A/N: Here's another chapter for you all! This one is the longest chapter thus far, but it covers one of the most important, in my opinion, parts of the story. I hope you all enjoy this, for things are about to get a whole lot more realer. Let's do this!

Deplaisance de la Nuit: He does seem very well-educated doesn't he? Maybe there is more to him than meets the eye...*wink* *wink*


CHAPTER EIGHT

The Wolf Lies Broken


The tall, iron gates of Kvatch stood before them, scratched and mangled by the events that they had stood through the entire night. Scorch marks littered the grey steel of the door, black soot adding an extra layer atop the cold material, filling the spaces between the banded iron that ran through the middle and around the outside of the door itself, despite how malformed and twisted the attack on the city had forced it to become. The top half of the left door was bent inwards, looping over the ground and casting a shadow on those who walked under it, whilst the other door simply looked to have been torn in two. It stood there, a testament to the world that showed the true power of the Daedra, of the power that they held within their hands. It was a message, a warning to those that wished to stop them.

Rubble was littered and scattered around the doors, pieces of the wall that had been knocked loose and tumbled to the floor under the might of whatever monster had crashed over the very walls of Kvatch itself. The entire great wall had suffered sustainable damage to it, more than anything that a normal Tamriellic creature could do. Cassian even noted that it was much more than any Imperial siege equipment could have ever hoped to have done. No, this was the work of something more, something terrifying, a magnificent and brutal creature that the Daedra no doubt had up their sleeves if they ever invaded again. The sheer power it seemed to possess, knocking the very stones loose and crushing them into gravel and dust like it was almost nothing. It was soul-crushing, all of it.

Nevertheless, this did not stop the Kvatch guardsmen. Despite dwindling in numbers and being extremely drained and exhausted from their ordeals, the four remaining men stood outside the walls pushed on, accompanied by the men that had been nothing short of a miracle for them ever since he had arrived to help them. Cassian Silvanus, the newly-proclaimed Hero of Kvatch, rushed forwards with his sword drawn, just behind Savlian Matius as the men pushed through the carnage that was the front gates and into the ruins of what had once been one of the mightiest places in the entirety of the Gold Coast. Glancing behind him, Cassian nodded to one man that had been with him since the night he had escaped from the Imperial dungeons. Varsa March, a young eighteen-year-old boy with more than one secret to his name. Cassian didn't want to pry, but he was sure that there was more to the boy he had been traveling with than met the eye.

Breaking through the dilapidated houses that blocked his vision, Cassian could see the chaos that had been wrought upon the city. The Altmer that they had been accosted by when he first arrived at the city had saved no expense when it came to describing the horrors that he had lived through in the night of the assault by the daedric siege force. The walls had continued to crumble since that harrowing ordeal, more pieces of cracked stone and other debris dotted the floor as the soldiers ran past, each one glancing now and again at the floor, making sure that they did not trip themselves up and crash into anything that could hinder them in their quest to liberate their city.

Breaking into the main plaza, Cassian was nothing short of disturbed at what he could see all around him. The houses were nothing more than smoking ruins, fires still burning from some of them. The wood had been rendered black by the flames, burned until there was nothing left but charred remains and soot. Pieces of what had been furniture were strewn across the floor of what had once been the city's main plaza, dragged out by the daedra that had wanted an easier time at getting to the citizens that lived there. Walls had been blown out, staircases had been destroyed and doors had been ripped in half, but this was nothing compared to the damage that had been sustained elsewhere in the plaza.

Looking up towards the sky as he found a better grip on his longsword, Cassian could not believe his eyes. The entire top half of the Chapel of Akatosh had been knocked down, crashing down beside the holy steps that led to the chapel's doors. The rubble and the debris, as well the destroyed clock tower that had once sat atop the chapel, all lay in the middle of the road and blocked off all means of travel within the city, no doubt making it necessary to find another way around or go through the chapel into the other areas. They would have to find another way through the wreckage of the city, but that wasn't what troubled Cassian about what he was looking at.

This was a statement. A message of intention from the daedra. Nothing more, nothing less. They had targeted the one thing that stood as a bastion of their sworn enemies. The divine house of Akatosh had ripped asunder, torn into two by the unnatural forces that now plagued the world that the Dragon God had created. His representative on this Earth had been slain by unknown forces that still held the element of surprise over them all and one by one it seemed that whatever their enemy was, whatever his identity turned out to be, was racking up the victories against an Empire that was dying a more and more painful death each day.

Before he could think any more about it, Cassian was brought back into the reality he now faced, snapped back into action by the cries of Savlian Matius, who had pointed his own longsword towards the daedra and had charged at them. The Dremora that had been guarding the plaza, watching over what looked to be over a dozen scamps and clannfears, had been shocked by the destruction of their Oblivion gate and done the best that they could to mount some form of defence against the now-rampaging Kvatch guards. However, this devolved into nothing but two lines of scamps and a shield wall of around four Dremora in front of them.

