On a world ravaged in hellfire, the darkened husks of houses and settlements dot the landscape. The land, once lush with wildlife and flora, now barren, the soil a rust color, darkened splotches revealing scorched bones and twisted, melted metal. In the distance, a towering structure of stone and black metal could be seen, rising hundreds of miles into the air, shrouded in green flame. On a throne of stone in the middle of the structure sat a being of terrible power, his bronze skin cracked and torn in places, revealing a hell storm of raging fire, symbolizing his rage and hatred. He exuded power and horror, making lesser beings cower and flee before him with just his presence.

His left hand propped his head, which had ram horns curling to a sharp point, his eyes raging infernos. Gripped in his right was a sword, broken at the middle and wreathed in flames. Around his throne sat an innumerous host of demons, their forms ranging from rock like beings covered in green flames, from scaly reptilian bodies with four legs, two arms, and long tusks sprouting from their face, to red skinned beings with armor plated tails, red tentacles from their chins, and bony plates sprouting from their foreheads, with goat hooves instead of feet. Beside the fiery being sat his two trusted lieutenants, one red and one blue, but both from the same species, each had tendrils hanging from their heads.

A demon, small compared to his bigger cousins, walked to the throne and bowed before his master.

"My lord, I have news from the world known as "Tamriel" that might interest you," he said.

The being turned from watching two demons scuffling over space to look at his servant. He never bothered to learn the names of his servants, there was just too many of them to remember, of course they weren't important enough to remember, he just remembered their species. The planet Tamriel was one he had visited before, and had no fond memories of. His invasion went wrong the moment his forces stepped out of the portal. The natives had known about him and his army, and were waiting for them at the portal. Thousands slaughtered before they knew what had happened, and tens of thousands more in the following waves. Only by his intervention was he able to gain a foothold, and even then it was costly, almost too costly for his taste. He and his forces were driven back by the combined efforts of the guardians of the planet and all of the native armies to drive him back into the portal, the natives sealing the portal off.

That had been centuries ago. He had wondered from time to time how things were progressing, but he never bothered to check. This little demon provided the perfect opportunity to see how things were going without even doing anything himself.

"Speak saytr, and I will decide if it was worth wasting my time with," he said, his voice booming and deep.

The demon shakily nodded. "I have reports that Alduin the World Eater has just been imprisoned by a being called the 'Dragonborn", who's power clearly exceeded his, and he has recruited three dragons to his side. I fear he may be trouble to your plans my lord," the saytr said.

The being was mildly surprised. The drake's power was that of equal to one of his low ranking lieutenants. If a mortal managed to defeat him, them he must be powerful. This had proved to be interesting, enough so to warrant action on his part. He decided that it was time to check on that little planet, to see if things were ready for his return. Yes, that's what he'll do.

The saytr stared at his master, hoping he hadn't angered him in anyway, for it would be a long time before he reformed and he doesn't have the patience for such a process. He had seen numerous comrades fall victim to his master's mood swings, dying in the exact spot he was standing in. This little fact did nothing to dissuade his unease.

The being rose from his throne, startling the nearby lesser demons and catching the attention if his two high ranking lieutenants.

"What are your orders, my master," said the blue one.

The being turned towards him and spoke. "We are going to invade a world that we've been to before. Tamriel. We are finishing what we started. Prepare the army, we have mortals to slay."

The two lieutenants saluted and started towards the horde of demons, barking commands to their subordinates.

'If I hadn't came to their world, I would never be able to manage the legion as well as they do. It is a shame that the rest of their kin refused to join me. It was utterly delightful when I ordered those that did join me to slaughter their kin. It brought me much joy,' he thought, smirking to himself.

His lieutenants were from a race of highly intelligent beings from a distant planet. The mortals initially refused his offer, stating that they wouldn't take offers from a deceiver. With this insult, he invaded their world with his army, sending countless demons to slaughter them. But they proved resilient and ferocious in combat, beating every wave he sent. He was impressed by their tenacity and skill. He offered them the same deal as before, only this time he worded it differently. Half of the beings accepted, while the other half refused. This rift eventually led to civil war, with one side being slaughtered, and the other half joining his army. Their world was destroyed in the process. The races they had enslaved from their conquest of countless worlds were ordered to begin the renovation of the portal to Tamriel, their invasion of the planet will be greater than any other invasion before. The time of reckoning has come.

Back in Tamriel

Imperius made his way to the imperial capital of Solitude, intent on joining the legion and building up an army loyal to him and his cause. He was passing by a nearby forest that had him on edge, but he couldn't see anything in the dark forest, which made him nervous. Suddenly, the pounding of hooves on stone filled his ears and he felt a great blow to the back of his head and was knocked unconscious, the bottoms of hooves being the last thing he sees before unconsciousness takes hold. When he wakes up, he sees that he is tied to a tree with many arrowheads pointed at his head. He looks up into the face of a man, or what he thinks is a man, for he did not have the lower half of a man. Instead, he had the body of a horse instead of legs.

"What are you doing near our forest?," the man asked while holding a spear to his neck.

