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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.

Hey, this is Destana. Much like I've been doing lately, I'm going to handle the narration today even if I'm not present. After the kids and I finished with our fun in Valenwood, we headed for the fleet. It took us days to find them, and we didn't want to approach Summerset and give away our position or plans so we took it carefully. Finally Jura used the Imperial missive mages to give us their position. "The airship's finally here," Jura said. The morning of the 5th, not a moment too soon, we battled through heavy rain. I took to the air to greet him in person on the Katariah. And of course the rain stopped after I was soaked and standing on deck. "Jura, what's this I hear about an attack on your life?" I asked. It'd been in the missive - a large Thalmor attack. Jura smirked, wearing a brown tunic, "They didn't know who they were messing with. Bad news though. They captured Sialius and wounded Ulfric." "What? Where is he?" I said back. "Galahad flew him to Daggerfall," Jura replied. I suddenly felt my heart sink. So bad an Aedra with Resurrection couldn't heal him on his own? I lifted off the deck. "Wait!" Jura shouted. "I'm going to check on him," I replied, but how I would get there I wasn't sure. I set down on the airship's deck, where the kids were waiting for me. They'd heard the exchange. Damien said, "Mom! Set your recall here on the deck of the airship. I have scrolls to teleport to Direnni Tower. It's just across Illiac Bay from Daggerfall and Sentinel. "Do they still work?" I asked. "They do. You might have to fight your way out, but it'll still be faster than hundreds of miles over the open ocean," he took out one of only a few more he had and handed it to me. "Thanks," I said, casting Mark. "Oh and could you give this note to Medora Direnni?" He asked, handing me the scroll and a long letter, much too long for a missive spell. "I will," I said, taking it, and casting the teleport from the scroll. I poofed into Medora's sanctum to find her sitting by the fire, dazedly staring into the flames. I ran up behind her. As soon as she turned, startled, I slid the note into her hands, "Hey Medora, Damien asked me to give you this." WIthout giving her time to react, I said, "Sorry, gotta run." I charged over to the door and kicked the thing open, shutting it as I ran by. I found a weak Lich on the other side and sliced through him, charging down the tower as fast as my legs could carry me. When I was outside, I checked my map and took to the sky, flying toward Castle Daggerfall. From Damien's description, it was much the same as it'd been in his day. I pushed the door open and found guards who didn't impede my entry. "Sorry to rush in. Where's Ulfric?" I asked. "You're expected. Room under the dais," the lead one replied. I ran over and entered, paying no mind to whatever king or queen was sitting on the throne. I could be scolded later by proper royalty. I wanted to make sure he was okay. "What did they do to you?" I asked aloud. A voice replied from the corner, from a woman I hadn't noticed, "Don't worry yourself. Our best healers stabilized him." "You the queen?" I asked, looking over Ulfric while I spoke. "Yes, of course. I'm Queen Mynisera V. Named after the ancient one. It seems your husband and mine are in similar condition. But your looks young and strong. Sir Galahad will make certain he lives. In the meantime, I'm watching over him," she replied. "Thank you, Mynisera. I'm Queen Destana of Skyrim." "Oh yes, I've heard of you. The beautiful warrior queen of Skyrim. Go fight your war with the Thalmor. You do justice to us all," Mynisera replied. "If it's all the same, I think I'd like to sit with him for a while," I said, sitting down. "Yes, but don't tarry. Your men need you." It hadn't taken that long for me to get to Daggerfall, but it was already time. Back at the fleet, Tusselle and Roheisa stood on a small rowboat, piloted by a Stormcloak. Another man hammered at the mast, dutifully making repairs from the damage they'd taken from the storm a couple days ago. "Hey Tusselle, why are we out here on a teeny ship?" Roheisa asked. "To inspect the fleet and coordinate," she replied with a smirk. Jura'd said it was because the two of them were absent for a couple of sea scuffles and storms they'd missed. Calleius stepped to the edge of the deck of the Katariah. Being the newest general, Jura'd given him the task of communicating with the other nations. He leapt onto their small rowboat. "You're getting bolder, young genny," Tusselle jabbed him in the arm, "Let's get a status update." "All provinces have sent us a ready signal except Elswyer," he replied. "Well the ships are all in top-shape, it seems," Roheisa said back. Jura peeked over the edge of the Katariah and clapped to get their attention, "Is this where we're having the meeting now?" He shrugged and leapt onto the small ship. About the same time Damien took to the air from the airship's deck with Runa and Fenrir tethered to him. They set down across from the Emperor. He chuckled, "So I guess this IS the hangout. Destana coming back?" "No sign of her so far," Damien replied. "So where's General Quintus anyway?" Runa asked. "He's on loan to Elswyer," Jura replied, "I think Baa-Ren'dar specifically asked for him. Shouldn't be a problem though. I have two of the best generals in the Empire right here." Jura leaned over to Runa and whispered, "Hey, would you fill in a little bit with the Imperial commanding duties? Princess..." "No prob," Runa replied. Calleius cleared his throat, "Skyrim and Cyrodiil fleets are ready when the Emperor gives the go-ahead." Jura pulled out a large scroll and laid it across a box. It was a map of Summerset and the surrounding parts of the mainland, "Cyrodiil and Skyrim are attacking Alinor." "Valenwood is attacking Skywatch," Tusselle