Chapter 4

World of Falmart, unknown place

"Hardy, do you have any idea of what you just done?"

The figure who had spoken was covered by a cloak and holding a scythe in one hand. He was facing the woman with long blue hair. Aside for a few burning torches they were surrounded by darkness.

"My job, Emroy. I opened a rift as it custom between two worlds to let new beings join our garden," the woman answered with a mischievous smile.

"Your job is to take care of the Underworld as its goddess while as the god of death I pass judgement upon the deceased!" Emroy shouted back.

Hardy sighed. "Yes and so what?"

"You really don't know, do you?"

"Know what? Explain yourself or cease to bore me," the goddess answered while turning childishly on herself.

Emroy suddenly let his scythe fall and held his head in his hands. "You stupid careless moron… I felt the death of several Imperial soldiers. Yet none of them made it to judgement or the Underworld, do you know what this means?"

"That there's a problem of paperwork I need to look upon?"

"No! That someone else claimed their souls you freaking dumbass!"

Shocked by her fellow god outburst, Hardy became angered. "You will show me respect as your equal Emroy or our deal is off!"

"Our "deal"? The gods of the underworld and death are meant to work together! Or else unbalance between the world of the living and dead will doom our world!" Emroy explained as he was starting to absolutely freak out.

A visibly unconcerned Hardy yawned. "That's very sad and all but you should have started to think about it before insulting me."

As she was about to leave, Emroy called to her. "Hardy no! I apologize but there is something we must discuss!"

The goddess turned around, examining her "colleague" for a moment before speaking. "Fine but you will have to set me up a date with Rory."

"But she's…" he stopped as she pretended to leave. "Alright, alright, I'll do it."

"So what did you want to talk about?" as a smile formed on her face.

"The world you connected with the rift, can you show me it?"

She nodded as light gathered in her right hand. The projection of a planet appeared. This world had roughly three main landmasses, one in the east that could be divided into two if not three continents, a completely frozen continent at the south and two other continents on the western part relied by a small strip of land. Other smaller landmasses existed such as a northern frozen one and and southeastern one.
"That's the world I opened the connection with. At least I think."

Emroy facepalmed. "You… think? You mean you had no idea where it actually opened?"

She shook her head, as much to answer than to let her long hair flow freely. "Well I thought so but it seems someone or something was preventing the army to cross over when they built the Gate so I'm not sure."

The god of death swore. "See Hardy, this why the others think you're an unsuitable goddess! You do anything but you're godly job! This..." he conjured the projection of another world in his palm, "is the world you connected with ours." Tamriel was easily recognizable at the center of the globe. Other landmasses could be seen on it such as the remnants of Yokuda in the west.

"This is… weird. I could have sworn we came into contact with the other one," she said perpexled.

Emroy paused, trying to think about what she said. "If you're indeed not responsible… it means someone on the other side made the link. Perhaps the same who has been claiming the souls that should have been us. This is something that must be investigated at once!"

He then turned towards his fellow god. "Oh and Hardy? For everyone sake, stay out of it and do not mention to anyone you opened the rift. A war with the others is the last thing we need!"

She pouted. "Fine, whatever you say. I had other matters to attend anyway." She promptly vanished.

Emroy sighed. Rory I'm counting on you.

Nirnian side of the Gate

Heralded by the horn sound, Imperial airships had made their appearance. The army had immediately gathered to greet properly the Crown Prince and his men. Colt and Livia were also there due to their new status as "assets". The two Saderans were left speechless by the flying machines.

"That's… impressive. I wasn't expecting any of this," Livia said.

Colt nodded. "They were barely flexing their muscles after all. We clearly underestimated this world."

As the airships landed, a man levitated to reach Ivan and Hector and bowed to them. He had lot of Yoku features but his eyes were blue and his skin tone closer to light brown than the usual dark ebony of the Redguards. His Imperial armor was made of pure ebony and richly decorated.

