Chapter Twenty-five: Fate of Morrowind
Merlac stared both Sul-Matuul and Nibani Maesa in turns.
"Well? What is it?", he asked impatiently, feeling that something was indeed terribly wrong.
"While you were away, something horrible happened. A large horde of blighted animals attacked the Zainab camp, the Ashlander village you were meant to visit next. The few survivors reached the Urshilaku lands and told us the animals were like haunted, and they killed everybody in their way. About dozen warriors and few women survived, but they saw the Ashkhan Kaushad die while trying to protect his people."
Merlac stared at Nibani in disbelief.
"You mean... the Zainab village destroyed, and almost every people of their tribe killed.", Nibani continued.
"And that is not all", interrupted Sul-Matuul.
"Not all?!", Achen yelled.
"At the same time an exceptionally strong sand storm hit the Erabenimsun camp, and though the Erabenimsun are a tribe of brave fighters, they didn't stood a chance against the powers of nature. We found only one survivor from the remainings of the camp, but she died soon after. She was the last of their tribe.", Sul-Matuul said and Merlac was able to see a small tear on the Ashkhan's cheek.
"The Zainab...and the Erabenimsun...gone? Their Ashkhans dead?", Merlac managed to say, still not fully believing his ears.
Sinnammu Mirpal nodded sadly and stepped closer.
"Now with the two remaining ashlander tribes gone, we will have to hurry. There is no doubt who is responsible for these acts. Dagoth Ur still has the heart of Lorkhan, and is using it. He knows about the prophecy and sees you as threat. You must not let this stop you. As the wise woman and temporally leader of the Ahemmusa, I name you the Nerevarine, protector of our tribe."
Sinnammu handed Merlac a small amulet, and looked him into his eyes.
Nibani Maesa also stepped closer and spoke.
"The three Great Houses of Morrowind now follow your lead. Two Ashlander tribes call you Nerevarine, the protector. The prophecy is not filled, but with the two other tribes now gone, it does not matter.", Nibani said.
"Do you mean we have hope?", Merlac asked.
"There is always hope, as long as you live. However, I can no longer guide you. You must decide yourself what to do to save Morrowind. Whatever you decide, the Great Houses and the Ashlander tribes will follow you, and you will walk with Azura's blessing."
Merlac looked around. Sul-Matuul, Nibani Maesa, Sinnammu Mirpal and the Urshilaku warriors stared at him, waiting. Merlac turned his head and saw Achen also looking at him. This was it, it was not up to him to choose how to continue. The destiny of Morrowind was now on his hands, but Merlac felt uneasy; too many lives depended on his decision. Dagoth Ur had already shown his might by annihilating the two Ashlander tribes, and his armies were soon ready to march against Ghostfence. Suddenly, he knew exactly what to do.
"Dagoth Ur will soon launch a full scale attack against the Ghostfence. We can't let the corpus, creatures and ash vampires to spread over Vvardenfell. Our priority is to stop the attack and then intrude into the Red Mountain itself.", Merlac said with confident voice.
"How do we do that?", Achen asked.
"We need the help of the Great Houses. Achen and I must immediately travel to the city of Vivec and contact the councillors."
"How can we help?", Sul-Matuul asked.
"First I want you to evacuate your camps, you saw what Dagoth Ur did to the Zainab and the Erabenimsun, he can do the same to you. Save your own people first and then gather the warriors you can, we are going to need them soon. I will send the word when the time is full, I will meet you at the Ghostgate then."
Sul-Matuul nodded to Merlac, waved his hand towards his warriors and two of them ran away, carrying out the order.
"Now... it's time to see if those councillors can keep their words", Merlac said and took an Almsivi amulet out of his pocket. Achen did the same.
"Merlac, you ARE the Nerevarine reborn, you will succeed, good luck, my friend.", Nibani said and made a mark of luck into his forehead with her hands.
"I will not fail.", Merlac said and touched the amulet. Merlac and Achen disappeared into thin air, leaving the Ashlanders praying for them...
