The Dragonborn awoke that morning to the sound of ten thousand pairs of armoured feet marching towards Whiterun.
Rolling off the light bedroll he had been resting on, he quickly threw on a Legion issue red tunic and began strapping on a set of light armour, the high quality Imperial steel and leather as light as feather on his tired body. Buckling on his sword belt, Dragonbane glinting in its sheath at his side, he stumbled out of the small officer's tent and out into the camp beyond.
The first thing he decided, besides the bright sunlight and ever present winds blowing across the plains outside Whiterun, was the riot of sound in the camp around him. The clanging of steel on steel at the forges, shouts from the training areas and dozens of individual conversations filled the air around him, and he smiled as he could smell the strong stench of Imperial stew- affectionately known as 'Cyroddilic Surprise' amongst the troops- hanging on the wind. As he walked down through the maze of tents and stockpiled supplies, he felt a slight sense of peace, despite the obvious tension in the troops he passed.
His parents had both been Legionnaires before he was born, until his mother was wounded in a skirmish with Thalmor scouts during the Great War and his father developed a serious case of post-traumatic stress disorder. Both of them were discharged before he was born, and the first time had experienced a Legion camp had been during the Stormcloak uprising, but, maybe because of his family's connection to it, he felt safest and most at home when amongst the men and women of the Imperial Legion. As he came to the stout palisade wall that marked the edge of the massive Skyrim Holds and Legion camp- just finished the day before by a group of surly but competent Tribal Orc builders- he heard a familiar voice calling his name.
"Hadvar?" he said with a sense of relief as the burly Nord ran over.
"I'm glad to see you too sir…" the Nord replied with a wry smile. "Don't look so surprised," he added as he saw Lucius' confused face. "I was with the advance riders of the army marching from Solitude. The one you can hear right now."
As he said this the two men made their way through the palisade gate to their left and out onto the open plains of Whiterun, the very edge of the huge military camp that had sprung up around the ancient city. In the near distance the soldiers from Solitude's vast and well equipped army were marching closer, ten thousand soldiers in red cloaks and scaled steel armour. Alongside them rode a division of five hundred heavy cavalry wearing plate armour and bearing red kite shaped shields, while standard bearers on horseback amongst the column bore aloft the wolf crest on scarlet banners that fluttered and unfurled in the strong wind.
"Impressive," Lucius said simply as they both looked out over the advancing army. "But I still doubt how well they can last against Dwemer…."
Hadvar sighed. "I don't really know how well any of us can do against the Dwemer. Seems everyone is completely writing off every soldier we have because of one battle. I can assure you Lucius, I spoke with some of the men on the journey here. They know their chances are slim, but there's no honour in just giving up without a fight like some…milk drinker." He said with a hopeful smile.
By now the army of Solitude were coming within sight of the gates, and Lucius picked out the armoured figures of Bolgeir Bearclaw, Jarl Elisif's surly housecarl and commander of her bodyguard division and Captain Aldis, the head of Solitude's own city guard.
"You would not believe how hard it was to convince old Bolgeir that Balgruuf's own warriors would be more than enough to protect her," Hadvar said and laughed. "I knew housecarls were loyal, but he almost turned down commanding a whole army to be alongside his lord."
Lucius shrugged. "You should have seen my housecarl's back in my adventuring days. Every time me and Serana wanted to go off on our own looting a cave or potholing in a Dwemer city, half of them would demand to come with us, and the other half would ride ahead and clear the dungeon in advance to stop me getting hurt. Kind of takes the fun out of adventuring… I mean, that whole business in Solstheim, every one of my housecarls was hanging about in Raven Rock waiting for me to finally agree to let them come with me."
Hadvar smiled. "I'm so sorry Lucius," he said with a wiry grin. "I forgot how hard it is being the Thane of all the Holds in Skyrim."
"What can I say," Lucius said with a shrug. "I can't let myself get tied down to one Hold, especially not now the Civil Wars over and we're still trying to rebuild."
The thump of hooves on the dirt road behind them quickly ended the two soldiers' conversation, and the two men turned to see a grey robed Vigilant of Stendaar sporting an impressive moustache, atop a brown horse outfitted in a light set of silver barding armour, riding over to them, pulling up short with a clatter of spurs.
