Cearbhail: Hmm... everything takes place within the War Room. Trust me, it may look like it's happening somewhere else later on, but it all happens around the small table with the illusionist projection thingy. Also trying to introduce some humor to keep it a little lighter and not so dark. Hope it goes well.

"Warlord…everything is going according to schedule. The refugees are settling in, all capable fighters and mages are being transported over to Helstrom, and I can see that Khajiit that you want me to keep an eye on."

I mentally nodded as I heard Julanza's telepathic message. As discretely as possible, I brought my left claw up to my head and made it look like I was just losing my patience as I placed a single talon on my forehead. "That's good news, Julanza. Remember, we have to keep him alive long enough to kill all the Thalmor. Then...kill him and anyone else that you see fit. Do not forget our ultimate plans."

"Of course not, milord. I know my duty as well as any shadowmaster." He replied back.

I smiled as I started contemplating the situation that was developing. The entire nation of Tamriel was in a state of emergency. Leaders of all kinds have either died or gone into hiding. Cities have fallen into chaos and armies have been stretched out so thin that they are not effective anymore. That was every nation…but true Argonia. In all effect, the warriors of Black Marsh had been out to collect data on every city, every ruler, that they could.

When Saliith shadowported into the war room with news that the Fighters Guild in Cyrodiil was destroyed…I was happy. When Tar-Meena had reported that the Arcane University had been leveled…I laughed. When I learned that the all the leaders of all the countries were coming here to unite under the threat of the Aedra…I plotted. For near 200 years we've plotted this day. Our army was strong now, and the other nations were weak. If I wanted to do it, I could have everyone in this room die by poisoning. I'm immune to xianxing gas. Xianxing is a plant found in Black Marsh. It's a carnivorous plant that eats insects and smaller animals. The gas it releases to capture prey is very deadly to everyone…except Argonians. Once this war was over….everyone in this room died. The primary reason I wanted the Mane here was to kill the leader of Elsweyr…but he trusts me as much as I would give him credit for.

But I did have the leader of the Blades, the secret society of knights who protect the emperor, here in this room with me. The thought of seeing him choke on painful but quick killing gas made my mouth water like I was preparing to hunt for lunch. If killed him, it might weaken the rest of his little sword-swinging buddies. I also had the single strongest magically enchanted woman in this room. The Arch-Mage was a strong position to hold for oneself. She could command hundreds of mages to conduct war…as well as battlemages who reported to her and not the emperor. Her one single wish can invite trouble to anyone who gets in her way. If I killed her…I might feel the repercussion…unless all the mages were somehow…dead…like they are now. Now all I had to do was get rid of all the battlemages and I was set.

I glanced up at my newest 'buddy': the Councilor from the Aldmeri Dominion. What the heck was that anyway? The Aldmeri Dominion? This was the first time I've ever heard of this…government. That…organization just seemed to pop up overnight. I had no intelligence on what they believed, what they hoped to achieve, or anything else like that. But I knew a corrupt agency when I saw one. They were out for the same blood I was. I could see it in his eye as the Altmer glanced around the room. He wanted this room for himself. The way he looked around at everyone told me that he was also planning on killing us as well. He wanted me dead as much as I wanted him dead.

I glanced down at the map, happy to see that the refugees were fully settled in. I brought my hand into the map and double-tapped on where my daughter was. The image on the map enlarged, bringing the image of my daughter standing in a blue-tinted light. She was giving orders to her squad, nodding to someone as he walked into the screen. It was a Khajiit. This was it…the Khajiit I heard about? He was about my daughter's age…only sixteen or so. He was a head shorter than her, but I could see the strength of his spirit. I could see how such a character had created such an impact.

I remembered the intelligence reports I heard about the Battle of Fanacas. According to all reports from all Daedra that we interrogated…all the liches we talked to…all the seers we could pay off…this…thing. This…kitten single-handedly defeated most of the Aedra and used his own magic to hold every single survivor still as everyone else pelted the remaining Aedra with magical bullets.

I wanted to see every fur on his body; I wanted to witness all his fighting moves. I wanted to know every single thing that I could about this cat. Looking at him now, I could see a very strong threat against Argonia. He was close enough to my daughter that she would turn against her own nation to help the prisoners escape. Whether she says that she's innocent or not, I know she's guilty. I know how she thinks. I may not have stood over her and babied her like her mother wanted…I still made sure to know how her studies were going.

I wonder when she changed her mind. I wonder when she decided to betray me…or to betray our nation. She knew the punishment for betrayal. She knew the punishment for any delay, any hesitation of action. When she knew that this Khajiit was a freak…she should have killed it. Why? There had to be something very special about this freak to keep her from doing it. I wonder if this cat has any redeeming factors to keep me from ordering his death. I wonder…if I met him myself, would I begin to hesitate as well? Well…there was only one way to find out.

I looked over at Ri'Saddo. He glanced up at me, already knowing what I wanted to ask. "Do you recognize his stripe patterns? Do you know what tribe he's from?"

Ri'Saddo smiled. "Why would Ri'Saddo tell you?" His face revealed to me that he knew almost everything about the Khajiit cub on the magical scrying device. There was no hint of what he knew, however, only that he seemed to respect the cub hovering only inches away.

I smiled. "It's for the consideration of the group. If this cub is somehow special…as all the intelligence reports seem to point to…then I should wonder if any other members of his tribe are also…special." I slithered the last word off my tongue, hoping it sounded both menacing and convincing.

