(General POV)
As the Court Mage made the entire group disappear to who knows where General Tullius allowed himself to relax ever so slightly. The task given to him by his liege was now far harder to complete and his honed mind failed utterly in not thinking about the amount of work it would take to deal with it all.
And then there was the sudden challenge of his faith in the gods...
He knew the elf was not at fault but he still felt like cursing the young mage, if only to make himself feel slightly better.
Accepting his fate, he started making his way back to his men, the oddly shaped 'control rod' twirling between his fingers without thought, idly he let his meager store of Magicka flow into the object and immediately felt exactly one hundred connections in his mind.
At first, he was freaked out by the sudden sensation, but the mechanism of it all was made obvious by the new instinct in the back of his mind. And so, with far more caution this time, the good General sent out his first command without speaking, a small horde of metallic spiders converging around the town square and starting to construct a rudimentary shelter.
He did not even notice it as a childlike smile formed on his face and he continued playing with his new 'toys' the projects he ordered growing ever more complex and precise.
He also did not notice the slight Magicka drain the artifact imposed.
His troops found him heaving on the ground an hour later, a tired but satisfied look on his face.
---
(At Silruhn Fell)
Ignoring Reyvin's declaration, the group of newcomers gawked at the sight they were greeted with.
An untouched valley covered in creeks, trees, and fresh spring grass spread out for miles, the whole thing surrounded by mountains and covered in a slight fog, giving it a feeling of an almost supernatural peace and tranquility.
Naturally, the gods being fickle as they are, that tranquility was swiftly crushed as a noise drew their attention below them, leading them to the sight of a long canyon filled with fortifications and walled off with mighty battlements and towers at its entrance.
All of them being rather sharp eyed do to their experience and/or training, they could see quite clearly the small horde of feral Falmer attacking the walls with reckless abandon while numerous automaton spheres let loose their bolts under the watchful eye of about two dozen armored warriors, many of whom were armed with crossbows, and one of whom was currently producing the noise by throwing fireballs with... passable accuracy.
Marco gave his host and teacher an odd look "Shouldn't you...?"
But was immediately waved off "Nah, poor idiots attack almost daily. Serves as good training for the newbies anyway so I let them deal with it from relative safety." He glances at the fireball chucking maniac and tsks in annoyance "Idiot is going to knock himself out at this rate, Davos go and make sure he doesn't die over something as stupid as that and then make sure the lesson sticks."
"Sure thing, boss." The Dunmer salutes and disappears before anyone can notice him speaking in the first place.
"Even if they are feral, I know these Falmer are not complete beasts." Minthara speaks up, pointedly not looking at the Paladin staring at her with complete focus "So why is it that they are simply throwing themselves at your people like this? And where even are we?"
Reyvin waved for them to follow him and explained on the way "To answer your first question it is because we stole the shamans of almost every tribe out there."
"Dare I ask why?" Minthara asks, completely unbothered by the idea.
"Because only the mages can be restored." Reyvin shrugs "I'd happily fix the rest but the resource investment would be enough to topple the Dominion so I sadly have to settle with only doing what I can."
"And how many have you managed to restore so far?" Junia pipes in.
Lord Dagoth gives her an amused look "Already fishing for information, are we?" Before she can answer he waves her off "Don't bother, I expected as much and do not fear answering. There are currently one hundred and twenty four full Falmer living in the settlement with another two hundred and fifty on their way to restoration."
"That is enough to start a population." Marco mumbles with slight amazement.
"It is, but that is enough about that." Reyvin nods and looks back to Minthara "As to your second question, we are in the place previously known as the Forgotten Vale, a valley hidden deep in Skyrim's western mountains and the location of the Chantry of Auri-El, or Akatosh if you prefer. It is also where I met Gelebor here, one of the only five Falmer I did not have to restore."
"There was a tribe of actual snow elves still alive?" The Dragonborn gives the Paladin a surprised look.
Gelebor smiles wistfully and shakes his head "I am afraid not, my lady. I was granted longevity by Auri-El so that I may persevere in my duties of keeping my blasphemous brother imprisoned. It is Lord Dagoth who set me free from my task and unfroze four of my fellow Paladins when he came here to cleanse the Chantry with his army."
"I feel like there was a lot left out of that story." She mutters suspiciously.
The Paladin immediately bows "When we have time I would be more than happy to tell you everything you wish to know, your ladyship."
The constant bowing and, in her eyes, unearned reverence, was slowly starting to irritate her, but much to Reyvin's surprise he could only see her left eye twitch slightly before she offered the elven devotee a polite smile and continued walking.
The conversation trailed off by that point, as the visitors were once more drawn to the view before them.
Orderly plots carved into the stony walls of the mountain at the canyon's upper exit and spreading out in a vague eye shape dotted the entire path between them and their destination.
Every home was hewn of marble and roofed with pale blue tiles, all of them shaped in an unrecognizable style that seemed to be a mix of Dunmer with something else, but somehow the elegant arches of the unknown culture combined with the sharp edges of the Dunmer worked almost perfectly.
They were not all of uniform size, but most seemed to be able to house a family of five and had a front garden with vegetables already growing. Animals were only permitted to be raised off the main path so they were out of sight, and more importantly outside of anyone's smelling range.
The paved road led the group through a central square where a small market was already being assembled. Stalls made of a similar marble-like stone dotted the place in an organized chaos as Dunmer and Falmer, and even some Nords who were until then trying to sell their wares all turned silent and offered respectful bows to them as they passed.
