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Arc 8 Chapter L: The Conclave Of Resdayn
🕑 Added 2024-12-16 20:37:59 +0000 UTCA/n: Writing this felt like pushing my brain through mud but I think it still turned out aight. Hopefully.
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(General POV)
The Rootspire of Blacklight was an ancient edifice towering over the rest of the city by a wide margin, once the home of a powerful mage, now the nominal seat of Morrowind itself, said to have been blessed by the direct touch of the Good Daedra once its new function was chosen.
Its hallowed halls were eerily silent as the once five, now six titled leaders of beloved Morrowind marched their way up its winding staircases, having left their guards and followers in a lower chamber, as only they could ascend to the summit.
The odd atmosphere of the tower grew with each step taken, instilling a solemnity into the great elves none of them could easily shake off.
Well, most of them anyway, for one of their number could care less for the ever present Daedric aura surrounding him.
(Reyvin's POV)
'Neat trick' I make an effort not to roll my eyes as I step into the large chamber atop the tower, within which awaited a large round table surrounded by six seats, one of whom looked to be rather recently added.
'How nice of Sarano.' I note the minor favor down and make my way to the throne marked with my own sigil, the rest of the lords and ladies doing much the same.
The first and honestly most important of the lot was the aforementioned Varan Sarano, the overly scarred Dunmer had enough respect for me to agree to the broad strokes of my plans but I suspect he may need a bit more of a push to support me fully.
The next was Baladas Demnevanni, the relatively unassuming, if ancient looking, Telvanni archmage would be the easiest to get on side, if he could be made to pay attention to anything not magic related for more than ten minutes.
That the Telvanni still selected him to represent them all was rather telling of the entire house's mental state...
Third in line came Indoril Neramir and frankly I was not aware Dunmer, or elves in general could ever get quite so fat. His chins had chins for gods' sake!
The man was around what I guessed was his middle age and kept grumbling about having to leave his palace the whole way I could hear him. I had yet to even talk to him so here is to hoping he wasn't quite as stupid as he was corpulent.
Rather naive of me, I know.
Fourth came Sindrel of the Sadras, looking older than Demnevanni but no doubt being far younger in truth. She was a businesswoman through and through, and thus already in my pocket. That Regnild turned out to be her great grandson and I helped him in keeping his head attached to his shoulders was also a rather neat bonus.
Still rather cheeky of the little fucker to hide the fact.
And last but probably? not least, came Aneris of the Dres, only a decade older than myself and thus not nearly as renowned or respected as the rest of them. She was saddled with the rebuilding of the nearly annihilated slaver house and was likely to fully support my plans if she managed to get even part of her ancestral lands back.
She'd probably bitch out when she learned I would not allow slavery to become a thing again but that was for later Reyvin to worry about, and later Reyvin was probably going to be much more politically powerful than the current one.
Seeing as they were all seated, and being the one to actually summon the conclave, I stood up and spoke "I thank you all for coming here on such short notice. The situation on our southern border has turned quite perilous, and it is only through sheer luck and the blessing of the gods that we managed to stop it from turning even worse."
I summon the captured reports alongside a well marked map of southern Morrowind and with a flick of a hand unfurl it atop the table for all of them to see "As you can no doubt surmise, the attack was but the preamble and both the reports and my own information indicate that the next wave will be reaching us within two months, when winter is in full effect and the Morrowind climate becomes far more bearable to the Argonians."
Sarano nods along my conclusion but says nothing.
"Do we know what prompted them?" Aneris Dres speaks up "They did nothing for over two hundred years, only to attack us out of nowhere."
"Indeed" Neramir Indoril interjects in an irritating drawl "My own reports mention minor raids at best for decades and suddenly the An-Xileel are acting up again." He shakes his head condescendingly "Rather suspect I dare say."
"We could speculate on their reasoning for days if we liked." I point out lazily "They could have allied with our cousins from Summerset in some attempt to preemptively pincer the Empire, or they could have just finally built up enough power to strike out" My eyes meet those of the fat one "In the end, does it even matter? Our lands will soon be under assault, and speculation will not strike back the enemy."
