrily hauled him up on shore to find a young-looking elf, full of vigor and life.  Well, not so much life.  Most paralysis spells allow your normal functions to continue, and some allow you to talk.  But that includes breathing.  He'd drowned in the waters of life.

As Carahil continued to study the tear shape, I pointed to the underside, "Look."

Like someone had spilled a drop of ink on it, a darkness spread.  The two halves seemed to war against each other, eventually reaching an equilibrium.

"Not sure what that means," I said.

 

We took Auriel's Tear and walked out of there.  I took a drink from the above-ground spring to sate my regular thirst.  

"Well, seems mundane enough," I said, "Are you supposed to feel anything?"

"You can tell.  Though you do already have baby skin," Carahil chuckled.

I smirked, "And I might be extremely long-lived.  Dunno.  Not a lot of half-daedra in the history of Nirn."

 

We made our way back to the delegation and explained why Harokir wouldn't be rejoining.  

Mom was taken aback, "What an ass.  But, I guess he did already sign the accord.  Now is a good a time as ever for the shift in rulership."

"Sialius, take Harokir's seat," Jura said.

"Lord-General Sialius, representing Summerset Isle," he paused while he sat down and said, "Has a nice ring to it."

 

We waited the day or so until all the navies shoved off.  Summerset's ships were divided up between the nations, though they were short a few vessels who'd been out on missions when the Invasion happened.  There would be a rude awakening in store for them.  As part of the Accord's extended section, Summerset's sea defense would be filled by a combination of the nations who took her vessels.

 

Carahil said to me, "I think I will come with you.  I plan to study the effects of Auriel's Tear.  From what I can gather, we can still create waters of life with it.  But because you need to soak the tear in water (along with the bad part), it may lead to some... unpredictable results."

"Unpredictable?"

"That's why I want to study it," Carahil said.

The family got on the airship and headed to High Rock.  Runa, Fenrir, me (still Damien), Roheisa, Mom and Valiana all found Ulfric, weakened but very much alive.  Carahil came with after hearing about his affliction.

 

"Your hair, it's gray!" Mom said.

"Just as I suspected," Carahil said, "The Thalmor may have hit him with the dark waters.  It has the opposite effect of the life spring."

"So he's back to how he should look?  I mean, we could just give him a dose of the life waters, right?" Mom asked.

"No.  I think I would prefer not to mess with this any more.  I'm taking Sialius' lead on this," Ulfric replied.

"He refused the waters," Mom said.

"He refused it last time, too," Ulfric said.

"Well we do have an quasi-infinite supply now, though it might have some side effects.  So if you change your mind..." I said.

Queen Mynisera appeared in the doorway, "I believe I would like a dose of the life waters.  The king has no heirs, and I think the people of Daggerfall will need a strong personality to watch over them.  I'll take the risk."

Carahil put the tear in what was essentially a tea bag and soaked it in water for her.

"How'd you get here before us?" Mom asked.

 

"Come now, you don't think a queen would have a return teleport prepared for her by her court wizard?  Unthinkable!" The old lady cackled.

"Maybe I do have something to learn from the old monarchs," Mom smirked.

 

"I've heard the good news," Sir Galahad walked through the door.  Checking on Ulfric, he said, "Seems you've made a full recovery, your majesty."

"Good to see you, father," Roheisa said.

"Is that really how you guys greet each other?" Mom asked.  Then she pushed them together, "You should hug more.  It really helps."

Ignoring Mom, Galahad said, "So what will you do now?" 

Roheisa replied, "Return to Wayrest, resume my duties, I suppose."

"Why not take a leave of absence and visit Skyrim?" Runa asked, "Auri said she'll be taking an extended visit.  Tusselle said she's going to be taking some leave and coming up to visit.  I might even be going to see Calleius and Casius in Cyrodiil soon."

"I'd be honored, princess," Roheisa said.

"I told you, call me Runa."

 

Mynisera had her tea, and it seemed to work.  I have to admit, a thirty-something Mynisera was actually very beautiful.

 

As for us, we packed up and went back to Skyrim.