Joining in with the charge, Cassian bellowed a wordless war cry as he charged towards the ranks of the daedra, using his steel longsword as a temporary block as all six men crashed into, and broke through, the daedra's makeshift defences. Spilling the ranks of the daedra all over the plaza, their defence well and truly broken, the attackers began to make their assault, picking off as many daedra as they could in a short space of time.

"Push them back!" Cried a voice through the conflict, echoing from the vocal chords of Savlian Matius. "Don't give them any time to organize! Not a single second!"

With a nod of approval, Cassian ducked the swing of a greatsword and lodged his own longsword into a Dremora's chest. He was beginning to see how efficient of a tactician that Savlian Matius truly was, able to successfully command his forces within the chaotic throes of battle. He wondered if Matius had ever served in the Legion, as was commonly the case with guardsmen of the cities. Many of them had left the Legion to serve their country in other means, taking up positions of authority within the ranks of the militias that served to protect the various cities of the province, whilst leaving the roads themselves to the Legion patrols.

Cutting down a scamp that had tried to slice his face off a few moments prior, Cassian' attention was brought to the sound of a great roar that came from a building. Turning his head towards the noise, as did Jesan and Ilend, Cassian watched as yet another Dremora walked out of one of the dilapidated houses, holding the severed head of what looked like a Dunmer in his hand. Throwing it towards the soldiers on the impromptu battlefields, Cassian got a good look at it as he was thrown through the air. A partial part of the forehead had been caved in, the bone cracked away to reveal a part of the brain, while the eyes had rolled into the back of the head. A large scar was evident down the left eye socket, something that became more and more visible as the head came closer. Whomever this man had been, he must have had some action in his lifetime. The Dremora itself was fearsome in nature, helmeted and equipped in full plated armour that looked demonic in nature. Swinging a large Warhammer that looked to be have been made from the same material, it jumped from the wooden panel it had been standing on and dove into the battle.

Turning his head away from the horrific scene, Cassian was just in time to roll out of the way of a giant swing that could have easily taken his head off. Looking up at the growling Dremora before him, Cassian spat on the floor and rose to his feet. Swinging his own sword in the direction of the daedra, Cassian secretly bought himself some time as he spotted Ilend finishing off a scamp with the butt of his own blade. Turning his head to see that his friend was in trouble, Ilend rushed forwards silently and pushed his blade into the Dremora's back, slicing it through the chink in the daedra's armour just far enough to draw blood. Stumbling forwards himself, Cassian pirouetted and cut the Dremora across the neck, before pushing the Dremora over with his foot.

Looking through the clashing of steel and carnage around him, Cassian spotted Varsa holding his own. Expertly ducking the longsword swings of hardened Dremora and rolling out of the way of clannfear charges like they were nothing, Varsa looked to be a ghost. He moved quickly and quietly, like an assassin would, almost. Cassian couldn't explain it, it was like this simple backwoodsman had been trained to fight almost like an expert would have been. He knew he would have to get to the bottom of this weird mystery that he hadn't thought to check earlier, but that wasn't his main source of problems right now. They had to take back the city, personal problems could wait.

Watching as Matius cut the last daedra down, ironically the heavily-armoured one that had been commanding the forces, Cassian approached as the rest of the group surrounded the guard captain and sheathed his blade, removing one of his leather gauntlets to stretch his hand. Killing daedra with a longsword was tiring work, after all. Matius looked pleased, more pleased than Cassian had ever seen him before. Wiping the blood of the daedra forces from his own blade, Savlian grinned and looked around his forces. All of them were still alive, but incredibly fatigued and covered in now-congealed blood. They had cut through the daedra line with ferocity, showing the men of Mehrunes Dagon just how serious they were about taking the city back.

"Haha!" Matius exclaimed, clapping Cassian on the shoulder. "We wiped the bastards out!"

"That we did!" Cassian grinned. "They didn't even stand a chance!"

Walking forwards to stand with the pair, Ilend Vonius was dripping with sweat. He had been one of the most active combatants in the fight, killing as many daedra as Matius and Cassian combined. It seemed that he had a hunger for it, a passion to see the daedra that had ransacked his city be put to the sword. Cassian admired it, but made sure that he would be able to keep his temporary comrade's passion in check, lest it turn into cold-blooded vengeance against a horde of those who he cannot kill alone.

"What's the plan now, Captain?" Ilend folded his arms.

"It's safe to pull the people from the chapel." Matius scanned the entire courtyard for any remaining daedra. "Let's get in there and see if they're alright."

"By your orders, Captain." Ilend replied, already making his way up the steps.


Making their own way up the stairs, Cassian and Matius walked towards the doors to the chapel, standing ready for possibly anything to happen. They had seen enough strange things in this city to warrant unnecessary caution. Luckily, the door opened to show a young Redguard woman dressed in the garb of a Kvatch guardsman.

"Captain!" The Redguard smiled, pulling the door wide open. "You're alive?"

"It'll take more than a few hundred daedra to keep me down, Tierra." Savlian moved inside the chapel and invited the rest of his impromptu squadron to join him inside, which they so quickly did. "Status report, soldier."