"Dragonborn!" the Vigilant called out, the silver mace at his side glinting in the sunlight as he bowed from the saddle, "Vigilant Arianna requests your presence immediately! She has vital intelligence on the enemy forces she needs you to see," He added in a lower voice, leaping nimbly from the saddle and motioning at his horse. "Take my horse. According to Arianna this is a most urgent matter."
Lucius nodded quickly. He had learnt throughout his time as the Dragonborn that literally everything was an urgent matter-especially when he was involved.
Clambering atop the horse, which obediently stayed still as Lucius' wiry frame settled atop the saddle, the Dragonborn and nodded at the Vigilant by way of thanks. Giving Hadvar a cheery smile, Lucius galloped away and through the camp, up the road and towards the city above, that sat like an island in a sea of canvas tents and open training grounds.
000000
The interior of Dragonsreach was a flurry of activity when Lucius entered. On all sides were groups of soldiers from all the Holds along with Imperial officers and regional commanders wearing cloaks depicting the crest of their homelands. Messengers ran to and fro clutching armfuls of scrolls while battlemages in an eclectic mix of armour and robes talked in hushed tones in dark corners, tiny nimbuses and bolts of magic crackling around them in the gloom. Above it all hung the babble of dozens of different conversations, ranging from whispers and secretive murmurs to the near bellow of someone who could only be Jarl Igmund.
Walking down the central aisle, Lucius blended in perfectly with the other Imperial soldiers gathered around the room and, to most of the people there who had probably never seen him without his usual Dragonbone armour, he just looked like any other regular soldier. That was partially why he liked wearing the Legion uniform. That and, even though he could never be a 'normal' person and join the Legion without being expected to clear out bandit infested ruins and take on whole battalions of Stormcloaks single-handed, somehow, when he wore that familiar looking armour and walked amongst other soldiers, he finally felt at home.
After passing the high table where most of the Jarls, as well as Prince Mirtil and several Imperial Legates, deep in council and didn't notice his passing, he was greeted by two burly Vigilants in grey robes with silver maces at their sides. Both men nodded at him as he came to the head of the stairs they guarded.
"Arianna has told us to escort you to her chambers." Stated one of the Vigilants, a blank faced Nord with a thick blond beard.
"Follow us please Dragonborn," The other, sporting a similar hard faced expression but with a black beard, said, motioning with one steel gauntleted hand up the stairs.
Taking the lead the black bearded Vigilant began stomping up the staircase and Lucius followed warily behind. Although he was grateful for Arianna's help a few days ago convincing the Jarl's of the Daedra threat, he hadn't had a lot of particularly good dealings with the Vigilance of Stendaar. From nearly being killed by radical Vigilants on the road for travelling with a former vampire to finding their base of operations in ruins just when he needed them the most, the Vigilants had never been a huge help to him or to Skyrim as a whole- either being too fanatical or not really prepared enough to properly protect the people of the province.
As they ascended the winding wooden staircase and passed along corridors thronged with more soldiers and tacticians both Imperial and Nord, the blond bearded Vigilant turned to the Dragonborn.
"My name is Vigilant Pavel. My companion is Vigilant Arminius. We've not met before but both of us have heard of your triumphs. I was glad to hear that you cleared the vampires out of our Hall after it was sacked."
"Just doing what I could." Lucius replied with a smile.
Vigilant Arminius smiled grimly. "I almost wish you had left a few for us to destroy when we arrived. We had been sent out on a mission to track down a rogue group of mages when we heard of the Hall's destruction," He shook his head. "A third of the Hall's members were with us- some of the best warriors too. Turns out the tip off we got was fake. If Arianna hadn't been there to rally us, I don't know what would have happened. We've met far too many of our former brethren who went mad or tried to take back the Hall on their own and got…turned."
Lucius shook his head slowly and frowned. "I've encountered a few of your former comrades like that. You'll be glad to know we put them out of their misery."
Pavel nodded grimly. "I guess that's the best we can ask for. Thank you Dragonborn."
By now they were climbing an empty set of stairs deep within the castle interior. The distant sounds of patrolling guards and muffled voices below showed how far away from the main parts of the palace they were by now.
"Arianna does like her privacy doesn't she?" Lucius quipped but the two men with him didn't share his smile.
"I respect Arianna for what she did rebuilding our order," Pavel said softly, but with underlying menace. "However her…thoughts and methods…are not ones that we in the Vigilance condone."
"But desperate times do call for desperate measures." Arminius conceded as they came to a narrow corridor, half filled with barrels and crates with a dusting of cobwebs in the rafters overhead and a solitary wooden door at the end of the passage.