The Emperor acknowledged him with an embrace. "It's good to have you here my son."

"Likewise father." Basil gestured to the airships he came from. "I have brought what you asked."

"Very well." Ivan turned towards Hector. "Summon the war council."

"At once your Highness."

Minutes later all three were inside the war tent joined by the Legates in charge of each Legions stationed there. Hector presented a map on the center table. "This is a map of their world we obtained by reading the minds of the… less damaged prisoners." He pointed to roughly the center of the map. "This is where the Gate is on the other side. I was recently informed our experimentations on it reached their goals. We destroyed it before rebuilding it under our control and only ours. We can shut and open it more easily now. We also have posted some spy birds to warn us in case of any hostile movement."

"Do we have any idea what is going to be the enemy's next move?" Basil asked.

"We do," Ivan answered. "You must have noticed our new friends outside when you arrived. It turns out their Empire can be quite… ruthless. If we invade in full force they'll just resort to scorched earth tactics."

"That's bold. However given we are not the invader here it will just facilitate us the task if they weaken themselves first," a female Breton Legate added.

Hector nodded. "Yes. That's not all. From what we learnt, the Emperor is an opportunist who will use his defeat to enforce his power, such as removing the weakened noble families…"

"Such as the people outside," Basil completed, understanding the situation. "Of course what prove us they are right? If they are so eager to betray their Emperor why wouldn't they do the same with us?"

Several Legates nodded.

Ivan raised his hand. "We have thought of it. First should they betray us, they are at our mercy. Lady Livia has children with her, she wouldn't risk them. Second I made them swear on my amulet, they are as religious as us, they wouldn't try inviting a God's wrath. And third… the scanning of the mind of some prisoners revealed similar stories about the Emperor."

Hector moved his hand to south of the map. "Indeed, in fact with his army lost he will use his vassals instead. Their Kingdoms are located there."

"Is there a particular reasoning behind it?" an Orc legate asked. "They don't even have any intel about us, why keep trying to throw armies at us?"

"There is. Apparently it was not long ago the vassals rebelled. They were crushed of course but now with the Empire losing a big chunk of their force to us…"

"He intends to kill a bird with two stones," the Orc finished. "Either they won but are weakened and their Empire can just rolls in, either they lost and we are weakened or not and that's a threat for his power removed for him." He nodded appreciatively. "Not bad at all."

"Which bring us to the following plan. We're not invading them back. We'll send several teams to scout to gather intelligence and establish contact with the vassals. We know they resent the Empire and with the help of our assets we can gain them to our cause."

"Divide et Impera*" Ivan said. "If we won the vassals on our side and send reinforcements we can crush this Empire and end this invasion relatively fast and without much casualty, for us of course."

"There is another issue," Hector pointed out. "In the opposite direction of the Vassal Kingdoms stands Italica, Count Formal's city. In its absence it's his youngest daughter who is ruling. At least until Falmart politics will catch up with her."

"Which is why we need to secure the city and the young heiress at all costs. With his family influence we could sway even more disgruntled Nobles to our cause."

"We are not going to send a Legion through it though?" Basil asked.

Ivan shook his head. "No. We'll send a few battlemage squads under the cover of traveling mercenaries. They will be assigned scouting and meeting with the Vassals and Italica."

"Wouldn't they attract the attention?"

"They'll be assigned to not use magic if they can avoid it. They won't travel all together and our sigil will be hidden. Not that Falmartians should even have knowledge of it. If things get to hectic they'll use portals to call centuries in reinforcement." The Emperor turned towards Hector. "We need a battlemage commander to make the link between each division but I can't send you, I need you here. Who do you think should serve as that role?"

The Imperial Battlemage stroked his bearded chin before answering. "Magus-Commander Sejanus Aelius."

"What about the men we are going to send on the other side? Who will go?" the Orc Legate asked.