continued, "Hammerfell attacks Firsthold." "It's a miracle we got this many so quickly," Fenrir said. "Well, Hammerfell doesn't like the Thalmor at all. And they saw how badly we were beating them. Gods help us if they decide our plan for Summerset afterward isn't to their liking," Jura explained. Damien grinned, "Elswyer is in position. Airships and all." Calleius smiled, "Thanks, Damien." Everyone could see Calleius' nerves were on edge from coordinatingan entire attack force. Damien smiled back and patted him on the shoulder, "No prob, love ya buddy." "Wait, Elsywer has airships?" Runa asked as she put her arm around Calleius, giving him even more comfort and support. Calleius replied, "Seems the Thalmor had four prototype airships. One of them..." He gestured to the air. "Stolen by me," Fenrir didn't look up. He was fiddling with his gear, still not having put his armor on. Damien rubbed his chin. Mist be something cool to work on until the very end. "One was destroyed (by Fenrir and his friends) and the other two were stolen by the Elswyer resistance. Which I guess is just the Mane's new government now," Calleius explained. Calleius took a beat and a breath, looking over all he'd worked for. His friends. His General-turned-Emperor. He smiled and asked with pride, "All that's left is the order. Emperor Jura, sir?" "Generals, sound the horns of war. Let's get this thing done." It was actually a lot less action-packed than you might imagine at this point. They were miles away from the shore and it took about half an hour to sweep into port. But it was definitely quick on the scale of war. "Hey little lady," A soldier said, just waiting for the ships to pull in. "Yes?" Roheisa asked, in her usual pleasant tone. "I know I've seen you a few times, hanging out with the princess. And you were with us in Valenwood. I have to ask, who are you?" The man asked meekly. She smiled, "Ser Roheisa of Wayrest." "Ah, I thought the High Rock guys pulled back home. Something about a civil war, and trouble in the west Reach," he replied. "That's right. But there's always a war going on in Illiac Bay. Political plays are part of High Rock life. I insisted on staying with the Skyrim-Cyrodiil group. What do you do, sir?" Roheisa asked. He smiled back. He wasn't used to being called sir, "See this here catapult? I'm part of the crew. I'm going to fire it when we get to shore." Roheisa's eyes lit up a little, "That's interesting. I've never fired a catapult before." The man smiled back, "Would you like to take the first shot before you run into battle?" "I'd love to!" She said excitedly. The man scratched his head timidly. It was now or never, "Truth is, I'm sure you know, this is going to be a hard fight. Even with the coalition. The reason I decided I had to say something was because... if we all die today... I just wanted to tell you... you're beautiful." Roheisa blinked, blushed, and turned her head away, "Thank you, sir." "I might be safer than most, being on the ship. But if you guys lose, I go too when they take the ships. Just want you to be careful out there. The world would be less without someone like you in it," he said, barely able to get the words out. Roheisa turned away, walking slowly away. She could hear the rest of the catapult team hooting and cheering for the man in the distance. "You finally said something?? Dude! Legend!" Tusselle cupped her hands next to Roheisa, "Get ready! Sound the horns!" The ship shook and trembled as it ran slightly aground. Roheisa snapped back to reality and turned to face the land, "We're here!" "Who's going first this time?" Tusselle called out to the command group, but Runa was already, sword in hand, charging off the front of the deck. She ran to the right of the catapult and leapt onto the beach to be at the front lines with the soldiers. "Catapult shot!" Roheisa threw the lever and the thing flung its weight into the Thalmor's welcoming group. Then Roheisa ran off the left gangplank, followed by Tusselle. Damien looked into the sky, seeing the faint dot of the airship over them an incredible distance up in the air. He casually walked off the gangplank, surveying the situation. He'd decided he was going to wait for Fenrir. Runa was doing that thing she usually did. She looked over the men fighting and traced the Thalmor's positions. She found the archer group assailing her boys and charged immediately to them. First, she blasted them with a, "FUS - RO!" Then she ran up the ramp to them while they were still staggered and started to cleave through them. A cheer went up from below, "Princess Push! Princess Push!" Referring to Runa pushing ahead at alarming speed. Like she always does. The Imperials in the crowd joined in, remembering her from the push to the Imperial Palace. The Thalmor didn't seem to know what to do with her. A couple soldiers tried to prevent her from rolling over the backlines, some of them conjured daedra and undead, but they fell before her blade. Roheisa and Tusselle were down below with Galmar and the Stormcloaks practically eating the Thalmor soldiers alive. Calleius rushed by Damien at about this time with the Imperial forces. Damien noticed Runa and the head of the forces were nearing a large platform (the ramp curved up to the left) which ended in a bridge. This bridge also towered in front of him, was a source of a lot of the return fire both where Tusselle and Roheisa were, and where the ships had pulled in. A well-placed vantage point AND choke point.. He smiled, cracking his knuckles and readying one of his not-oft used spells, "Allow me to lighten the load." Damien charged up Fireball Repeater and blanketed the bridge in a carpet of blasts. This knocked off several of the archers to their deaths, knocked off barrels of oil uselessly (not that the Thalmor were using them effectively anyway, our forces had really swept in here), and cleared a path for the men. "Fenrir, where are