Entering inside last, Cassian closed the chapel door and walked down the small set of stairs into the chapel itself. Warm fires burned within the chapel, the parchment from books used to fan the flames. Looking around, he scanned everywhere he could for a man that looked like he could be a priest. His current plan was to help Savlian and his men to retake the city, but his ulterior motive had always been Martin. He had to find the Emperor's son.

"Sir, I'm afraid we're all that's left." Tierra's voice echoed around the chapel, drawing the attention of almost all that could hear them. "Myself, Berich and these civilians."

"That's it?" Savlian looked shocked. "There's no one else?"

"There were others, sir." Tierra simply lowered her head, like she was overwhelmed with a great sadness. However, the voice didn't come from her. Walking out of the shadows of the chapel, a grizzled middle-aged man walked up the stairs and headed towards the rest of the guardsman. This man was Berich Inian, whom seemed to be one of the veterans of the guard by the way the others looked to respect him. "But they refused to stay put. I guess they didn't make it."

"Gods be damned." The news hit Savlian hard. He had wanted to have saved more people than the eight that currently resided in the chapel. "Very well. The area outside the chapel has been cleared and these people need to be taken to safety. Escort them to the refugee encampment just south of here at once."

"But, sir!" Tierra folded her arms. Cassian could see her immaturity on the job shining through as she spoke. It was clear she was nothing more than a raw recruit trying the best she could to do her job. "I want to help fight!"

"And you will, soldier." Savlian placed his hand on her shoulder. "Once the civilians are secure, get back here immediately. We'll need every available blade, and there'll be plenty of fighting to go around."

With a nod and a salute, Tierra pulled herself away and began to round up the civilians. Making sure that all of them were all ready to move, Cassian watched as she marched them out of the chapel within a straight line. Now alone with nothing more than soldiers, Cassian walked back up the steps to meet with the rest of the men.

Crouching down onto one knee, Savlian wiped his face with his gauntleted hand and sighed. "We've done it. I can't believe it…"

Ilend took his gauntlets off and ran his hands through his hair. It was matted with congealed daedric blood and shimmered with sweat, but none of that mattered at the current time. "I honestly didn't think we'd survive this long. Maybe we do have a fighting chance after all."

"We're not done yet." Cassian folded his arms and sighed himself, his gruff tone evident. He had not slept in Mara knows how long, but he was determined to see this entire situation through until the end. "As much as I would like to be."

"Oh yes, we're not done. Not even close." Rising to his feet, the steadfast and stalwart guard captain that Cassian had met returned. "This was only our first step. But if this town is to be ours again, we need to get into the castle."

Clapping his new companion on the shoulder, Savlian smiled. "You've come with us this far; will you go further? If we're truly going to succeed, I'm afraid I am going to need a lot more of your help. I warn you though, what we've seen so far is nothing compared to the battle that likely awaits us."

"I've said it before." Cassian smiled in response. "I'll help you in any way I can. It's the least I can do for you and your people."

"I agree, Captain." Varsa added, checking over his blades the best he could after that brutal battle. "We'll do whatever it takes."

"Haha! I knew you'd be up to it!" Savlian exclaimed, beckoning Cassian to gather around with the rest of the guardsmen. "Gentlemen, our goal is the castle gate. We should be able to use this door to get out to the plaza in front of the castle gatehouse."

Walking over to the doors that they would be using, Savlian gripped the handle of his longsword once again. "Berich, I need you to stay here and make sure the chapel is clear. We will send for you when the plaza is cleared."

"Understood, sir." Berich nodded and proceeded to take a seat on a wooden stool near to him, just before the stairs that led away from the entrance.

"The rest of you," Pushing his hand against the wooden door, Savlian smiled to himself in excitement. "You know the drill. Stick close and keep your eyes open. Let's move out!"


Bursting out of the door, Cassian stayed with all five men until they reached the plaza, surveying the damage and the chaos all around him. Debris lined the streets, the houses little more than relics of a Kvatch long gone. Nothing remained but their structures, most of the insides and even the roofs and walls had been blown away or virtually disintegrated into the ash that lined the floor that Cassian walked upon. Heading into the plaza itself, Cassian was too busy looking at the severe damage that had been sustained from the attack to realize the trouble that they now found themselves stuck in. As they entered the plaza, the group found themselves quickly surrounded by daedra of all kinds. Clannfears skulked around them, scamps hissed and prepared to jump and dremora circled them and brandished their weapons. They had walked themselves into a trap.

"We're surrounded!" Ilend cried, swinging his own sword in a circular motion, beckoning for as many daedra at once to come towards him. Cassian could see that his companion wanted it; he was willing to die for his city more than anyone else. "Captain!"

"I see them, Ilend!" Matius nodded, raising his shield to protect himself as the group surveyed the situation. "Watch yourselves! Head for the statue!"

