Chapter 11

Italica

Rory's eyes widened. She had felt it. Raw power. As if a God had suddenly descended from Heaven (or worse, ascended from the Underworld).

But when she turned back in the direction she had felt it, she had seen only Cyrus, holding his head in his hands, as if in pain. She immediately suspected a God had taken over his body. Yet, when she approached him, she saw no noticeable change.

"Are you ok?"

A few seconds passed before he straightened himself. "I'm fine."

Her brows raised in disbelief. "What was that?"

"I don't know."

So he definitely felt something too and he didn't try to hide it. Still, it was worrying. "Are you sure you're not feeling strange? What happened exactly?"

"Just some kind of powerful telepathy. I don't know the source."

She stared at him, her red eyes meeting his brown's ones.

"You sure you don't know who it was?" she finally asked.

"I… don't know. I have my suspicions but I'm unsure."

"Mmm…" her usual smile came back. "Okay! I believe you!"

"I'm gonna rejoin my teammates," the young man informed her.

"Yeah, I think I need to go back to the children. I fear poor Tuka will become overwhelmed otherwise. See ya!"

He nodded before leaving.

The Apostle watched him as he disappeared into the streets. As she walked back to Tuka and the children, she thought about the Tamrielians.

She didn't know what to make of them but so far, they had been nothing but helpful to the people of Coda Village and Italica while being enemies of the Empire. They were all strange in their own way. And they didn't seem to mind her much. Plus they were fun to hang out with for a bored immortal.

Jacques, no, Black-Scales, the Lizard-man, seemed to do his best to avoid her, as if she was scaring him. Maybe I am, she thought smirking.

Caranya, aside being from a type of Elf she had never seen, was a bit dismissive of her. Rather treating her like a child. But she did seem to respect her as an ally. And she definitely was worthy of fighting alongside the Apostle of Emroy.

Jing's magic was the more foreign of them all. Rory had sensed several times when she used the connection to… she couldn't put her finger on it but it wasn't of this world. Not even from Heaven or the Underworld. Maybe that Oblivion Cyrus had mentioned?

As for the aforementioned man… his aura and some of his magic reeked of Death. That had drawn the Apostle to him. Of all of them, his mannerisms made him the coldest, or more neutral perhaps. Ironically he looked more the part for a messenger of Death than her with her cheerful personality.

Her smile widened when she thought about something else. Something she had felt earlier when Cyrus was near her. He was carrying a soul on him. She hadn't mentioned she knew even though the soul had to be judged by Emroy. But given to whom it would then end up after that… she was fine for the mage keeping it. Suck it Hardy!

Once out of sight, Cyrus entered a deserted alley and rested against a wall. He breathed calmly, closing his eyes.

What was that? Did the others feel it too?

Rory had. But it might have been because of her nature as an Apostle. The entity had made their presence known right after he had wondered who was the culprit who had connected the Rift on Nirn. I don't believe in coincidences.

Still, it was above his pay grade. I need to calm down.

As he searched his pockets, his fingers suddenly touched something he hadn't expected. He extracted the letter Caranya had given him the day they had departed. He had somewhat forgotten it.

He looked briefly at it. A strange feeling began to seize him. He clenched his teeth.

"No! Please, don't hurt me!"

He snapped back to reality as he heard voices.

"Shut up bitch! If you scream again I'll gut you like a pig! Now don't struggle!"

The Battlemage sighed. It sounded all too familiar. He put the letter back in his pocket and walked towards the source of the noise.

A man had pinned a girl (not even a woman), against a wall, her back facing him. The threat of a knife was forcing her to comply.

"Now, now, you never know, you might like it," he said as his hand began to grope her body.

A hand suddenly clasped his shoulder. He turned his head to see the black armored figure of Cyrus staring at him.

He smirked. "You want a turn too, sir? Not a problem, once I'm done…"

He never got to finish his sentence as an armored fist connected with his face, sending him crashing against the wall.

I hope I didn't kill him, the Necromancer thought as he quickly cast a healing spell over the attempted-rapist.

He then looked at the victim. She was still shocked by the ordeal, tears rolling on her cheeks.

"It's gonna be okay, I'm not here to hurt you," Cyrus said as he held up his hands.

Sounds of footsteps were heard. He turned his head to see two Legionnaires running at them. They stopped upon seeing him.

"Sir!" they saluted.

"At ease."

