Rastislav
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Arc 8 Chapter CXXXV: Unrelenting Force
🕑 Added 2025-05-25 13:53:33 +0000 UTCAn: Last chap has been edited, should feel a fair bit less rushed and a fair bit more put together now.
I have removed the part in chap 133 (A Brand of Gold, for those who can't be arsed to translate the roman numerals) where Norevalion looks up to see a dragon and hears Minthara shout. Now it only shows the skies darkening and his serpent getting panicked.
Should add a bit of tension and excitement to the "finished product" as it were (even if Minthara's involvement has been thoroughly ruined for most of you, yes I know, big sad)
Now without further ado, war crime time! (Minthara gets just a bit spicy in this one, was listening to just a tiiiny bit of doom music while writing the second part of this)
============
Minthara ignored the confused, curious, or in the case of Rikke, mildly offended, stares of her officers and focused fully on the conversation happening on the Orb™. Enjoying the increasingly creative string of curses Reyvin had by now formed an entire essay out of.
Titus was less amused however.
[Restitutor Orbis: Are you quite finished?]
[Big D: Yes, thank you.]
[Restitutor Orbis: Good. The reports from Count Caro indicate the enemy has invaded Leywaiin with around three hundred warships, mostly escorts and corsairs, and the city is currently embroiled in a street to street siege. Fifty ships from said fleet have sailed upriver and we suspect will be striking at Bravil as even the full force would not be able to threaten the capital.]
[Big D: ...I could teleport back in an hour or so to lead a counterattack if necessary. Won't be marching at Falinesti for a few days yet I think. Also need to have the fucker who failed to finish the river fort in time whipped for incompetence, can't forget that.]
[Restitutor Orbis: Kind of you to offer, but I will be dealing with this insult on my own. Both of them.]
[Big D: Ohoho! Shame I am going to miss it then.]
[Restitutor Orbis: I am certain the agents you have shadowing me will provide you with an acceptably heroic image in due time.]
[Big D: You are supposed to pretend not to know about those.]
[Restitutor Orbis: My, how forgetful of me.]
Seeing as they were about to resume with their back and forth, Minthara decided to interject.
[Dragon Overlady: So what is the plan then? I hope you aren't just going to chase them off and hope they don't attack us again.]
[Restitutor Orbis: I do have a plan, yes. Reyvin will remain in Silvenar and continue with his preparations. As for you, General Julius has just sent me the news of your conquest of Corinthe, congratulations are in order of course but also a task, now that I know you are free.]
[Dragon Overlady: Please. At this point I welcome any distraction you can come up with.]
[Restitutor Orbis: Dealing with the consequences of command is a difficult task. Yet facing them without cowering is the mark of a true ruler.]
Of course he'd know the exact thing she was talking about.
[Dragon Overlady: I will... keep that in mind.]
[[Big D: Want to talk about it? I am told I provide the greatest of pep talks!]]
She eyed the private message Reyvin sent her but ignored it for now. He was being thoughtful (in his own way) but she did not feel like spilling her guts to him at the moment.
[Dragon Overlady: So, what is the mission?]
[Restitutor Orbis: I need you to take your strongest dragon and fly to Leyawiin. Once I reach them and repel their invasion, I want you to ruin them.]
[Big D: Hold up, three hundred ships is a big number but how many soldiers does that equate to?]
Titus took a moment to respond, no doubt conferring with one of his councilors.
[Restitutor Orbis: Taking into account the fact most of the Maormer are both soldiers and sailors, we approximate around a sixty to eighty combatants per ship.]
[Big D: And that is without counting the greater vessels no doubt.]
[Restitutor Orbis: Indeed, we suspect the enemy has access to approximately twenty to twenty three thousand troops.]
[Big D: A good four thousand of whom had just sailed up the Niben.]
[Restitutor Orbis: Correct.]
[Big D: Hold on a second.]
[Big D: Twenty thousand or so is a considerable number, but I doubt it will be enough to fully take over Leyawiin, much less invade the rest of Cyrodiil. At least not without some considerable reinforcements.]
Both Minthara and Titus' eyes widened at that.
[Dragon Overlady: Are you saying they are merely the vanguard of a greater attack?]
[Big D: That or they are merely pillaging for the heck of it.]
[Restitutor Orbis: A possibility but not one that will change our course of action.]
[Big D: True. But we don't need to wonder about it uselessly.]
