Hello everyone,
I'm writing this on a Thursday. Hurricane just made landfall this morning although it missed us. Work closed in preparation. Turns out, we didn't need it. But I am glad we were more safe than sorry. I remember, the day before Hurricane Harvey hit, almost nobody took it seriously. I fled to central Texas, at the behest of family and managed to avoid the worst of it.
It seems we learned our lesson, and started taking things a little more seriously.
So anyway, on to the chapter.
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Disclaimer: I own nothing.
"They've taken Helgen."
I didn't outwardly react to the news. I was too busy looking at the skirmish finishing up about a hundred yards in front of me. There were only two hundred men sent to meet us at the pass in the mountains that led straight into Helgen. We were about two days from the city.
As soon as I saw the men standing in the middle of the pass, I figured the news out already. It was a patrolling party, and there was already a man heading back to the city, to warn them of our approach. The other two hundred men were trying to slow us down so that he could escape. It took a very conservative group of nords to do that. Most of them would dine in Sovngarde tonight.
I spurred my horse forward, and rode up to the skirmish. My men were fighting well, despite being made up of new recruits we had been training on the road. I saw the opportunity to blood the men quickly, and get some experience in them, so I took that opportunity. I saw about two dozen dead bodies of my own men, and nearly ten times that many dead stormcloaks.
When I reached my men, the last Stormcloak let out a battle cry and ran straight towards the shield wall. The man probably thought his death glorious, and brave. All I saw was three spears running him through. He died quickly.
The biggest difference between the Battle of Druadach, and now, was that our equipment was much better than last time, especially with the new additions of spears, courtesy of General Tullius and the Legion. The Stormcloaks didn't stand a chance.
"Collect the dead, burn them." I commanded as the last man fell.
"We camp here."
"Why take Helgen?" Enden asked.
Many of us stood around a map of the area. Enden, Igmund, Ariella, Mirabelle, and Brun were the main people involved in the conversation.
"It's walled, and they know they cannot meet us in open combat." Igmund replied, studying the map. We were all ignoring a key point marked on the map. More importantly in the pass that led to Helgen.
"They don't want to meet us at all." I spoke up for the second time since our meeting started. I let them pause the discussion and look at me.
Once they did, I pointed to the obstruction. "He caused a landslide in the fucking pass. He wants us to go around. Once we do, which will take another two weeks, we will find a similar obstruction, and then they will leave after they accomplish what they wish here." I explained, while also thinking. I was tired of them bickering over things I already knew. I needed advice, not to babysit them to the right answers.
"What do they wish to accomplish?" It was Mirabelle that spoke up this time.
Alduin's arrival.
The answer was obvious to me, they didn't want to face Alduin and my army at the same time. The real question was how they knew Alduin was going to show up, and how long did we have to interfere, if we even wanted to.
"Most likely, it's to just run us around this mountain and deplete our supplies." I lied. It was a half-truth. "Whoever, most likely Miraak, caused the cave-in saw that this provided many opportunities. The first is what I just mentioned. Another is to see how we react to adversity. He wants to know how we're going to approach this war. Will we go around and find another way? Will we counter attack into their lands? Will we just focus on his supply lines? It's a test and there are many options for us." I explained.
"Coward." Igmund growled.
"Smart." I corrected. "You must know yourself, and your enemy intimately if you are to win a war. You must be able to predict them, and stay unpredictable at the same time."
"They are formidable." Ariella praised, also staring at the map. "What are we going to do?"
"What they least expect." I answered, already having made up my mind.
"Which is?" Enden asked.
"We're going straight through it."
It was a narrow passage that Miraak decided to obstruct. And yet, there was no other way around that was efficient enough. We would have to hike over five thousand men through the mountains, with full gear and wagons full of supplies. It wasn't going to happen.
I just happened to have a little thing called magick, and with the Archmage on my side, I had a lot of it.
That's why myself, and the members of the college were currently barreling our way through the roadblock. I used my magicka to lift another boulder and move it off to the side. Our progress was slow going, Miraak was remarkably thorough.
"That should be enough." Ariella said out of nowhere as I set the boulder down.