"If I may be so bold as to do ask but, what are you exactly? You are not a man, yet you aren't a horse either," Imperius said, leaning his head back to distance himself from the tip of the spear.

The being lowers his spear, the others lowering their weapons, and canters to a nearby tree. turning to face him. He has blonde locks that stopped at his shoulders, pointed ears poking out of his golden hair. His face has a rugged look to it, the short but thick beard indicating that he has not had a shave in a good while. His lower half had the body of a palomino horse, with white hooves and small tufts of white hair above his hooves. He was muscular for a man, well muscled and tanned despite him living in the forest. His spear was crude, a dagger bound to a long stick by leather straps. In fact, most of the weapons these creatures used were crudely made.

"We were once soldiers, heroes of Tamriel, sent to fight a great evil that wished the destruction of all we hold dear. We fought through scores of foul creatures, driving them back to whence they came until one of the enemy lieutenants captured us."

He pauses to take a deep breath, his tail swishing in agitation.

Imperius looks around at the beings surrounding him. They have a similar appearance to the man in front of him, with little differences such as hair color, and breed of horse. But the one thing they had in common was the look on their faces, one of past trauma and terror. The endless stare was a sight he was familiar with in the previous timeline, as sometimes the campaigns were too much for some soldiers. He empathised with them, he had witness many horrors in his life, but he could deal with it, and had helped many of his men deal with their trauma, and grew to be their friend and trusted ally. Now that he was looking closely, he could see faint outlines of scars around their midsection, where their human half met their equine half, and small scars around their ears. He wondered where they got them, but decided against asking, fearing that he might upset them enough to end his life.

"The experiments he tried on us were horrid. Some he twisted into deformed creatures that fought with a fury unmatched, madness claiming them utterly. Others he twisted into disgusting monstrosities of flesh and limbs. But with the rest of us, he bound us to these bodies, forcing us to become his new breed of soldier in their war against our world. But we escaped, cutting down the light garrison he placed to watch us. As we fled, we heard his yells of rage, and ran faster and faster until we were sure we had escaped. And now, we linger here, deep within this forest."

He stared Imperius in the eye, slowly walking towards him, spear in hand.

"We call ourselves The Broken, but the local populace call us Centaurs by our appearance, don't know why though," he said. Imperius took in the rest of his appearance, besides the obvious differences apparent, he wore a chainmail shirt covering his chest, and leather horse armor for his lower half.

"We are alone, hunted down by adventurers, killed in droves by poachers for our hides, and slaughtered by the vigilants of stendaar, thinking us a product of some daedra lord," he said, then chuckled lightly and shook his head.

"Where are my manners, I am Valian Lightbringer, or that was my previous name before all this happened. What is your name traveler?"

Imperius was grateful that the converstaion had made them forget about killing him. He wasn't too keen on meeting with the divine so early, and he doubted that said divine would be too pleased on seeing him fail this easily. He still had a lot of work to do.

"My name is Imperius. I was headed to the imperial capital of Solitude to join the legion," he said.

He continued on, telling them of his quest to unite Tamriel under his rule, how he would end all the ceaseless conflict that plagued the land. He also offered them protection from hunters and poachers, promising them large swaths of open land to them if they were to join his side. Imperius sincerely hoped that all of this would come to fruition. These 'Centaurs', would be an excellent addition to his forces. The imperial army didn't have professional cavalry, just men who were wealthy enough afford a horse and their own equipment. If he were to secure himself a solid, professional cavalry force, then his forces would steamroll right over the other factions in the upcoming conflict. Or at least give them an equal playing field.

"Your offer would protect us from killers, while giving us the freedom to roam. The only thing you want is for us to join your army?" Valian said. Imperius nodded, not wanting to risk ruining this perfect deal by saying the wrong thing. The centaur walked towards three other centaurs dressed in a similar manner to Valian and began discussing the offer amongst themselves, while Imperius was conversing with the dragon divine Akatosh.

'Do you know of these people, are they their own race?' he asked.

'Yes, they can naturally reproduce like any other species, but they were created through unnatural means, during a conflict many many years ago.'

Imperius wanted to ask about the conflict, and what all happened to cause such events, but before he could Valian and two other centaur walked towards him. It seemed they had come to a decision.

"We will accept this offer, if you best our greatest champion in combat," said Valian.

Imperius looked around, searching for the one he will have to face, then finally turning back to Valian. As he was about to speak, he took in the weapons of the centaurs. They appear to mainly use the bow, with small handfuls wielding crude glaives, lances, swords and shields, and war axes.

"And who is this champion I must face, for he seems to not be here," he said.

Valian smirked and twirled his spear in an impressive display, the blade a blur with the sheer speed at which the centaur maneuvered the weapon.

"You're looking at him. Himon, release him from his bindings and give him his armor and weapons. I will not fight an unarmored and unarmed opponent."