"Some townsfolk reported hearing screaming around here," one of them, a woman by the voice, explained. "We got here as fast as we could."

The Battlemage nodded before gesturing to the victim and her aggressor. "I was the witness of attempted rape. Thankfully I stopped the criminal before he got too far." He turned back to them. "You," he indicated to the female soldier, "take care of the victim. Bring her back home or wherever she tells you. Leave her with people she trusts."

"Right away, Sir!"

She approached the girl, whispering her comforting words. As suspected, the victim was more willing to trust another female after her trauma as she hugged the soldier.

Cyrus grabbed the knocked out attempted-rapist unceremoniously, handing it to the other Legionnaire. "Take him to the local Knights. We have an agreement with the Princess, she's the one who will deal with these crimes. Tell them what happened and that I was witness to it."

"As you command, Sir!"

The Tamrielians had moved their camp close from the walls, to be ready in case of a new attack. The rest of the Battlemages, Marius and his Optio were currently waiting for their comrade to report inside a tent. A table with a duplicate of Falmart's map was standing at its center.

The opening spread to let pass Cyrus.

"Sir, Ma'am!" He saluted. "Reporting for duty."

They acknowledged him with a nod.

"Good, we're about to begin. But before we do, I wanted to ask, did you learn anything worth notifying from Rory?" Caranya said.

He briefly hesitated. "...I think so. But I'd like to report an incident first."

His Altmer superior frowned. "What kind of incident?"

"I came across a rape attempt. The attacker was dealt with. I sent him to the Princess while one of our soldiers, a woman to make it easier, took the victim in her charge."

Although they had their helmets, it wasn't really hard for Cyrus to note the reaction of disgust from his comrades.

"Another one," a disgruntled Caranya said. She then clarified. "Sadly you're the not only one who happened to come across such "incidents". We had reports from Legionnaires saying as much. Fortunately they were neutralized. The deal you and Centurion Marius secured with Princess Piña removed a thorn from our side but we'll have to address it, eventually. Get on with your report, Battlemage." She conjured a levitating book with a pen out of thin air.

"Right away, Ma'am!" The Heartlander paused to wait for the tent's full attention. "I had previously noted the locals had a habit to refer to this world as "the Garden of the Gods"."

The silence of his comrades encouraged him to continue. Only the scribbling of the enchanted pen on the book's pages could be heard.

"It kept bothering me. I thought it was worth investigating and turned to Rory for information. It turns out it comes from the active role the local deities take in this world. They act like gardeners, 'they cut the branches that have grown too big' meaning they regulate the development of the mortals by suppressing knowledge."

"Hold on," Jing stopped him, "so these Gods are directly interacting with their followers on a regular basis then? If so, shouldn't they have done something about the daedra or the Gate?"

"I'm more concerned about the part where they could "regulate" us," Marius added, worrying. "How could we prepare for it?"

Caranya waved her hands to calm them down. "Please, let's not forget we have one of their "Apostles" on our side. Rory hasn't shown any ill-will towards us since the discovery of our identity after all." She turned back to Cyrus. "Did she tell you more about those "interventions"?"

"Not directly but she did mention having been in direct contact with her God. I imagine that's how they manifest their will. As for your question, Jing...", he marked a pregnant pause, "the Gate has opened several times in the past. What we learned from the locals more or less confirms it. However, Rory explicitly told me it was never supposed to open on Nirn. Someone else stole its control from the Goddess."

"Someone from our side," Jing concluded.

The silence following her words was eloquent enough.

Black-Scales was the first to break it. "Then who? And how did they know about whatever was going to happen here?"

Aviera clenched her fists. "It must be the daedra! We discover the Rift and suddenly they're pouring on the other side? It's too convenient."

Jing shook her head negatively. "I respectfully disagree. The opening of the Rift doesn't violate the Covenant despite the invasion from the Saderans because the Daedra aren't involved. Only one sufficiently powerful enough could have forced the connection. However such Daedra would have been forbidden from doing it as they would violate the Covenant. No, the daedra here are likely to be opportunists without allegiance."

"We will know more in a moment," Caranya added.

Black-Scales held his chin, deep in thoughts. "Still," he finally said, "why Ykalon?"

The others looked at him.

"I mean… Why open the Gate here of all places? Especially so far from anything important."

"Can you elaborate?" Caranya asked him.