---
Only few moments later, Merlac and Achen appeared in the middle of one of the bridges connecting the cantons in Vivec. Merlac put the amulet back to his pocket and started walking fast towards the ministry canton, closely followed by Achen.
"What are you planning, exactly?", Achen asked.
"If my instincts are correct, the Ashlander tribes were not the only places where Dagoth Ur struck. He wants to spread chaos over Vvardenfell, not only prevent the prophecy."
"So..."
"So if anything unusual has happened, the Great House councils and the ministry of the Tribunal temple are the first to know.", Merlac answered as they walked along the bridge to the ministry canton.
"You are just going to march in to see the ministry? But the temple isn't really keen on that prophecy of yours..."
"I know, but it is not the ministry I am going to meet, but the Great House councillors that will meet in the ministry hall when something big happens."
"How...err...how do you know that? And can you be sure they are there already?"
"Something Caius told me long ago, he thought it would be useful for me to know how the chain of command works around here. The ministry has no power at all, it is the Great Houses and the Temple that rules Morrowind. They have nothing to do with each other, but when something threats the entire island, they will gather together to discuss options. And yes, I'm rather sure they are here already."
"What about Lord Vivec?", Achen asked while trying to keep up with Merlac.
"He's just a figure on the top, he just plays God and it is the temple that makes the decisions."
"...and the Emperor?"
"The Emperor lives on the mainland of Tamriel, on the other side of the sea, he's not that interested in Morrowind's business. Oh well, actually he is interested enough because he set me free, he thought there might be something true about this prophecy."
"This all is starting to make sense... The Emperor knows he cant just send his armies to confront Dagoth Ur, the Tribunal temple would never allow him to do that, and he knows Morrowind needs somebody that unites us."
"Exactly. If everything goes well, we can contact the Great House councillors before the Temple here manages to act and Lord Vivec even notices what is happening under his nose. I doubt he will like all this, as the prophecy proofs he's not a god."
Merlac and Achen arrived to the High Fane of the Ministry canton, in front of the doors of ministry of wisdom. As they walked closer, four ordinators approached and blocked their way.
"Go away, citizen, the ministry is closed at the moment."
"I must see the Great House councillors immediately.", Merlac demanded.
"I don't know what you are talking about, now move on or..."
The Ordinator was about to say something, but suddenly he went quiet and just stared Merlac.
"Hey, I know this man! He is the one who disobeys the temple and spreads the word of a false prophecy! Get him!", the Ordinator yelled and all four guards drew out their scimitars.
Both Merlac and Achen drew out their swords and prepared for battle, but they knew they didn't have time for this. A fight with an Ordinator was the last thing anyone on this island wanted, and Merlac just had four of them in front of him.
"Stand aside.", Merlac demanded again.
The nearest Ordinator didn't say anything, but swinged his shiny golden blade towards Merlac. Merlac blocked the hit with his ebony broadsword and stunned the guard with his other hand. The three other ordinators were just about to charge, as a male voice yelled behind them.
"Wait!", a man yelled behind the ordinators.
The ordinators turned around and saw a man dressed in the yellow robe of the tribunal temple, standing in the doorway.
"But sir, he is the false incarnate! He defies the temple!", one of the ordinators said to the man.
"No...err...let him in. Both of them.", the man said, but his voice was uneasy.
"Sir? Inside the ministry?"
"You heard me, let them come!", the man yelled again, this time more confidently.
Merlac and Achen sheathed their swords again and walked past the angry ordinators.
"My name is Danso Indules and....err...you two should come with me. Quickly please.", the man said.
Merlac and Achen looked at each other and then followed the man inside the ministry of wisdom. For few minutes, they walked down several stairs, until they arrived to a large pair of doors, certainly deep underwater.
"This is the ministry hall, all this is very exceptional, as no outsiders are usually allowed to these meetings but... you should see by yourselves.", the man said and opened the doors.
Merlac and Achen walked inside and found themselves in a large, round hall with dozens of rows of seats around them. There had to be over a hundred noblemen, ministers, high priests and officers in the hall, everybody yelling and cursing to each other. It was a total chaos inside the hall.
