Having dealt with the first of the Legionnaires to arrive in Windhelm in her typical, brutal (They had it coming after burning down Bloodraven Hall!) fashion, Freja makes her way to Whiterun with Bjorn, and Mera Stormcloak, where she plans to call in a favor from Yarl Balgruuf. 

 

The Current State of Skyrim is as follows:

 

The Imperials

The Empire Controls the Pale Pass, and every hold, save for Eastmarch, and the Rift. Legate Fabius is marching two Legions toward Windhelm, while the newly-made General, Rikke commands the rest of the Empire's troops in Skyrim, and uses them to maintain control of most of the main roads. With the Pale Pass now open, the Empire now has three full legions in addition to the rag-tag band of conscripts once commanded by General Tullius. Confident of Ulfric's impending defeat, Princess Gaia has gone back to Cyrodiil to smooth things over with the Vampyrum Order while leaving behind Nadja as her representative in Skyrim.

 

The Stormcloaks

After a crushing defeat in Whiterun, Ulfric, Galmar, and the few others who survived the battle were forced to run back to Windhelm. With most of his army wiped out, Ulfric must rely on reinforcements from the Rift, and even they may not reach him before Fabius and his two Legions are at the gates of Windhelm. Although she no longer supports Ulfric as the next High King, Freja Ironside has agreed to do all she can to negotiate a temporary truce with the Empire, and re-unite Skyrim against the threat of the Dominion. 

 

The Vigilants of Stendarr

Broken by Godvar Dragonsblood, Keeper Carcette is no longer leading the remnants of Skyrim's Vigilants. What few of them remain are now under the command of the renowned vampire and daedra hunter, Lady Victoria Carrow. Thanks to Princess Gaia's intervention, Vigilants are no longer permitted to patrol the villages and cities under Imperial control, but that hasn't stopped Lady Carrow from working with the Dawnguard to kill as many vampires as she can...

 

The Dawnguard

Like the Vigilants, they are no longer permitted to patrol Skyrim's towns and cities thanks to Princess Gaia's intervention. Instead, they are concentrating on rooting out the Volkihar Sanctuaries, and destroying the Volkihar and Falkreath Clans.

 

The Volkihar Clan

With Thorvaldr having committed suicide (You'll get to see it in a flashback soon!) and Valerica spending much of her time in the Soul Cairn, the clan is now being led by Serana. Blaming herself for Thorvaldr's suicide, and fearful of how the others may react if they were to learn the truth, Serana has been lying to the rest of the clan about Thorvaldr leaving Skyrim to wander once more.

 

Vingalmo has left the clan, and Orthjolf, Tara, and the rest of his faction have fled Castle Volkihar. Expect Tara to have a run-in with a certain sex-crazed, white-haired vampire lady very soon!

 

Vimar is currently holding down the fort at the new Bloodraven Manor outside Whiterun, and was probably balls deep in Saga Dragonsblood while the Stormcloaks had their asses handed to them. He and Saga are kind of a thing now, and will be crossing paths with Marius and Jenassa in a future entry.

 

The Scions of Falkreath

The Countess Erzebet and her clan are facing extinction after being discovered by Lady Carrow and her vampire hunters. Several of the members of her clan have already been killed, and the Countess has barred the gates of Raven Castle, electing to remain behind her walls, where she will be safe from the vampire hunters.

 

And that's about where things sit right now... Expect a few more of these shorter entries as I get all the characters caught up with current events.

Yes, Freja has changed a bit since finding out about Thorvaldr lying to her and everyone else for years. She may be honorable for the most part, but she is definitely starting to lean more to the bloodthirsty side of things. I feel like I'm at a crossroads with her, at least where the civil war is concerned. She knows the Dominion is the real threat, and Ulfric isn't fit to rule Skyrim, but she has a lot of reservations concerning the Empire.

 

I'm not sure which direction to go when her negotiations eventually break down. A part of me wants to use that lovely Conquest of Skyrim mod and have her raise an army of her own, but having a vampire get elected as High Queen of Skyrim is a bit of a stretch...

 

I'm considering having her use said army to make Mera Stormcloak Queen if I was to go the Conquest of Skyrim route. I'm sure I can tinker with the mod enough to make that possible, and if not... I can always bullshit my way through it using other mods. Either way, I think Freja may have to murder a couple of the Yarls soon.

 

Anyway... I hope you liked this new entry!