Cearbhail: New chapter. Finally. I wasn't sure what I wanted from this, but I knew one thing. I wanted it to be about the war council and...a comical element. Probably could have done better, but at least I made Fiirnar swallow his tongue. Literally. Enjoy.

[Warlord Zeelius]

"So, what did Ri'Saddo miss?" Ri'Saddo asked as he walked into the room. Everyone turned to look at him. He had stepped out almost an hour ago to use the restroom, but even if he was taking the largest crap alive, he still would have returned by now. I smelled something worse than leftovers…I smelled treachery. He joined the rest of us sitting down at the large round table that surrounded the virtual map of the world. When he tucked himself in, he gave us all a big toothy grin. "I was hacking up a furball. I'm afraid that the toilet is clogged now." Damn, I hated Khajiits.

I was pacing around the room, glancing at the map for anything useful. The entire world seemed more or less consumed with random pockets of Aedra running around in circles. Even the homeland of the Akaviri wasn't so easily evaded. The Blades were helping some surviving Ka'Po'Tun there. They were half-breeds of Khajiits and our Argonian races. It happened…we accept it. Our cousins also live up in the Akaviri lands. The Tsaesci were closely related to us, only that we evolved legs while they have none. Losers. That and they can't breathe underwater. No…they have poisonous fangs and spit acid. Lucky bastards. The inhabitants of Akavir, all of them were helping us with the war since they were having trouble of their own. As luck would have it, representatives of all four races were coming to join us in our war room. A group of Blades were seeing them here. I could see the convoy right now as they entered through the beginnings of our forest. Good, I always wanted to meet a Tsaesci.

Among the group of four races were the Tang Mo and the Sload. They were coming in as well. I was amazed when I heard that the Sloads were getting involved. However, we do need all the resources that we can get. If one necromantic Sload joined us with an army of necromantic Sloads…imagine all the meat-shields my Argonian brothers can hide behind.

Other than that, I hadn't heard about any of the other beast races joining us. Giants were still fighting up in Skyrim, goblins giving hell in Cyrodiil. Imga were throwing rocks from slingshots in Valenwood, and the Lilmothiit were…well…they were somewhere doing something to someone. Yeah, I don't have much information on their whereabouts or what they were doing. I receive reports from one of their leaders though…Kinlop. The only one I've ever talked to. Technically he's part of this council, but he's one of those…lead by example fighters. Excellent stealthers, I'll say that much. Great with spears.

Sosia sighed as she leaned on her arms. "This is confusing. What have we learned so far?"

Jauffre, the Blades Master, looked over at her and smiled. "Well, if you're referring to what we just watched on the screen, Margret is in love with Stevius, but his twin brother, Turkush, has been secretly dating her. Now, whenever Stevius is around Margret, she confides all her secrets to him, but he seems aloof to her, because he is not the one she's really dating. So, she's convinced he's really just a tsundere, a hard person on the outside with a soft inside. Meanwhile, Stevius is dating Margret's cousin, Veronica, who's not a Breton like Margret, but an Imperial. Switched at birth by a witch so that she'd have a magically inclined daughter, while the mother would have a well-tempered daughter instead. Ironically that other daughter is in fact, Margret's best friend and is plotting to rip her heart out so that she can become a lich…"

Sosia started chuckling but shook her head. "I don't care about my sister's love affair. I was talking about my son's."

Jauffre shrugged. "Well, Primrose has a crush on him, but he doesn't seem to care much for her. Now, he has feelings for the Argonian Nexa, but she seems to be indifferent to him: loving him while cautious enough that she will kill him if he gets too close to her. All of this stems from the bad blood between Khajiits and Argonians. There is also the fact that Primrose has the ability to command Vatu and Nexa to do whatever she wants, but she never uses that ability because she feels it is wrong to use the gift of animal gab. Meanwhile, we have Nakuma who is starting to get close to the shadowscale Ram-ku. Both of them seem nervous around the other, and with the bad blood relations of the two, seem distant to confront each other about their growing feelings."

Ri'Saddo scratched his head. "Is he missing something here? How are Ri'Saddo's recon scouts faring?"

I walked up to the screen and rotated the world around so that I could see Elsweyr better. A swarm of Aedra covered one spot, so I tapped there twice. The screen zoomed in on the spot and there I could see ten or so dying Khajiits bleeding into the sand.

I could see two Khajiits still alive. One of them was a panther-faced forest dweller, the other one was a leopard-faced sand dweller. The panther-face was clutching the leopard-face tightly in his lap, rocking back and forth. "Ja'rinqa! Don't give up. Ja'rinqa!" He shook the leopard-faced female. "Ja'rinqa! Stay awake."

She looked up at him and reached up to rub her claw up against his face. I saw her smile before her eyes slowly faded away. Her hand dropped down, lifeless. "JA'RINQA!" The panther-face screamed into the sky.