A centaur with a chestnut lower half cut Imperius's bindings, and dragged over a chest that contained his segmentata armor and gladius. Whilst he put his armor on, he was asking about how the duel will be fought. It was to be a one on one fight in a arena they had, apparently challenges happen often enough to build it. It was a large structure, about a hundred feet in diameter, with a dirt floor, and a large wooden fence coralling them in. The two combatants entered the arena and went to their corners and waited for the fight to start. Valian readied himself, positioning his body in an offensive position, whilst Imperius took a defensive one. They both waited, waited for the other to make a move. The fight began with Valian charging Imperius, his spear raised to swing. Imperius sidestepped his charge, but was struck by Valian's spear, the blade slightly denting his helmet. It seemed that he and this Valian were equals in combat, for every time he tried to land a blow, the centaur's spear was there to block his attack. The same could be said for Valian. Every time he swung his blade at the imperial, Imperius was there to block his attack

Imperius parried a slash from Valian's spear and smacked his shield into the centaur's front, sending Valian stumbling back. The centaur had stumbled in a way that he had turned around during his disorientation, perhaps an advantage? Yes, it was. He took this advantage and charged Valian, only realizing too late that he was charging the rear end of his opponent. He felt hooves crashing against his armor, bending the segmented armor plates, knocking him across the arena and forcibly expelling the air from his lungs. He sat there, regaining his breath, while Valian waited for him to recuperate from the blow. He wasn't going to fight an opponent unless they were on equal footing.

When Imperius caught his breath, they resumed the battle. Valian charged forth, leveling his spear towards his chest intent on finishing the fight. Imperius deflected the blow with his shield and swept Valian's front legs from underneath him, causing him to tumble to the ground.

When Valian made to get up and resume the duel, he found a sword point pressing against his throat.

"You have bested me Imperius. As part of our agreement, we will join your army and help you in your quest. But we will need space for us to roam and accommodations to start with so we can prepare," he said.

Imperius nodded, lowered his sword, and helped Valian to stand upright.

"I'm glad you have agreed to my proposal. My temporary base is at Bleak Falls Barrow, journey there without drawing attention and await my arrival. I will be there shortly. And don't be surprised or frightened when you get there. You'll know what I mean," Imperius said

Valian stared but nodded and cantered towards his lieutenants, ordering them to break down the camp and to make ready for Bleak Falls Barrow. Imperius thanked Akatosh that it went so well. He could be dead at this moment at time, but it seemed that he wasn't to meet fate yet. He made his way to the Imperial capitol. Along the way, he made a visit to the local blacksmith to get his armor fixed. The blacksmith asked how he had gotten such quality armor into such a state, and Imperius made up a story about a group of bandits ambushing him along the way, and the blacksmith asked no more questions, believing the story.

When he got to the city gates, they saw a Thalmor contingent arguing with imperial soldiers, with the elves wanting to search the city for Talos worshipers, and the legionaries denying them access. The legionaries wore mismatched armor, just like in the previous timeline, and were sloppy like them too. He spotted rust on some of their armor pieces and was angered at the disregard to professionalism. But there was nothing he could do until he commanded men of his own and instill the pride he had for the legion.

"You wretched humans, when the Thalmor high council hear about this, your heads will be speared to the city gates!" one of the elves shouted.

The legionnaire stopping them simply smirked, made a rude gesture, and turned his attention to Imperius. "Hey friend, need entrance to the city? You look like you need some civilization," he said, opening the gates with a grin on his face. The elf officer spluttered, red in the face, and shouted for the contingent to return to the embassy, vowing to make the impudent humans pay for their insolence.

When he entered the city, it was as magnificent as he remembered. The cobblestone streets free of plant life, the shops and stalls of vendors pristine, the marble arch near the barracks shining in the sunlight. Children ran past him, playing some asinine game, carefree and not troubled by war. The kids in the other holds he's been too were cautious, always watching their backs and fearful. He wanted the children of Skyrim, no, Tamriel, to feel as carefree as the children in Solitude. He vowed to make it so.

The first stop he made was to the blacksmith, who he liked in his time in the legion. He was a kind man who made armor for the legions stationed in Skyrim. He had many apprentices to help him, but it was mainly him working day and night to produce the amount asked of him by the imperial military. He pitied the man. His hands must be ruined by the near daily work he has to do. He had a good work ethic, and he liked that in a person. He asked the blacksmith if he had a better gladius than the one he was carrying. The blacksmith took one look at his weapon and immediately went to digging through his shop. He brought out a pristine gladius with an ivory handle. Said he killed the mammoth himself to get the ivory.

He thanked the blacksmith and gave him the required amount of septims for the blade. The blacksmith thanked him for his purchase. He nodded and made his way to the general in the castle. The conversations went like last time, with Tullius asking if they were allowing civilians in the castle now, Imperius reminding him of their meeting in Helgen and his want to join the legion, despite the circumstances of their meeting. Tullius nodded in remembrance, and then tasked Legate Rikke with ensuring that he was fully inducted into the legion, and walked off, talking to his subordinates about supply lines and rebel raiding parties. He was assigned by Legate Rikke with securing a nearby castle from a gang of bandits.

When he killed all the bandits, a laughably easy task given the lack of skill and organization of the bandits, and reported back to Rikke, she laid a hand on his shoulder and said, "Welcome to the legion."