Chapter 11: Mane Event

The hot morning sun of the Elsweyr rose in the eastern horizon and woke the camp. The night had reminded Burz of Skyrim. Without the burning sun, the savanna had gotten very cold. Burz woke quickly. He couldn't stand the hot sticky feel of the sweat while he slept. Unfortunately there was not a water source close enough for him go rinse the liquid off; not that it would matter. The heat of the day was sure to bring rain in his heavy armor. He walked out of his tent and squinted in the bright light. The warm weather caused less cloud cover. The sun was every where, and inescapable. Once his eyes adjusted to the visual assault, Burz scanned the savanna. There were a few trees far in the distance, and looked like tiny people on the horizon. Burz thought he might head that direction for his scouting journey.

Burz made his way towards the command hut to see if Rikke was there yet, still wearing light clothing. She was typically a very early riser, even in the cold. He glanced out at the edges of camp. Mages were already at work on burning the grass around the city. He could only hope in vain that the heat was brought on by the flames. They glowed a hot orange in the still blue-purple of the eastern horizon. The fire reminded him of the previous night's battle. Marro, the stupid kid. He had been confirmed dead. He got lured out too far into the grass and was trapped in the fire the mages had started. How desperate was the Legion that they had to bring a currier this far in the war? He shook his head at the idea as he pushed back the cloth hanging from the door frame of the command hut.

"You slept longer in this inferno than I expected, Burz," Rikke said, her tone light and playful.

"Please tell me the heat is just from the actual blaze.." Burz sighed. Rikke let out a chuckle.

"I can only hope," She said with a smile. "We should have set that fire last night. It would've kept us warm."

"A Nord complaining about the cold? I never thought I'd live to see the day. I thought it was nice. It reminded me of home," Burz's gaze drifted to a dark corner in the hut. A smile stretched across his face.

"I never thought I'd live to hear you call Skyrim home!" Rikke said with surprise, her smile grew wider.

"You blasted Nords have whittled away at my Orc customs! I've long since forgotten what items to bring for the Ritual of Malacath." Burz said with feigned anger. Rikke knew Burz was joking.

"He always seemed like a filthy thing to worship anyway." Rikke stated, her tone more serious.

"But he is the father of my race. I can't forget that. Would you so easily forsake Talos?" Burz asked.

"If it is what The Eight wished of me. My allegiance lies first with them." Rikke said, her smile vanished. Burz made a slight scoff to himself.

"When should I head out for this scouting party?" Burz wanted to change the subject.

"The sun will have woken most of the soldiers by now. Head out within the hour. Scout the area for about two hours and head back. And be careful, Burz. I have an uneasy feeling about last night. We may see action sooner than we anticipated." Rikke said, her voice was commanding again.

"I can almost guarantee the Khajiit will attack with in the week. We should consider moving camp," The familiar voice of Ambarys chimed in as he entered the room. Burz noticed a smile flicker on Rikke's face as he entered. Her eyes lit up, and her skin grew slightly flushed. But she replaced her smile with a stern expression almost immediately. Her skin remained flush. She couldn't control nature.

"Ambarys, nice of you to join us. Where do you expect us to move? There are likely spies out in the sea of grass, and the would surely see thousands of soldiers on the move." Rikke's voice was wavering, as if she was embarrassed by his presence.

Ambarys shot her a quick smile. He looked almost smug. "We could scout further west, maybe head north west. Look for a larger city. Possibly split the army up?" His voice was smooth. Burz was not well versed in romance, but he felt tension between the two, and it wasn't anger. His eyes squinted a little, and a slight smirk grew as he thought about the two together.

"That may work... Confuse them a little. I'll have to think about it. Burz, you scout as planned, to the south. Ambarys, you lead the scouting party for a better place." Rikke said. She was trying to hide her smile, but was not doing a good job. She would not take her eyes off of the Dunmer. Even as he left the hut, her eyes were trained on him.

"What in Talos's name was that?" Burz asked when Ambarys was gone.

"What? What are you talking about?" Rikke's face burned red.

"You know what I am talking about." Burz said, very directly.

Rikke sighed. She had been caught. "Alright! Aright. I have become quite fond of the Dunmer, Ambarys in particular. We have been spending long nights just talking together. Last night I was particularly distressed. I miss home, Burz. And we got ambushed last night... It just all at once. We were talking, and then..." Her voice trailed off.