you?" Damien said to himself as he finished. "Here I am," Fenrir said. And like magic, he was there. He'd obviously jumped out of the airship and had very good aim. Damien smiled, "Game plan: clearing the bridge." Fenrir loaded up his autocrossbow and started to unload at the bridge guys, "Sorry, had to get my new toys. How far ahead are the girls?" "Roheisa and Tusselle are on the plaza," Damien replied, "I'm curious to see your new stuff." "I'm saving them," Fenrir smirked, reloading. "Runa's near the bridge," Damien said, "Correction: ON the bridge." Fenrir took one more shot at a glass-armored Thalmor on the bridge and said, "Gonna head up." As he was charging up the beach, Damien said, "Don't get hit by stray comets." "Did he just say comets?" Damien finished his spell and huge icy rocks started to fall from the sky. One of his new spells learned in Valenwood: Comet Swarm. Another boat started to unload now. Damien smiled at them, "Glad you could make it." "We followed your instructions, Prince. It is insane how fast you were able to get us here. I was in Whiterun an hour ago." "Figured you boys would want a slice of the action without the weeks of sea travel. Magic development marches on," Damien replied, "New and improved teleportation range. Waystations. Chronomancy. I did have to use one of the dragon batteries on it, but I think it was worth it." "Spare me the details," he said, "Just point me to the fight." "Hey Tusselle and Roheisa," Fenrir said as he charged through the gazebo. Some of the Thalmor archers had them pinned down and Fenrir just zealously ran into their ranks and started unloading with his crossbow, killing them. Roheisa smiled, "Hey Fen." Tusselle chuckled, "Hey kid, thanks for the cover fire." "Anytime, hon," Fenrir smiled, taking aim at the elves on the platform next. "How you guys doing down there?" Runa shouted from the bridge. It started to pour down rain, but only for a short time. Galmar, standing next to her, said, "The Stormcloaks advanced. The Imperials took a right turn instead of continuing the advance. I guess the magic school is that way? Looks like a few are pinned down behind." "Fuck it," Runa said back. She found one of the Thalmor spellcasters in the courtyard and leapt off the bridge. She slapped him with a "FUS!" then impaled him, lifting him off the ground and his innards spilling out over her chest. "Damn, girl," Galmor blinked. He ran ahead. "C'mon Fen, let's get going," Runa said, grabbing him in the courtyard. Damien charged forward, seeing all the battles getting out of his range at this point, and found Roheisa supporting an unconscious Tusselle. "What happened?" He asked. Then he found the giant ice shard lodged through her stomach. It wasn't fatal, yet. But it would be in a couple hours. And it would suck. Damien furrowed his brow. Not like a concerned friend, more like a surgeon looking at a patient. Ro laid her down and summoned a skeletal mage to protect them so Damien could concentrate. Damien charged up a regular Flames spell with Healing on the other hand, melting and healing at the same time. Tusselle gasped and wriggled as she came to. "Calm down!" Damien shouted, and one of her fists slammed into his face. Roheisa grabbed her hands and pinned them against her sides. Damien shook his head to shake off the daze and hit himself with a hands-free heal. "Talos' balls she hits like a truck," Damien chuckled. "She's really strong too!" Roheisa shouted. Tusselle fell unconscious again. Damien gathered up and blasted her with his largest healing spell. Her wounds closed but she was still unconscious. She seemed to be alright. Stable. "I can take her," Roheisa said. "No," Damien grabbed a soldier passing by, "Hey. I need you to take the General back to the middle ship. The one with the med-bay." He pointed, "Get her in a bed, make sure she sleeps. This is very important. She was in bleedout, but I saved her." "Yes sir," the man said, carrying her off. "Damn," Damien said, "Really makes you think that that could happen to us at any time." Roheisa hung back to heal up a few of the Stormcloaks that hadn't received the same attention. Damien caught up with Runa and Fenrir, fighting their way up the ramp to the bridge (again). "Shit, reinforcements," Fenrir was saying. Damien sighed, "And the rain cancelled out my comet storm. I think there's a caster up top countering my big spells. I don't think the Thalmor were completely prepared for how big this assault was going to be, but they do have some tricks up their sleeves." "They definitely didn't expect Hammerfell and Elswyer to jump in at the last minute. I'd say they're spread really thin right now," Runa said, "There just aren't enough High Elves in existence to fight us." "Runa, run ahead to the army. We're going to clear a path," Damien said, "I prefer to hang back and blast." "I'm just going to Levitate up to the soldiers," Runa replied flatly, "Thanks for teaching me that back in Valenwood." Damien smiled, "Anytime." Damien reached the platform again and started blasting the newly-populated bridge, while Fenrir was unloading his crossbow into the seemingly infinite stream of summoned creatures they were aiming at him. Damien grit his teeth. They must be using some kind of teleportation or chronomancy to funnel in all these new soldiers. But how? "Get out of my way!" Damien said sternly. He was getting pelted by spells and arrows, but he chugged a health potion and a magicka potion, starting to channel a spell. "You're going to fucking move!" Damien shouted, throwing his hands to the ground. Another comet storm. He ducked to one of the decorative side pieces to crouch and take cover while frozen hell rained on them. At the same time, Fenrir had ducked behind the structure to Damien's right and was tangling with his own group of Thalmor. Runa had just Levitate'd over to a balcony adjacent to the far side of the bridge and was one-woman-army