"Well, first off all it was never that important. At best some independent barony who only ever shined during the War against the Camoran Usurper, and that was centuries ago. Launching an invasion here? That makes no sense. And for such a huge army to feed they would have needed to forage the entire region at least in record times, assuming they didn't get themselves lost before finding a single village to sack."

"That would imply whoever opened the Rift knew what was going to happen," Aviera retorted.

Jing looked on the map. "Given all the things they should have known to accomplish such a feat… it's very unlikely they didn't know what was going to happen." She frowned. "Almost like they expected the Saderans to fail."

Marius grinned as he clapped his hands. "So they wanted to provide us with some entertainment?"

Cyrus briefly stared at the Centurion. The laws of the Arena shall prevail over those of the Garden... could he be right?

"That means if we follow that train of thought," Caranya started, "whoever opened the Rift never had the intention to have the Saderans succeed and thus… harm the Empire?" She drummed her fingers on the table. "I'm not really convinced… not to mention I see no clear motive, yet."

"And where would the culprit be now?" the Centurion asked.

The Altmer shook her head. "Here or still on Nirn, only the Gods know." She then added, "only our Gods it seems." She turned back to Cyrus who had remained quiet since the beginning of the exchange. "Anything else?"

He nodded. "Yes. It turns out Rory and the Goddess who created the Rift, Hardy, have a "history" together."

"A history?"

"It didn't seem pleasant from what I've seen. She wasn't willing to tell me much aside, and I quote, 'she is rather infamous, it's not the first fuck-up she ever did.' "

The tent's occupants fell silent. For a while, the only sound that could be heard was from the nearest streets.

Caranya finally spoke up. "Basically, you're telling me the Goddess who opened the Rift is known to be prone to mistakes?" She groaned. "Well ain't that fucking great!"

"Alright, so foreign invasion, daedra incursions, city and refugees management and now godly fuck-up?" Black-Scales enumerated on his fingers. He shook his head. "And I was worried things would get boring."

"The more we have to report back to the Empire, the better, if they manage to make out anything of this mess," the now unsure Captain added. She cleared her throat, "Moving on to issues at hand…" she pointed on the map to Italica, "as it stands, Italica's source of wealth comes from trade given they are situated at strategic positions between the Saderan Empire proper and the Vassal Kingdoms. But with the war ongoing and now the Daedra, the accesses to the city are not safe anymore. That may become problematic in the future if we want the region to remain stable. Then there's the other territories which are de jure sworn to the Formal Clan from which we have no news…"

"I'm afraid I have barely enough men to hold the city as of now," Marius stated plainly. "Sending them on patrol to secure the roads is out of the question."

The Altmer nodded. "Yes, I'd already considered that. We could however use the Breton Knights instead. I had thought about using scrying spells but they are only really useful when we know where to look."

"Actually we were allowed a few dwemeri birds before departing," the Centurion informed the Battlemages, "no doubt they'll prove their usefulness here."

Caranya's golden eyes glinted in a welcome surprise. "I was not aware we had reopened Tiber's caches* so soon after the War, it will indeed be of great help." She looked back at the map, putting her finger on the Kingdom of Elbe. "Captain Alexios has been assigned to establish diplomatic relations with the King of Elbe. Depending on how it ends up we might increase trade." She went back on Italica. "Next issue, the peasants from Coda village. They can't stay forever as refugees but we can't let them leave on their own. We need to resettle them down."

As she looked at the map, Jing spoke up, "Why not in the immediate surrounding of the city? Italica is an agricultural center from what I understood. We saw a lot of fields in need of tending and it's close to a walled city in case of attack. Not to mention I wouldn't be surprised if there was a sudden lack of agricultural manpower between the death of those soldiers in Ykalon and last night. I imagine some of them might have been peasants."

Her superior smiled in agreement. "Good thinking. We'll approach the former village chief and the Countess with your proposition."

"Very well. I don't think there was anything else?" Marius asked.

Caranya shook her head. "No, not at the moment. We are however going to perform a magical ritual to gather information about the Daedra here."

"I understand. The Optio and I will be leaving you to it."

As they started walking towards the exit, Cyrus suddenly called them out.

"Before you go," he turned towards Aviera, "Optio, could we have a quick private conversation? I believe it is in our common interest."

Marius' eyes flashed in recognition. He nodded to his subordinate who looked at him interrogated. "Of course. You may do so."

The Battlemage turned back to his Captain. Caranya looked to Marius who gave her a small nod.

"Very well but make haste, soldier."