Looking behind him, Cassian saw the statue that Savlian had mentioned. Standing before them, reaching high into the sky with a longsword outstretched into the air was a solid stone statue of Antus Pinder. Cassian remembered the tales he had been told of this valiant hero, about how he had led the people of Kvatch against the forces of the Camoran Usurper in the 3E 249 and that they had erected the statue in his honour, despite his force being defeated gravely and the city being sacked by the Usurper's forces. Reaching the base of the statue, all five men spread themselves around the circular base and readied themselves, looking all around them as they prepared for what was to come.

Savlian was the first to strike, rushing towards a lonely scamp with a barbarian-esque fury hidden behind his eyes. Hissing in response, the rat-like daedra dove towards Matius' shield and began to try and claw the guard captain's face, only to be dropped down to the ground and pummelled away by Matius' shield. This propelled the others into combat, dodging the charges of clannfear runts and ducking under the swings of Dremora twice their size. Hacking and slashing at whatever they could they stood tall, a testament to the will and determination of the people of Kvatch, of the people of Cyrodiil. They would not go down easy today, no they most certainly would not.

Cassian did the same, his Legion training coming into more and more use as he dodged the dives of scamps and deflected the swings of Dremora longswords and greatswords. He was thankful that his leather armour was holding up well, despite the wear and tear that had been given to it throughout the night. Multiple scratches were evident on the cuirass, where the tips of daedric blades that glanced off him as he tried to dodge them, and the stitching that held a lot of the leather together had been cut and looked more and more raggedy. Despite this, his armour held up as well as Cassian could give it credit, protecting him from cuts and blows that would be deemed fatal if he had been wearing normal clothes. He had been extremely cautious to dodge the daggers of the red robed assassins in the prison, but he knew that he could be a bit more lenient now that he had padding between his body and the blade of a Dremora longsword.

"Captain! There are too many of them!" A voice screamed out, possibly the voice of Jesan. Cassian had not heard him or Merandil speak much since he had joined up with them outside the gates of Kvatch, so he did not know their voices.

"Hold fast! If we die, we die together!" Matius cried back, rolling past a uppercut swing from a Dremora. "Come on, you scum! For Kvatch!"

The determination on Savlian Matius' face and the will of his words did nothing but inspire Cassian to fight on. The Captain was a motivational man, Cassian could not argue with it. He had a way with words that made men stand and fight, even if they were terrified beyond belief. He was passionate, honest and brutal, but also kind, warm and friendly to those who he saw as friend himself. Cutting more and more daedra down, the Kvatch men managed to stem the tide. Scamps fell dead by the dozen, dremora slumped down and fell limp and clannfears lay brutalized on the stone. They had done it, they had managed to contain the plaza the best that they could.

Rushing towards the gate of the castle, Matius looked around and scowled. A growl emanated from inside his throat as he glared at the gate. Cassian could see it too; the gate was down, a firm metal grid protecting the castle from outside invaders. Therefore, the castle was locked in permanent lockdown. With a cry of anger, Savlian sheathed his sword and turned around to face his companions.

"Damn it! Damn it, no, this is no good!" Savlian leaned on the wall between the plaza and the castle, his face locked into a scowl. "The gates are locked. There's no way in."

"Is there no other way in?" Cassian walked forwards, sheathing his longsword once again. "The sewers? Anything?"

"The only way that I know about is the gatehouse." Ilend chirped in, folding his arms. "But we can't open the gate from out here, it has to be opened within there."

"So, what do we do?" Crouching down on one knee to rest his legs, Cassian sighed. If there really was no other way in, then they would be locked out until they could possibly get siege equipment or more.

Having not said a word since his earlier comment, Savlian's eyes lit up. Turning around, he grinned from ear-to-ear. "You're right. The only mechanism for raising the gate is within the gatehouse. And the only way now to get into the gatehouse now would be the passage through the northern barracks."

"But that's always locked." Ilend countered, biting his bottom lip.

"One of you must have a key or something." Varsa sighed, scratching at the back of his head. "There must be some way."

"Yes, but only a few of us have the key." Savlian nodded. "But there's one person alive who I know for a fact has one. Cassian, Varsa, I need you both to hurry and find Berich. He should still be in the Chapel, if nothing has gone wrong."

"What then?" Cassian grimaced. He could see that this was going to be harder than he had first thought it would be.

"When you have the key, head to the barracks and unlock the passage." Savlian instructed. "Get through the passage and open that gate. Then we can enter through and secure the castle."

"What about you?" Cassian asked.

"If the daedra figure out our plan, then you'll be overrun within the passage." Savlian smiled. "We won't give them a single chance to think about it."

With a slight chuckle, Cassian nodded and saluted. "See you on the other side."

"Good luck, you'll need it." Savlian saluted back, before drawing his sword and beginning to instruct Jesan and Merandil in what to do next.

Seeing his chance, Cassian sprinted as fast as he could back to the chapel, with Varsa rushing and quite literally overtaking him halfway theree. Once again, there were people in Cyrodiil who needed him. Not as a member of the Legion, but as a man. A man that could help them, a man that they had already proclaimed to be the Hero of Kvatch. He would honour that title by doing whatever was needed of him.