pushing to the Stormcloaks. The various perched archers and mages took shots at her, but she ducked into the next courtyard and bull'ed through. It started to rain again. Damien silently cursed, taking his position at the start of the bridge again and yelling, "I said, get the fuck out of here!" He casted Firestorm and a line of fireblasts blanketed the Thalmor in front of him. He chugged another magicka potion. These spells weren't cheap, and he could feel himself starting to get light-headed. "These jerks just don't wanna give up this bridge, even though Runa and half the army is behind them!" He shouted to Fenrir. "These guys are tenacious too," Fenrir said, pulling out a new ranged weapon, "I see how it is. Time to unveil my new gadget." It was a thick, short barrel. When he pulled the trigger, like a crossbow, it shot it's payload in a long arc, which was a firebomb. The first blast chewed through the Thalmor's summons, and the second blasted them to kingdom come. "Whoa dude!" Damien looked over his shoulder, "That is legit one of the coolest things I've ever seen." "For real? You're summoning storms and raising the dead over here," Fenrir replied. "No, serious. It's simple but effective. You took something that's existed for a little while - bombs and grenades, and made them better. Grenade launcher. It takes years to master magic. If some random joe picked up your launcher they could do what I do in five seconds," Damien chuckled, then he shot a Forbidden Sun at the last remaining Thalmor, scattering the bodies and the limbs of his one target, "Also, bridge is clear." "You're not messing with me?" "Nah man. Keep it up." "Well, that's not my only reveal today," Fenrir smirked. "For real??" Damien grinned. This was the first time his older brother had been impressed by his inventing. All this took was some alchemy, some smithing, and a LOT of dwemer knowhow. But he had invented this himself. The crossbows were just refurbished ancient tech, but this was his own. "Dammit! They're already sending more reinforcements," Fenrir said he he rounded the corner to the bridge. Damien shook his head, "Well, let's get across before they can." Fenrir took out his autocrossbow and mowed through the couple in front of him. It was really much better at taking down single targets. Damien pulled out dual staves and helped. His magicka was tapped out and he was nearly out of potions as well. Been chugging them like a fiend. One of the Thalmor soldiers charged Fenrir and he slammed the butt of the crossbow into his face, swapping to sword-and-shield. At this point, he was fairly certain this wasn't THE Umbra, but a replica. But it was VERY strongly enchanted, and stronger than any sword he'd ever held. So he didn't mind. He fought with the soldier for a minute. He was actually really good. "Fen, stop screwing around with that guy and come on!" Damien said as he killed a mage who'd been taking shots at Fenrir from the bridge. Then he sprinted across the cleared bridge. Fenrir dropped his dwemer autocannon, then took out his launcher, "Oh yeah, I guess I could just blow him up." He shot a firebomb from about 15 feet away. The Thalmor tried to dodge, got hit in the blast anyway, and stepped in front of the autocannon, getting destroyed. Another mage replaced the old one Damien'd just killed, and Fenrir knew they were using magic to resupply. He fired a bomb and hit the new mage center mass, killing him instantly. He picked up the cannon and crossed the bridge, rain starting again. He heard Damien cursing in the distance. Fenrir traded shots with a Bosmer archer and a mage until Damien came up behind him, casting 'Blind Guardian' on him, which summoned a ghostly shade of Fenrir to protect him. "Hey there you are." "Here, have a guardian. A small party of Altmer entered across the courtyard and the brothers engaged. "Alright, time for another ice (comet) storm," Damien said. He started to cast, but this time, the rain started again before he could even finish, "Dammit. Sporadic tropical rainstorms or spellcasters. I'm not sure." "Best give up the storm spells for now. They're watching us," Fenrir said, "They're definitely teleporting in reinforcements." "Or chronomancy," Damien said. Fenrir backed out the door as a whole new group of Thalmor materialized to threaten him. He took out his other new gadget, which looked like a grappling gun, and shot the soldier it could reach. He was snagged, dragged across the ground and ended up at Fenrir's feet. He took out sword and shield, backing around the corner, but a mage materialized right inside to backup the soldier. "This is ridiculous!" Fenrir shouted. The soldier got up and made to rush him, then someone pushed past him. "Need some backup?" Roheisa said, slicing her scythe through the soldier. "Nice of you to join the party," Fenrir said. "Yeah well, I'm running ahead to find Runa," Roheisa said. "Okay, good luck!" And as soon as she left, the Thalmor started to pile on. "Shit! They have a Clannfear!" Damien shouted from the far right, running back to Fenrir. It lunged at him, launching him just behind Fenrir. "Get up, bro. I need you to tank for me," Damien said, healing him. Then as his brother blocked the creature's path, Damien blasted it with an Elemental Bolt, killing it. "That'll do." About this time, Runa reached the Stormcloaks, who were hurting against the Thalmor's renewable defenses. "How the hell are they doing this? They seem endless!" Runa shouted. "Look!" Galmar shouted, hefting one of the Thalmor soldiers from the pile of bodies. As he showed her, the man vanished. Then he pointed to a Thalmor soldier at the head of the line charging for them. "Is that...?" "It's the same man!!" Galmar shouted, "Somehow, they're rewinding time to before these mer are dead and having them fight us again and again." "Another Thalmor scheme," a voice shouted as it dropped from the sky, "Seems like it's not perfect though. They're reduced every time." "Jura!" Runa shouted. "Still, effective," Galmar said, then he flung himself into the fight. As the two sides clashed, Jura and Runa were both clipped by paralysis spells, "Gods, I hate these guys." The two lines pushed back and forth, eventually leaving them to lay there motionless. The Altmer who'd frozen them approached smugly. "Up to your old tricks again, huh?" Jura said, "But! Here come the Skyrim paratroopers." "The what now!?" Runa asked, and about twenty Stormcloaks landed about 10 feet away and swarmed the soldier coming for them. "Did you just give them all Cushioned boot enchantments?" Runa asked, still unable to move. "Sure did. