7

Taking up Arms

Seated at tables surrounding him was the council and strongest vassals of Celestine Lucross.

Seated to his left was a woman with long blond hair and lilac-blue eyes, clad in a revealing combination of primarily cloth and plate. This woman was known as Alicia Arcturus and was apparently highly renowned for her relation to a previous monarch and her skill as a warrior. Like Claudia Levantine, she eyed him with suspicion and distrust.

Sitting next to her was a young pink-haired girl who slightly resembled Alicia. This was Prim Fiorire, her younger cousin. Unlike her distrusting cousin, Prim smiled and gave off an aura of friendliness.

To her right sat Maia who gave him a teasing wink and grin before leaning forward to hear him better.

Looking to his right, he was greeted by the solemn, professional nod of a woman with short dark hair. Dressed in silk robes and wielding an almost emotionless glance was Kaguya, the head Shrine Maiden, and Celestine's religious head.

To her right, was the small form of a halfling. Clad in animal hides and curly red hair sat Luu-Luu, the queen's personal weaponsmith, and vassal. She seemed highly interested in the knight's dark armor and eyed it up and down with curiosity.

Standing beside him were Olga and Chloe who stood shackled together.

Sitting in the center was the goddess reborn herself, with her bodyguard and marshall Claudia standing directly behind her.

"Well stranger, I have summoned my council. Lady Maia told me you encountered… complications when attempting to destroy the summoner." Celestine spoke.

"Yes, while we managed to take Lady Olga and her courtier into custody, we were compelled to retreat by the summoner Jagar Tharn." Henry answered, nodding.

"Who is this Jagar Tharn?" Alicia asked.

"Jagar Tharn was a powerful elven sorcerer and a notorious traitor to the state. Roughly two-hundred years ago, he abducted and imprisoned then-Emperor Uriel Septim the seventh then, using illusion magic assumed his identity. He "reigned" for ten years before being bested and destroyed." Henry recalled in a quick history lesson.

"If he was destroyed, how does he live now to oppose us?" Claudia asked.

"Though I don't know how, he appears to have achieved some form of undeath." The knight answered.

"So how do we kill him?" Luu-Luu blurted out.

"It isn't that simple…" He answered, frowning.

"There has to be a way, surely there must be one." Alicia insisted.

"Destroy his body and he will simply steal another, I have means of which I can imprison him." The Breton answered.

"What stopped you from taking down Tharn back at the fortress then?" Maia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"As I was unaware of his identity until then, I lacked the means of capturing him at the time... I will not make that mistake again." He replied in an aggressive tone towards the end.

"Lady Maia you say you were attacked by a horde of undead, just how many did he have?" Celestine asked turning to the Queen of the Mercenaries.

"When we left, at least a thousand. But with how many corpses buried in the badlands, I'd wager he'd have a few thousand raised at this point." Maia answered.

Looking at each other, the council spoke to one another amongst whispers and low tones, occasionally looking up to the knight who only stared on blankly. Eventually, the council finished their deliberation and looked back to the knight standing before them.

"Good sir, though you failed in destroying the summoner, you managed to capture Olga and end one conflict. Soon she will face her due justice." Celestine said, breaking the silence. "As such, I believe you are to be rewarded appropriately, name a price and I will grant it."

"I ask for Lady Olga and her handmaiden, Chloe." He answered, earning looks of shock and cocked eyebrows. Meanwhile, Olga only smirked at the reactions within the room and Chloe was immediately visibly disgusted at the notion.

"You can't possibly think we'll let them go! You have no idea what horrors that she-devil is responsible for!" Alicia stood up angrily.

"I acknowledge that, and as such, I propose an alternative to imprisonment or execution." Henry calmly answered.

"We're listening…"

"I propose to conscript both Lady Olga and Chloe into my newly forming retinue. There they will serve a life contract under me as their commanding officer." He spoke bluntly.

"Your retinue? But sir, you are legally an outlaw. You serve no liege and do not answer to any laws. What guarantee do we have that you will serve the interests of the alliance?" Kaguya spoke for the first time, surprising Henry with her eloquence.

"We don't even know your name, let alone what lies beyond that hood you wear." Claudia added in.

Sighing, Henry reached up. Grabbing the top of his hood, he slowly let it drop to his shoulders.

Dropping his dark shroud revealed his long, nearly shoulder-length brunette hair. Beneath that was the solemn face of a young Breton man. In spite of his unsettling ruby red eyes, he was quite fetching and drew a few eyes.

"My name is Sir Henry Morrel of Highrock. Knight and former retainer in the court of King Armel the third, ruler of the Kingdom of Daggerfall. Former Legate of the Imperial Legion and Thane of all nine holds of the Kingdom of Skyrim." He introduced himself and his titles.

/

Looking into his deep red eyes, Celestine was capable of seeing more.