Councilor Fiirnar paced around the map, his hands folded behind his back. He looked very calm in his long leather overcoat, looking down at the scene like it was something that mildly amused him. He watched as Ri'Saddo and I went back and forth, trying to get the other to fold. I could see that he wanted to know as much as I did.

Fiirnar smiled as he leant down to look at the image. "Well…just think about it. This cub has the power to unleash all sorts of oblivion on our enemy. He almost killed off the entire invading army of Aedra by himself. Sure…he almost died in the process, but he looks just fine right now. So…what if we had more? We could change this war to our advantage and just kill all the Aedra…" He dismissed the map with a non-committal backhand. "Instead of looking for some mythical device that supposedly exists within some ruin, that we only know about because of my astral dream cooked up by this very same cub." He looked over at the Arch-Mage when he said that.

Sosia's eyes lifted up. "Oh? You question Commander Hans' judgment? Do you want me to invite him inside so you can say that to his face? I'm sure he'd love to teach you about how he judges people. We did a back-up search, you know. We found many of Mannimarco's old laboratories. He did create this device. He references it a lot of times in his related research about black soul gems. We also know that it does exist within Elsweyr. Back when the land was plush and full of plants. This device sucked up so much life to activate the first time that it killed all the plants within the radius. This time…we don't know what we're going to do to activate it."

I shrugged. That was a great statement. She had all her planning layered. First we find the device, and then we worry about using it. Until then, we only had to stall our invading enemy. It was more reason to flush out any remaining blood-raging cats. If I did this right, I could get all them killed and everyone one else within this room. Once everyone was out of the way, my troops will act all at once and take the land for ourselves. My plan was foolproof as long as…

I looked over at Councilor Fiirnar. He was glancing up at me, his face pulling into a sneer. He knew what I was thinking. He had to die soon, before whatever he plans could be accomplished. There was something wrong about him, about this Aldmeri Dominion. It sent chills down my spine and that does not happen often.

I looked back over to Ri'Saddo. "So, this cub. What do you know about him? We cannot just sit here and argue. We need to act. If there are more of you 'special' Khajiits out there, we need to know now."

Ri'Saddo shrugged and looked away, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. "I already told you…there is no way to know for certain without tasting his blood. All I can tell you is that one of our heroes has the same markings upon his head. You were correct, our stripes do form into clan markings, it's what allows us to tell each other apart in battle, other than our scent of course. The hero who looks the same lived back during the Ayleid War. His name was Ri'dato. He was…what we call…a Sengar. A blessed warrior of Alkosh. A fierce breed of warriors who can break their limiters and go berserk. If this cub can do the same, he must be of the same blood as Ri'dato."

I looked down at the small cub talking to my daughter. I activated her transmitter and just sat back. It was about time I knew what they were talking about.

"How's your sister, Vatu?" My daughter asked.

"She is fine. She's still with us, over there with the other children." He indicated with his head.

Nexa nodded. "I'm glad to hear that. I'm sorry I tried to kill her and your friends when they escaped our prison hold."

Vatu shrugged. "You have your duties, we all have ours. But…you were right. We're finally working together, just like you thought we would."

What? My daughter hinted that someday that the two of them would fight on the same team? That would never have happened if Tamriel wasn't in the state it was in now. I was going to kill her if she ever returned back in shame. I knew she knew that.

Sosia leaned back and crossed her arms. "Zeelius, why are you spying on their conversation?"

I leveled with her. "She's my daughter…that is a boy…around her age. Do you think I'm not going to sit here and not listen to their little flirting?"

She arched her eyebrows. "What flirting? They're teammates. She's just coordinating with him…"

"So… I hear you're with Primrose now. Vatu? Are you two involved?" Everyone in the room looked down at the image of Nexa crossing her arms and leaning back on one leg.

Sosia sat down and quietly clamped her mouth shut. She looked at Nexa's stance. "Oh…she's pissed. Does anyone have popcorn?" She smiled as she readjusted in her seat. "This might be more exciting than any battlefront at the moment."

Vatu spread his arms out. "What? Um…no…not really. I mean, she loves me and I don't know where I stand with her right now."

Sosia exhaled with disgust and shook her head. "Wrong thing to say…wrong thing."

I could see Nexa shift stances. Good, her blood was boiling. Do what you do best, Nexa…beat him up.

She only shrugged. "I brought you back to life…and you leave me for her?" She shook her head. "No…it's fine. I already stated that I was ok with your union. Just…don't expect me to keep you alive when you need it most."

Yes, she was resolved to kill him now. And if I knew my daughter, she'd kill his new girlfriend too.

"I'm not unioned with anyone." The Vatu said, throwing his arms down. "I'm not involved; not with you…not with her…not with Davilia, or Crassi, or anyone else."

Councilor Fiirnar smiled. "I'm starting to like this cub already. I say…if we keep spying on him like this, I might just start to respect the Khajiit race. So…can me make this a regular thing? Spying on him and his 'love' life?"

I looked around the room. Everyone was nodding, even Sosia, who should have been pissed at the idea of spying on one of her mages. Instead, she seemed the most excited. "Spy on my adopted son as he find love? Oblivion yes!"

I leaned back in my chair. "This this court has just made our first joint decision. We will continue spying on this couple until they either find love or kill each other. It will probably be the only entertainment we will get out of this entire war."

With that, we all stood up and shut down the screen. We were done for the night. No one was doing anything until tomorrow anyway.

Cearbhail: I hope everyone enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought about it.