He saluted her. "Yes Ma'am!"

Aviera followed him outside.

"I was the one to suggest it actually," Marius explained. "After learning Cyrus was Necromancer, I told him it was better to inform the Optio given she has… erm, bias against the practice. Better she knows it now."

"What is it you wanted to talk about, Battlemage?"

The Optio looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"It won't take long, I assure you. I was told from Centurion Marius that you used to be a Templar or a Crusader?"

"Yes actually. I was taught the way of the Templars when I was younger, fighting with martial might and magic and their code, that sort of thing. My teacher also happened to be my father," she reminisced as she looked in the horizon

"He was a Templar?"

She shook her head. "No. He was a priest of Arkay."

I see, that's where her dislike of necromancy must come from, the Battlemage thought.

"My mother was a general in the Legion so I was mostly raised by him. When I was but a little girl, we moved to Anequina's Patriarchate. That was even before the Great War began. I spent most of my early years there until I eventually completed my formation. However I didn't join the ranks of the Templars, I went on my own path as a Crusader, doing soul-searching."

"Before eventually joining the Legion like your mother," Cyrus concluded.

She looked at him. "That's right. But why the questioning? I imagine you didn't bring me here to ask about my life-story."

"Since we are going to work together, I wanted to clarify something. I was told you had a dislike of Necromancy. I already guessed why. You see… I happen to practice it."

She simply stared at him quietly, her facial expression mostly hidden underneath her helmet.

"My father always taught me Necromancy violated the Laws of Arkay and that it is why as a priest he had to perform rituals to protect the soul and body of the deceased. During my own time as a wandering adventurer, I saw my share of it. It's foul and vile magic, practiced by power hungry individuals with no care of the mortal or divine laws," the Optio finally said in a scolding tone.

Cyrus didn't reply. He too had killed his fair share of rogue mages, including a large number of Necromancers.

She crossed her arms. "You seem like a good soldier and an experienced healer. Why would someone like you compromise himself with it? Especially someone skilled in the noble art of Restoration."

"Life and death are more intertwined than you believe, Optio," he answered. "I am hardly the only Necromancer in the Shadow Legion nor the most powerful, far from it."

She nodded. "That, I am aware." Her eyes pierced him. "So, tell me, why did you learn it? Was there any good motive?"

"I have my reasons. I didn't do it for power's sake. Responsibility was one of the first values I was taught," the young man defended himself.

"Very well. You at least have the honesty to tell me about it. I respect that. Be warned though, Cyrodiil is full of stories of corrupted dark mages."

And the majority are Colovians, Cyrus told himself as they rejoined the war tent.

Marius was apparently waiting for them outside. "They are waiting for you, Battlemage."

Cyrus acknowledged him with a nod before entering the tent, leaving Aviera with her younger superior.

The table had been moved to the side, freeing the central space. As he scanned the tent, Cyrus was also able to see anti-sound and anti-light wards had been set up. That way they wouldn't alert anyone with their spellcasting.

"I trust it went well?" Caranya asked him.

"We could say that."

He walked to the center of the room and placed the filled soul gem on the ground.

"A regular soul gem?" Black-Scales noted with surprise. "I thought you would have used a black soul gem for the occasion."

"Although they aren't as costly as one would think to make, I still have only a few of them currently. I would rather keep them for special cases."

"So what method are you going to use?" Jing asked.

He put some distance between him and the gem before replying. "He was a bandit lord with little regard to any ethics at all. He won't answer if asked nicely."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

He perceived her uneasiness.

Black-Scales too for that matter. He had never attended such a manifestation of the Black Arts and he clearly didn't like how Jing had reacted. How bad can it be if the expert in Daedric magic is being like that?

Cyrus closed his fist as it glowed with a dark purple light before opening and extending it towards the soul gem which in turn started to glow too. The tent's ambience began darkening. The Necromancer was pouring a lot of magicka in this ritual and his comrades could feel it.

Several ghostly screams were suddenly heard. It was as if someone was put through excruciating torture. Jing started to shake. Caranya immediately took notice of it and went to her side. Black-Scales was doing better, if one could consider "scared shitless" better. Though it wasn't as much because of the ritual but more how Cyrus was remaining perfectly calm during the entirety of its course.

The Heartlander had closed his fist once more. It seemed evident by now that the soul inside the gem was trying to resist him, to no avail. The screams became more desperate as the time passed. It finally ceased. A pale blue light leaked from the gem, taking the shape of Clibitius.

