Prologue
Morndas, the 15th of Last Seed, Year 202 of the 4th Era
Sofija had never liked council meetings, but she understood that they were important. Daenerys had explained why. People followed orders better when they got to say their piece. Plus, sometimes they came up with good ideas. Leaders didn't know everything. Most of the important stuff, even battles, got decided in council meetings. At least Daenerys had run her meetings like the captain of a ship. Everyone said their piece, Daenerys decided, and they got shit done.
Saerlund's council meetings were skeever shit. He let everyone talk and talk and talk. He would sometimes nod wisely, or step in and ask a question, but mostly he just listened. She knew what he was doing. Daenerys did that in a small way. That had been one of her lessons. The point was to let people talk it out. However, Daenerys had little tolerance for boasting and bragging at her councils. That's what taverns were for. Sofija was bored and had things to do. Everyone knew all this already, or almost all of it. This wasn't getting shit done. This was a bunch of men waving their dicks about how important they were.
The current dick-waver was the newly minted Lord Honrich. Saerlund had handed out a lot of estates. Lord Honrich, formerly Addvild Lake-Heart, had been an overseer for the Snow-Shods. He seemed like a decent enough fellow. He was getting things done. But, put him at the council table, give him a few drinks, and he rambled on and on about his people sleeping in fields so they would have enough food to last the winter. Building homes had to wait. Repairs on the fortress of Falder's Tooth had to wait. His people were suffering.
When Honrich finally sat down, the new Lord Treva had to explain why his people were suffering more from the same problems, and the fortress of Treva's Watch would take even longer to repair. At least when Vignar Grey-Mane, or Lord Ivarstead as he was called now, had his turn, he didn't bitch or moan. He said his piece, said it quick, and sat down. She felt like applauding.
Really, she got it. She'd been there with the Dragonguard and had taken Treva's Watch while Harrald Law-Giver and the Riften Guard took Falder's Tooth. These new estates were a big deal for the Rift. The deal that Saerlund; his steward, Anuriel; and Camilla Valerius had worked out was a big deal. They were putting the out-of-work and desperate of Riften to work, letting them earn their own land instead of being thralls. Not that Saerlund was giving away land for free. The new tenants were indentured. It took twenty years of service to buy a plot for a single family. Or, ten peacetime years in the Riften Guard. Or, five years in the Riften Guard if they went to war. Or, three years in the Dragonguard. Family members could serve instead, so sons and daughters were signing up to serve while their parents worked the land. The people of the Rift loved Saerlund for it.
The deal had cost them Vignar Grey-Mane. Saerlund had wanted a noble from the Dragonguard to be made Lord Ivarstead. There really hadn't been anyone else, but it was worth it. She wasn't clever with numbers, but she understood when Camilla Valerius spelled it out. The biggest expense the Dragonguard had was daily pay. The deal cut salaries to almost nothing. They still had to buy food, weapons, armor, and such, but the Dragonguard suddenly had money to spare. They spent a good deal of their treasury. They brought on more troops. They were more than a hundred strong now. They bought better gear. They bought a horse for every scout. Most importantly, they built ballistae. They had ten of them now. Three based on the new plans from the Dawnguard. Without the Dragonborn, without Tongues, and with Faralda their only battlemage, those ballistae were their best hope for killing a dragon.
She would have traded it all to have Daenerys back.
Six weeks and no sign of Daenerys or Barbas. The first week they had all but taken Riften apart searching for her. After that week, Saerlund clearly believed Daenerys was dead, even with Nura Snow-Shod proclaiming that she believed that the Dragonborn was still alive. He didn't say it, but it was in the way he asked about her. Sofija hadn't given up. She would never give up. Even if her only proof was the word of Karliah.
Most people would not regard a daedra worshiper and former thief now turned spy as a reliable source, but Sofija had reason to believe her. Sofija didn't know exactly what happened the night that Daenerys met with Karliah, but she knew the result. Karliah and Galdrus had both started acting like Daenerys held their leash. She had seen the tattoo that had suddenly appeared on the back of Daenerys' hand: a golden cage with two black birds. Even she could read between those lines. Karliah was convinced that Daenerys was alive somewhere. She had dispatched Nightingales to infiltrate Windhelm, Whiterun, Solitude, and the Thalmor Embassy. They hadn't received word back yet. It was simply too soon. However, Karliah had joined the Dragonguard under an alias as a scout. That said a lot. Even if the Nightingale refused direct orders and claimed that she reported to the Dragonborn alone.
However, Karliah wouldn't say that Daenerys was well. Just that she was alive.