The two Vigilants bowed to Lucius before turning on their heels and walking stiffly away and back down the stairs.
000000
When Lucius stepped into Arianna's private room, it was nothing like he had imagined. Far from being a quiet space of meditation and healing, like the Hall of the Vigilant had once been, the room resembled a cross between an armoury and a mage's tower. It reminded him quite a lot of Valerica's study in Castle Volkihar.
The large room was almost completely filled with crates and barrels filled with everything from potion ingredients and sweet rolls to silver tipped arrows and crossbow bolts. Weapons racks lined the wooden walls, jostling for space with shelves heaving with potion ingredients and glass vials filled with multi-coloured liquids. In the far corner a weapons enchanting table and alchemy lab were nearly lost amongst piles of scrolls and stacked wooden boxes with iron edges.
Stepping gingerly between the clutter, Lucius glanced around the room, noticing the central table, currently occupied by two crossbows, a set of iron and silver stakes and a strange black stone bowl he couldn't make sense of. The bowl was dish shaped and as large as the top of a barrel; its contents a swirling clear water that seemed to shimmer in the candlelight.
He was just about to touch the water when he saw the Vigilant appear from a small side room, reading from a red leather backed journal. She turned her head and clocked him, snapping the book shut with a thump and turning to face him, hands on her hips.
"I hope it wasn't too hard getting up here?" She said briskly, sitting down on a chair at the far end of the table, motioning for Lucius to do the same before smoothing out her grey robe and absently checking her brown hair- still in its tight bun.
"I have to say you definitely found somewhere…out of the way," Lucius replied with a slight smile. "I didn't even know this room was in the palace."
"Well, as you no doubt heard from my colleagues, my work is seen as…dangerous, by my brother and sister Vigilants. And yet, you should know this much more than anyone else, sometimes the best way to defeat your enemy…"
She paused, holding up her hand in an open palm and, with a burst of purple flame, a Daedric dagger made of fire appeared in her hand and, with a flick of her wrist, disappeared back into Oblivion.
"…is to use their methods against them."
Lucius flinched at the Vigilant's actions. "But…the Vigilance…"
"Are a bunch of well-meaning fools, Dragonborn. You should understand. For what was it that ended the Dragon Wars, where all the swords and arrows of the ancient Nords failed? What did you do to defeat Alduin and Miraak? You used their power against them. Took that which they prized so greatly and believed they alone was in control of- their power- and turned it against them. That is how I have fought against the enemies of the innocent for years,"
As she continued, Arianna stood up and walked around the table, picking up a dagger of solid silver from the selection on the table.
"When I faced the infamous Taskmaster of Bards Leap Summit- a notorious Daedra worshipper and bloodthirsty apostle of Mehrunes Dagon- I strangled him with his own Oblivion forged whip. The Dark Oracle, I turned her own Daedric allies against her using forbidden magics. And when I faced the Windhelm Butcher, I raised the corpse of his most recent victim and used her to choke the life from his corrupted body. Sometimes Dragonborn…" she added, plunging the dagger into the hard wood of the table, leaving it quivering in the thick oak. "…we have to use our enemies own weapons and tactics against them to catch them off guard and destroy them. Sometimes we have to let little things like morals take a backseat until our people are safe."
Lucius shook his head and sighed deeply.
"Don't you see Arianna? Even when our enemies are an invincible empire from eras ago and the uncountable legions of Daedra, we still have to stick to our ways, to our morals! If we have to sacrifice everything good about us like you seem to be implying, what's the point? If we fight monsters and become monsters ourselves, what really makes our cause right?"
The Vigilant smiled slightly. "I knew your would say that. Your esteemed colleague Calcelmo informed me of your…sense of morality when we spoke a few hours ago."
"How is that even possible?" Lucius asked, his previous sense of outrage replaced by a more inquisitive air, the Vigilant's words making little sense to him.
"By using our enemy's technology," Arianna replied, turning to the bowl of liquid, and muttering an incantation over it. "Observe."
Furrowing his brow in confusion, Lucius nonetheless looked into the bowl, and his eyes widened as the clear liquid began to show a view of a cobblestone Imperial road running through a field, in the centre of it a familiar Altmer figure in blue robes galloping at high speed atop a sturdy Nordic horse.