"I am at your service, master," the enthralled soul said.

Cyrus turned to Caranya only to see her whispering with Jing. The Easterner woman apparently dismissed whatever the Altmer had told her, prompting the Captain to regain her place. When she noted Cyrus was staring, she simply nodded.

The Necromancer turned back to his new thrall. "I will ask you questions and you will answer. First off all, who are you? What are your occupations?"

"The name's Clibitius. I used to be an apprentice at the academy of magic of Rondel. Failed apprentice, they kicked me out. I was able to use my charisma and skills to become the chief of an important bandit clan."

The magical pen of Caranya was frantically writing everything.

"Why did you choose to target Italica?" Cyrus asked

"We were preying on the roads leading to the city. That's how we encountered several deserters," the ghostly figure recounted. "I ordered my men to not harm them, they were more likely to join us. That's how we learned about the civil war in Italica and how the Count had left only a small fraction of his forces. I thought it could benefit us."

Caranya walked next to Cyrus. "Why were daedra working with your clan?"

The young man nodded to the thrall to speak.

"It" he corrected himself, "they spoke to us."

"What do you mean?"

"When I sent scouts to inform us about the situation in Italica and they informed us of the Princess and her troop's arrival, I was ready to give up and go raid villages instead. But then one of them called to me, inside my head, told me they could offer me power and more."

Caranya and Cyrus briefly exchanged looks. "Continue"

"They directed towards a strange place. It looked normal but it pulsed with strange magical energy, even I could feel it. As they continued talking, they opened a small portal to send me a book. They said to follow its instructions to the letter. The book was able to teach me magic, far beyond what those idiots at Rondel could. It was like forbidden knowledge. The entity sent me a contract with it, a mercenary contract."

Black-Scales raised a brow. Are Daedra facing an economical crisis that they need to work as mercenaries for some bumfuck bandit lord?

"The contract was fair. In exchange for a part of the prisoners I would take, I would receive a powerful and entirely loyal army. I didn't hesitate, I signed up. All I had to do was to help them arrive. A few blood sacrifices were needed so we raided rival clans. Once it was done, they came from a large portal and pledged their service to me, telling me Italica would be mine. It was the demonstration of their magical prowess that sold me, that's when I sent an ultimatum to the Princess."

Cyrus cut him. "Their leader, what did they look like?"

"One of those armored fiends, the ones that look the most human. He was leading the fight on the frontline. I don't know what happened to him."

Caranya had a flashback from the Dremora leader she fought near the Coda's refugees. He had been much stronger than his kin, up with a flawless reflection spell or enchantment. It might have been him

She shook her head. "We have what we need. You can stop it," she told Cyrus.

With but a gesture the Necromancer sent back the soul in the gem.

"So, Daedra mercenaries?" an incredulous Black-Scales said. "What in Oblivion is this mess…"

"I disagree. That explains a lot. Starting with why they were so heterogenous or didn't display any sign of allegiance whatsoever," Cyrus reasoned.

"Since when did Daedra have mercenaries?"

"Since forever," Jing answered. "The politics and machinations of Oblivion are far more complicated than what you think. There's not just the Princes but the lesser nobility, Demi-Princes, Lords and so on. These "mercenaries" are at the lower end of the totem pole, they were likely opportunists in quest of power." She turned back to the gem. "Of course that doesn't answer for the others aside…"

"The Gate."

She nodded. "We didn't fully grasp how the Rift worked but it was different on this side." She closed her eyes, trying to visualize it. "Yes, I think… it was stabilized on our side but… it was fleeting but I think it felt more chaotic."

"Rift opens and is expanded into the Gate by the Saderans. It's not fully stabilized on their side and has side effects. Some denizens of Oblivion notice it and manage to take advantage of it to invade in small groups in a bid for power," Cyrus concluded.

"At least I'm glad none of the Princes aren't involved," Black-Scales said as he relaxed.

Cyrus stared at him a moment, pondering on his comrade's words before looking back at Caranya.

She noticed his look but didn't press him right away. "I'll send a report immediately to the Magus-Commander about everything that transpired today. Dismissed soldiers!"

Black-Scales and Jing saluted her before exiting the tent while Cyrus recuperated his gem.

As they were left alone, she asked him "I saw that look, Battlemage. What did you want to tell me privately?"