"Say no more," Burz said quickly. This was the last thing he wanted to hear about.


"Are you sure Pappy? Must we help the skin bags? They make my scales itch! Especially the gray one..." Al-Sien pleaded with her grandfather. She had made the journey to the Court of Madness on a summons to speak with him.

The Prince of Madness massaged his skull. His head hurt from the confusion. Every day was a battle for sanity, something he had not foreseen when he took the throne a few centuries ago. Who was he? Lizard... scales... Argonian... Yes, Al-Suan, that was... is him. He found his words. "Yes, dear. As your God, I command my Duchess. Help the dearies. They seem... Significant... for mortals..." His words were hard to get out. He wished to be mortal again. Why could he have not died an old man after the Oblivion Crisis? He felt he was owed an ending. Then Sheogorath tricked him into this... this... imprisonment till who knows when. Sheogorath never seemed this torn... this... crazy. He was always stricken by madness, but he relished it. Then again, he was an actual Dremora. Not an overly helpful mortal with a knack for killing who got tricked.

"My lord, might I help explain to the girl?" A monotone voice came from the darkness behind the throne. A tall, slender man stepped out from the darkness. He was old, and well dressed.

"Please!" Al-Suan... Sheogorath almost shrieked.

"My lady, simply put, the divines have blessed the Empire. They have asked us to lend aid. Unlike his predecessor, The Prince follows their will." The man's face remained sullen.

"But WHY, Pappy! That is so... boring! Sithis is much more fun! Daedra are exciting! Blood and guts!" Al-Sien was giddy.

"This place drove me to Sithis! This cursed world, this damned existence drove me to evil! I must find a way back to the Divines. If I do ever find a way to end my wretched life... I want to be with them. This was not the life I chose, and I didn't want it for you." The Prince's voice was withered from being used years longer than it should have. His scales were old and dry. They were once vibrant and healthy, but that was many lifetimes ago.

Al-Sien was suddenly very serious. "It is the life I wanted. I knew what I would become when I joined the Brotherhood. When I fell to Sithis. When I joined you here in your Court! I CHOSE!" Her voice rose with each thought.

"Help the mortals. As your Prince, I command you," Al-Suan summoned a handful of Dark Seducers to make sure she obeyed. "Take Seducers, or Saints. I don't care. Send your own if you have to. I want an army, not a few assassins from the Brotherhood." He said the last word with disdain. Al-Sien stormed out.

"I would make a much better Prince of Madness," She said with fury as she slammed the door of the court behind her.

"That is the plan, my child. If I can make it happen." Al-Suan let out a sorrowful sigh. "Haskill, I truly do love her. I wanted so much better."

"I know, my Lord." The tall man said. Despite his calm demeanor, he preferred the old Sheogorath. He missed the chaos and madness that once ruled the land. But he was still as loyal as ever to his Prince. "I desire the same fate for you. I do not envy your misery."


Beads of sweat rolled down Burz's cheeks. The sun was scorching. He didn't remember it being this hot back in his youth, granted he was much farther north in those days. He looked back at the other soldiers; they were sagging over like the dying grass that surrounded them. They were almost done as it had been nearly two hours. Burz tried to give the command to turn back, but he was so parched his voice would not come to him. He coughed and tried again.

"Alright men, let's head back to camp. There is nothing noteworthy out here. Just grass and sun." His voice was crackly. He needed water. Where did the people in the village get their water? He looked uneasily around him, nervous for another surprise attack. There was no point in trying to see anything in this thick foliage. He waded though it carefully. Getting back to camp shouldn't be too long. He could still see the smoke from the mages' fire to the north. It was like a big target for the enemies to see, but it needed to be done. Maybe they should have taken care of it at night... It would have been less visible from this distance.

"Legate gro Ka, sir, can we stop for a minute, please?" An old voice asked. It was raspy, and gasping for air as it spoke. Burz turned to see the owner. It was an older solider, probably a volunteer who shouldn't have joined the Legion.