"Good," said Saerlund after letting the windbags all have their turn. Saerlund looked tired and older now. He was also sweating from all the layers of finery he was wearing. "Now, I have important news to share. The rider we dispatched to Whiterun has returned. Jarl Balgruuf sends his regards and has agreed to an alliance in principle between Whiterun and the Rift. We have agreed that the worship of Talos will be allowed within our territories and that the Thalmor are not allowed to intimidate, arrest, or execute any of our citizens for the 'crime' of worshiping Talos. They are also banned from the cities of Whiterun and Riften. We also agreed not to take up arms against the Empire at this time."
There were lots of cheers and cries of agreement around the table.
When the cheering died down, Jarl Law-Giver continued. "We have yet to hear back from our messenger to Windhelm, but it is unlikely that the Stormcloaks or the Imperials will seek to move against us."
Sofija only half-listened as Saerlund explained things she already knew to his council.
Ulfric Stormcloak was unlikely to do anything. As long as Whiterun and the Rift were neutral he wouldn't have to worry about Imperials marching at him from the south. He would only have to defend from the sea and from the west. Even with the Stormcloak alliance reduced to only three holds, that was a strategic advantage he wouldn't throw away to attack the Rift. Only an idiot fought a war on two fronts if they didn't have to. Ulfric wasn't an idiot.
The Empire was also unlikely to do anything. They hadn't pressed the war yet, and they weren't likely to start attacking with the Stormcloak Rebellion losing strength. They were more likely to apply political pressure to Jarl Skald. If the war became active, the Pale would be the first hold to be invaded. Dawnstar, the largest city in the Pale was also on the coast, which made it vulnerable to attack by the sea. However, no one in Riften really knew what was going on in the rest of Skyrim.
Listening to the debate, Sofija was struck by how much Daenerys' plan to use ravens would change things in Skyrim. Not that it would happen any time soon. The roosts in Winterhold and Windhelm should have fully grown ravens by now. The ravens in Whiterun were probably too young still. If the girl had even been able to get them to nest this late in the year. However, the birds weren't magic. The could only fly home. They had to be transported to another city before they could carry messages. However, in a few years ravens would make a huge difference in warfare. Not to mention politics. If they'd had ravens in place, they could have sent warning everywhere about Maven Black-Briar.
While she had drifted off thinking about ravens, the blowhards kept blowing smoke. Sofija was unsurprised that all of them agreed with Jarl Law-Giver. Several made the same point that Winterhold was barely a hold any longer. Since the collapse, it was really a large town. Winterhold was only counted as a hold for historical reasons.
Sofija wasn't sure she agreed. While Winterhold was the smallest hold numerically, under Jarl Kraldar they might be the most active hold in the entire rebellion. She knew that Jarl Kraldar was steadily building ships and recruiting pirates as privateers. So far this had gone unnoticed because there had always been pirates in the Sea of Ghosts, but sooner or later the merchants would notice they were losing more ships. They would complain to the Empire and Solitude. Since it had been Daenerys that had encouraged Kraldar on that path, Sofija kept her mouth shut about it.
She also wasn't convinced that Riften's defection to neutrality hurt the Stormcloaks. Riften had never done much to support the rebellion. A few volunteers from the Rift had enlisted in the Stormcloaks, but the Rift hadn't sent a single soldier. A neutral Rift still protected Ulfric's southern border, so it didn't change much militarily. Politically, it probably did, but the Stormcloak Rebellion was far from over.
Saerlund turned to her. "Sofija Ēlī Vokēdrie, Jarl Balgruuf also sent a message. Neither Maven Black-Briar nor Lady Targaryen have been seen in Whiterun. If Maven shows her face, he will have her arrested. If Lady Targaryen visits Whiterun, he will help her return to the Dragonguard as fast as possible."
Sofija nodded again. This discussion wasn't for her benefit. It was for everyone else. She had been informed about it before the meeting started. She stood up to address everyone. "That comes as no surprise. Maven was not likely to flee to a hold friendly to the Dragonguard."
Saerlund nodded. "True. I believe it is your turn now. What news from the Dragonguard? Most importantly, has there been any word of Lady Targaryen?"
"Nothing new, but we know she is alive." She said it firmly. She couldn't show any doubt. Even if her only real proof was the word of Karliah. She gave Nura Snow-Shod a nudge with her foot.
"Sometimes," said Nura. "You don't need visible proof. She was sent by Talos, and our time of need has not passed. I believe she was not stolen. The gods have taken her to where she needs to be to do what must be done."
The jarl sighed. "Yes, of course. We must all have faith in the gods. You're still planning on taking the Dragonguard to Morthal?"
"Yes, I am," agreed Sofija. She didn't say why. Saerlund already knew why. The rest of the council didn't need to know.