"We'll need experienced troops." Ivan turned to his son. "Your men are from Cyrodiil and all served during the war. We'll pick the centuries from them."

"I'll take care of the battlemages." Ivan said.

"Very well. The rest of the men will be assigned to reinforce the fortifications. I'll want the whole area around the Gate turned into a "dead's land zone". Dismissed."

"As you command Emperor!"

Slipstream Realm separating Mundus from Oblivion, Imperial War College of the Battlespire

The floating fortress was more empty than usual with a quarter of the currently mobilized battlemages in Ykalon to deal with the other-wordly invasion. Those who remained and hadn't been called as part of their other duties were now still watching Tamriel from afar for any signs of a new development.

Two high ranked officers, indicated by the purple of their helmet crest and cloak, were occupying themselves playing some sort of chess game but with magical projections. The spellsword of the white army had just "killed" in an audacious move the queen of the black army.

"It seems the God of luck isn't with you today Pious!" the "commander" of the white army said. Unlike his fellow officer, he wasn't wearing his helmet. He appeared to be a dark haired man on his mid-thirties with few wrinkles marking his forehead.

His companion was hidden in the shadows. "Unlike some of those fools from High Rock I do not concern myself with this "Sai". And I do not believe luck take a huge part into defeating someone at chess. Skills matter more."

"Are you admitting I am a more skilled commander than you then?" as a smile crept on the white leader.

Pious looked on the board. "The party is far from over Sejanus. This is merely a setback."

Before they could continue a projection appeared. It was Hector.

The two battlemages immediately got up and saluted him. "Imperial Battlemage! Magus-Commanders Sejanus Aelius and Pious Augustus at your service Sir!"

"At ease soldiers." He looked at the board, observing its "pieces" for a moment. "I assume no new incidents were detected?"

Sejanus nodded. "Correct Sir! The absolute calm."

"Very well. I bring news however. Sejanus you are to take the command of several special divisions of battlemages who will adventure themselves in the other world. You'll be briefed for more details once in Ykalon." Hector turned to Pious. "Pious, as the highest ranking officer that will remain after Sejanus depart you will be in charge of the Battlespire. You'll also have another task. We have successfully opened several smaller portal between our world and the other." The projection extended his arm towards the battlemage, a charged spell in his hand. "Take the knowledge of it and find where in Mundus that world or plane is located."

"Should I call for the Mothship fleet?"

"Not for the moment. We have a plan to end the threat quickly. That'll be all. You can resume your chess party." Hector's projection vanished.

"We can resume our party?" Sejanus said in an incredulous tone. "Does he have any idea how long it can last?"

"He does," Pious answered him as he ordered one of his pieces to move. "Checkmate."

"How in Julianos name…" he looked on the board. "You deliberately goaded me into taking your Queen to trick me like a beginner. Very cunning of you."

"Sacrifices must be made to win a war."

At this the two men started to laugh.

"What is that?" one of the battlemages patrolling outside their room asked.

"The higher ups having a sinister laugh. Been a long time."

Ykalon, Imperial Legion war camp, the evening

The new weapons, supplies and equipment brought by the Crown Prince troops had begun to be discharged right away while the War Council had been summoned. They included latest models of cannons used during the war among other things. This task had been left to the already present soldiers while the newcomers were (with the help of magic to accelerate the result) setting up their camps.

Black-Scales was wandering around the camp. The meal were about to be served and he was going to join his fellow soldiers when someone touched his shoulder. He turned back to see a tall blonde man smiling at him.

"Centurion Marius Aurelius!"

They shook hands.

"Glad to see you too Black-Scales. It's been a while since the war."

"Indeed it has. How are you doing?"

"Good so far. We could say my men and I were mostly resting on our laurels," the centurion answered with a laugh. "What about you? Already back into action? What are we facing there?"

"Well at first I thought two headed monsters were going to step up from the Gate. Turns out the reality was way more disappointing. Nothing very concerning so far."