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve," Jura said. When he was dead, they all rushed off to support the lines, who were now getting beaten back. Runa and Jura were still laying there. "Talos. How long does this shit last? Is this that super paralysis they used on mom when she was restoring Helgen?" Runa sighed. "Seems like they refined it a little bit," Jura said. Finally, they got up. "You alright?" Runa asked. "Yeah. You go ahead. I'm getting too old for this crap," Jura said back. And she charged off. After a little while our reinforcements overwhelmed their renewability and we were left with an empty courtyard. After a moment of searching, Runa found a button that opened up a gate leading to an impressive looking building. Jura approached, "The Summerset Throne should be in there. Probably a trap. Best wait for everyone." Roheisa approached after another moment, "Princess, you move so fast. I can't keep up." "Where is everybody?" Runa asked. "Tusselle is injured. Calleius is mustering all we have left," Roheisa replied. "We did have a lot of casualties. Galmar is mustering the Stormcloaks as well," Jura added. "And my brothers?" Runa asked. Then she heard Fenrir's crossbow, cannon, and his other gadgets. He approached before they moved. "Hey. Damien headed for the magic school," Fenrir said, "I figured you might want my help." "By himself? No. You go help him," Runa said, "We'll wait. I'm wondering when mom is going to show up. We might need her for the big fights." So Fenrir took off in search of Damien, taking the same side path the Imperial army went down earlier. "Seen Prince Damien?" He asked a couple soldiers. He chuckled, "Follow the path of destruction." Fenrir laughed back. That soldier was spot-on. The trail of bodies led Fenrir right to the magic school. Inside were a bunch of weapons humming with magic, lying lifeless on the floor. Fen grabbed what treasure he could before he heard a voice, "Perfect! Glad you came. I'm pinned down in the courtyard beyond. Help me out." Fenrir popped out, launcher ready. He was met with Damien in a standoff with a small group of Thalmor and the Master Wizard here. His appearance sparked a powder keg, because everyone started shooting spells. Fen ducked behind a ridge in the building and used it as cover. After a few moments, only the wizard was left. Damien shouted from his cover, "Give up! You're the only one left!" "What do you want from me?" She asked. We three stopped firing. "All I want is magic secrets. Then you can go free." "You're going to trust her?" Fenrir asked. "I don't. But a lot will be lost if we just destroy this place without a thought," Damien replied. "I am willing to negotiate. What do you want?" She asked. "What's your name?" Damien asked. "Master Wizard Carahil," she said, snidely. She hated being put in this position, they could both tell. "I'm a Master Wizard of the College of Winterhold. Damien." She sneered. "Now, Carahil. There's no reason why we can't be civil. I know to you we're just an invading army, but you know what the Thalmor have done to the rest of Tamriel." "No more or less than you would be doing to each other, were we not a common enemy. The Thalmor offer peace through rule. And elves have the long sight to see it through," Carahil folded her arms. Fenrir shook his head. "I understand elves are great. And I understand why you think we're inferior," Damien scratched his head, "But we're fighting to stop you because we need to be free." "If elves are so damn great, why don't they spend their centuries of life to get better than us with weapons and magic?" Fenrir asked. "You're like bugs. There're too many of you to squash and you multiply so quickly. You two seem to be the exception to the rule," Carahil fingered her chin, "Yes, I know who you are. Prince Damien and Fenrir. You are exceptional. Normally it takes many men to equal a single mer in combat." "I think we're done discussing philosophy," Damien said, "First, how are the Thalmor replenishing their troops so quickly?" "What do you know of Chronomancy?" "I'm probably one of the few *humans who knows how to use it," Damien replied. Carahil sighed, like she didn't want to give away the elves big secret. "What is it? Let me remind you my brother has a bomb launcher and an itchy trigger finger," Damien said. Carahil shook her head, not willing to give her life for the damn Thalmor's cause. She was just a teacher, wanted to live in a world of peace far from this war. "Alright. Do you know how long Altmer live?" Fenrir raised an eyebrow, "How is that~" "Wait, let her go on," Damien said, "Two to five hundred years." "That's what the history books would tell you. And what the Thalmor would have you believe," Carahil said, "But that's wrong." Damien tilted his head, "Tell me more." Fenrir cleared his throat, folding his arms, "I don't think we should listen to any more. I mean, she's clearly pulling a Scheherazade maneuver. Telling us a long story to buy time until her situation improves." "You may be right. But I don't see things getting any better for her," Damien said, he extended his arm, offering her a seat at her own table in the courtyard, and they all sat. "You know the Oblivion Crisis, yes?" Carahil