Rushing through the doors of the chapel, Varsa skidded to a halt as Berich Inian drew his blade. He had obviously startled the poor guardsman, who seemed to be at his wit's end lie all the others. Holding his hands up to indicate that he was a friend, Berich sheathed his sword and smiled. "Sorry, a little jumpy."

"I would be if I'd been through what you have." Varsa smiled, walking fully into the chapel and closing the door behind him.

"Is the castle secure?" Berich asked, folding his arms.

"Afraid not. Do you have the key to the northern barracks?" Varsa replied, looking around the chapel.

"Yes, I have it. Why?" Berich raised his eyebrow.

"We can't get into the castle." Varsa explained.

"That's right!" Berich nodded. "I heard that that they were planning to close the gates just before we were forced into hiding in here. I'm afraid that- "

Just as they were talking, a loud bang emanated from the door opposite the two of them, in the direction of the Kvatch gates. Drawing both of their swords, Berich, Varsa and Cassian both prepared themselves for what was to come. If the daedra were about to break in, then the two of them would defend themselves the best they could. Waiting for the door to open, Cassian' shoulders dropped as the wooden door flew open to reveal three men, all dressed in full sets of Imperial Legion armour.

"We saw the smoke from the Gold Road." One of the Legionaries entered in front of all the others, signalling himself as the commanding officer. "Who's in charge here?"

His training as an Imperial Legion officer coming back to him, Cassian moved forwards and saluted. "Right now, it would be me. Cassian Silvanus, former Imperial Quaestor."

"We're here to help in any way that we can." The legionnaire replied. "What is the situation?"

"The situation is unbelievable, if I am truly honest." Cassian folded his arms. "The city has been ransacked by daedra which came from portals to the realm of Oblivion. I managed to close one of the portals that had been left open, but the remaining daedra are holed up within the castle. However, the castle's gates are closed."

"Is there any way to open the gate?" The legionnaire folded his arms.

"Through a set of tunnels that will lead to the castle's gatehouse." Cassian then moved to Berich. "Which start at the northern barracks of this city, through the ruins."

"Then we know where we must go." The legionnaire saluted once more, before turning to the rest of his group. "Men, we are now under this man's command. Follow his orders as you would do mine."

Turning back to Cassian, the legionnaire saluted once more. "We await your orders, sir."

"Thank you." Cassian nodded. "Berich, how bad of a shape is the city in?"

"Terrible shape." Berich grimaced. "It will be difficult to make it to the guard house. I'd better go with you, you'll need the numbers. We'll have to go through the Chapel undercroft and then through what's left of the city."

"Very good, lead on." Cassian nodded.

Berich then took a step to move, but stopped in his tracks. Turning back around, his face had darkened. "If…if I don't make it, take the key and carry on without me. You need to reach the tower at the north wall of the city."

"No one dies here tonight." Cassian frowned. "No one else, too many already have."

"I hope that you're right, friend." Berich sighed. "I hope that you're right."

With a nod to Varsa, Cassian gathered the Imperial troops with a circle of his middle and index finger, before proceeding to follow Berich through the undercroft. Heading through the undercroft itself was no trouble, only a couple of scamps that had managed to crawl themselves through the broken door to the outside and made themselves home in the warmth. Cutting through them without too much trouble, the group made their way outside and found themselves once more in the wreckage of the city.

"This way," Berich piped up as they made their way from the wreckage of the chapel and through the ruined city itself. "We're almost there."

"This is insane." One of the Legion soldiers spoke, holding his bow in front of him as he scanned for any enemies that he could see. "The whole city is…"

"Destroyed." Another legionnaire replied, finishing his companion's sentence. "The whole has been reduced to absolutely nothing. Nothing but a shell."

"Quiet." The third legionnaire, the leader, spoke up. "We don't need to speak about it. It's evident enough from what you can see."

"Yes, sir." The archer replied, lowering his head.

Cassian could feel the fear, the anxiety that everyone was feeling. It was thick, like it was thick enough to be cut through with a knife. He hated it, every single bit of it. If this was the chaos that the daedra could unleash on one city, then a world like this would be a world that Cassian would hate to live in. His mind harkened back to the Emperor's words, of the Prince of Destruction and his mortal servants. Had the same red robed assassins opened the gates that let the daedra through? He did not know, but he had a feeling that this was not a coincidence. No, this was linked. All of it was linked.

Entering through into what looked to be another ruined plaza, Cassian steeled himself and reached for his sword. A wide, open space would be more than enough for the daedra to surprise them. Pulling his blade out and holding it at the ready, Cassian' actions encouraged his companions to do the same. The more cautious they were, the more unlikely it was for the daedra to get the jump on them. Luckily, Cassian' actions paid off.

Emerging from the shadows, a lone scamp rushed and flew at the group, screaming an unintelligible sound that Cassian couldn't liken to anything if he tried. Ducking under it and rising as it flew over, Cassian used his momentum to swing and cut the scamp in two, separating its upper and lower half across the plaza. This wasn't the end, however. More and more daedra emerged from the shadows, dremora and scamps alike. Spreading themselves out to individually protect themselves, Cassian made sure to keep as close as he could to Berich to protect him.

