Disclaimer: Not mine I'm afraid.

Chapter II. The Battle Mage of Old.

Divayth stood outside the private chambers of Grand Magister Telvanni and he was cursing Arch Magister Uvirith in every tongue he knew. Upon hearing the news of the Dwemer possibly attacking Uvirith had immediately dispatched Divayth to the Telvanni Isles to warn the Grand Magister.

Upon arriving Divayth was in a bad mood. One of the guards down at the docks actually had the gall to question his purpose at Port Telvanni. Of course his mood worsened even more when he was told that the Grand Magister was unable to receive visitors for the next hour but he was welcome to wait outside.

Unable to ignore his mood or the noises of ecstasy from within the room any longer he blew the door off its hinges and stormed in. Cries of panic and fear erupted from the Grand Magister and the woman with him 'his newest whore I'd guess', "You get out of here now… Sarin you and I need to talk alone".

The nude woman nodded and began to dress herself when Divayth rounded on her again. "I didn't tell you to get dressed, now get yourself out of here before I curse you and your descendants for the next five generations".

The woman nodded fearfully and ran out of the room slamming the door behind her. "Read these now", Divayth said as he threw five letters at Sarin Telvanni. Telvanni simply looked at him with a confused look before he started to read the letters, paling more and more after each one.

"I take it that it is not good news?"

Grand Magister Telvanni nodded as he started to get some clothes on. "It appears that the Dwemer has started to attack our people. The Great Houses and Ashlander Clans have decided to vote a king to lead us, so far we Have Lord Indoril Nerevar from the House of Indoril and Lord Sather Uveren from House Dres. Each of those holds four votes, our House and the Ahemmusa have yet to place a vote… you… ah… do you have a suggestion?"

Divayth thought a little about the two individuals who could be the first King of the Chimer. He had spent some time in their company over the years and had learned much more about them than they thought.

"Uveren is a perfect warrior, I don't think he has ever been beaten before… but he is no leader. While disgustingly easy to manipulate we need someone who can lead the people through this war and only Nerevar can do that. He is a better warrior than most, and well enough versed in magic, he is a natural leader and a skilled diplomat".

"Oh and I almost forgot, he have four skilled advisors as well which includes Lord Voreyn Dagoth of House Dagoth. Nerevar and his advisors can definitely lead us through this war, but before you get any ideas… don't try to manipulate him it won't work".

"Very well, I shall send message that the Great House Telvanni votes for Lord Indoril Nerevar… if you don't mind perhaps you could train him a bit with magic, just in case the Ahemmusa Clan vote for Uveren and an honour duel will be held between the two candidates?"

Divayth sighed… it figured that he would be given this task it was after all his infernal luck that continued to make him a plaything for the gods. "As you wish… Grand Magister" he said coldly emphasising Sarin's title. "But do not expect me to do you any more favours… lest you want me to take your place one dark night while you are sleeping".

The Grand Magister whitened at the implied threat and a brief flicker of fear entered his eyes before it left. His supposed seniority in the house was just a formality as they both knew that Divayth would destroy him easily if it came to a fight between the two of them. "Thank you Divayth, I shall remember it".

Divayth nodded and then teleported straight back to his stronghold, ignoring the fact that it was illegal to perform teleportation within the confines of the Grand Magister's tower. He walked down to the detention levels where the captured Dwemer was locked up.

"Where did you come from"? Divayth asked. Naturally no answer was given and after five hours of asking his prisoner questions he gave up. "Go back to your city and tell your leader to stay away from my lands in the future".

The mer looked strangely at Divayth, no doubt he had believed that Divayth would kill him. "Don't worry, I only kill when I must and you are of no immediate threat so take your leave". The mer nodded thankfully and then ran as fast as he could to the door that led out and then off towards wherever he came from.

"We'll meet again Yagrum Bogarn", he muttered as he started to pack some of his equipment that he would need for his time with Nerevar.

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Divayth had been a guest at Nerevar's manor for a week when a messenger came. "The Ahemmusa have voted for Uveren, the duel will be in three days in the arena at Tear".

Nerevar absentmindedly nodded the messenger away before turning back to Divayth. "Tell me something my friend, why do you really support me, and don't give me any lies about it being for the greater good".

Divayth simply raised an eyebrow at Nerevar. "You might not be as good a warrior as Uveren, but you are a natural leader, and your wife and friends will no doubt make it much more difficult to manipulate you".