"I didn't want to alarm Jing more than she is, she doesn't seem at her best currently."

She sighed. "So you did notice. Alright, what was it then?"

He told her about the telepathic message he had gotten earlier and how even Rory had felt the presence.

"That's… actually I don't even know what to make of it. We don't even know what it is. A Prince? A Divine? Another god-like being? Some master-wizard?" She looked around her. "To think they sent the message right when you were questioning yourself…"

"It's not a coincidence. We are being watched."

She nodded. "I'm afraid so. The Emperor and the Imperial Battlemage must be warned as soon as possible."

Ykalon, Imperial Battlemage's tent

"Seriously? They just shot an arrow at him even though they were losing?"

Hector had invited Mei to spend some time with him around a cup of Jasmine tea. He was recounting her the events of the battle with the Saderans.

"Exactly! I think the Emperor and I were too stunned by the stupidity of the act to order a counter-attack. Some lone siege engineer was the first to react." Hector stirred his spoon before taking a sip. "As you can imagine they didn't survive the battle."

"Uhm, uhm," his relative nodded absently, looking at the reflection inside her cup deep in thought. "Really stupid, indeed."

He noticed her change in attitude. "Something on your mind?"

"Just… tell me how did the children do?"

"The… children?" He looked at her confused. "You mean Jing and…?"

"Her friends, obviously."

He sent her a look of disapproval. " 'Children'? Are you going full 'mother hen' on them?" He shook his head. "Those are your subordinates now, not your children."

"And? A lot of officers treat their men as their own flesh and blood."

Hector decided it was more wise to end the argument there. He answered between two sips. "It wasn't really difficult. Just shield the engineers, relay orders, use your magic offensively if needed… so they did well."

Mei drank her tea, a satisfied smile on her lips.

The Imperial Battlemage suddenly jumped up from his chair, eliciting a yelp of surprise from her. She was about to chastise him when she saw his eyes glowing.

"Imperial Battlemage! Magus-Commander Sejanus here! I have an urgent report from Italica transmitted by Magus-Captain Caranya..."

Mei watched him as he seemed to nod and talk silently to no one here. She was after all fully capable of recognizing a telepathic conversation when there was one.

Several minutes passed. He turned back to her, his facial expression blank.

"Good news, I hope?"

His lips opened to form a grin. "Well yes, but no."

The female Councilor sent him a glare. "Do you honestly think it's time to jest?"

"What I meant was : the situation is not as bad as the worst scenario we came up with and we might have secured a diplomatic opening out of this mess." He pointed at her. "Which is where you come into play. You are both high ranked in the Shadow Legion and a member of the Elder Council. The perfect emissary."

She held her chin, thinking, before nodding. "Flawless reasoning. I guess the Emperor will give his approval easily. Still… I sense a but coming. Care to elaborate?"

A dark and sinister aura suddenly engulfed him. "I'm afraid there is some Divine, or worse, foul play into this machination."

Italica's Palace

"Princess! The Nirnians are here to request an audience!"

Piña promptly left the notes she had scribbled on her table and opened her door to see Hamilton waiting for her.

"Did something happen? Another criminal they caught?"

Her friend shook her head negatively. "Nothing like that to my knowledge. They just asked to see you as quickly as possible."

"Very. Tell them to wait while I prepare myself."

A few minutes later, she arrived to see Caranya and Cyrus waiting for her. They immediately bowed.

"Please, raise. Captain, Cyrus," she greeted them. "Did something come up?"

The two Nirnians briefly exchanged a look before the Captain spoke. "Lots of things have come up, your Highness."

Piña gestured to a nearby couch. "Let's sit down then. Hamilton, call for a servant to bring refreshments."

"That won't be necessary, Princess. What we have to tell is brief. It is important however."

Piña tried once again to read their facial expressions. Alas, to no avail. "I assume it's dire?"

"There is good news. I believe it will be best if I start with those. We just had confirmation we are to receive a high ranked emissary to meet with you and attempt to negotiate an end to this… war."

The Princess' eyes widened. "Wait how did you… magic, right, nevermind."

I really need to get used to all the things they can pull.

That was good news indeed. Piña had a lot of questions but those were of a political matter, concerning notably the prisoners on the other side of the Gate, and she doubted the soldiers could have told much about it. She could also try to end this war before it escalated any further, with those creatures, Daedra, roaming around. Which reminded her...

"And what were the other news?"