asked. "Of course. Who doesn't?" Fenrir asked. "Sorry, I don't know how much men know. I was alive when it happened." "That was 216 years ago. You look so young," Damien said. "Well, I was a child. But this also feeds into my explanation. The Altmer have a secret. When Martin Septim gave his life, cutting off daedric influence to Nirn, do you know it also diminished aedric influence? Aedra don't often appear on Nirn like they did in the old days." "What's your point here?" Fenrir asked. "Patience. I don't believe the elves of the time fully understood what was going on. But mer lifespans drastically shortened after the Oblivion crisis," Carahil continued. "Well now I know you're feeding us lies. Viranir is hundreds of years old," Damien said, "I mean, she's dead now. But not of old age." "You know... Viranir?" Carahil asked. "My mom defeated her. We met in the past, it was a whole... thing," Damien half-explained. Carahil tilted her head, studying Damien for a moment, "Viranir was my master. She pioneered chronomancy. I continued her research after she disappeared. Recently, I've been getting notes from her in places I'd never found them before... like she was..." "Speaking to you from the past?" Damien interrupted. "Yes!" "What has she been saying? And where is she now?" Damien asked, "I always wondered what happened to her." "Not entirely certain where ... or when... she is. It seems something happened to her between when she wrote the letters and now," Carahil thumbed her chin again, "She's been telling me that what we were doing with our research threatened to destroy reality itself. Normally only available at a dragon break to the lord of time himself, we are toying with things we were not meant to. But..." "The Thalmor kept using the chronomancy anyway?" Fenrir interjected. "Yes," Carahil replied, "They're using it to rewind time so our soldiers can fight and fall again and again." "Godsdamned infinite army," Fenrir muttered angrily. "So what is the deal with the lifespans, where were you going with that?" Damien asked. "Sorry, I have meandering thoughts sometimes," Carahil replied, "V always said that was how I always pulled theorems out of nowhere that worked." Damien smirked at her. C was talking about V like they were more like sisters... very close friends.... or lovers. Carahil continued, "We believe Auri-El's influence was what gave us our long lives. Now his influence is diminished, and we live around 150 years naturally. No better than a Breton." "Which brings me back to Viranir," Damien said, "And the wood elves. What about them?" "The Wood Elves may have found another alternative method to extend their lives. Here's the point. There is a secret hidden spring hidden deep in a cave in a savage region of Summerset. We believe it was an ancient gift to us from Auri-El. When you drink from it, even a taste, it will extend your life by 50 years, and your youth to match. We call it simply 'The Wellspring.' I believe a few doses of it were captured by Titus Mede during the Great War." "I know of this. Runa told us Ulfric and Casius Varon both got a taste," Fenrir said, "So that's why they couldn't actually reverse-engineer it. It's divine." "No wonder a 50-something looks like he's in his thirties and in great shape," Damien said. "I believe the Thalmor, failing at extracting energy from the Dragonborn to power their chronomancy..." "They're using their own lifegiving wellspring as fuel to beat us??" Fenrir asked. Carahil nodded, "If you happen to find this wellspring, there is also another part. It it jointly lagooned with another pool. Nobody knows the truth behind this ancient site, but we believe a daedric prince tried to corrupt the spring and ancient elves dug trenches to section off the fouled portion and stop them from interfering with each other. I'm told if you even touch it, you begin to age rapidly. One dip for about a minute or gulp is enough to age a person fifty years." Damien rose to his feet, "Master Wizard Carahil, thank you. I have one more question." "Uhh... yes?" She asked nervously. She didn't know what to expect from these savages. "Any clue where I can find it?" Damien asked. "There is a secret passage that leads to the region from a cave, I can mark it for you," Carahil did so. Damien nodded and turned to leave, Fenrir following. Carahil breathed a sigh of relief. "What, you didn't think we were going to honor our promises?" Damien asked. "I just haven't met a lot of Nords and Redguards. They teach us you're savage killers. I wasn't sure what to expect," Carahil replied. "You should come to the college at Winterhold sometime. We're doing a lot with ancient magic," Damien turned, "Also, not a Nord. I'm half Redguard, half Daedra. Don't ask me about why my skin's this color. I don't understand phenotypes. Maybe because it's Sanguine. His human form looks pretty Nordic." The brothers met up with the Imperials, mustering with Calleius on the bridge nearby. "Calleius, good to see you. What's the news?" Fenrir asked. "We're regrouping. I heard about a small ruin you guys might be interested in for the time being," he said. "Damien?" Fenrir asked. "Well, I'm not sure if it's the wellspring passage, but I'm down to party," Damien replied. Calleius marked their maps. "I think Runa might be waiting for us to storm the palace," Fenrir said. "We have Alinor. We can take the throne when we need to. Don't worry. The girls and grandpa could probably use a rest anyway," Damien replied. Damien tethered Fenrir and flew off toward the cave, "Looks legit. Right behind the school." The brothers entered the Vault, noting the dead Thalmor mage at the entrance. "Damn this is spooky," Fenrir said, "Is someone there?" It was dwemer in construction. Dang, their construction was far-reaching. The pair stepped onto an elevator with a lever. Fenrir threw it, and when it stopped, they were greeted by dwarven spheres, still rolled up and