"I have to give the old man credit," Arianna continued. "He spent a few nights in the custody of the Imperial customs officials and still refused to give up in the face of overwhelming bureaucracy and stupidity. I would estimate he will reach the Imperial City within a day or two. In answer to your question though Dragonborn, I used this to contact him."
Reaching underneath the table she produced the unmistakeable cuboid form of a Dwemer lexicon, sat on a base of bronze and gold, gently rotating a few centimetres off the base. And, in the heart of the golden base, the candle light glinted off the sinister dark form of a black soul gem.
"Within this soul gem is one of the only remaining examples of a trapped Dwemer soul," Arianna explained matter-of-factly. "You would not believe how valuable this gem is, both to us and our enemies. My use for it however is a bit more subdued. You see, whilst reading some tomes of Dwemer knowledge a few months before this crisis, I discovered the method by which the Dwarves empires and city states stayed in contact across such vast distances. Every member of their race had, to a greater and smaller extent, a form of telepathy known as 'the Calling' which allowed them to stay in constant contact with their fellows. That is why their battle formations are so deadly, why their engineers and Tonal Architects pool their combined knowledge, and how their leaders can plot overall strategy on the battlefield from the safety of a far off fortress. Using this lexicon I've been able to tap into the Calling this ancient Dwemer soul possesses a window into, and use it for our own ends. I can even conjure up images from the past,"
As she said this the Vigilant waved her hand over the bowl of water, closing her eyes and furrowing her brow in concentration.
Lucius peered deeply into the shifting liquid until, with a shimmer of light, it formed itself once again into an image. This one depicted what looked like a half built Dwemer city, composed entirely of gold and brass. And, as he looked closer, he could see dark figures in armour fighting within the city's maze of streets and interiors. Half were the distinctive forms of armoured Dremora but it was who they were fighting that made Lucius feel a stab of fear.
The soldiers were obviously Dwemer, and yet their armour looked…wrong, somehow. In place of the normal dull bronze, the plate armour was blackened and more resembling the armour of the Dremora they were fighting. Their weapons too, although the same design as normal Dwemer weaponry, also included sinister looking modifications like spikes on shields and extra prongs and flesh ripping blades on axes and swords.
"They are the Black Army," Arianna explained. "One thousand warriors strong, from what the Dwemer commanders I listened in on have been saying. Their armour is made from Dwemer metal forged using the hearts and souls of Daedric creatures. Their leader is this man," she added, moving her fingers in a complex pattern over the bowl, which turned the viewpoint from the battlefield as a whole to a single figure, clad in the same armour as the others, but with a cloak of purple flowing from his shoulders. In his hands was a set of two Daedric swords, both rippling with arcane energy as he rammed the two blades through the chest of a Dremora and ripped them out in a burst of black blood and decapitated the creature.
"The Black Prince. He answers only to the Dwemer High Queen and, at this very moment, is riding for the coast. Wherever he is going, death and destruction will not be far behind."
"What are you trying to tell me?" Lucius asked.
"Do you think you could have found out this information using traditional methods? I'm just trying to show you that, even if you don't agree with my methods, they give results. I wanted to tell you this now before you start accusing me of using evil magic or something ridiculous I have nothing but the best intentions."
"So what would you recommend we do? This war has barely begun and we're already finding out there's at least three enemy armies out there. The Dwemer, the Thalmor and the Daedra! How can we fight them all at once?"
Arianna smiled slightly and turned to the Imperial. "You let me worry about the Daedra, Dragonborn. The Jarls have appointed me as the leader of all anti-Daedric forces in our armies. I've already sent messenger hawks appealing to aid from our fellow Chapters in High Rock and Cyroddil. And the Dawnguard are gathering their forces as we speak in the Rift. Give me a week and we'll have five thousand elite warriors ready to counter anything the Daedra can throw at us. As for the Dominion, we'll have to-"
Suddenly the door at the far end of the room burst open and Proventus, Balgruff's steward, burst in, along with two palace guards. The steward's face was red and streaked with sweat as he shouted.
"Dragonborn! There's no time to lose! Our scouts have spotted a swarm of Dragons heading towards the city, led by that same…creature, we captured a few years ago. They're shouting your name across the plains of Whiterun as we speak! What should we do?"
Even Arianna looked concerned at the news, but Lucius only smiled and nodded before saying, with a wry grin.
"Don't worry Proventus. It seems our army has just got a healthy upgrade to our firepower…"