"I'm afraid the situation with the Daedra is more complicated than what we thought. It is certainly better than what could have been but the situation is still very dire," the Altmer explained. "From what we gathered, they are opportunists for now but we take it very seriously. They're probably not enough to threaten all of Falmart…"

"But enough to destroy unprotected settlements and ravage fields," Piña completed. It was a mess and they needed the Nirnians to deal with it. The diplomat's arrival was timely indeed. Of course there is the matter of the Senate, Father and Zorzal to deal with. I doubt the latter will even listen. "Thank you for bringing us these news, Captain. Since you're here, would you, your fellow Battlemages and Centurion Marius, join us for dinner tonight?"

Caranya smiled. "Thank you for your offer, your Highness, but we must decline. Our duty calls."

"I understand. Good evening."

The two Nirnians bowed once more. "Likewise."

As they exited the Palace, Cyrus spoke. "What then, Captain?"

"Now, we finish setting up the alarm wards. Then we'll call it for today. We haven't slept for an entire day and unlike the rest of the Legionnaires, there was changing guard. And stamina potions can only do so much mentally. A good night of sleep will do us wonders." She smelled herself, "also we need a shower. We haven't washed ourselves since we left Ykalon and with all the fighting and running around… it's a wonder the Princess doesn't get nauseous when dealing with us. I know Centurion Marius had his engineers installing some showers."

They stopped to watch as people were reentering their homes with the Sun beginning to go down.

"Let's hope we can all have a peaceful night this time."

Hours later, Caranya and Jing's Tent

As with the war Tent, the Nirnians were camping near the walls. The Battlemages had decided to split up in two and set up one tent per group of two. Obviously the girls were sharing one and the boys the other.

Caranya was having trouble sleeping. The events of today and what they had learned kept her awake. The looming feeling they were being watched didn't help either. She finally managed to fall asleep… only to be assaulted by nightmares.

She unconsciously clenched her teeth before waking up with a start and raising from her cot. "Akatosh…" she passed her hand over her forehead. "I didn't need that."

She lied back, looking at the tent's ceiling, waiting for sleep to come back.

Her merish ears suddenly perked at something. It was faint but it was as if someone was crying. She looked around her and cast a night vision spell, searching for the source of the noise. Her gaze finally found it as it landed on her comrade.

Jing?

She got up, casting a Silence spell and got a good look at her sleeping friend. Tears were actually rolling on her cheeks.

"No! No! Stop it!" she moaned.

Caranya carefully opened her cot before sliding her arms around the sleeping woman, hugging her from behind. Her eyes glowed green as she whispered comfort words into an almost singing alien tongue.

Jing seemed apparently appeased by it as she resumed a peaceful sleep.

Caranya kissed her cheek. "Sleep well, my friend."

The Altmer left the cot, looking sadly at the sleeping woman. She untied her bun, letting her now loose chestnut hair fall on her shoulders before staring at the tent's entrance.

Might as well go for a night stroll to clear my mind.

As she exited the tent, she decided to walk towards the walls. A patrol caught sight of her and moved in her direction. Up close, her altmeri appearance and her tunic's sigil identified her and they saluted the Captain. She answered back before continuing.

Arriving up close to the walls, she scanned them with a detect life spell to find an empty spot before levitating to it. From there, she was able to admire the sleeping city. A rapid scan revealed only a few souls were still awake, mostly the soldiers on guard or patrol duty from what she could tell.

The night was rather chilly, but not wholly uncomfortable. Its atmosphere was rather peaceful and one could easily ignore, with the exceptions of a few remaining non-fixed buildings, that yesterday had been the site of a violent battle.

"I see you couldn't sleep either."

Caranya would have almost jumped out of her skin if she hadn't recognized the voice. She turned towards its source to see the unique moon shedding light on Cyrus. Like her he was only wearing a light tunic.

"Cyr'? When did…"

"I arrive? Just now. I saw someone alone on that section of the walls below. I decided to investigate, you were so absorbed by your contemplation you didn't see me coming," he explained.

"Ugh…" she shook her head. "So why are you still awake?"

He shrugged. "Same reason as you I suppose."

She crossed her arms. "The Daedra, that entity, all the work that needs to be done, it kept hijacking my thoughts. I couldn't fall asleep and when I finally did… I spurred awake violently. Same with you?"

"More or less. All of this…" he gestured around them, "I keep thinking there's something amiss. I'm sure we are just part of someone else's greater game. But I just don't know who and why yet."