"Good news then, I might be headed there and I rather face something I can fight evenly. Anyway, I gotta go head back rejoin my century. It was nice catching up. Divines watch you."

"Divines watch you too," said the Argonian as he waved back.

He then made a beeline to the Shadow Legion eating area to grab his meal. He was recognized by Jing who was sitting next to Cyrus. Caranya was facing them. They waved at him to rejoin them.

"Sorry for being late," he said while sitting at the right right of the Altmer, "I met a friend I hadn't seen since a while. Did you guys have any news concerning tomorrow?"

Caranya's face was serious as she answered him. "As a matter of fact I do. I wanted to wait for you to discusse it."

The young officer paused to make sure the rest of the table were listening her. "We were informed this afternoon a few team of battlemages would be sent on the other side to accomplish various missions such as scouting and securing important targets. These teams are meant to be backed by centuries if something were to happen."

Cyrus leaned on. "And who are to be these teams?" He gestured to the other battlemages around them. "We are way too numerous to be all sent."

Caranya nodded. "Indeed, alongside the other captains we were asked who was volunteering to be team leader. I did."

"Why was that?" Jing asked.

"Playing safe isn't what we signed for, no? I mean at this point we might as well stayed back on the Battlespire." She took a sip from her drink. "But that isn't all, we were also ordered to compose our teams how we see fit to it for tonight. They must be made of a very small number of battlemages that complete well each other." She then made a knowing look to her friends.

Black-Scales grinned, showing his sharp teeth. "So that's why you "summoned" all us here."

The Altmer rose up her hands. "Think about it, we complement each other well and we all know our capacities. You Black-Scales are indispensable as a Nightblade. Jing you are the expert in the outer realms and a great summoner. You and Cyrus have also some "commando" experience. Speaking of you…" she turned towards him, "you are skilled when it comes to restoration and necromantic arts. Besides you were itching to prove yourself, no?"

He didn't answer immediately. He seemed to ponder something for a moment before speaking. "Touché."

"I'm up for it too. I'm a Nightblade, my skills aren't for maintenance," added Black-Scales.

Looks were then turned to Jing. She rolled her eyes. "And just like that I'm feeling the pressure of saying yes."

"I'm not forcing you. I can find someone else. But you were doing pretty good yesterday," Caranya reassured her.

The Easterner expired a deep breath. "Fine. You make valid points and honestly… staying here while waiting something might happen is worse. I rather tackle head on whatever is on the other side."

The female officer smiled. She got up from the table. "Good. I'll go notify immediately my team composition then. See you tomorrow soldiers! Rest well!"

The next morning several soldiers had gathered at the camp chapel to pray the Divines. Cyrus was among them, kneeling while holding in one hand his amulet of Akatosh. He was visibly concentrating himself while the priests were blessing the present assembly.

"Go in peace children of Tamriel

For your task is a righteous one and the Divines shall accompany you at every step

Akatosh, King of the Gods, may you grant them your endurance for their task is legitimate

Stendarr, patron God of the Legion, may you grant them your compassion for their task is righteous

Talos, God of War, may you grant them your strength for they are the defenders of the Empire

And Arkay, God of Death, may you welcome the fallen in Aetherius for they are the salt and earth of Nirn

So shall it be"

"So shall it be" the soldiers responded while still kneeling.

Cyrus finally rose up alongside his comrades. A few of them had adorned warpaints for the occasion. In true Nibenese fashion he had done the same. Black contours on his face were drawing a Dragon's head. This was meant to symbolize Akatosh as his chosen God.

As he reached the exit, his gaze met his team. They didn't wear such decorations,at least visibly (Since both were coming from Nibenese backgrounds like him, it was mandatory.).

"Before we depart," the Altmer began as she approached him, "I wanted to tell you we received some courrier."

He stopped. "Already? From Argos? They write fast."

