The hall was long and dusty for certain. A single guard stood at the door, looming tall over Amaya's figure, watching. This was the day of the Moot; the day they had all fought so hard for. This was their reckoning. As they passed corners full of covered furniture, rounded corners filled with cobwebs, and descended creaking steps Ulfric became more and more visibly anxious. Amaya placed a single hand in the middle of his broad shoulders as she walked behind him, a gesture of support and comfort meant to steady the True King as he walked boldly toward his fate. His head turned slightly, just enough for her to catch a glimpse of a thankful smile. They were here. This was it. The Pelagius Wing of the Blue Palace had never seemed so claustrophobic.
As Galmar reached for the door to the room where every Jarl now sat, Amaya thought back to the start of the war. She had been so young, barely twenty one years old, when she found herself standing by Ulfric and Galmar in the war room of the Palace of the Kings, a place that would eventually become her home for quite a few years. She learned to strategize, she learned politics, and she had learned how to be a true Nord. She had been wed, she had raised children. She recalled moving out of the palace and into a home in the city with her husband, Avulstein Grey-Mane, and their adopted daughters Sofie and Lucia. She remembered her friends falling around her at the blades of the Imperial Forces at the Taking of Whiterun. She remembered taking Rikke's life with a stone-encased heart, and ending Tullius's with Ulfric's own weapon. She remembered it all.
The Moot was over faster than it began. Naturally, Ulfric became High King of Skyrim, and Amaya sighed heavily. Finally, the battle was over. Finally, there would be peace. It was fast approaching- a time for rebuilding, a time for restocking, a time for fortifying and defending. There would be no more brothers and sisters fighting each other. There would be only one Skyrim, under High King Ulfric, and Amaya found herself at peace with herself for the first time in years. The war had finally proven itself to be a worthy cause. She lightly embraced both Galmar and Ulfric as they stood alone in the Pelagius Wing of the Blue Palace. Ulfric thanked her for her diligence and continued support. Galmar all but crushed her in a merciless hug, howling praise as he lifted Amaya off the floor. The three climbed those steps once more, but this time, as the royal court.
Ulfric's first decrees were all political in nature. He ordered the previous Jarls, those aligned with the Imperials, put to death for high treason. While certainly a controversial move, it ensured that no one would rise up against the new king in an attempt to dethrone him. The only Jarl that did not face this fate was Elisif, who had escaped with the aid of the Thalmor after the war, much to Ulfric's chagrin. Rumor had it that she was immediately wed to a high-ranking Thalmor official, which would certainly not bode well for Skyrim in the future.
The next decree sent all of the young children of those Jarls to Windhelm. There, they were housed in the refurbished Hjerim Hall, Amaya's own home. She had called for it to be turned into a boarding school of sorts, complete with an education center and a multitude of sleeping arrangements. The children were taught what Ulfric called "a true Nordic education," in the hopes of fostering a more sympathetic view of the Stormcloak cause in them. The children could also be adopted, given that their education was completed. Amaya saw to it that the children remained well-cared-for, well-educated, and that they stayed with their siblings were they adopted. Having chosen the staff of the place herself, Amaya took great pride in the project, and others hailed it as equal parts "revolutionary" and "in poor taste." Amaya, herself, liked to believe the former.
Ulfric's final decree showed a sense of mercy. The older children of the unfavored Jarls were given a choice; become a housecarl to a new Jarl, learn from them, see their side. It was that, or be sentenced to a menial life of hardship, serving Skyrim as a miner or farmhand under strict watch of the Stormcloak Guard. Most, of course, chose to become housecarls. Those that did not, however, were shipped off to their new lives of toil and hardship.
Ulfric also handed out a few titles on this day. Galmar Stonefist was to become Jarl of Windhelm in his stead. Ulfric also asked that Amaya move her family into Proudspire Manor, and to accept the position of Court Enchantress, remaining permanently at Ulfric's side in his court. He also appointed Avulstein as Thane of Solitude, and offered his brother- who would join them later, living in what was once Erikur's house- the same title. Many other titles were appointed that day, and all accepted, leaving Skyrim united politically for the first time in many years.
The day flew by in a blur. All at once, it seemed, life in Skyrim began anew. Farms that laid in ruin after the war were ordered rebuilt. Families shamed for their ties to the rebellion were given honorary titles, changing the structure of wealth and respect in cities throughout the land. In a show of good faith, Ulfric even pardoned families with ties to the Imperial Army in hopes of lessening growing tension in what were once Imperial holds. He even- after much reasoning from Amaya- agreed to renovate Windhelm's "Gray Quarter" to appease the Elven population who grew worried about their fate after the war. It had been in Ulfric's original plan to expel the Elves, but realizing that another war with them was always looming on the horizon, he decided it was in Skyrim's best interests to keep their enemies close, as the saying goes.
So went the first day of High King Ulfric Stormcloak's rule. People rejoiced in the streets, captives of war returned home for the first time since their capture, and families made amends. While not everyone was happy to see Ulfric on the throne, everyone as happy to see the end of the war. There would be no swords clashing in the night, not tonight. There would be only music and celebration, and Amaya all but wept as she walked to her new home in Solitude, people prancing about her. Children ran in the streets, a straw man burned at the Bard's College, and ales of all kind flowed through the halls like blood through her veins. Skyrim was healing, and so was she.