I looked to her, expecting an explanation out of her. Then I felt her intentions. Her Magicka reached out to me and the other magicians beside her. We joined her without hesitation, and gave her our magicka to manipulate.
She twisted and turned it, and pulled it back. It felt like the string of a crossbow being pulled back. I felt her tether it to the mountainside beside us and realized that is exactly what she was getting at. It was a curious piece of magick.
Once the force was pulled back enough, she let go.
The wall of stone in front of us rocketed away and a dust cloud kicked up. I could have been worried about life on the other side of the stone wall, but I had already tried sensing in that direction, and felt nobody on the other side.
Once the dust settled, there was a gaping hole, bigger than the actual road going through the wall of stone. I stood wide-eyed as I looked through to the other side.
Ariella strutted over to where I stood and bumped me with her shoulder. "What do you think?" She asked with a smile.
I couldn't help but notice how much physical contact we made these days. After that night beside Lake Ilinalta, touching each other seemed natural, instead of awkward.
"It was underwhelming." I lied to her as I put an unimpressed face on.
She just walked around me humming as if she didn't believe me at all.
"I thought this was what they least expected."
I rolled my eyes at my companion as I looked down on the battle in front of me. This was the fourth skirmish since we broke through the obstruction in the mountain pass.
"You were right to praise them." I commented back.
The first rank of men continued to push, march forward, and thrust their spears at the poorly organized men in front of them. One would think that numbers would mean very little, when confined into a smaller space like a mountain pass.
The problem is that my men were just too well trained. The Stormcloak's fell like grass to a scythe, and we barely stopped moving.
The first rank of my men would injure, or cripple and move on, while the second rank moved forward slitting throats, or piercing the hearts of the men bleeding on the ground. It slowed us down slightly, but the experience it was giving my men was worth every penny.
Why did I even want to arrive before Alduin? I already knew it was because Ariella and I could help end that threat before it began.
Give me a man, with the soul of a dragon, over the first-born of Akatosh anyday. I didn't even care of the power up they were sure to get. A man could die by my hands, I wasn't sure that Alduin could.
Moving through the mountains, with an army was a very slow process. Some passes were not possible with the equipment we had, and the Stormcloaks sabotaged the best roads to take.
We relied on Ariella and her magicians way too much.
When it wasn't the mountain giving us trouble, it was Stormcloak forces. Ambushes at night that were thankfully thwarted, most of the time. It did wear on my forces, of that there was no doubt.
I loved every second of it.
Finally, we reached the valley that held Helgen.
"Nearly seven thousand. Plus the eight thousand that took helgen."
"How did a force this big go unnoticed?" Ariella asked.
The important people in my army stood in Ariella's tent, discussing the battle to come and the situation we found ourselves in.
"We've been stuck in the mountains for the last few weeks. Messages have most likely been intercepted." Mirabelle answered her Archmage.
"It doesn't matter." I interrupted before we could go back and forth about a topic that didn't get us anywhere. "What are we going to do about it?" I asked.
"They outnumber us, mor
"We faced similar odds in Druadach." Igmund said. He was slowly starting to engage in our discussions again. It had taken him the better part of a month to act civilized with me after Rorikstead.
"We are not fighting forsworn." I reminded him. "These nords are smarter, and have a much more competent leader. It's not so easy this time."
"What choice do we have but to meet them in open combat?" Enden asked. Most of the time he was quiet and let us debate on the best course of action. He was becoming bolder as the days passed. Bjorn still refused to speak, he felt underqualified for the position he found himself in, although his confidence grew with each skirmish we fought. This battle would decide if he had what it takes.
"He makes a good point, they are not even bothering to hide behind the walls." Igmund offered.
"Not much of one." I admitted. "But what is more important, the city, or the battle?" I asked, genuinely curious. "What is our goal? The people, or the most death possible?"
We all thought about that for a moment. It was something I was genuinely curious about. It seems that nobody else really considered the option of the people.
"We can cripple them." Igmund said. It was what I expected from him.
"Assuming we win. We can also cripple ourselves." Ariella said.
"Our forces are superior. We know how they fight." Enden said, truly thinking about it.