He took a sip of sujamma before continuing. "The House of Telvanni would love to manipulate you for their own gain, but won't dare to do so as long as I am with you. Alone my friend you are as blunt as an anvil… but that is exactly what we need. You say what you mean and people respect that".

"Thank you for your honesty my friend", Nerevar said as he sat down in a chair. "But what are we going to do with Uveren, in a flat out duel I am not too sure that I can beat him".

"Perhaps, but I shall teach you to employ every dirty trick there is in the book. We need to go for speed and guile, not brute strength and skill. First of all you coat your sword in a very potent and coincidentally undetectable poison, second I will enchant your armour myself, when I am finished with it you won't even notice its presence and lastly, in a duel there are no rules about magic, and if you swear yourself to silence about this I shall teach you a spell that kills anyone it hits".

"I can… see why your fellow House members fear you so", Nerevar laughed.

"Oh?"

"Yes. You are a good friend… but a more ruthless enemy there is none".

Divayth laughed himself. "Well I simply do what I must to survive, and a hammer blow from the start will make everyone else plotting against me think twice before acting".

"Indeed, well let's get to training then shall we?"

Three days later in the House Hlaalu capitol of Tear the two combatants stood in the duelling arena. Nerevar was clad with lightweight Glass armour, the green crystal material that was something completely different from normal glass that was used for window panes and the like. In his left hand he held a small steel dagger that had been coated in a colourless poison that would be fatal within five minutes, and in his right he held an Ebony longsword coated with the same poison. He would have preferred to use a lighter weapon, but he needed the edge the heavier and much sharper weapon would give him.

Sather Uveren was the complete opposite of Nerevar. He was clad from top till toe with Ebony armour, and in his hands was a massive steel claymore. His back was covered by a massive shield, and an ebony war axe was slung in his belt.

Inside the arena there was not one seat that hadn't been taken, and bets were flying everywhere, outside the crowd was even bigger as thousands had shown up to witness the duel so that they would be the first to know who their new King would be.

The two warriors approached each other and nodded their respects and then on some unspoken signal both attacked. Uveren went for a swift deadly uppercut that was nimbly avoided by Nerevar. Before Nerevar could even launch a counter attack Uveren struck again, this time with a downward chop from the high left.

Like Divayth had taught him Nerevar stepped back and forced Uveren to miss instead of wasting precious energy with blocking. As soon as he stepped back he delivered a swift blow that left a small scratch in the Ebony armour that Uveren was donned in. He used his momentum to spin around and stabbed with all of his strength at Uveren's armoured back and watched with dismay as the steel dagger broke on impact.

Before he could launch another attack Uveren struck him in the face with the back of the claymore. Nerevar stepped back as the pain hit him. He was sure that his nose was broken and two of his teeth had been knocked out. On instinct he jumped to the left and narrowly avoided loosing his head. He immediately recuperated and stepped towards Uveren and struck the claymore with all of his might. With a loud 'clang' the large steel blade broke off at the middle.

Instead of panicking Uveren threw a punch that Nerevar deftly avoided, but he failed to doge the kick that hit him in the sternum. Gasping for air Nerevar fell to the ground. Uveren discarded his broken sword and took the axe from his belt and struck down with all the strength he possessed. A brief blinding light erupted from Nerevar's armour as the enchantment on it failed. Fortunately it had done its job as the axe had failed to penetrate the light armour, though a significant crack had been made and from the pain he had when he breathed Nerevar knew that one or two of his ribs had broken.

Nerevar roared in pain and anger and stabbed his sword into the knee joint of Uveren's armour and was rewarded with a howl of pain as the sword penetrated flesh and cut tendons. He withdrew his sword and crawled away and gingerly stood to his feet. Already Uveren was on the ground and he was shaking in agonizing pain as the deadly poison swept through his system. Like a cancer the poison destroyed his body from within.

With a whispered 'Avada Kedavra' Nerevar ended Sather Uveren's life rather than letting him die in agonizing pain. Silence greeted Nerevar for almost a full minute before the crowd roared with triumph, their King had now been chosen and they could for the first time be truly united as one people. Nerevar's wife Almalexia fought her way over to her husband and started to heal his injuries while his three closes friends and advisors: Vivec, Sotha Sil and Voreyn Dagoth congratulated him.

