Welcome back to The Adventures of A Dragonborn series! This is the fourth part of Aurora's story, and will take place in Skyrim, Hammerfell and Cyrodiil. In this installation, she will reach new hights as a warrior, grow into a capable leader and mature as a woman as the Second Great War tears the lands of Tamriel apart.
It was an unusually warm day in Eveningstar – but it was cloudy and incredibly wet, even though it had been hours since the rain passed through the city and continued over Morthal. Aurora was soaked inside of her ebony armour; both due to sweat and the weather, and her temperature constantly fluctuated. She did not worry for herself, though, even though it would be interesting to meet Ulfric to say the least. Katia was very tired and edgy due to the long trip from Whiterun. The child demanded food every other hour, and Aurora worried if there was something wrong with her.
"Make way for the saviour of Skyrim!" the guard yelled, making the other men step aside as the woman rode by.
It was annoying; all the banalities, the thankfulness. She had merely done her job, even if it had taken her a few years to reach the goals set by destiny. The woman did not need it all, she only wished for a quiet life where people would not bother her or put her on a pedestal. At that time, it would be too much to ask for since she had a war to fight, but in the future... In the far, distant future, she would settle down with the Companions as she had promised Vilkas, as she had promised herself.
Aurora continued through the familiar main street in Solitude, up towards Castle Dour. The entire city had changed as it was preparing for the war. Men were mobilising from across the entire Skyrim, meaning there was not enough housing for everyone.
As the woman reached the door to the Strategy Room, she carefully took Katia with her right arm and jumped off the horse. A young boy took her horse as the woman stepped inside the castle. The Imperial banners were long since gone, and the Stormcloak symbol was now adorning every door and window.
As soon as she set her foot inside of the castle, a soldier approached her. She did not know his name – he was probably a new recruit. The man was of average hight, had light brown hair and a very rectangular face. He bowed as he saw the woman.
"Lady Dragonborn! The King ordered me to greet you."
"Yes, yes..." Aurora said and continued forwards, though the corridor and into the empty Strategy Room.
The soldier followed her nervously and cautiously, afraid to irritate the woman somehow. Meanwhile, Aurora put Katia down on the table and took off the child's thick winter coat. The girl was falling asleep and struggled with sitting up straight.
"Do you wish to freshen up before the meeting, miss Dragonborn?"
"Yes, thank you," Aurora sighed. "Could you make sure the child has a babysitter?" she asked as she placed Katia on her right shoulder and very clumsily gathered the coat, gloves and wooly hat, spilling water onto the maps and letters.
"This way, then, miss Dragonborn. May I call you that, or is it lady Dragonborn?" the man asked and followed Aurora through another corridor.
"I'll just be 'officer'."
Aurora put her leather trousers and jacket on, combed her hair and braided it to the back. It had been a while since she last saw a mirror the same size as the one in her chamber, and for a moment, her female vanity was satisfied. Wearing the same set of clothes for half a year and living in the forests of Morrowind had taken its toll on how feminine she felt, so even the smallest things had a tremendous impact on her.
She instinctively threw a gaze around the room, searching for Katia before smiling slightly and cursing herself. She had made it a habit, even though she knew the child was perfectly safe in the Blue Palace. Aurora had been promised that Freda, the fifty-something nanny would bring her the girl if she woke up and cried.
The castle was a hectic place at the time, with people running around everywhere. It seemed like all of the former Stormcloak officers would gather later that day, for the entire city anticipated something. Aurora sighed as she passed two busy soldiers in the corridor, who nearly knocked her over.
It did not take long before she realised exactly why everyone was so busy. As she descended from the stairs and headed back to the Strategy Room, she saw him. The King in his usual dark coat with bear fur, golden chestplate and metal gauntlets. He had a few more grey hairs, but otherwise, his appearance remained the same. He looked tired, though. Very tired. Aurora did not know if it was due to many sleepless nights or merely a long trip, but the man was clearly worn.
She stayed halfway down the stairs and crossed her arms. He had not noticed her yet, but was fully occupied with emptying the room of people and clearing the table. Soldiers ran back and forth, arranging seats and carrying equipment. They reacted only when Ulfric raised his voice. A few moments later, Arrald Frozen-Heart marched into the room and greeted the King.
"Forgive me for the delay, the convoy got stuck in the muddy roads just east of Solitude," he told Ulfric.
The High King greeted him with a handshake and invited him to the table where he immediately begun to read a map. It did not take long before Kottir and Gonnar came through the same door, greeted the men and sat down. Aurora sighed, and with heavy steps, she took the last steps down the stairs and walked inside the Strategy Room.
The woman did not know if it was just in her mind, or if everyone truly went completely quiet. For a few seconds, she stood there like a small girl in front of a group of strict teachers, before the officers greeted her. The woman had sometimes thought of how their first encounter would be – her and the King's. The last time, it had been semi-emotional at least, but this time, she felt nothing. She did not know if she could consider the man a friend anymore, or if he was too upset with her.
"Dragonborn..." she heard Ulfric whisper.
As she looked at him, she realised that he probably had not intended to utter the word, but that it had simply flown out of him. The ever so gathered man trembled for a few moments.
"My King," she said and bowed her head.
He looked at her for ages, never tearing his eyes from her. It was a mixture of relief, anger and anxiety. The woman did her best to remain calm and not draw more attention to herself, so she sat down as quickly as she could and pierced her gaze to the table in front of her.