Separating themselves from their own horde, two dremora drew their swords and rushed towards Cassian and Berich, instructing the rest of them to attack the trio of Imperial legionnaires. Raising his blade, Cassian deflected the incoming attacks from the dremora that had targeted him, before proceeding to stamp on the daedra's foot and stab in the leg. Bringing it down to one knee, Cassian swung his sword in a circular motion and rushed forwards, separating the daedra's head from its body.

"Could use a little help here!" The voice of Berich Inian cried out, not far from where Cassian was standing. Turning his head to see the entire situation, Cassian immediately shifted his attention to the dremora that was fighting Berich. The veteran soldier seemed to be handling himself well, but the dremora had grown more and more furious in his attacks, swinging and smashing down on Berich's sword like a furious animal.

Rushing forwards to help him, Cassian did his best to try and get there. However, before he even had a chance Varsa was already there. Flying through the air like a dove, Cassian watched in relative awe as Varsa caught the dremora from behind in a surprise attack and drove his dagger into the daedra's back, ripping straight through the metal of their attacker's own armour. The dremora screamed in a fury as it felt the blade pierce its flesh, before turning around to see Berich pierce it from the front. With another scream, the dremora kicked Berich away using its last grain of strength, before dropping to its knees and going limp on the ash-coated stone.

Walking over to the now-dead dremora, Cassian plunged his sword into its neck to make sure that it was dead. Eventually pullin it from the dremora corpse, Cassian watched as the group of Imperials cut down the last daedra in the group that had attacked them. Catching Varsa walk past him, Cassian reached out and grasped his young companion by the arm. Jumpy, Varsa instinctively reached for his blade but chuckled as he remembered what exactly was going on.

"You okay?" Cassian smiled. "What was that back there?"

"What was what?" Varsa raised his eyebrow. "I killed a dremora."

"Yeah, by legitimately soaring." Cassian looked dumbstruck. "Your dad must have been a really good fighter if he taught you things like that."

"…Yeah, he was." Varsa smiled, his eyes trailing off a little. "Let's get back to it."

"Agreed." Cassian nodded, before turning back to see Berich walk up and do the same as Cassian had done, waiting for the group to rejoin with them. Once they did, Berich nodded to them all and continued to lead them, heading down from the plaza to what Cassian could see was a ruined tower, most of the stone that had once made up the tower now littering the floor as little more than pieces of debris.

"We're here!" Berich cried, entering through the ruined arch into the tower. "Come on, I'll unlock the door for you." Reaching down, Berich pushed away all the litter and splinters that had been thrown all over the floor, most of it from the boxes that were stacked in the tower near the trapdoor, and pushed an iron key into the trapdoor that had been lying on the floor, smiling when he heard the click of the lock turning. "There, it's open. I'm going to head back and meet up with Captain Matius and the rest of the troops. Good luck."

"And you, Berich." Cassian smiled, lifting the trapdoor up and placing his foot on the ladder underneath. "See you on the other side."

With a nod, Berich sheathed his sword and left the tower, sprinting off to reach the rest of the troops that were waiting outside the castle gate. With another signal to the Imperial troops, Cassian led the way down the trapdoor and into the passage itself. They were close, no doubt right on top of where they needed to be. The Kvatch guardsmen were ready, they were waiting to invade their castle and all they needed was Cassian to open the gates for them.

Inside the passage, Cassian found that it was in the exact same state as the rest of the city that it was inside. Fire raged from the burning wreckage inside the passage, causing the entire corridor passage to be overcome with sweltering heat. Despite this, Cassian and his troops pushed on, determined to make it to the end and escape the hellish corridor that was nothing more than what Cassian had expected from it when he entered. The city was in disarray, the daedra had done too much damage to it for Cassian to imagine that any of it was remotely left standing. Whatever the daedra had summoned to destroy Kvatch, Cassian hoped and prayed that it could never be summoned to the realm again. Never again.

Climbing up the passage ladder at the end of the passage into the gatehouse itself, Cassian found himself separated from two forces by steel gates. On the castle side, a large horde of daedra had massed. Dremora, scamps and clannfears all stood by the large wooden doors of the castle, ready to kill the Kvatch soldiers that dared to attack their new land. On the other side, Savlian Matius had gathered all the men that he could find to invade the castle, including Berich Inian and the recruit Redguard Tierra that Cassian had met before. All of them were ready, brandishing weapons and brimming with tenacity.

Rushing past both gates, Cassian nodded to the Imperial legionnaires and pulled the lever that stood on a pedestal, opening both gates and allowing both sides to clash. Immediately pulling his own blade from its scabbard, Cassian joined with the rest of the Kvatch defence and entered the castle courtyard, crying out in a war-like fury.