"I don't see a problem with it. We will take five. Be ready to get moving! I don't like it out here." The men threw off their helmates and sighed in relief. All of them had drenched hair from the sweat. A slight breeze began to blow. It was hot wind, but against the salty liquid on their skin, it was cooler than the sun. Burz made his way to a nearby tree for shade. He sat and thought for a few minutes. The Khajitt were beginning to be the least of his worries. If they could not find water in this vast expanse of grass, they would wilt away before any fighting ensued. Burz's head began to throb, but it was time to get moving again.

"Come on, men. We have to get going." Burz said, his voice still raw. The soldiers groaned as they gathered their gear. "Quit your moaning. The faster we get back to camp, the sooner we can lie down." He was trying to be optimistic. The group began to walk north, back toward the cloud of smoke. Burz's head was pounding with each step, like a large drum in his skull. Each thud of his sole provided another beat for the drums march. It became monotonous after a few paces. The orc tried to not focus on it. Instead he thought of the cool nights in Marcarth again. The walks with his Ghorza. What was she doing, he wondered. How was she handling his absence? He should have wrote to her before he left.

His thoughts went to Calcelmo, the old bat. No one in town understood their friendship. He, like many orcs, showed so much emotion with very subtle acts. They fit. He buried himself in his research, and Burz buried himself in his liquor. The old Altmer probably had no idea there was even a war going on. Burz smirked at that. For the first time in his life, he felt like he had a home, yet he could not be there now. He grew homesick.


"I found a large lake about half an hour to the west and a city about an hour north west of the lake. If we move a large portion of the army tonight, we could take the city by surprise." Ambarys's voice was smooth in Rikke's presence.

"But Ambarys, the Khajiit can see better at night. We would be in the dark against them." Rikke said with concern.

"We can have the mages spread out around the city and set fires to the grass. We can leave a gap in one section, and as the cats try to run out to attack us, and flee, we kill them off. The fire will easily funnel their forces into our trap." Ambarys had a smile on his face. He was reveling in his role as a strategist. Rikke wondered what he did in his days before Windhelm. She was silent for a minute as she pondered over his plan, but she got lost in his sharp features. His eyes like rubies. "Rikke, what do you think?" His voice was jolting, but inviting.

"Uh... Um, yes... That sounds... good.." She struggled to find words. She wasn't as focused as she needed to be.

"Dear, last night was wonderful, and unplanned. But for now we should not linger on it. We have greater matters to attend to. After this is all over, we can... talk... some more." His voice was quiet. Rikke was hurt, but understood. They had bigger things then themselves to worry about. She focused on his actual plan for a moment.

"That should work, but should we split the army so soon?" She couldn't hide the hurt in her voice.

"I don't think it would be a bad idea. We have to move quickly before the Khajiit have time spread news of us to all of their tribes. We must spread throughout the land now while we have the chance." Burz's voice boomed as he entered the hut. Ambarys and Rikke looked, a little startled, as he walked in. Ambarys worried that he had heard what he said. "Just think, if there were survivors last night, they likely headed to Corinth to warn the Mane. The next logical thing they would do is warn other major cities. The Mane is to prideful to leave Corinth, but if he allows his cities to fall around him, he would be backed into a corner. We don't want to spread too thin, but we can't sit with the entire Legion in one place."

"You are right, Burz.." Rikke spoke first. Her voice soft. "Order the troops. We move at nightfall. Half the mages, and the Redoran Guard will go with me to the north west. Ambarys will lead a small scout force to get water for the troops here."

"I could call Odahviing to help pack water on. We wouldn't have to sacrifice forces that way. Also, the cats know we are here now. No use in hiding the dragons anymore." Burz stated.

"Very well. Call him in. After he gathers water with Ambarys, send him to gather the dragons. Burz, you will be in charge of the assault on Corinth. I want you to make for the Mane at dawn. My forces will work on capturing the north. We should meet back here in two weeks time." Rikke said. Her voice was steady and commanding. Burz nodded in acknowledgment. Ambarys grunted in approval. Burz left the hut to get rest. And to give Rikke time alone with Ambarys.

Once Burz was gone, Rikke spoke again. "Ambarys, you are right. We can't focus on ourselves right now. But you promise me that there will be an after." Her eyes stung red as she forced back tears.

"The Divines will see us together again," Ambarys whispered. His eyes shone bright. His normally sharp features were soft. He walked over and embraced her tenderly for a few moments. She stole a quick kiss from him as she left the hut, lingering at the door for another look at him. She prayed to Talos she would see him in a week.