Suddenly, she found herself confined to an unfamiliar landscape. Surrounding her was a massive battlefield amongst a wide plain. All around her, human soldiers battled with a large orcish Warband.

Despite their best efforts, many of the humans fell in the bloody struggle. Steel clashed, wood splintered, and the shouts and cries of the combatants rang out all around the elven queen.

At the center of the field were two men dueling. One a heavily armored knight, and the other a towering orc clad in rough animal hides. The men seemed to be equal in terms of martial skill, as when one attacked the other would parry or dodge it. Or so it seemed.

When attempting to block a strike, the knight took a hard hook against his helmet from the orc's massive Warhammer. Following through, the orc struck the man's chest with a full swing, caving in his breastplate and knocking him to the ground.

Placing his foot down on the defeated knight's breastplate, the orc raised his Warhammer once more.

"No!" A young voice wailed out.

Turning, Celestine was surprised to see a considerably younger Henry sprinting towards the orc, sword raised.

Before he could reach the orc, however, the goddess watched in silent horror as the orc finished off the knight with a head-crushing swing.

After he killed the orc, Celestine watched the young Henry cradle the corpse of the knight in his arms.

"Forgive me, father…" He could only muster to say, choking as tears streamed down his face.

Feeling her heart being torn apart, Celestine could take no more. She quickly ran forward towards the young Henry.

"Henry!" She said called out to the boy.

He couldn't hear her though, even as the fighting ceased. Even as soldiers came to him, he ignored them and only continued to cry.

Suddenly an outside voice pulled the goddess back to reality.

/

"And is there anyone who can verify that?" Alicia cocked an eyebrow, skeptical.

"If you won't believe me fine, I'm prepared to deal with Tharn, with or without you." He said turning to leave.

"I stand with him." Turning, Henry found it was Maia who had risen from her chair. "I fought alongside him, he's earned my respect and blade."

"Maia, I presume you will vouch for him?" Celestine suggested to which Maia calmly nodded. From there, Celestine turned to her council who all nodded before stepping forward to the Breton. Immediately, the knight drew his sword before kneeling before the queen with his sword resting on his knee.

"Sir Henry of Highrock, will you recognize me, Queen Celestine Lucross, first of my name, as the true and rightful ruler to the Kingdom of Eostia?" Celestine spoke formally and professionally.

"I will."

"Will you raise your banner in my name and in defense against all enemies, foreign and domestic? She asked.

"I will." He said simply.

"Will you raise your blade in the defense of the people of Eostia against any and all who threaten them?"

"I will." He repeated.

"Do you agree to be bound by oath in service to me and my kingdom in this life and in the next?" She continued.

"I agree. I will serve you now and forever. Should I be slain, I will rise from my grave and serve you once more."

"Sir Henry Morrel, by my right as Queen, I name thee baron of Castle Blackthorne and contract holder to Olga Discordia." She concluded. "You may rise."

Rising to his feet, the knight's gaze was met by that of the queen.

"I await your command, my queen." Henry spoke.

"Remain in the palace for the time being, we await on Vault who is currently delayed by some minor fighting. There is much to discuss…" Celestine answered.

/

Days Later

After the council meeting, there was relative peace along the frontline, aside from the isolated border clash. Meanwhile, the Daggerfall Knight was ordered to remain at the palace for another council meeting, this time involving Vault, leader of the largest mercenary company, The Black Dogs.

Henry was granted a guest room within the palace. Sitting at the desk provided, he carefully opened a letter sent to him.

He quickly found it was sent from Claire who wrote to him regarding the evergrowing population of his new fief. It appeared that the booming settlement had drawn the eyes of a merchant and a few tradesmen. Soon he would have to expand beyond the walls and form a town bellow should the influx continue. It appeared the expansions he made to the retinue were well underway and training went seamlessly, despite this, his retinue was still far from full strength.

It also appeared that Claire managed to convince one of the tradesmen, an amateur blacksmith to forge spears and other basic polearms in exchange for the knight's endorsement to become a fully licensed smith. Without a legal endorsement from a nobleman or the Blacksmith's Guild, he was legally confined to only producing tools.

Finally, food shipments appeared to be arriving steadily, augmenting the town's food supply. Hopefully, they would become productive enough to be self-sufficient.

Concluding the letter, the knight folded it up before placing it into his pocket. Immediately after, he quickly formed a response letter with further instructions.

Not long after finishing the letter and closing it with his seal, a faint knock came at his door.

"My lord, Lady Celestine requests your presence." The guard spoke from the other side of the door.

The knight raised his hood, reached into a nearby bowl of fruit before pocketing an apple. Rising to his feet, he made his way quickly to the door.

Opening it, he was greeted by a nervous young soldier.