He huffs "No, I suspect not."
'Twat is trying to find an excuse for something.' Scorch points out.
"Quite" I drawl, the word directed at both targets "Now how about instead of pondering why the lizards are throwing themselves at us, how about we discuss an actual plan of action?"
They were obviously acting out due to the Empire growing in power and coherence with worrying speed and was about to threaten everyone, but I wasn't about to inform anyone of that.
"So long as it does not involve me having to ask my 'subjects'" Demnevanni speaks up with a tone as dry as his homeland "To leave their homes completely defenseless, House Telvanni is ready and willing to finance all battle ready mages we can. A lot of the younger fools are thirsty for Argonian blood after listening to the stories for decades so don't worry, I will persuade at least a few hundred of them to throw their lives away." He tacks on as the Dres and Redoran give him looks of doubt.
That he simply accepted a combined intervention as fact would set the tone for the rest of the conversation, something I would probably have to reward him for with a schematic or three.
A worthy sacrifice.
I hum aloud and give him a pointed look "Five hundred at the very least, and at high adept level of combat useful spells minimum." This was not me commanding him, but giving him an obvious option to take before the other houses started bitching about him not fully committing.
Telvanni independence was good for individual magi, but it wreaked havoc on the house itself.
Sarano, who looked just about ready to demand much the same as I, gave a curt nod which was soon followed by Aneris.
Said Grand Magnate spoke up next "We obviously all agree that the invasion needs heading off, but how exactly do you expect us to do it without being outmaneuvered by the beasts? The southern border is vast."
"Quite simple actually." I grin "We attack them and retake Mournhold."
A long pause ensues as my words settle.
Sindrel sucks in a breath "You certainly don't aim low child."
"Rather ambitious, yes." Sarano nods slowly "But not completely foolish."
Demnevanni just snorts, probably having expected me to do something he thought outrageous.
Indoril's face darkens for whatever reason but he remains silent.
Dres on the other hand, seems skeptical "Do they not have a massive numbers advantage?"
"They do" I confirm easily enough "However it is nearly impossible for them to engage all of said numbers at once due to a simple lack of maneuverability, they may have a hundred thousand or more warriors but they are also liable to position them all across the border to attack us, which will make a counterattack incredibly effective."
"Also" I add "If we were to storm Mournhold we would both get a powerful base of operations to strike at them from, while also reconquering our people's true capital, greatly boosting morale among our followers."
She frowns but soon nods "I can see the advantages."
"But you remain unconvinced?" She nods and I smirk "You will be happy to hear then that I will be providing my automatons for carrying our supplies, something I have no doubts the Lady Sadras will have no difficulty in procuring."
The old woman barely contains a greedy grin.
"I am... unfamiliar with these." Dres points out.
With a shrug I explain "Think of it as tireless mindless servants uncaring for terrain."
And of course the leader of the ex slaver house understands that instantly.
"And who would be leading this... excursion?" Sarano finally asks the truly important question, his gaze suddenly much sharper than earlier.
"Before I answer that I believe it is time for me to speak of the other reason I called for you all." I say, a bit more serious now "You have all heard of Azura's most recent prophesy, yes?"
The moment I mention the name, the tower shimmers with Daedric power, all five of them now knew that if before they were not being watched now they most certainly were.
All of them give nods of varying enthusiasm "Indeed." Sarano is the one to speak, his tone a ponderous one "Her words were far more direct than I have ever known them to be, allegedly backed by the other two."
"Ashlander hogwash." Neramir scoffs, his eyes intently focusing on me.
"Well, whether you choose to believe it or not, I was in fact sent here by the three." I reveal simply, there was really no point in hiding it here where they could all feel their very presence.
All of them probably knew that much as no sound was made for a few seconds before a pleasant aura spread through the tower and disappeared as quickly as it came, causing a downright furious frown on the Indoril.
"So what you are saying is..." Dres says carefully "Your did not come to tie us to your imperial masters?"