inactive. Damien took a step forward, but Fenrir stopped him, "Wait." "These balls are probably set to activate if you step past a certain threshhold," Fenrir said. "Huh. Balls," Damien chuckled, then he blasted the first one with Flames, downing it immediately. "Whoa, what is that spell?" Fenrir asked. "I souped up a regular Flames spell so it deals five times as much damage," Damien replied, mowing down the next one, and the next. He clipped Fenrir with the spell. "Whoops, sorry. Friendly fire. Literally," Damien said. With the spheres down, he healed his brother. "You know how I keep saying we should each pair with one of the melee-oriented girls?" Damien asked. "I like hanging out with you, bro. Before Valenwood It'd been a while," Fenrir said. "The feeling is mutual. Speaking of which, where is Valiana?" Damien asked. "Driving the airship. I think she had a tough time in Valenwood. Wanted to sit one out," Fenrir replied. "Let's see what we're working with," Damien threw the doors open to reveal a giant centurion with dwemer label across the arch, 'The Warrior.' "That is a BIG BOY!" Fenrir commented and started to fumble with his gear. "I call it an opportunity for both of us to test out our new stuff," Damien said. He stepped forward into the room, everything seeming to still be dormant. "Guess I'll start us off," Damien said, finding another sphere. This time it was far across the room so he readied, "Sunlight Spear, taught by Solaire." A hybrid sun-lightning spell from Lordran, Solaire's homeworld. The sphere exploded and everything else sprang to life. "Here he comes!" Fenrir shouted, lifting his autocrossbow to start unloading on the centurion. The thing immediately charged for Damien, and he dodged, running through its legs, "Wait, why am I taking point? You're the beefy one." "I don't know, man," Fenrir said, downing a sphere to Damien's left with his crossbow, "My plan was to stand inside this room and cheese the shit out of him." Fenrir swapped to his shotgun crossbow and blasted the centurion from behind as it lumbered over toward Damien. The thing blasted fire and Damien dodged again, running back into the room with Fenrir. The thing recharged its breath weapon and blasted the doorway, the brothers side stepping around the threshold. They met eyes and Damien asked, "Have we ever been in a worse situation? Not sure." "Definitely not," Fenrir said, "I vote to use the cheese. Embrace the cheese!" "Cheese for everyone!" Damien smiled back. The centurion turned to back up (maybe to get a better vantage point to fireblast them). Damien took this opportunity and stepped into the room, casting a Comet Swarm. The centurion reared back and slammed it's fist where Damien was, but he rolled forward and charged across the room again. "C'mon! Focus on me!" Fenrir unloaded autocrossbow into the thing's butt. While it was pelted by comets, Damien took the opportunity to power up Forbidden Sun and launch it at the thing's legs. But it passed right through causing a massive explosion on the opposite wall. "What the fuck?" Damien shouted, "That spell is not cheap." He chugged a magicka potion, "Gods, half my spells pass right through him. I'm ducking into the back room." He stepped back and found more spheres and about 15 treasure chests. He melted the spheres immediately and started to work on the chests with unlocking spells. "What's going on back there?" Fenrir yelled, "You okay?" Damien yelled back, "On the bright side, there's some decent treasure here. Bad news though I don't think we can beat this thing on our own. Probably time to call mom. Sit tight." I opened my eyes to find a letter on my lap. It read, "Mom, where are you?" I stood to my feet. Were they already that far into the invasion? "Are you needed?" Mynisera asked. "Seems that way," I replied. I glanced at Ulfric, still sleeping soundly. He'd be okay. My presence here was not helping. I thought I glanced a few gray hairs, but I wrote it off as my senses running wild. "Thanks for watching," I said to Mynisera and casted Recall. Time to kick ass.

Author's Note: I'm going to summarize the remainder of Fenrir's Kagrenfahlz Journey. There's not a lot that's relevant to the overall narrative, and also, wouldn't be all that interesting in written form. If you want to hear the minute details, go watch the videos. Below is a link to Kagrenfahlz Part 5, where I left off. Kagrenfahlz Summary: Damien, Valiana and Fenrir find their way through Kagrenfahlz into an area in the Velothi Mountains called Samaria. A group of dunmer made their way there long ago and made a small civilization, hidden in the mountains. Of course, they say the group is trapped there. Not taking that as fact, Fenrir and group figure out there are accessible ruins, figure out a way to get into a lower Kagrenfahlz and solve a set of COMPLEX puzzles. Once solved, they open the way to Skyrim. Fenrir then tells Michael and Duns Scotus about Kagrenfahlz and Samaria. In the mean time (5 days pass) an army of drifters take up residence in the newly opened Kagren's Pass. Of course, Maven Black-Brier (not mentioned by name, but mentioned) sends soldiers to secure the pass and begin building infrastructure. Fenrir and group make their way into Samaria again and find the ghost they let out on the way out has now taken possession of lower Kagrenfahlz and kidnapped a large group of the soldiers. They receive a plea from the Dunmer High Priestess (being a mouthpiece for Azura) to stop the ghost, since he's a chosen of Molag Bal. The group fights their way through the low level daedra guarding him and then he offers Fenrir a choice: free him from his torture or deny him and doom him forever. Fenrir decides to go against the wishes of Azura and free him, seeing him a being driven to dire action via dire situation. He fades away, and we're left with new settlements: Kagren's Pass and Samaria (So I guess it's going to stay in my load