Clashing with the daedra force with brutality, Cassian managed to cut down two scamps that had flung themselves over the top of the large group that had formed between the two small armies. This group separated soon enough, with daedra separating themselves from the group and Kvatch guardsmen following them in suit. Cassian pulled himself away from the group and rushed at a dremora that looked to be commanding the defence, shouting words in a language that Cassian did not understand. Kicking a clannfear back that had tried to charge him, Cassian ducked a swing from the dremora's greatsword and pummelled his weight into the dremora's chest, using his armoured shoulder to try and crack through the chestpiece of the daedra's armour. Despite this, the dremora stumbled back a little and chuckled, before kicking Cassian back into a stumble and charging at him with his greatsword, ready to impale the Imperial with all his might.

However, at the last second, Cassian rolled forwards and dodged past the charge of the dremora, before slicing the back of the daedra's knee and dropping it down into a kneel. The tendon well and truly severed by Cassian' blade, it did not take long before he stumbled back and sliced his enemy's throat, kicking it over onto its stomach. Swinging his sword in a circular fashion as he knew he had done countless times before, Cassian looked around to see the final parts of the conflict settling down. Scamps were thrown across courtyard, clannfear corpses piled atop one another and dremora limp in various positions.

Sheathing his sword, Cassian breathed out heavily and dropped to one knee himself. Looking up, he grinned as Savlian approached him. "Well done. I knew you could do it."

"I did the best I could." Cassian smiled.

"You did indeed, it was more than enough." With a look around himself, Savlian nodded to himself. "This area's clear. We've got to get inside and find the Count before it's too late!"

Standing up once more, Cassian joined the rest of the men as they rushed into the castle, but stopped on the last step when he noticed they were missing two people. Looking around, Cassian searched for Berich and Tierra. He knew that they wouldn't want to miss this, the retaking of their castle from the daedra. Seeing that Cassian had stopped, Varsa stopped at the door and stared at him.

"What's wrong?" Varsa raised an eyebrow. "Come on, we've almost got them!"

"…Wait just a minute." Holding up his hand, Cassian listened intently.

It took him a few moments, but then he heard it. Whimpering and muttering. Following the sound as best he could, he eventually found the source of the sound. In the corner of the courtyard, not far from the stairs that led to some garden areas, Berich Inian sat, cradling the body of a limp Tierra. A daedric sword lay beside them, clattered down the stone stairs and soaked in fresh blood. Tierra's body had a gaping wound in the chest, where she had obviously been run through with the same sword. With a shake of his head, Cassian slowly approached.

Tierra looked pale and weak, all colour having drained from her body. She was rapidly losing blood, and that was not a wound that they could simply stitch back up. Cassian wasn't even sure magic could heal a wound such as that, as much as it pained him to admit it. Rushing towards him, Cassian turned his head and watched with a glum face as Varsa's pace slowed until he was stood right next to Cassian, staring at the gruesome scene.

"Come on, Tierra…" Berich whimpered, stroking hair out of the recruit's face. "Come on, girl, get up. Damn it…"

"Berich…" Cassian sighed, kneeling beside the situation. "Berich, come on."

"No, no." Berich shook his head, cradling her head in his hands as he tried desperately to get her to wake up. "She's fine, just give her a minute…"

Cassian sighed heavily. This was what awaited them, he could tell. Pain and misery. He wanted no more of it. This girl, Tierra, she looked little older than twenty-one. The prime of her life, probably doing the job that she wished to do growing up in the city. But here she was, dying of blood loss on the steps of the castle she had wished and waited to get in and liberate, killed by a monster who should never have crossed into the world in the first place. It was just another example of why this needed to stop, why they needed to find Martin.

"Berich. She's gone." Cassian didn't know how to comfort him, but he tried his best. "She's in a better place. Come on, we've got more people who need our help."

With a nod of his head, Berich slowly rose from his seated position and lay her body down gently. "Why did you have to rush in, girl? Why did you have to be so determined? You could have stayed at the camp, you would have been fine."

"She was a fighter, Berich." Cassian clapped him on the shoulder. "She wanted to make a difference, and she has."

"Damn right she has." Berich growled. "Her sacrifice won't be in vain. I'll get every last daedra bastard that I see through that door! Come on!"

With a nod, Cassian followed Berich through the castle doors and into the battle that raged within the interior. Fireballs and shock spells flew across the hall, knocking down bookshelves and cracking against stone pillars. Screams, shouts and the clashes of steel echoed in Cassian' ears as he rushed down the entrance stairs alongside Berich, deflecting a wayward blow from a dremora. One by one, the Kvatch guardsmen cut through the ranks of the daedric defenders, outnumbering them the best they could whilst using their combined attacks to destroy whatever defence they could muster.

Sheathing his blade once more, Savlian scanned the entrance hall and folded his arms. "Alright, this is it! Berich, Ilend, we'll hold this area. Cassian, Varsa, take the rest of the men to the back of the castle and find the Count."

"Yes, sir." Cassian smiled, before gathering Jesan, Merandil and the Imperial troops and heading off into the recesses at the back of the castle. Varsa wasn't far behind, scraping his blades together in anxiety for what was to come.