The answer seemed to come to me, now that other people were chiming in.
"Why not both?" I asked. "We fight to the city, and if it seems we are close to victory, or a rout, then we will adjust our plans accordingly."
I looked at the map below.
The valley entrance we were currently occupying was dead south of the city about five hundred yards. The east wall of the city butted up against terrain that was nearly impossible for an army to traverse. Forest, steep, and wet. It led to a mountain. Not to mention the river that ran from the east off of the mountain alongside the north wall of the Helgen.
"Which gate?" Igmund asked.
"Straight ahead." I answered him by pointing at the south gate.
"Right through the bulk of their army?" Ariella asked with a curious tone, borderline doubting. I smiled and delivered a simple answer.
"Yes."
I was glad I was not the one giving the speeches.
In fact, I was still sitting on my horse on a hill overlooking where the battle would take place. Apparently, I was more valuable as a general than a footsoldier. I wanted to be on the front lines, but knew my place was here.
"First contact." I said, more for myself than anyone else.
The two armies collided with a crash that shook my bones. There was a little disorganization in the beginning from my army. The ferocity of the Stormcloak hadn't broken through completely, but did rattle the front lines.
"Shield wall!" That shout rang out across a line of about a thousand men.
It took about thirty seconds for the lines to become uniform again. That's when our plan began to kick in. The advanced battle marching that I had put our army through in Solitude began to show itself.
From my position, I could see what looked to be like a spear head forming in my army.
Towards the outside of the lines, my men were holding the line, and killing the men who approached, but not advancing. In fact, if you watched closely, the man on the second rank would touch the shoulder of the man in front of him, and they would take a step back collectively.
The men in the center of the first line were slowly starting to push out into the heart of the nords.
"Archers in position." I heard behind me.
"Fire towards the edges of the fighting, not the center. Do not hit our men." I commanded while observing the battle closely.
I continued to watch as our men began to form an arrowhead formation. Soon, it was completed.
In the distance, I saw a man on a horse giving commands to the opposite army. I couldn't make him out, but I was sure it was Miraak. He was seeing my plan, but could he stop it?
The archers took position at the base of my arrowhead formation and started to fire over the heads of their comrades, into the heart of the enemy.
I heard our enemy yell out shields, and their men obeyed by protecting themselves. The amount of men that actually fell to the arrows was few, but the time it gave my main force was invaluable.
"Push!" I heard our front lines yell.
About a five foot gap appeared from the edge of my army and the opposition for a brief moment, signaling we were about to advance. And that is exactly what happened.
Spears lashed out, and my men took a step forward.
"Fire!"
Arrows flew in the sky.
"Push!"
Rince, and repeat.
We continued this way, cutting into the army. It was about halfway into the army protecting the southern gate into the city that Miraak started to adapt to the situation. I was actually considering going on the offensive, instead of slowly making our way to the city. Our men were obviously superior.
Then Miraak called the cavalry. Literally.
I began to hear a rumbling, and a massive cloud of dirt rise on the other side of the city. I turned to Ariella and nodded to her. Immediately, she kicked her horse into gear, along with the rest of her magicians.
"Cavalry!" I barked out.
The command was sent down the chain, and it took about two minutes for my army to react. A massive amount of time in a battle.
Five hundred men from the third rank of my army broke off and moved down to the southwestern portion of my army, right where the cavalry was heading. Calling it a cavalry was a long shot. It was no more than three hundred manned horses. For my army, it might as well have been a minor distraction.
The cavalry saw my reaction and circled around. I thought about calling my men off to send them back to the main force, but waited a second. The cavalry made a big circle acting like they were abandoning the attack. And then just as they were about to make the bend around Helgen again, the turned around and continued their attack.
My men didn't move, and the cavalry approached again. Once they got close, they circled again.
"Bastard!" I mumbled.
It was a simple tactic, but one that required me to dedicate men to stop. If I called the men back, then the cavalry would actually attack and have free reign over the back rank.
My lines weren't suffering, in fact we were advancing, but it was just another distraction. Something that could lead to a mistake on my armies part.
A sound hit my ears. One I couldn't make out. But it itched a memory in my mind. It sounded like the tongue of dragons.