I watched in slow horror as the Aedra flew down and quickly dismembered his body. Out of respect, I did not turn my head away. I forced myself to sit and watch it. When it was done and all the Khajiits were dead, I looked up at Ri'Saddo. His face had fallen down in sorrow. His claw scrunched up and he stood up. "Ri'Saddo's daughter…killed." He walked through the door, disappearing again.

I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to get my neck spines to relax. I cannot believe that had just happened. And to Ri'Saddo's daughter. But…we all had children in the war. Well, except Fiirnar. He was the only one here without children out fighting this war. I don't think he even had children. Didn't care, if you wanted to know the truth.

Sosia stood up, covering her mouth. I could see the tears growing in her eyes. "I…I have to go for now. I must see my daughter." Before I could say anything, she just disappeared. I hope she remembered that she couldn't just…teleport back. This place was warded after all. Well, you can leave, but you can't come back. Not unless you know the shadowscale shadow techniques. I would have to send a squad out to collect her.

I looked over at Jauffre and said, "Do you think she'll return?"

He glanced down for a second before shrugging. "She's been through a lot in the past two months. First Hans lost his wife in battle…then Sosia lost her husband as he protected her during childbirth. Sosia hasn't even seen her daughter since giving birth to her, joining you for this war council. Our empire is still crumbling with no leaders, no council to direct us. The only representation of any leadership is myself, Sosia Ernard, and Vilena Donton. The only surviving major guild halls of Cyrodiil. Vilena Donton is hold up in the Imperial City, Sosia in Fort Grief at the very second along with Hans, the highest ranking officer of the battlemages. And I am here, while my second-in-command is off with the rest of the Blades."

I brought up the virtual map and brought it to the small island off to the side of Bravil. As I zoomed in on the island, the screen filled up with static. I tried to bring it in closer but letters started forming in the messed up virtual reception. WARNING. SCRYING IS UNAVAILABLE IN THIS REGION.

I shook my head in amusement. "You actually spent time and energy, as well as magic…just to make any scrying attempts appear as a warning?"

Fiirnar chuckled to himself and looked away. "You really have no tact, do you Warlord?"

I looked back at Queen Ali-Jinasha. She looked as calm as ever, just sitting in her seat without a care in the world. She looked old and just complacent at about anything that could happen. I knew that was just a farce though. With how much she shared with me over just how she hated having company in her royal chambers, I understood her silence. Out of ears, out of mind. If she appeared complacent and nonchalant, people would believe that she had all the power in the world under her claw. If she appeared worried, she was fallible.

The Queen, for once, smiled at me and stood up. She addressed everyone when she said, "He really doesn't. But…I believe we've been here long enough, looking at this…" She waved to the giant world. "map of drama and despair." As she started making her way to the front of the council, she smiled at everyone. "That is why I took the liberty of ordering us some food."

There was a knock at the door, making us all turn to see it. The Queen reached for the door handle and pulled the door open. "Ah…you have arrived."

Three well-dressed chefs entered the room. "Glass Chefs reporting for duty, your queenliness." The head chef walked in front of the others and nodded. The front one performed a front flip, reaching into a portal he conjured up. His hands were suddenly filled with plates of cooked steaks. He launched them all out to us. "Glass Chef Hundar from the Griller's Guild." It was a Bosmer. His plates flew across the table, each one landing in front of one of us.

An older looking Nord male with huge muscles and a tough looking demeanor pulled up a plate of something huge. "My name is Burly the Manly. And if you're not too busy stuffing your faces with meat, I suggest this…" He pulled the top off, showing us a giant bowl of lettuce. Ooh, salads. I hope the next one had soup. "A light salad for those of you who enjoy the real delicacy of non-meaty goodness."

The last one was a tiny Argonian female. She had to be an Argonian. It was tradition that the Soup Guild was represented by an Argonian, since it was originally founded by Black Marsh. Back when we used to assassinate people using the Novapenyo pepper. A soup so spicy that it melted the insides of anyone who drank it…expect us Argonians.

The Argonian scoffed and shook her head. "Seriously, you men and your meat-on-grass grudge. I only want what's best for everyone. I present." She pulled out a giant cauldron of soup. "I am Glass Chef Niirvana. And this is my special recipe. Novapenyo surprise."

I looked at the queen, who nodded to me. Ri'Saddo glanced at the Argonian and said, "What's the surprise?"

The Queen smiled. "Nothing you need to worry about."

I only shook my head and looked away. Was the Queen preparing to kill everyone in this room? Did she not understand the need to keep them alive just a little longer? I pushed myself up and walked over to her. I bowed to her before ushering her out of the room and into one of our many hallways that led to various exits out in the lake. Most of them were underwater, others only emptied out into underwater caverns.

"My Queen, are you attempting to assassinate our guests?" I asked her, crossing my arms. Although I had planned on doing the same thing earlier, I was not planning on doing it until the war was over.

The Queen smiled and glanced over my shoulder to the door. "What makes you think that? The use of the Novapenyo pepper? The most lethal pepper ever concocted being made into a soup of stomach-melting goodness?"

I nodded. "Yes, I mean using the Novapenyo stomach-melting pepper. What do you hope to gain from using it?"