Their destination made itself rather obvious when they crested a small rise and came upon the Chantry of Auri-El, the mostly restored monument almost glowing in the sunlight, and covering all of those carrying the Chief Divine's blessing in a warm embrace.
But that was not what drew most of their attention, as a massive pale tower, covered in the banners of House Dagoth, well... towered over even the Chantry itself. Numerous windows and terraces dotted the massive structure in what was once more an organized kind of chaos.
If one looked hard enough, they could even see Nightshade currently resting in a comfortable chair at one of the higher terraces while a small Dunmer child gave her a report on her studies.
(Reyvin's POV)
I lead the group to the nearby wayshrine, the teleportation device immediately reacting to my presence and opening up a path that was not there before. Wordlessly I step through and I only have to wait for a couple of seconds before the rest also start entering one after the other.
"And this, my dear guests, is Tel Dagoth. My new home." I spread my arms welcomingly.
Minthara gives me a dry look "The tower of Dagoth? Not very creative, is it?"
"It is tradition" I shrug 'helplessly' "Besides, that is exactly what it is. The tower where House Dagoth houses their magi." Without waiting for a reply I turn to the tall elf sitting at the podium in front of the portal "Alor, make sure they all have a place to stay and show them where they can get some food."
He immediately stands up and gives me a quick bow "At once, my lord."
I turn to the guests and offer them a smile "You are welcome in my home, rest, eat, recuperate, and when you are ready we will speak of our future plans."
I leave Alor to deal with the logistics and head to the top of the tower, my favorite place to relax as of late. The center of the tower was hollowed out in a cylindrical shape, allowing anyone to levitate to the summit if they were skilled and powerful enough, but still having stairs for the lower levels.
I was a cunt, but I still wasn't a Telvanni level cunt.
The fresh mountain breeze greeted me once more as I stepped onto the open space atop the tower, I could not resist adding some Orthanc-esque spikes to the top but I still made sure the place had an actual use as I created a resort-level lounge with automatic heating, massaging chairs and everything else I could come up with.
I may not have liked my past existence but the conveniences and luxuries of it far surpassed most of what I could find in this world, so I simply decided to combine both.
I sat my ass down and lit up a cigar, mentally counting down to zero exactly as Minthara burst through the enchanted passage in the floor, she was very lucky I already predicted this and allowed her up there or she would have been slammed into the floor all the way down.
She would have survived, probably, but it would not have been a pleasant experience, that much was certain.
"Ah, Lady Septim!" I grin cheerfully "What a surprise to see you up here!"
She glares at me for a moment, but seeing as I do not so much as twitch she quickly deflates and takes a seat across me, a low moan of comfort leaving her unbidden as she practically melts into the reclining armchair.
It takes her a moment to come to her senses and the instant she does she is greeted with my smug ass giving her a shit-eating grin "I knew you were tired, but I did not expect the mere touch-"
"Stop." She groans, trying to hide her embarrassment "Just stop."
"Hehehe." I let out a brief cackle of pure evil before asking "Fine, what did you want?"
She takes a long fortifying breath, leans back into her seat, contemplates her thoughts for a while, and asks "Why did you contact the Emperor?"
"Is that any way to talk about your father?" I quip and, ignoring the frustrated noise akin to a boiling kettle, I go on "I contacted him because he is someone genuinely devoted to making the Empire and thus in his eyes the world a better place. He is also heirless and even a child could do the math if they knew what I know."
She goes to speak but I raise a hand "Let me speak now, you asked the damn question." Earning myself a nod I continue "As I was saying, he is a good man, and the truth of your ancestry would have come out sooner or later, leading to people trying to prop you up on the Ruby Throne as their puppet, and so I thought I may as well make sure you get the best deal you could."
"I totally believe you did it out of the goodness of your heart." She deadpans, obviously not believing that one bit "Still" She sighs "I can't say that you are wrong in saying that I would never be left alone, Septim or not."
"Exactly." I nod with a satisfied smile.
"Truth now, please." She demands with her own amused smile.
I outright snort at this "Fine, you are the best chance this world has to topple the Dominion, and so I decided to give you something to do instead of fading into obscurity once you have done your divinely ordained duty."
"That is... fair I guess." She deflates into her seat. She stares into the distance for a long while after that, before slowly looking back at me "And yet I cannot shake off the feeling that you have been controlling my every move for years now."
"Oh please, don't flatter yourself." I cackle at her suddenly offended expression "I made sure you would grow stronger to face what no one else can, and then I made sure I would have an amiable monarch when it was all said and done, I am not about to apologize for it."
"I am disgusted at myself for not being able to find fault with that anymore." She grumbles, absently grabbing the bottle of mead I summoned while we were talking.
"Ah, how quickly they grow." I sigh 'forlornly.'
"I am older than you, you twat." She snaps with no heat.
"And your aged wisdom impresses us with each day that passes." I drawl.
We stay silent for a moment before the both of us let out huffs of amusement and shake our heads.
"Also." I add after a pause "It isn't like you have no talent or desire for leadership, I saw how they looked at you in Helgen and how you tried to hide your preening. Don't try to pretend otherwise."
She tries to come up with a denial but after a moment she remembers who she was talking to and deflates "Yes, fine, I do enjoy people looking up to me, happy?" She almost pouts at the admission.
I simply smirk at that.
She glares at me for a while before shaking her head "I have more questions." She begins once more "But one refuses to leave me no matter what I do. How did you even get into contact with the Emperor in the first place?"
"Well now, that is an interesting story." I take a sip of coffee, summon one for her which she happily accepts, and begin my tale.
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If you don't rock
you will roll.
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