"Masters?" I quirk an eyebrow and shake my head, unwilling to get caught up in that particular line of questioning "I was in no rush to return to my ancestral homeland, no" I only half lie "The three were rather insistent on my coming however."
"Is there an actual point in any of this?" Sindrel asks, hiding her frustration rather well under the sarcasm as the talk of Daedra made her visibly uncomfortable.
"Simply put?" I ask aloud "The moment I stepped into Morrowind I thought I had come to hell, not home. The land is barren, the people poor, the villages abandoned and the cities destitute." I let out a derisive snort "Frankly part of me thought it best to leave it all to the Argonians since at least they would be hardheaded enough to fix it with enough blood and sweat."
"I will listen to no more of this drivel!" Neramir stands up suddenly, nearly falling backwards under the sudden force but managing to right himself in time "You summon us here like mere servants and have the audacity to criticize our work while suffering none of the difficulties! No more I say, my house and I will have no part in this foolishness, especially not under a fucking n'wa-UGH!"
Midway through his rant I found myself massaging the bridge of my nose, but the moment he tried to hit me with the ole' reliable, my hand was already raised in a particular manner and in an instant the shadows behind Neramir shifted.
The fat Indoril tried screaming as a metal garotte was wrapped around his neck, but all he managed was a pained gurgle before he drowned in his own blood.
The entire chamber exploded into action, with Demnevanni levitating up and warding himself and Sindrel, while Aneris and Varan drew their blades to face the assassin. Only I remained completely at ease, standing exactly where I had been for the entire meeting.
Neramir's body topples forward, his head slamming into the table and revealing the armored form of Davos, who was completely silent as he held the garotte in one hand and a long unfurled scroll noting down in obnoxious detail all of Neramir's crimes and failings, courtesy of Mephala herself.
No one says a thing, and only after a few dozen seconds does Varan take a cautious step towards Davos, likely knowing exactly what was going on, and yanks the scroll from my right hand Mer's hand. He steps back in a lightly blurred movement, ensures he is not about to be attacked, and begins reading it all over.
The moment he finishes reading it he gives me a look "Are you truly bold or merely hubristic I wonder?"
"What is it?" Demnevanni asks with a frown.
"A Writ of Honorable Execution." I calmly answer instead of the Redoran "I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt since one of his kinsmen came to my aid even when word was that dear Neramir stated otherwise." I look down at the corpse "He has proven himself unworthy of such considerations."
"Ha!" Sindrel scoffs "Serves the fat bastard right."
The writ is slowly passed through the rest of them, and Davos is ever so cautiously given the permission to leave though not before getting glared near to death by the rather shaken Aneris, my right hand Mer still not uttering a single word as he closed the door behind him.
"You are not fools." I speak up after Davos leaves "It is rather obvious what I am after, and the death of the Indoril idiot should tell you just how far I am willing to go to achieve it."
The very air shifts as they focus on me again.
My eyes slowly meet theirs, my divinity slowly bubbling to the surface as I made them feel a presence akin to the vaguest hint of the Daedra but different and unique in its own right "I have told you of my disgust when I first arrived to what was supposed to be my beloved ancestral home, the very gods guiding me back, even as I hesitated to come myself."
I pause and spread my arms "Simply put, the state of things as it is is unacceptable. All I see in these lands is what has for centuries been and is still being left to rot, and I refuse to stomach it a moment longer. I will fix this once majestic land, whether you help me on the way or I am forced to drag you with me kicking and screaming."
Cue frowns and calculative looks, none of them were going to have another outburst after what just happened, even if Neramir was by every single one of them considered worthy of a Writ already.
"But I do not expect you to simply roll over and accept my authority as your leader." I shake my head "No, I understand that something must be done so that I may prove both my intention and my power, and victory in battle alone is not enough."
"What exactly do you propose?" Varan asks, his entire posture still tense from recent events "What deed makes you so confident as to demand the position of Hortator so openly?"
"Simple." I offer a kindly smile "In return for your allegiance I offer the simplest of gifts." I pause before flashing the entirety of my power, shaking the tower and locking all of them in place briefly "I will calm Red Mountain itself."
