Disclaimer! I do not own any of the Elder Scrolls lore, characters, places and magic etc except for those I created.
Prologue
The High King of Skyrim, Hroldar the Just, sat at the head of a long, oaken and intricately carved table. Around the table were gathered his Thanes, advisors and generals. All murmured quietly among themselves as they waited for Hroldar to begin the meeting. All except an elderly Thane who appeared to have fallen asleep. The room around them was plain and orderly; the table dominated the centre leaving little room for excess furniture.
The King rose and all talked ceased immediately. His eyes drifted from face to face, his solemn expression showing them the gravity of the situation. He was the image of his people: fair skinned, sandy haired and blue eyed. Muscles rippled underneath his heavy crimson robe.
"My friends," he began in his deep voice, "I thank you all for meeting here on such short notice."
All inclined their heads in acceptance.
"Normally, we would now allow my steward to inform us of the treasury, economy and stock details but this meeting is much more serious. But I ask General Vilod to explain it to you." The King took his seat.
General Vilod pushed his thin, wiry form from his seat and cleared his throat. "We received some disturbing word only three watches ago," he began, "The Imperial City, capital of Cyrodiil and heart of the Cyrodiilic empire has fallen."
Silence greeted his words, even the sleeping thanes eyes flickered open.
"How?" asked a Breton adviser.
"Through stealth and deception. Before I continue, I must tell you that the Bosmer, Argonian and Khajiit nations have formed their own alliance called 'The Downtrodden'."
He paused while they absorbed the news then continued, "An unusually large group of Khajiit trading caravans arrived at the Imperial City three days ago on Loredas, 25th of Second Seed. They made camp and opened their stores outside the city like usual and all seemed well. Unbeknown to the city, Argonian poisoners poisoned the evening meals in all of the guard barracks with a slow poison. That night, the majority of the guards dropped dead at their posts. Specially trained Khajiit warriors called 'Silencers' scaled the walls and butchered the guards who remained alive. They then stole to the gate's gears and opened them allowing about a hundred Redguard mercenaries, who had been hiding in the overly large caravans, to enter the city along with fifty Bosmer archers. Any Bosmer, Argonian or Khajiit citizen of the city aided them as they asserted control of the city and stormed the palace. As far as we know, the same thing happened to all the major cities in Cyrodiil at a similar time."
They others all mentally reeled in shock. Many steadied themselves on the table. Vilod sat and began conferring with a general beside him. The King rose once again and said, "Now you understand. In the early watches of this very morning, I had the city watch and militia round up every person from any of these three races and place them under arrest. The dungeons are filled to the brim and I have passed along orders for the other cities to do the same."
"What of the Redguards?" asked an advisor, "How do we know that these mercenaries aren't acting on orders from Hammerfell?"
"We don't," stated another general flatly.
"Refugees are already crossing the border and into Skyrim," continued Hroldar, "The southern towns and cities are going to the snowed under with them."
"Is the entire Aldemiri Dominion a part of this outrage?" asked another Thane.
"No, we received a communication from the Summerset Isles strenuously denying any affiliation."
"My friends," the King said softly, "I ask your counsel."
"Send a message to our representative in Hammerfell," murmured the previously sleeping Thane, "Ask him to determine the king's intentions."
"Triple our military presence on the border," a general barked, "Make sure no gets in unchallenged."
"To completely blockade the border, you're going to need additional mages. Send a missive to the Collage of Winterhold, asking them to augment our forces on the border."
"The refugees are going to need somewhere to stay, alert the northern cities to accept refugees from the southerners."
The King relaxed in his chair as his court hammered out the plan. He could only hope that the Downtrodden took time to completely assert themselves over Cyrodiil and thus allow the other provinces to ready themselves. But he was doubtful.