"Give this to a courier, have them deliver it to Lady Claire at Castle Blackthorne." He said handing the letter to the soldier who quickly nodded before running off.

Calmly walking down the corridor, the black knight was greeted with a variety of emotions and reactions from servants and guards alike. Some avoided his piercing gaze entirely while others greeted him respectfully.

Ignoring the hidden glances and whispers, Henry quickly entered the throne room.

/

Entering the exquisite room, Henry found the council assembled around a large map on a table. This time another man had joined the group. He stood tall and proud, clad in a combination of sleeveless leather and plate, a mighty greatsword lay sheathed on his back.

"Ah, Sir Henry, good to see you again, now that you're here we can introduce you to Commander Vault." Celestine spoke warmly, smiling at the knight.

"So, this is the mighty slayer I have heard so much of!" Vault spoke with a grin as he turned to address the black knight. "They say you eat hearts and spit venom." The man appeared a scarred, seasoned veteran with a charismatic and rousing voice.

"Men believe in the simple explanations, that way they can avoid what they fear…" Henry answered as he took he stepped forward.

"That's a fine suit of armor you've got there, black as night. Where'd you get it?" Vault asked, eying the knight's ebony mail.

"Off the corpse of the last to wear it, after I shattered his skull…" The vampire responded coldly as he took a spot around the map.

"Might I remind both of you we have pressing concerns?" Celestine spoke, interrupting the tense exchange between the two men.

Looking over the map, the Breton noted the differences since the last time he'd viewed it. As weeks had passed, it seemed the combined armies had since consolidated their holdings and stabilized the frontlines. Though he would've been somewhat comforted by the current situation, two things bothered the young knight.

One, the mercenaries.

While he understood from first-hand experience the usefulness of mercenaries and the leverage they provided. He was disturbed with just how reliant the alliance was on mercenary groups such as the Black Dogs and Maia's band, not to mention the many smaller companies likely operating.

In Tamriel, mercenaries had free reign to do as they pleased prior to the Imperial legislation that saw the creation of the Fighter's Guild. It was only with the official endorsement and legal backing provided by the empire were laws and regulations set in place for mercenary groups. He remembered hearing the story of a Dark Elf guild commander ordering the bloody purge of an entire mercenary group when they were found to be providing illegal hist sap to their members.

However, in the cases of nations beyond Imperial jurisdiction, the guild had no presence or influence, and thus mercenaries robbed, raped, and pillaged to their hearts' content.

For Eostia, it appeared the majority of its combined forces were made up of various mercenary companies.

Two, the lack of enemy activity

Aside from his party's escape from the north, the enemy had made no apparent moves, no advances, no scouting parties, no raids, nothing.

It likely meant the enemy was busy gathering their strength for something major. It was only a matter of time when.

"From my understanding, you were delayed Vault?" Celestine spoke to the mercenary leader.

"Aye, we got bogged down a while by a bandit clan, took some losses, wasn't anything we couldn't handle though." Vault answered with a chuckle.

"What do we know about the current situation regarding Tharn and his forces? Celestine asked turning to her commanders.

"So far, the frontlines have been relatively quiet. Aside from the occasional border clash, scout reports come up empty for enemy activity." Claudia explained calmly.

"Ha! You call this a war?! If I didn't know any better it seems you ended both wars friend!" Vault spoke up with a hearty laugh as he slapped the knight on the back.

"Indeed, it's never been this quiet in years." Alicia commented scratching her chin.

"I wouldn't celebrate yet, our enemy still lies with considerable numbers ready for battle. It is likely they are taking time to muster and consolidate their forces into a massive host." Henry spoke up, breaking up the short-lived joy.

"Then why not take out the trash before it stinks? If all they're focused on is mustering troops, why not take em by surprise?" Maia countered the knight's assessment.

"I could lend my Half-Lings! We could lead the attack!" Luu-Luu piped up cheerfully.

"Before we could reach the Black Fortress our forces would have to cross the red valley, we'd be at risk of funneling our forces into a trap." The knight pointed out on the map the numerous spots for potential ambush points. "Assuming we reach the castle, there's thousands of undead and greenskins to contend with along with the formidable defenses and endless resources of the castle itself."

"What do you suggest instead, Sir Henry?" Celestine asked.

"Firstly, we shouldn't rush this invasion by simply throwing any and all available troops at the fortress. According to the report from Lady Claudia, the western front is largely undermanned and will require time to rebuild its strength. We should plan this invasion, taking into consideration that should it fail, we need to be in a position to defend the capital." The knight spoke, garnering the attention of the council. "Secondly, instead of a directly northern route, an eastern route, though longer, would allow us to bypass the northern defenses entirely."

"In preparation for the offensive, we should ensure stability and a stable pool of manpower as our army is largely depleted from the war." Claudia added in, agreeing with the Breton.