Morthal was the closest settlement to the Nord barrow of Ustengrav. According to Esbern they would find the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller in Ustengrav. Sofija wasn't sure she believed him. She did believe that Esbern had once been a Blade, and he was obviously a learned man. However, Esbern was old and half-senile. In the mornings he was brilliant. He rattled off obscure facts with confidence. However, by late afternoon he often couldn't remember his own name. Some days were better than others, but crossing half of Skyrim on his word seemed like a bad plan. The problem was she didn't have another plan. Daenerys had told her to acquire either battlemages or Tongues if she ever had to take over the Dragonguard. She had no way to acquire any battlemages, so that meant finding the horn.
Saerlund nodded. "I know that you hoped to find Lady Targaryen, and I appreciate the help of the Dragonguard in clearing out Treva's Watch, but it has been more than a month with no sign of her. You asked for time for her to return. You've used that time well. You have built up the Dragonguard, made ballistae, acquired weapons and armor. I have given the Dragonguard all you have asked and more. How long will you wait for her? When will the Dragonguard march north?"
She wanted to rage at Saerlund even though she'd known the question was coming. What Saerlund was really asking was when they were going to march out and try to kill a dragon without the help of the Dragonborn. It might seem a reasonable request. The Dragonguard existed to kill dragons, and Saerlund had helped. The deal that allowed them to pay the Dragonguard in land was a good deal, but the Dragonguard was expected to do their share. They had to kill the dragon on the northern road from the Rift.
Saerlund didn't have a fucking clue what he was asking. He'd never fought a dragon. He'd only heard the stories. Sure, they had more men. They had ten ballistae and three of them were built on the plans they'd gotten from the Dawnguard. They had crossbows with oblivion-damned poison to dip the bolts in. Poison that Ingun Black-Briar had promised would hurt even a dragon. Of course, Ingun been bound and staring at the chopping block when she made that promise, but other alchemists said it might work. So, they had hope, but no Dragonborn.
Men had killed dragons before even without a Dragonborn or a Tongue, but Sofija had been there. She'd fought two dragons. People called her Dragonslayer because she'd been crazy enough to jump on the back of one – after Val had broken its wing. However, that was nothing. The reason it had all worked was because Daenerys Targaryen had used herself as bait. Sure, Daenerys was immune to fire, but she wasn't immune to being smacked around by explosions. Sofija had seen Daenerys fight two dragons. She'd just stood there in the open and dared the dragons to come and get her. It was the bravest thing she'd ever see anyone do ever, and when they knocked her down, Daenerys fucking got back up and dared them to do it again.
But it worked. It drove the dragons crazy. According to Daenerys dragons were smart, but they were also prideful and territorial. Mostly, they weren't too impressed with people, but issuing a challenge like that got their attention. Which was necessary, because a dragon could just stay up in the sky flying around so fast that it took a lot of luck to hit them while frying everything that lived. Daenerys with her challenge brought them down to hover and land.
More people, crossbows, poison, ballistae, all of that would only work if she stood as bait like Daenerys did. She would have to stand in the open and yell out the only three words of Dovahzul that she knew: Daar, Staad, Dii, which meant 'this place mine'. Then hope and pray to the gods that between the enchantments placed on her armor by the jarl's magician and the potions of fire resistance she survived to do it again.
"Ēlī Vokēdrie?" asked Saerlund.
"Yeah, I heard you." Fuck him. He didn't know what those words meant. To him they were just foreign words. They meant First Faithful, because for once in her life she had done something right, she'd seen that Daenerys Targaryen wasn't just a Tongue who could Shout a few words. She was the Dragonborn sent by the gods to save Skyrim. Sofija had been the first and that meant something. She'd get up and stand in the open and dare a dragon to kick her ass, but she wasn't doing it for Saerlund. She was doing it because Daenerys had put her in charge. If she died living up to that promise, it was a good way to die. "We'll leave for Morthal in three days. That will give you enough time to throw us a big going away party."
"Good. I will indeed be throwing a party for the Dragonguard, and I would like to have a parade when you march out. I've heard you did one for Jarl Balgruuf when you left Whiterun."
Sofija shrugged. "That's fine. We'll have a fucking parade. You know what. I'm done here." She stepped away from the table. "I need to gather my council and put things in motion."
Saerlund frowned. "Dragonslayer, if you need more time." He wasn't being rude about it. A little stuck up and proper, but he seemed genuinely concerned.
She was aware that all the fancy pompous nobles were watching her. Even Vignar was watching. She didn't care. "No, we don't need more time." Time was running out. They would likely have to winter in Morthal as it was. They needed Daenerys, but they would have to go on without her. "We'll leave in three days."
Sofija turned and walked away. Daenerys wouldn't have stormed off like a child, but Daenerys wasn't here. Sofija would stand up and face a dragon, but she was done putting up with skeever shit council meetings.