Chapter 14 – No Distance Left To Run
The Grand Council Chambers, The Imperial Palace
Four people walked into the Grand Council Chambers under armed guard to be greeted with the sight of the most powerful people in Tamriel all gathered in one place. Eldred Moravahn was not with the group – as he was not part of the Elder Council's plan he had been forbidden to enter.
Camri recognised two of them – Emperor Namiah Carius and Major-General Cassius Sinclair, the man in charge of the Imperial Legion.
Areen recognised King Jararka, King of Argonia.
Assurrani and Eldred recognised King Gavel Indoril, King of Morrowind.
Ariel saw Aurelia Thierry, Queen of High Rock.
Also present were King Penald of Daggerfall, Duke Jesper the White of Skyrim, King Ri'Shazzar of Elsweyr, Queen Calaminde of the Summerset Isle and Aldaroth, Steward of Valenwood – the kings, queens, dukes and stewards who ruled over the provinces of Tamriel. Also in the room were Baurus, Grandmaster of the Blades, Arch-Mage Onstaro of the Guild of Mages and Brevin Iron-Heart of the Guild of Fighters.
But Assurrani noticed that there was no representative of the Morag Tong.
"You are wondering where Eno and Sun are" King Indoril said, looking into Assurrani's eyes. "You must know of the Dark Brotherhood raid on our headquarters. Eno Hlaalu was killed in the raid. After bravely fighting off many Dark Brotherhood agents he finally died of poisoning from wounds sustained by the Dark Brotherhood's poisoned daggers. Sun, however, was never found, dead or alive. Maybe he escaped. We still hold out hope"
Emperor Carius stood up.
"Camri Everlight, Ariel Lassaile and Falas Assurrani. May I present to you the Elder Council of Tamriel.
The three bowed then stood up again.
"Firstly, congratulations. You have averted a major social and economical disaster, not to mention saved countless lives. I'm sure you were aware of the implications of what would have happened had you not succeeded"
"With respect, Emperor" Camri said. "Before we begin the shoulder-patting I've got questions"
"Of course" the Emperor said. "Well, what do you want to know?"
"Why and how. Why were we selected? Why did we go through all this? And how did you choose us three"
"I can answer your last question easily" the Emperor replied. "You must be aware of the Three Disciplines – combat, magic and stealth. Between the three of you, you excel at all the Disciplines"
Camri shook his head. "This is pointless"
With that, he turned round and walked briskly out of the room.
"Camri!" Ariel cried, running out after him. Areen followed her.
Assurrani watched, then turned back to face the Elder Council.
"Please continue, Emperor"
"We gathered the three of you because we need you to take on a new threat. Do not think that this whole thing was engineered so the three of you might cross paths – it was not. We knew that something was going on, possibly involving General Seminus and Argonia, so we seized the opportunity. We told Eno Hlaalu to make sure it was you who was sent to Cyrodiil to aid Seminus. We told King Jararka to get Camri on the Argonians' side. And we knew that Ariel would get involved.
"Make no mistake, you are here because you're the best. Eno told me that you were the best assassin he had ever encountered. Camri is an expert swordsman and marksman, a skilled tactician and a brave man. And Ariel's talents are too many to list"
The Emperor smiled. It was a good thing the other three had left. Assurrani was the only one who didn't know certain things. The Prophecy. That made explaining things much easier. Explaining to a Dunmer that they were part of a prophecy was never a good idea, particularly if the Tribunal Temple got wind of it.
"So, what's this new threat?" Assurrani asked.
"Something you will hopefully be very familiar with"
"Assassinating?"
"Not exactly…"
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Camri placed his hands on the back of his neck, looked up at the sky and exhaled a deep breath.
"Camri, are you alright?"
Camri turned round to face Ariel.
"That man is not an Emperor, he's a crowd-pleaser" Camri spat. "Did you hear the way he spoke? Sorry, I just can't stand people like that. And he was talking bollocks"
"What do you mean?"
"There was no 'selection'. It's a prophecy. You know it. I know it"
"You're right. They can't have known about our talents increasing when we're near each other because we'd never encountered each other"
"Exactly. I'm going to listen to the Emperor when he starts telling the truth. Even I know more about this bloody prophecy than he does, and I'm not exactly a mythology expert"
Ariel smiled at him. "You've worked out the thing about Meridia too"
"What, about the cave being right next to the Meridia shrine at Skingrad? That scroll was in there specifically so we would find it? Yeah, I knew that all along but I didn't think anything of it until I saw all the statues of her. I quite like the thought that we're part of a divine plan conjured up by Meridia"
At that moment, they noticed Assurrani walking out of the building, looking extremely pissed off.
"You OK?" Camri called to him.
"He got to me as well" Assurrani replied. "He's convinced not to tell me why we're here. He says 'his men need to gather more information'"
"His men?" Ariel asked.
"Spies? The Expeditionary Force? Scholars? It could be anyone" Camri said. "I suppose we'll just have to wait and see"
To be continued….
Epilogue
Twenty years later, Echo Cave, northern Cyrodiil
The two Expeditionary Force men walked slowly through the cave, illuminating its passages with their torches. Since the cave had become so notorious for harbouring evil, the Emperor had ordered frequent sweeps of it to ensure no undesirable parties had taken up residence there. They had reached Mannimarco's chamber, the innermost part of the cave. And they had found nothing.
"Hey, what's that?" one of the men said suddenly, pointing at a black object lying on the floor. It was covered in dust, but even through the dust the ebony glittered under the glow of their torches. It was a sword.
The Expeditionary Force man picked it up and wiped the dust off it. Something was inscribed on the handle.
The letters A.K.S.
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Read on for some hints as to what's coming up... (spoilers!)
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The great event of the Prophecy is revealed!
Sun and General Seminus are back!
Ariel falls for Camri!
Two major bad guys from Morrowind and Oblivion make their return!
There is an Ariel flashback!
It is revealed how Camri ended up in prison!
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Stay tuned... Ny Batteri