One by one, the Jarls and officers came. The table was too small to provide a comfortable sitting position for most of them, including Aurora. She gave herself a clap on the shoulder for not wearing her armour unlike some others – who looked pompous and very awkward.
"Ah, the Dragonborn! Good to see you again!" she heard Vignar's familiar voice as he sat down, being one of the last to do so.
"You too, Vignar."
"I wish to congratulate you – a hero of our lands!"
"Yeah, thanks for letting me borrow your castle."
"My house is your house."
A few moments later, the last one came – the old bear Galmar who hurried to Aurora's side and forced Laila Law-Giver to move a seat.
"Stormblade!" he exclaimed and hit her on the shoulder.
"Apparently, I go under the name Dragonborn now," the woman smiled and shook his hand.
"They say you went to Sovngarde..."
"Leave the girl alone, Galmar," Ulfric interrupted from the other side of the table. "I think everyone's ready."
The muscular, old man went quiet and looked around the table and the room for a few moments before turning his eyes towards the King again.
"Why isn't Elisif here?" he asked with a dissatisfied expression.
"She temporarily resides on the countryside," Ulfric answered shortly and getured for everyone to stop chatting.
He slowly leaned over the table and looked all participants in the eyes, one by one, but seemed to avoid meeting Aurora's. His hands covered a small map of Tamriel and a piece of a letter.
"War!" he suddenly shouted, shocking his audience.
"All Officers from the Stormcloaks will, as I've already told you, remain the same in Skyrim's army. Galmar will be General, and... so will my beloved wife," he continued sarcastically.
"Elisif!?" Galmar exclaimed.
"Yes, sadly the regent King or Queen automatically becomes General," he complained in a low tone.
They were High King and High Queen, but Ulfric had the real power. The Moot wished for them to be co-regents due to the man's legitimacy issues, but it was evident to everyone that the marriage was not a happy and harmonic one. Knowing Ulfric, Aurora suspected that he had simply sent his wife away to a place from where she could not do any harm to his political and military plans.
"It is war then?" asked Jarl Soril.
"Yes," the man replied and let go of the table, crossing his arms instead. "I need help in order to build an army."
"But my King... You have already that sort of experience. You have your loyal Storm..." Yrsarald began.
"This is WAR!" Ulfric shouted. "... Not a rebellion," the man said, swallowing hard. "We were outnumbered against the Empire, but the ratio against the Thalmor is almost comical."
"Then why are we even starting this war?! It is madness!" Jarl Dengeir exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air.
"If we don't start it, they will," the King answered calmly, still standing with his arms crossed.
"And how do we know that?" Jarl Korir asked.
"It is breaking the White Gold Concordat to allow Talos-worship, something our King already permitted. We have also ceased to pay tribute, the signals are clear," Ulfric said.
"You forgot to mention the fact that we sent the entire Thalmor Embassy away as soon as we heard that Dragonborn returned," Galmar added.
Aurora felt uneasy as all eyes were drawn towards her for a moment, but did not let it show. It was better not to show any signs of weakness considering what they were heading into.
"And the fact that they would want to take this opportunity to finish off the Empire once and for all," Ulfric continued.
The room was quiet, but all the officers, and the Jarls in particular seemed to have an energetic debate inside of their minds. War against the Thalmor... most of them remembered how bloody it had been the last time.
"We don't have enough soldiers," the King continued. "I don't see another option than conscription. I want you to figure out for how long we can afford this war."
"That will be the end of our economy!" Jarl Skald the Elder exclaimed and hit the table with his fist.
"Who is to teach them all? Most people can defend themselves against a mudcrab, but not much else," Jarl Laila concluded.
"It will have to be city guards and former Stormcloak rebels," Jarl Thongvor suggested.
"My King," Jarl Vignar spoke. "We need elite platoons against the Thalmor. From what I've experienced, they focus a lot on smaller scale operations with a specific goal."
"A war is a war. It is basically about numbers," Ulfric said.
"We have to pick a strategy here. Do we want head to head battle or guerrilla war?" Vignar continued.
"I don't think we are the ones to decide that. The Thalmor will most likely disembark in the southern lands, but it will take time before they gather enough troops. Besides, we have recently fought a civil war, the Thalmor won't think that they'll have to face us too this soon. They will most probably attack Cyrodiil as it has shown itself to be the milkdrinker it is, but they will not expect an attack from us."
"Then we will continue the silent recruitment, but until then, there are loads of Aldmeri spies and intruders in our lands. We need to clean them out," Galmar energetically spoke.
"It will make good training for youngsters," Arrald Frozen-Heart smiled.
"We can't send inexperienced farmers against magicians!" Istar Cairn-Breaker shouted at his fellow officer.
"Then we will put officers who know what they are doing in charge over them," Kai Wet-Pommel said in defence of his brother-in arms.
"My King, may I speak?" Aurora interrupted.
She looked at Ulfric who met her gaze for three or so seconds before making a gesture. Once more, all eyes turned to her, expecting miracles. The woman swallowed her anxiety and tremblingly began:
"We have something they don't. The Companions. If we would put a Companion to lead... let's say city guards and train them?" she suggested.
"The Companions do not listen to Jarls or even Kings. Make sure they do their duty for their country, Dragonborn," Ulfric replied.
"I will travel to Whiterun as soon..."
"No. You shall write to them. You are needed here, officer."
A moment later, he turned to the Jarls.
"I want a list of every able-bodied man and woman in my Kingdom by next week. Then we will meet again and organise them into battalions," he continued. "And give the woman some ink!"