order, at least until I have to reset Fenrir). Fen returned to his patrolling with Val, and Damien returned to creating life waters. A little while later: ----------------Fenrir-------------------- "Look who it is!" Galmar shouted. High King Ulfric (Dad) looked up from things he'd been signing. His expression was... hard to discern. As I got closer, it didn't get easier. "Where have you been?" He asked. "Long story short, I raided an Aetherium mine. You should've received the proceeds for equipment. Then I found an ancient ruin called Kagrenfahlz. The stuff I found - you can add it to the pile I got from the dungeon crawls I did last year." He smirked at me, like he was trying to hide his amusement and remain stern, "You're definitely your mother's son." "I do love dungeons, and I'm just as good as her with locks. Maybe a little better," I smirked. "I'm trying my best to be mad about this, but I know you can take care of yourself. And you had Valiana by your side, so you were well protected," Ulfric said. "Thank you, sir," Val nodded, knowing my dad didn't generally care for people treating him like a king. I shrugged, "But why would you be mad? Here I am furthering the fortunes of the kingdom. It was a vacation from protecting the northern coast from pirates. Also with Val's help." Ulfric took a deep breath, and exhaled. He stood, slowly walking down his throne's dais, "You do know you're my only heir, don't you?" I folded my arms, "Your point?" He reached the bottom, looking me in the eye. I'm tall, but he's one of the few that's taller than me, by about an inch. He said, "The point is - dear boy - a royal shouldn't be putting himself in mortal danger every day." "What about mom?" I asked. "She's different. She's an immortal vampire dragonborn. Fought gods, traveled to other worlds. Pretty much unstoppable. Also, I doubt I could convince her to do otherwise. She's going to outlive us all," Ulfric put his hand on my shoulder, "You have a lot to learn about ruling." I raised an eyebrow, "Well, don't forget the moot will decide if I'm fit to be King or not. Skyrim's come along way in the past 15 years. But since I'm half Redguard, I seriously doubt that's going to happen." "At the very least," he put his hand on my shoulder, "You will be Jarl of Eastmarch." I shrugged, "What are you getting at?" "I want to show you how to do the job before you have it thrust upon you," he slapped me on the back, "There's nothing wrong with what you're doing. I had a few adventures in my time. I just need you to scale it back and concentrate on your future." "I am willing to work with you," I sighed, "There are a lot of dwemer ruins though, and it's good for the royal coffers." "Let Valiana handle the north sea." ---------------------------------------- Three years pass, Fenrir learning how to become a Jarl and dealing with the day-to-day ins and outs of Windhelm. Ulfric continues being High King. In the winter of 219, Valiana visits Fenrir and he gives her a suit of armor he forgot to give her from Kagrenfahlz. (She's been visiting regularly and giving him updates). He informs her that Queen Mynisera reached out to Ulfric and Jura for help. The Western Reach is embroiled in one of the biggest conflicts in a generation. Cyrodiil sent General Tusselle, and Valiana is happy to go help. She ventures to Markarth to meet at the Silver-Blood Inn. --------------------------------------- You already know the story of the kids, striking out on their own, going on an adventure against their parents wishes. Destana ventured to Solstheim (with the Nerevarine as a guide) by regular boat and ventured north, pursuing her only thread so far - a note she found about a cult. When she returned to Raven Rock, she found Kintyra hanging out at the Inn. "What the hell are you doing?" Destana asked angrily. "Uh oh..." Kintyra froze. "Out with it." "I'm... trying to have an adventure, like you." "Gods, you're going to get yourself killed out here. Solstheim is dangerous." Kintyra had nothing to say to that. "I don't have time to escort you back to Skyrim right now. If I just leave you in the Inn, you're going to just go off on your own, aren't you?" "Well... probably." Destana sighed, "You might not share my blood, technically, but you share my spirit. Listen. Follow us. We'll keep you from being killed. You might even learn something along the way." Her eyes brightened in great excitement, but all she said was, "That'd be neat." "Really? Neat?" "Sorry, I'm trying to be polite," Kintyra replied. ------------------------------------------------------ Damien went back to the college and told Archmage Mirabelle about his son, and his need to go back to Summerset to look for him. "Hmm.." She thought, "Actually, you going back to Summerset would be a huge blessing. Recently the Mage's Guild there reached out to me. They're expecting the Archmage. But I have neither the time nor the inclination to help the damn elves with their problems." "Hey! I'm a damn elf!" Carahil exclaimed from across the room. "Yes, indeed, you are," Mirabelle replied, "Anyway, you'd be a perfect stand-in for me. But let me make this clear: you are not the Archmage. But everybody's going to call you Archmage because you're going in my place. Play along. Again, I cannot stress this enough. You are not the Archmage. And please, please take Carahil with you." "Way to make me feel unwelcome," Carahil commented. "Indeed. Have a safe journey, both of you. Preferably one way for you, Carahil," Mirabelle said as she walked away. "Are conversations always like that with her?" Carahil asked once she was out of earshot. "More or less," Damien replied, "Want to get on the road? They said our contact was in the Winterhold Inn." "Of course, 'Archmage," Carahil replied. "Oh, I am NOT the Archmage. Very clear," Damien chuckled. Amidst relentless ribbing about his new (and dashing!) cape, they were transported to Summerset Isle.