"I'm of a mind with Claudia and Henry, we'll prepare an offensive on our eastern front. You are all dismissed for the time being." Celestine concluded, agreeing with the duo.

/

After the council assembly ended, Henry was ordered to remain in the capital for another few days. As being the newest lord in the realm, it demanded he be recognized in an extravagant feast attended by the entirety of Eostia's ruling class. If there was one thing he didn't want to be reminded about his home of Daggerfall, it was the shameless vanity and gluttony of the nobility.

Reentering his guest quarters, the Dragonborn was greeted by the lovely sight of the goddess reborn who sat patiently in a chair, seemingly waiting for him.

"My queen. Forgive me, I was unaware you were planning on visiting." Henry commented, bowing before the queen.

"Please Sir Henry, there is no need for such formalities. And please, I should ask you for forgiveness as I neglected to tell you in advance that I wanted to speak with you." Celestine answered with a soft smile as she signaled for him to sit with her.

"Nonsense, what can I do for you?" Henry asked, taking a seat across from the high elf.

"Why?" She asked cryptically.

"Why what?" He asked back, confused.

"Why do you fight for me? Why risk your life in service to me?" The goddess asked, her smile turning to a frown.

"Because you're worth it." He answered cryptically.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Much of my life I've spent in the service under the incompetence and gross mismanagement from kings and Imperial bureaucrats alike. I've seen the devastating effects of such incompetence and lack of care in the worse ways possible. To see you doing all you can to ensure the security and prosperity of your people… it's surreal. It's truly an honor to serve you, someone truly deserving as much." The Dragonborn explained to the perplexed face of the queen.

"As do you as well, your former liege must have been proud to have a knight such as you in his service." Celestine praised.

"You are too kind my queen, but I'm afraid my former king despises me." Henry answered with a sad smile.

"Why? You've shown me selflessness and bravery." The elf countered.

"You see only the best in me, my lady. While I've had many triumphs, I've had many more failures and deaths along the way." The Breton lowered his head, shamefully.

"You're father's death wasn't your fault!" She snapped emotionally, surprising the knight who quickly looked up to her.

"How did you know about that?" He asked.

"When you revealed your face, I looked into your eyes and saw who you were." The goddess answered.

"I… I haven't seen that since… Her." He sputtered remembering someone very close...

Suddenly the situation around them became tense, and the two soon unknowingly had moved closer to one another.

Seeing every angle of her face, Henry couldn't help but be practically entranced by the queen's nymph-like beauty. Her long golden locks, her jade green eyes, and her aphrodisiac scent she gave off…

For the goddess reborn, she instinctively reached up to lower the knight's shroud. Dropping it, she was once again greeted by the handsome face of the young knight. His red eyes, though usually frightening, were dilated, indicating he was just as encapsulated as she was.

He slowly began to lean in, and she did the same. Inches away, she felt his warm breath against hers.

"My lord! The feast has been prepared and the guests have all arrived!" A maid said aloud.

"Thank you! I will be down momentarily, you are dismissed." Henry quickly said in response.

After the maid left with loud, audible clicks of her heels, the two quickly backed away from each other.

"Forgive me, my queen, I should've controlled myself." Henry apologized, quickly rising from his chair.

"No… You need not apologize Henry." Celestine answered, facing a window.

Before he could leave though, the goddess spoke once more.

"If you ever need to speak with someone, I'm here." She said with a smile as she turned to him.

He nodded quietly to the elf, raised his hood and quickly exited the guest room.

/

Elsewhere

Standing in the outer courtyard of the Black Fortress, Jagar Tharn stood with an open spellbook in one hand and his staff in another.

Speaking in a series of incantations, the chalk outline soon began to glow with a chilling hum. Moments later, a massive black portal appeared above the chalk outline, and a group of thirty armored warriors emerged soon after.

The warriors were well armed and equipped in chainmail combined with lamellar cuirasses and kettle hats, chainmail aventails covered their faces. Heater shields were strapped to the back, with either an arming sword or a flanged mace held at the hip.

Leading them was a shorter man heavily armored in a combination of mainly chainmail with scant steel plate, a symbol of a white wolf was etched onto his breastplate. On his head, he wore a great helm which only allowed his steely grey eyes to be seen.

Approaching the lich, the man drew his own arming sword. He then knelt before the undead mage, placing the sword on his knee. Immediately, his companions followed suit and knelt before the sorcerer.

"My lord." The man spoke.

"Commander Tyranus… The time has come." Tharn spoke said, putting a rotting hand on his shoulder.

Rising to their feet, the soldiers saluted the lich with a hard strike to their chests.

"My company stands with you, Lord Tharn." The captain spoke.

Grinning wickedly, Tharn turned his attention to the exterior of the castle. Thousands of undead soldiers continued to muster and arm themselves.