The way he worded that made Minthara feel slightly ominous.
[Big D: Great and Mighty Shalazar, I summon thee!]
And there it was.
The Orb™ glitched and buzzed and suddenly there was another name on the list of users.
[LizardWizard: Here I am splendiferous student mine!]
[Big D: Glorious! Please, inform us shortsighted mortals of the machinations of the foe!]
[LizardWizard: Your magnificent mind is not mistaken my mightiest of merish men! You will find your foe close by and waiting, for what you seek sits and awaits all, down in Senchal, awaiting for the signal.]
[Lizard Wizard: That is all I have to say, and now I must away!]
The Orb™ glitches once again and the fourth name on the list is gone.
[Restitutor Orbis: What?]
[Big D: One of the greatest mystics and seers alive, that is what.]
[Restitutor Orbis: ...and you trust this mystic?]
[Big D: With my life.]
The speed at which the answer was given brought a small smile to Minthara's face.
[Restitutor Orbis: Then I suppose that is all there is to it. Minthara, you know what you must do?]
[Dragon Overlady: Their fleets will be less than tinder.]
[Restitutor Orbis: Good.]
[Restitutor Orbis: Do remember to prioritize your own survival no matter what, no amount of fleets are worth your life.]
[Dragon Overlady: Don't worry, I know.]
Just as she was about to put the artifact down, one last message arrived.
[Big D: Break their spines, honey!]
She would forever deny the claim that she skipped her way to Odahviing's temporary lair.
-------
Hours later, Minthara felt her heart settling as she and her mount cut through the clouds at blinding speeds, the pure sense of freedom so soothing it could have only ever been topped by doing it on her lonesome.
Odahviing saw through the cloud cover and rumbled "We approach, Thuri."
Moments later they were out of the cloud, and Minthara commanded the world to slow, giving her all the time she would need to find her target.
The city of Senchal was much like the rest of the Khajiiti settlements she had seen, a colorful place decorated with as many gardens and waterways as possible, and not built for wartime defense.
Khajiit cities were rarely if ever invaded throughout history after all, and most of their internal conflicts were more akin to the skirmishes of the Redguards than true open wars.
A grand dockyard dominated the north of the bay city's territory, the Mane's Estuary river flowing into the Topal Bay making Senchal one of the greatest harbors of the world, and the massive war fleet bearing Dominion banners currently docked there only served to make it that much greater to behold.
Hundreds upon hundreds of dedicated transport vessels swayed on the open sea, while a few dozen proper warships were currently docked and loading supplies.
For a moment, Minthara almost hesitated, the thought of the sheer number of people currently down there making her mind blank as she almost turned away then and there.
But then she remembered all the horror stories about the Dominion she heard while growing up, the atrocities and horrors that scarred entire generations of her kinsmen and surpassed even Alduin in their evil.
The faces of the warriors fallen in her name.
Her hesitance felt insulting in the extreme as her eyes narrowed, her heartbeat growing louder in her ears and the sheer hatred she felt made her hairs stand straight as she gave the order "Forward, Odahviing. Today we break them for good."
The crimson dragon roared his approval and in an instant they were hurtling down towards Senchal with murder in their eyes.
-
The first warning the Dominion forces received was the distant roar, many tensed and immediately began checking their surroundings with fear slowly worming its way into their hearts.
The second warning they received was the doubled roar of "FUUUUS RO DAH!"
Not much of a warning admittedly, as only a split second passed before the twin waves of force scythed through the dockyard and the ships anchored within it, sending chips of wood, broken boards, nails, and bones flying in every possible direction at murderous speeds.
So sudden was the assault that by the time the mages assigned to guarding the skies readied themselves to respond, the crimson blur had already managed another two passes through the fleet, rending hundreds of vessels into scrap as they were either simply broken to pieces or thrown off from the water surface, their very anchors dragging them apart under their own weight.
The quintet of Altmer mages immediately began scrying the dragon's flight path, blasting its position with storms of ice and lightning, but only managing to slow it somewhat before it reached its next target and after a hateful hiss a gout of golden flame blasted off its neck, the beast's own more natural fire breath following a moment later as the pair utterly annihilated the greatest cluster of warehouses within the city.
The mages shared a look, their faces grave, and teleported into the skies, their levitating forms appearing above the slowed dragon as they rose their hands and staves, targeting the rider.