The Altmer remained quiet.

"You think I'm touched by the Madgod?"

Caranya looked shocked as she covered her mouth with her hand. "Dear Alessia! Of course not, Cyr'. It's just…" she looked at the landscape before her, "I don't know what to think anymore. It looked simple on paper but here we are. Dealing with Daedra warbands popping out of the Void." She wasn't keen on continuing talking about it. "By the way, how was Black-Scales when you left?"

"Sleeping like a hatchling. Why the question?"

She briefly looked away. "Jing… wasn't having good dreams."

"I see…" He turned back to gazing on the horizon, something obviously on his mind.

A comfortable silence descended between them.

"There was something else," Cyrus finally said, without looking back at her. "I think you had mentioned we had a letter."

Caranya did a facepalm. "The letter! I had completely forgotten! I wanted to read it with you but with everything that happened… I just forgot about it."

"Hmm… well I suppose it was from Argos anyway. But that wasn't it. There was the other letter you gave me. I'm surprised you didn't talk about it."

The Altmer's golden eyes widened. "I… I did think about it because, let's be honest, we both know from who it was from. But I didn't want to pressure you. Unless you wanted to talk about it?"

"... I didn't read it."

For the first time in a long while Cyrus wasn't hiding his emotions. The realization dawned on Caranya. He looked… sad. Instinctively, she grasped his hand into her own.

"I had forgotten, too. But I think I just don't know what to do anymore. Read it I guess? Then what? Answer her? I know I ain't the same man, no, boy, I was. It feels so… long ago." He clenched other fist. "All I care about now is just doing my job. I don't want to think about anything else." He turned his head back to her. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

"My last relationship ended badly because of how I fucked up. I should be the last person to be asked for advice." She shrugged. "At least I know you both did talk about it. You're trying and nobody can blame you for… things that went beyond your control. It was a bad situation all around but you did save Jing."

Did I? He looked back before him. "The funniest part is I don't remember everything. Just that it was awful. And well…" he rubbed his chest. "But I'll stop moaning about my fate. Didn't you have something to tell me?"

She shook her head. "Not now. You would just keep thinking about it. But I think that night stroll did us some good."

He frowned. "How so?"

Caranya smiled. "You've finally opened again after… what? Months? A year? You have no idea what it means to me. Now go get some sleep soldier! That's an order!"

"... yes Ma'am."

Against all odds, Cyrus did fall asleep later that night. But it wasn't a peaceful sleep. He was constantly haunted by whispers he could barely make out but he was certain to have heard some of them before. Then suddenly a sensation of falling and losing consciousness.

He woke up, chained to a large pillar. Facing him was what could best be described as a lake of fire. Lava everywhere. He struggled on his bonds, raging against them. To his surprise they broke. He looked around him to see where he was. The landscape around him turned out to be a series of rocky Islands circled by lava.

There were only two similar places that came to his mind. As he tried to search for more clues, he came across a stele. His eyes widened as he recognized the inscription on it. It was a sentence he had read long ago in a book, which had marked him.

"What is it doing here?"

What do you think?

The Heartlander froze. The voice had been the same who talked to him before. It was clearer now, its intonations ethereal, both male and female at the same time.

"I see what it is then."

Do you, Far-Sighted-One **? With so many pawns, can you find the true player?

He grunted. "Just because I was named Cyrus doesn't mean I have prescience gifts. But I guess you know something about it yourself. You contacted me first."

I did. Do you want to find why?

The voice had grown closer. He could feel it. He turned around slowly.

A giant figure all armored in ebony was towering over him. A red cloak was falling on their back while another piece of red cloth was seemingly covering their groin and thighs. One of the entity's hands was carrying a massive axe. The head was the only uncovered part. It looked like an androgynous Dunmer head, almost bald with the exception of a long white ponytail. Their face was smirking.

I guessed right, son of Cyrodiil

*Tiber's caches : caches of dwemeri artifacts from Hammerfell (see Redguard, the game) reverse engineered during the rule of Tiber Septim. They fell into disuse after the assassination of his Grandson and the Septims never made any attempt to use them again with the notable exception of the Shadow Legion, whose research suffered greatly during the invasion of the Battlespire. They were rediscovered by Titus Mede II in an attempt to prepare for a second war with the Dominion.

** One of the meanings of the name Cyrus is actually Far-Sighted.