"The Empress made a public statement yesterday and granted an interview to newspapers. The news have already spread all across Tamriel. Anyway as you probably guessed the majority was addressed to the both of us." She handed him a letter. "This one however is for you alone."

He looked at it. The first thing he remarked was that it couldn't or hadn't been sent from Argos. It was made of parchment rather than paper, something that these days was only used by traditional followers of the Green Pact back in Valenwood. It wasn't hard to figure who had written the letter. He looked back at Caranya who had kept a perfectly neutral expression. No way she couldn't have deduced the same thing.

Guess she won't address it… yet, he thought.

He put the letter in one of his pocket beneath his armor without saying anything.

Black-Scales, oblivious to the situation, broke the silence. "Captain, I wanted to ask. Yesterday you were talking about centuries. How is this gonna work?"

Caranya welcomed the distraction as she went back to her usual officer self. "Right. They are not coming with us through. They are only meant to be summoned in some situations, such as an hypothetical scenario where our target to rescue is in a besieged city."

"And who is going to be the centurion in charge?" the Argonian asked.

"You probably already know him, it's that Cyro-Nord you fought with during the war on the Hammerfell front. Marius Aurelius."

Black-Scales smiled. "Marius huh? That promises something."

"What is our current goal then?" Cyrus asked.

"Our team is to travel to the city of Italica and secure the heiress Myui Formal. Take over the entire city as a second objective, that's where the century comes in. And bonus on the table, most of their troops were at the battle so they shouldn't be much left."

"So it should be relatively easy." Black-Scales mused.

"I wouldn't hold you to that." Jing added.

The group then made a beeline towards where the other team had gathered themselves. The Imperial Battlemage, the Emperor and the Crown Prince were all there. Nag, Azad and Elizabeth were also there, separated between into three teams. Cyrus also recognized the lead officer, Sejanus, as his instructor in Necromancy.

The battlemages had begun to summon their mounts. The more magical ones were disguised with spells as normal horses to avoid suspicions from the locals.

"I will be the one to take the carriage," Caranya informed her subordinate as she harnessed her horse to a large wagon containing supplies among other things. Others had already imitated her.

Sejanus gave the order to assemble.

Ivan started his speech at that moment. "Remember soldiers of Tamriel, the fate of the entire continent if not Nirn itself is at stake! The Empire is counting on you! May the Divines watch over you!"

No great ovation saluted him this time as the assembly was already in deep concentration. A portal, large enough to fit the wagons of supplies, had been opened. Sejanus signaled a team to enter. He manipulated anew the portal before signaling another and so on. It finally came to be Caranya's team turn.

"Let's go soldiers," she ordered.

They all took on instinct a deep breath before traversing the dimensional door.

They materialized into an empty countryside. Only a mud road not far indicated civilization did exist.

Caranya raised her hand to stop to halt them. "Black-Scales! Use the concealment spell!"

The Argonian nodded. The group's two nonmannish members glowed briefly. Caranya's ears became rounded and her skin tone went from a darkened golden tone to simply tanned. Her facial features didn't change much, only her eyes had been replaced, white sclera with golden iris rather than all golden eye with pupil.

Black-Scales appearance on the other hand had been more drastically altered. He was now looking similar to a very dark toned Redguard. He had hidden his tail under his armor by circling it among his waist.

A voice suddenly resonated inside the mages' head. "Magus-Commander Aelius Sejanus here. I am merely informing everyone I'll be keeping an eye on your progress. Remember, the locals distrust nonmannish at best so non-Men must disguise themselves in consequences. Try to keep a low-profile until your objectives are reached so no magic unless your hand is forced. The communication spell we taught you will translate Tamrielic into their Common so use Aldmeris** to keep secrecy. Do not hesitate to contact me should anything unusual would come up. May the Gods smile on us all."

"So be it"

A few hours passed. The group was still following the road. They hadn't encountered anyone on their way, reinforcing the already present sensation of being utterly alone if not for a few birds.