The visible aura wafting off the demigoddess made them hesitate in fear, a half second that was far too long as golden specters formed around them, the spirits of the Blades slashing and stabbing with enough power to force them to back off.
The Septim seemed content to ignore them as her mount unleashed a whirlwind sprint, disappearing from its position and appearing behind the great lighthouse, the tower that stood for millennia cracking apart an instant later in a glorious detonation of force and stone.
Protected as they were from the specters by the sudden distance, the five sorcerers teleported after the beast, appearing just beyond the lighthouse as the beast continued on with its rampage.
The sudden gasp of their seer had them all turning to see the poor woman impaled upon a magnificent warhammer, the Septim holding her impaled prey up with one hand and no visible effort.
A figure materialized behind the child of Auri-El, a gnarled staff tipped with the head of a dragon and antique mask contrasting with its billowing robes as it pointed an open hand at them.
They were no fools, and neither were they Elders, which meant that death was a certainty if they could not flee immediately. Once more they all shared quick looks, knowing they were likely dead, and attempted their escape.
Only to find the space surrounding them to be utterly locked.
The hateful eyes of the demigod met each and every one of theirs and she spoke "Gol. Hah. Dov."
And those mere three words marked their ends in the worst way imaginable.
The hatred in the Septim's eyes had not disappeared, only seeming to grow stronger as she gave the order with all the finality of a guillotine "Kill them all" Their wills rebelled against the walls now surrounding their minds, but it was all for naught "And then yourselves."
Minthara left Senchal burning behind her, not looking back at the ensuing slaughter even once as she flew on back to Corinthe where she would wait for her next target.
------
Norevalion stared at the darkening skies, feeling his breath grow increasingly heavy as he noticed the Altmeri mages pale out of the corner of his eyes, the lady Indris' furious mutterings about there being no way they could be found so quickly too quiet to carry through the now billowing winds swaying the fleet left and right.
A crack of thunder pierced the winds, or at least it appeared to be one at first as the paired echo of the words ""STRUN BAH QO!"" Came right after, making the weather even worse as all the darkening clouds in the skies began twisting around each other, dragged into vortex of deathly blue as for a moment it looked as if a hole was ripped directly into Aetherius directly above the Maormer fleet.
And then came the storm.
Lightning bolts of immense power struck the fleet and thrice its surface around it, destroying all it touched in mighty flashes of brilliant white and blue, the screams of the dying lasting for terrifyingly short instants before they were unmade on the spot.
In what was barely a half minute, most of the Maormer fleet disappeared save for the flagship and the vessels of the Sealords surrounding it, as their contingent of magi and wards were enough to merely leave them crippled instead.
Norevalion heaved himself back onto his feet, seeing the rest of his crew getting their bearings just as he did, only to flinch away in surprise as a loud crack echoed across the center of his vessel, a figure clad in steel and crimson with a hammer leaning against her shoulder staring directly at him with serpentine, nay draconic, blue eyes.
The Altmer mage gasped at the sight, momentarily drawing the creature's eyes away from Norevalion, only to not shout, not even speak, but blow a slight bit of air towards the high elf, turning her inside out with the sheer force of her will.
Norevalion felt his heart sink at the sight but the terrified subjects of his surrounding him made him act, the sword of Orgnum flashing into his grip as he charged forward with a mighty battle cry on his lips, his serpent uncoiling from below the ship and attacking the human from her flank.
Her left hand struck out without her even bothering to turn, meeting the serpent's maw directly and in a series of sickening cracks breaking the royal beast's spine one bone at a time, even as she met Norevalion's sword with the haft of her hammer, the sheer weight of the slightest of her movements throwing the weapon out of his grip and launching it into a nearby Serpentguard.
Before he could so much as twitch in the opposite direction, the Pyandonean king felt a gauntlet close around his neck.
The Dragonborn leaned in as he desperately, and uselessly, scratched at the gauntlet clutched around his throat, her every word shaking the air around them as she declared "I will enjoy visiting your lands as you did mine once I am rid of the Dominion. I hope your people are ready to reap what you have sown."
And then, in one swift movement, Minthara rose the King of Pyandonea into the air, grabbing his legs as she did, and in a deafening crunch, broke his back over her knee.
Comments
Hakkira
Thank you kindly for the chapter 😁
Rastislav
Committed suicide by Septim
TR59
Well that guy had a short reign