"This somehow reminds me of that daedric shrine with the ogrim", Achen grinned and Merlac couldn't help noticing the similarity.
Merlac waited for a minute, but nobody still had noticed the two new people in the hall. Merlac had good time to observe the people around him; on his left were the councillors of the Great House Hlaalu and other Hlaalu noblemen, and in the shape of semicircle next to the Hlaalu representatives were sitting the councillors of House Telvanni and other dunmer wizards, next to them the Redoran council and on the other side of the hall, opposite to Hlaalu, were sitting twelve high priests of the Tribunal Temple.
The man who had led Merlac and Achen into the hall was trying to catch everyone's attention, but everybody just ignored him and continued yelling to each other. Merlac decided this was enough, and conjured a stunning spell at a large chandelier high above them, which fell down and crushed to the stone floor loudly. Everyone in the room was startled by this and suddenly it was completely silent in the hall.
Merlac stepped forward and spoke with loud and clear voice, so that everyone in the hall could hear him.
"I am Merlac, but you all probably know me. Part of you knows me as the enemy of the Tribunal Temple, follower of a false prophecy. Most of you know me as Hortator, protector of people and war-leader of the Great Houses Hlaalu, Redoran and Telvanni."
Merlac was able to hear accepting murmur from the Great House councillors and silent debate among the temple priests. As nobody said anything, Merlac continued.
"This time it is I, who knows why YOU are here. You are here to discuss about the fate of Morrowind. You have all witnessed the spreading blight disease and strange ash storms. You are all suspecting the same enemy, or you wouldn't be here arguing together."
One of the temple priests stood up and spoke.
"The Temple has not changed its point of view to this false prophecy you are referring to, I must demand you to..."
"NONSENSE!", a Redoran councillor interrupted the priest. "You have seen all the proofs that all hell is breaking out of Red Mountain and still you whine about what is false and what is true! Even if Dagoth Ur himself kicks you in the butt, you still read your books and deny the truth!"
As soon as it had ended, the yelling and cursing started again in the hall. This time Merlac did not wait, but fired another spell at the remainings of the chandelier.
"Quiet!", Merlac yelled and the hall became silent again.
"Very soon, Dagoth Ur will launch a full scale attack towards the Ghostfence, probably the Ghostgate itself."
"That is impossible, the Ghostfence has endured for centuries, it cannot fall!", a temple priest yelled.
"Wrong. I have personally witnessed several ash vampires outside the Ghostfence and you have seen by yourselves that it does not prevent Dagoth Ur from spreading destruction.", Merlac said confidently.
"What do you suggest?", asked a Telvanni wizard.
Merlac gathered all the strength he had and spoke as officially as possible.
"As the Hortator of the Great Houses of Morrowind, I need an united army of Morrowind, that will confront the Dagoth Ur's army at the Ghostgate. During the battle, myself and a small group of companions -- Merlac nodded at Achen -- will fight our way inside Red Mountain and find Dagoth Ur."
To Merlac's surprise, the councillors of House Hlaalu were the first to stand up.
"We, as the representatives of the Great House Hlaalu, will support Merlac, and offer our military resources to his disposal."
Merlac nodded to the Hlaalu councillors and smiled.
"House Hlaalu fights for Morrowind, who else will answer Merlac's call?", Achen said loudly.
"House Redoran will answer Merlac's call!", yelled a Redoran councillor and Merlac saw all Redoran councillors stand up as well.
"Excellent!", Merlac rejoiced.
"The Great House Telvanni will support Merlac by sending battlemages to fight with the Redoran and Hlaalu troops.", said a wizard and also the Telvanni councillors stood up."
"So be it! Form the divisions!", Merlac yelled.
Despite the angry temple priests, the rest of the hall was cheering and applauding to Merlac. Merlac and Achen stood in the middle of the floor, enjoying the amount of strength they had united.
Suddenly, the cheering and applauding stopped, as the large doors opened. A man walked in, stopped in front of Merlac and spoke so that entire hall was able to hear his words.
"Lord Vivec wants to meet you, now.", he said...