Cyrus, who was observing them briefly, suddenly noted something wasn't alright. He recognized the signs. They were fleeing an imminent danger. He raised his eyes from they were coming from. Black smoke was pouring into the horizon. The others had seen it too. They each grabbed their spyglass from their backpack to see what happened.

They immediately realized it was worse than a simple fire. A dragon-like beast, but with four legs, was breathing fire and ravaging the countryside.

Caranya activated her telepathic link. "Commander Sejanus, Captain Caranya of Argos from the Italica team. Are you seeing what I'm seeing Sir?"

"I do soldier. Do not engage this beast at all costs if you can avoid it. We don't know what we're dealing with. If possible acquire knowledge from the locals. I'll relay the information to the other teams."

"At your command Sir!" She answered as she cut the link.

The others had stopped themselves, still observing the beast.

"He almost looks like a dragon from back home," Black-Scales said.

"Almost is the key word here. It seems to be nothing more than a wild beast. I think I would fancy more my chance against this than an actual Dragon." Jing clarified.

Cyrus remained silent, his spyglass still fixed on the beast, studying it. "It's leaving. And not in our direction. I propose to go for scouting the area. He stayed there a long time. There has to be a reason."

"My thoughts as well," Caranya said. "Black-Scales, go with him."

His friend was proven right when they arrived though Black-Scales would have preferred otherwise. A few smoking ruins and charred corpses was all that remained of what had been a small isolated village. The entire area looked more like battlefield than the result of a wild beast hunting. At the evidence it hadn't stopped at just picking a few inhabitants to eat. The disguised Argonian clenched his fist.

They casted detect spells in hope of finding survivors. Nothing but the orange aura of the fallen appeared around them. As he lowered his gaze out of disappointment, Black-Scales' eyes caught a red aura underground. He looked at Cyrus who nodded at him, indicating he had seen it too. He then pointed his finger at a well, silently explaining the survivor was inside.

Reaching it, Black-Scales discreetly threw an eye inside.

Tuka was probably having the worst day of her entire life. Her father had woken her in precipitation. She hadn't understood neither the hurry nor why his air was severe. Then she had heard the Fire Dragon roar. They had tried to fight it, reinforcing their arrows with magic. All for naught. Her friend Yuno had been eaten right in front of her eyes. She had been powerless to stop it. Then her father had grabbed her and threw into the village's well.

Since then she had been freezing into the cold water. She wasn't sure how much she could continue to endure. She had starting to lose hope when she heard a voice.

Father? She thought with hope.

"Hey!" She looked above to see two armored figure staring at her. "Don't move! We're going to get you out of here!"

She concentrated herself to see their armor looked similar enough to the Saderan army. She wasn't sure of what to make of it. On one hand she was going to die soon of cold if she stayed longer, on the other hand she was well aware of the army less than stellar reputation, especially with nonhumans and women. And she was both.

The man who had talked to her had tied a rope around his waist and was now descending. "Easy now, it's over. I'm here to help."

He reached her and extended his hand to the teenage elf. She stood for a moment, pondering her choices. Then she decided to take her chance and rushed to embrace her saviour.

"It's over now young lady. The beast is gone," he said in a reassuring tone. His companion pulled them back up.

Tuka was made to sit next to a fire and was wrapped into a cloak to keep her warm. Her rescuer and his companion discussed of something in a tongue she didn't recognize. Seeing them up close now she could see they weren't Saderan soldiers. Their armors were too expensive and looking nothing like those the Imperials wore. Foreign nobles perhaps?

Her thoughts were cut by the sound of wheels rasping on the ground. A wagon and a horseman had just arrived. The armor of the driver and the rider indicated they were with her rescuers. To the elf surprise, both of them were women. It reassured her towards their intention. The tallest woman approached as she pulled her helmet, a comforting smile on her face.