My eyes widened as the implications hit me.
Immediately I gathered my magicka and pulsed it twice. A code between Ariella and I. It said, gather on me.
I redirected the magicka under my skin to my voice.
"To the city! Now!" I commanded. Everyone in the valley must have heard it.
I put my heels into the horse below me and I began to ride to the heart of my army. My destination was the very tip of the army.
A roar echoed through the valley, louder than my own magickally enhanced voice. It came from the sky.
No, no, no, no!
I looked up to see a serpentine dragon come around a cliff in the mountains to the north. I knew we wouldn't make it to the city in time.
"Hadvar!" Ariella called out beside me as her horse caught up to mine. "We can't go into the city. It'll target the people!"
I never even considered that option once I realized what was coming. All I was worried about was my armies safety. But she was right.
"Keep the plan!" I yelled out, correcting my order as I stopped my horse.
I turned to Ariella then. "What are we going to do about it?" I asked her.
She pointed towards where Miraak sat on his horse, comfortable. "Kill it. There is a dragonborn near!" She answered me.
The prospect of a dragon scared me. Once I processed that, it pissed me off. Very rarely did I lose my wits. It was unacceptable. I nodded to my companion.
"Let's draw it's attention." I said, calming myself.
Ariella smiled, and the smell of ozone filled the air around me. If I wasn't used to her massive power, it would have overwhelmed my senses.
She hopped off of her horse and slapped it's ass. It ran off, obeying her. I decided that I would keep mine for a moment longer just in case.
Without warning, the world lit up. I wasn't sure how that was possible considering the sun beating down on the battlefield, but it did.
A bolt of lightning raced across the sky.
It was so far away, and happened so fast that I wasn't sure if it impacted the dragon or not. When another roar sounded out from the massive beast, I got my answer that her attack rang true.
"I thought you could barely control where it struck from so far away." I said, remembering our many conversations on the road.
"Mages Downfall." She offered as an explanation. "The reaction time helps you. Still a lucky shot, but less lucky without the increased reactions."
I filed that information in my mind and prepared myself for what was to come. There was still a cavalry demanding the attention of my men. We were still executing our plan, and now there was a fucking dragon heading my way.
We weren't close enough to the army for me to get to Enden, so I called for a runner. It was a boy that couldn't have been older than fifteen. Too small for his armor. He looked like an imperial.
"Tell Enden he is in charge. Stick to the plan." I told the boy, before giving my attention to the massive dragon heading my direction. It looked fucking pissed off.
The glint of a spear caught my eye on the ground beneath my feet. I reached down to grab it. Miraak's serpentine dragon was about to pass over the city. He was covering so much ground it was ridiculous.
I felt useless. I had almost no long range magickal option. I was a close range fighter. When a dragon is your enemy, that becomes a very hard battle, no matter what spells are available.
Suddenly, the dragon was close enough to send a massive fireball our direction. I felt Ariella's magicka rise to block the fireball. I switched into Mages Downfall for a second, reared back and threw the spear towards the Dragon.
The spear pierced through the fire, and I couldn't tell if it hit the dragon or not, because the fireball was exploding against the shield Ariella casted in front of us. Orange light spread around us, blocking our vision for a moment. There wasn't even a flicker in her shields.
When we could see again, the dragon was flying away from us, preparing to make another run.
And then, our day got even worse.
Another roar, separate from the Miraak's serpentine dragon, rang out in the sky. When I turned my head, I couldn't believe my eyes. The right hand dragon of Alduin, Odahviing flew through the sky. I knew it was him because of the way the sun hit his scales, bathing the world in a red light where it reflected. The real tell tale sign it was him, was the little black spot on his back.
Ulfric sat on his back.
A/N: Boom! Cliffhanger.
I really don't like doing cliffhangers, but this chapter just had to be split up, there was no way around it. It would have been massive otherwise.
The war is officially in full swing and Hadvar is in some deep deep shit. How will this first battle play out. It's gonna set the tone for the rest of the story for sure.
This is a war in a fantasy world of massive magickal players, powerful dragons, and gods. What do you people expect?
What do we think? Let's talk in the reviews!