Passing the throne of Count Kvatch on their way up the stairs, towards the end of the castle, Cassian could see that even something as little as a chair had been purposely destroyed. This was more than just a simple attack, this was sending a message. A message that the world of men and mer would burn, no matter the cost. Entering through the doors into the back corridors, the men of Kvatch cut through what little daedric forces remained, little more than merely a few scamps, and quickly made their way inside the count's bedroom.


Inside, past the burning wreckage of what looked to have been the count's personal collection of books, lay Count Ormellius Goldwine of Kvatch, face down in a pool of his own blood. His fur coat and gold finery matted and stained, his body savaged by the monsters that invaded his city. His eyes lay open, glazed and staring out into the abyss. He had died before he even knew what had happened, a better death than most that had died on that horrible, cruel day of battle. Kneeling beside him, Cassian sighed and looked back towards the men that had accompanied him through this terrible day, the men who unequipped their helmets and bowed their heads in respect for their fallen.

With a heavy heart, Cassian grimaced as he closed the eyes of Count Goldwine and slipped the Colovian Signet Ring from his finger, the sign of his office. He knew he would need it, for the sacred symbol of office for county Kvatch was nothing on the hand of a dead man. Turning back, Cassian nodded to the men he stood with and walked off back to the main hall, all of them holding their head low. This was a victory, but it was not a good one.

Heading back to the main hall, Cassian and his men were immediately confronted by Savlian Matius as soon as they came down the stairs. He didn't seem to acknowledge the glu looks on their faces as they approached. "Where is the Count? Why is he not with you?"

"He…he didn't make it." Cassian sighed, his clenched fist holding his Signet Ring.

"We…we were too late?" Savlian's eyes widened, before his brow furrowed "If only we had gotten here sooner! This is indeed a dark day for all of us left, but I thank you for risking your own life to help us. Did you find the Count's ring, by any chance?"

"I did." With a nod of his head, Cassian handed the ring over.

"Thank you. I shall make sure it is protected, for the time when a new Count is crowned." Taking the ring, Savlian removed a gauntlet and placed it inside, before proceeding to unclip the shoulderpads of his cuirass and take that off as well, before handing it to Cassian. "Here, I want you to take this. I have no use for it; I'm tired of fighting. I hope it serves you well in the dark days that are yet to come."

"Thank you." With a nod, Cassian folded the cuirass and placed it inside his pack. "Now, it is time for us both to find Martin."

"He should be in the encampment with the rest of the civilians." Matius advised. "I saw him leave when we liberated the chapel."

With a smile and a nod of thanks to all the combatants in the castle, Cassian and Varsa made his way out through the castle doors and into the courtyard, alongside the Imperial Legion soldiers that had accompanied him throughout the chaos. They all looked battered and bruised, crushed and defeated by the death of the Count and the sheer destruction and death that they had seen around them. Nobody could have expected something like this, the total annihilation and razing of an entire city within little more than twenty-four hours.

"Sir, a moment, please." The head legionnaire said as they reached the courtyard, reaching out to grab Cassian's shoulder.

"What is it, soldier?" Cassian smiled warmly as he turned around.

"The events of today, what the daedra did, was terrible. I'll admit that." He spoke clearly and truly. "Do we know what caused this?"

"I'm afraid not, soldier." Cassian shook his head. His gaze looked with Varsa's, who simply just turned his head away and looked down at the stones he was stood on. "But we will be doing whatever it takes to figure this out. Things like this, these atrocities, need to be stopped. I'm just afraid that we may be too late."

Nodding his head, the legionnaire smiled. "I will make sure that every soul knows of the coming danger. Tamriel will be prepared for the evil that is to come, even if I have to do it myself."

"Thank you, soldier." Cassian smiled, saluting the men before wandering off through the rubble that was Kvatch, a new goal in sight. "You'd be doing a good thing."

Shaking hands with the rest of the legionnaires, Cassian walked over to Varsa as the squad made their way towards the gates of the castle. Kneeling down beside his companion, he placed his hand on his back slowly and comfortably. "You okay, kid?"

"That was…rough." Varsa replied, holding his head in his hands. "When I said that I wanted to come with you to Kvatch…I never expected something like this."

"You can always walk away." Cassian moved his hand from Varsa's back to his shoulder. "This isn't your burden to bear. It's mine. I was put on this path for a reason, I'm the one who's destined to see this through."

"Your burden?" Varsa shook his head. "If this is your burden to bear, then you're going to need someone to help you lift it. I'm with you, until the end."

"Are you sure?" Cassian asked once again. "I don't want you putting yourself in harm's way just because you want honour and glory, kid. There will be nothing but tears and bloodshed before all of this is over."

"I know." Varsa smiled. "But like I said before, more innocents will die without my help then they will with my help. We need to stand together, all of us. Now, let's go find us a priest."

Jumping to his feet, Varsa cracked a cheeky smile and winked at Cassian as he waltzed of towards the gate. Staring up at him from his kneel, Cassian couldn't help but smile. The kid was special, he had something about him, but there was definitely something else. With a shrug, Cassian was sure that he would open up about it in time. Smiling, he shook his head and rose to his feet, before following his companion out into the wide world once more.