"My name is Caranya," she said in a soft tone. She indicated her companions one by one, "these are Jing, Cyrus and…" as she was pointing to her saviour.

He cut her. "Jacques"

The teenager nodded in acknowledgement before introducing herself. "My name is Tuka."

The woman continued to smile before whispering something to her comrades in their tongue. The two male members eclipsed themselves. She turned back to her.

"Were you hurt somewhere Tuka? Perhaps somewhere private? Do we need to change your clothes?"

The young elf shook her head. "Thank you my lady but I'm fine. The water slowed down my fall. As for my clothes they dry fast. Elven making"

"Good." Her smile faded. "I'm truly sorry to ask you that but… you're the only survivor we found. As we speak Cyrus and Jacques are burying the bodies. Do you wish to held a ceremony of some sort for them? I know this is difficult so I'm not forcing you."

Tears started to pour from Tuka's eyes. She fought to contain them. "Y-es. I wou-d, I would li-ke-ke, I would like to," she hiccuped.

The funeral were painful. She almost exploded into tears several times while speaking. She recommended the souls of the fallen to Emroy and Hardy as it was custom and spoke a few words for each of them. She was joined in her prayers by the foreigners. Once over, she finally let herself go. They simply waited for her to tire out while trying to comfort her the best they could.

"So…" Caranya began awkwardly as the young girl wiped her tears., "Do you have anywhere to go? Some distance relatives?"

She shook her head.

"I see. You can come with us if you wish then. We're going to the city of Italica for mercenary business. We can drop you off there or in any village we'll come across. Are you ok with it?"

She nodded, turning her now red eyes toward the older woman. "Thank you"

Caranya pointed the wagon. "Climb inside, you'll be with me."

Black-Scales joined her. "Thanks Captain, it was nice of you."

"I couldn't really leave here alone, right? Something had to be done. I'll contact the commander about this. Also…" her face twisted into a mocking smile, "Jacques?"

The disguised Argonian rolled his eyes. "Unlike you, I doubt my name could have passed as natural. Or did you want to call me Black-Skin?"

Her silence was eloquent enough.

"As you know, I'm a native of Daggerfall so I choose the first local name I thought off."

"Fair enough"

Jing was standing in front of the few ruins still standing, apparently deep in thoughts.

"Jing…" Cyrus called out to her, "we're leaving."

"Does it bring back memories to you too?" She asked.

He remained silent.

"A village of elves burned to the ground with charred corpses littering it. It isn't exactly the same but… you know."

Flashback of him holding back a certain red haired female Bosmer screaming and crying came back to him.

She sighed before continuing. "After Valenwood and the end of the War I thought I wouldn't see something like that in a long time. But here we are again." She finally faced him. "Tell me, how are we supposed to cope with that? Soldiers are one thing but innocent civilians?"

"Same as we always do, we endure."

A silhouette was standing in prayer before what appeared burial mounds. She was smiling while drops of blood were running along her cheeks.

"I hope you'll have fun judging those souls Emroy. They were wicked men so feel free to punish them accordingly."

A powerful roar was heard in the horizon.

"It seems you will have more work than I initially thought off."

*Divida and Impera : Divide and Conquer

**Aldmeris is to Tamriel what the Greek language was to the Romans, the language of culture and science (and magical theories) by excellence. The modern cyrodilic civilization (and thus of the Empire) was based on it partially (with the other part coming from the ancient Nords). It also remains the lingua franca of the elites in several part of Tamriel. In Summerset however the language is only spoken by the Higher Castes. The main population spoke an "impure" dialect, Altmeris. To protect the purity of their tongue, the Higher Castes communicate with them in Tamrielic rather than learning Altmeris.

Here I'm back. Sorry it took this long to publish it, had a lot of stuff going on, my internet wasn't working for a while among them. I intended to have more to happen but this chapter would have ended too long so I'm cutting it. There until another time