The Queen smiled mischievously. "I only used enough to give them a really bad time on the toilet tonight and a very expressive first sip. I wish to show our nation's strength. Your squad has done little to do so, so I wish to show them our resolve at eating something that they cannot stand for two sips."

"So, you're not assassinating them?" I asked in return.

She walked past me, smiling even deeper. "You understand politics, but you also understand treachery and war. I understand so much more than just these two aspects of being. I have lived a long time and for once I am allied with some of the most powerful individuals in Tamriel. This is the first time we have out-branched in such a way. You have shared with me your plot to rule Tamriel, but…my plot is a different one. I do not want to rule all of Tamriel. It is a messy business. You have seen what became of their rulers. If one's empire rises too big, it will eventually swallow itself…and to smaller fish too. I wish to make Argonia strong, economically, not in size or population. We are a small nation…making it larger will not make it better, only weaker and spread out. If we truly ally with these other nations, open our walls as we have just done…we can become stronger in a sense of unity."

I could not believe these words were coming from my mother's mouth. For years we had chatted about eventually taking over Tamriel, putting the Emperor's head underneath our heels. Now she was talking about a simpler less bloody route. I could not comprehend the need for such a change of heart. So, I decided to ask her. "My Queen, you suggested my line of combat. Why change now?"

She turned to face me, her face pulled in a thousand lines of scaly wrinkles. Her eyes glittered with elder knowledge. It was at times like these that I was reminded at just how old she really was. "I've lived a long life, my son. Eventually, you just have to stop with all the plotting. Such things are not important when you consider everything that follows such wars. This Aedra crisis has reminded me of what happens when everyone allies together and what happens when someone tries to ruin the balance we all hold. And before that was the Oblivion Crisis: the fall of the Cyrodiil Empire. It's time we just put aside all our hatred, our prejudices, our desire for continental conquest. All our nations are allied now…why ruin that for momentary ownership? All we will do is set up our future offspring with pain and war. I'd rather leave them with a unified peace treaty with all the new nations."

I bowed to her, almost allowing myself to nod. "I presume our orders to kill the blood-rager is null-and-void?"

She frowned at being asked that. "Of course not. As much as I hate to say it, that cub is a threat to us all. Keep it on the table as an option, but not finality." She stepped past me and into the war room. "Come, we must show our strength to the other nations now."

I smirked as I followed her back into the war room. Everyone was waiting
with a bowl of soup, a plate of meat, and a bowl of salad. They were waiting for us. Fiirnar smiled as I took my seat at the table. He sat back saying, "It seemed wrong to begin without everyone at their seat."

The Queen paced in front of everyone, gesturing everyone to look at their bowl of soup. "In front of you, you will notice a bowl of soup. This soup is made from a special pepper made in our swamps. It's called the Novapenyo and it's the hottest pepper ever concocted. Just one sip and you'll be regretting it. Consider this soup an…invitation for an alliance with Argonia. We will all drink from the soup and suffer together."

I almost smiled. I knew that we wouldn't suffer a damn thing from drinking this, but they didn't know that.

"Of course, my Argonians are trained to endure such things with little to no reaction. That is because we are strong. As a show of respect, we shall drink first." She said, bringing the soup up to her lips. She downed the whole thing in one gulp. After she held the bowl upside down to show that nothing remained, she gestured to me and Niirvana to drink. I lifted the bowl of soup and downed it. I was suddenly engulfed in a melting inferno of hot Novapenyo. Just as fast as I felt the burn, I felt my body shut down the pain. It felt like cool water now. Yay for adaptation. Once I finished in one gulp, I lifted my bowl and showed it to them. "You will not get off so easily. We suggest one tiny sip before committing to drinking it."

Fiirnar only laughed before bringing a spoon to his mouth. "You make it sound like it's excruciating. Why I bet you're just trying to scare us."

I smiled at him. "Then don't hesitate, Thalmor. Drink it all…in one gulp."

He frowned at me and brought the bowl up. He lifted it up and started downing it. As fast as he did, it was flying out of his mouth as a giant volcano of soup. He threw himself forward, screaming in pain. "Bosmer piss!" He screamed, his face a sharp shade of red. It made me smile. Just deserts for being an ass.

Everyone else started sipping, each with similar results. Everyone was now looking up at me with impressed eyes. I think my Queen's idea had in fact shown just how strong we really were. Ri'Saddo was the first one to reply. "You Argonians are used to eating this pepper?" He shook his head in amazement. "Khajiits could never suffer such discipline. Living in the desert is painful enough. We don't need hot foods to add onto it."

I was about to reply to him but I was taken by surprise when the front door opened up. In slithered a giant snake with strong scaly arms and a well-built chest. It had a long tail, long pointy vampiric fangs, and red sharp eyes. It was a Tsaesci, one of our cousins. So, the new war councilors had arrived. Good, time to get them settled in.

Cearbhail: Yes, if you don't believe that any of those exist...look them up. Even the Lilmothiit. they are a fox-like Khajiit thing originally from Black Marsh.