Divayth simply gave him a nod of approval before turning to leave. At the exit he was accosted by the Grand Magister. "What in Azura's name are you playing at Fyr?" For some reason he was extremely angry.

"What ever do you mean…Grand Magister?" Divayth responded curiously. Not that he didn't know, he was pretty sure what had the Grand Magister so angry, yet he wanted to make it clear that his life was his own and not belonging to some paranoid mer with delusions of absolute power.

"I recognised the spell that Lord Nerevar used. Do you not remember that we swore oaths not to reveal Telvanni secrets to ANYONE outside the house?"

"Yes indeed I do remember. But, correct me if I'm wrong here. I never taught anyone not even Baladas that spell for a reason, and as such it is not a Telvanni secret. It is my secret and mine to give to whom I will…and remember it is I and I alone who taught you and the others the secret of eternal life. Your immortality is dependant on my goodwill, and if I find you unsuitable for it I will make sure that your body is never found", Divayth whispered icily to the Grand Magister.

Sarin Telvanni backed up fearfully. "You-you wouldn't dare".

"Oh I wouldn't would I? I can assure you that I have my own goals and plans and you are not necessary for their fulfilment, I expect you to arrange for the members of the House to start training for war. Good day Grand Magister", then he Teleported back to his stronghold, leaving the Grand Magister shaking in fear.

Sarin Telvanni's office.

The Grand Magister and his two Arch Magisters had gathered in his office to discuss the coming war against the Dwemer. "We must make sure to appoint a good leader to control the Telvanni forces in this war", Arch Magister Zafirbel told the other two as she looked at Sarin who was pacing back and forth.

"Yes but there is only one problem, the best person for this task is Divayth Fyr, and I would loathe to give him more connections than he already has. That mer is inherently dangerous and if he leads our troops to victory in King Nerevar's name he will gain much popularity" Sarin told his two visitors as he sat back down in his throne like chair.

Arch Magister Uvirith suddenly brightened as an idea popped into his mind. "We can make sure that he is 'eliminated' as soon as the war is won. We surround him with retainers that are loyal to us, the one that kills him will be elevated to the rank of Master, if he is attacked by several of our skilled mages he doesn't stand a chance".

The other two occupants in the room quickly agreed to the plan, it was ingenious and had a large chance of success.

Unaware of the plotting that was being done Divayth was training with Nerevar's personal friend and advisor Voreyn Dagoth at Dagoth's stronghold of Koghorun. Divayth could claim with absolute certainty to be one of the best magic wielders on Tamriel but his close combat skills still left some to desire, and Voreyn was a skilled swordsman and a fearsome staff wielder.

"Exellent Divayth one more time. Two, four, nine, ten, seven and lunge", he yelled as Divayth performed the various moves that the numbers represented. He was progressing fast as his impressive mind soaked up information like a sponge. It would be a few months before an army was made ready to protect their country from the increasing Dwemer threat, and Divayth was learning everything he could, perfecting his magical combat studies.

He and Voreyn were just about to start another exercise when a bloodied mer stumbled into the courtyard where they were training. "My lord… the Dwemer are attacking, they killed one of the scout parties you placed around the fort, I barely escaped with my life".

Voreyn cursed as he yelled for one of his guards. A mer clad in bonemold armour raced in and snapped off a salute to his Lord. "Raise the alarm and gather the warriors we are under attack", the guard beat his fist at his chest plate and ran towards a set of bells. He immediately started to bang the bells with a large hammer.

Divayth walked quickly to his chambers where he started to put on his armour. The grey/black and red Daedric armour was one of the few complete sets in existence. He had received it as a gift when he saved the life of a master smith from a large pack of nix hounds. The Ebony like material would normally weigh like a ton, but Divath had enchanted it to be weightless and so he would be able to move normally on the battlefield.

After he had donned his armour he grabbed the belt that held his sword Goldbrand. It had been a gift from the Daedric Prince Boethia for building a shrine to him. And the Golden katana was a fearsome weapon. It was imbued with a deadly fire enchantment and its edge was wickedly sharp. With a last glance around his room he grabbed his Daedric staff that he had taken from a Dremora Lord and ran out to meet with Dagoth and his warriors.

He had not arrived too early. Already the fifty warriors Voreyn had were firing arrows from their bows towards the approaching enemies. From what he could count they were severely outnumbered, and despite the deadly rain of arrows few Dwemer fell as their broad shields and thick heavy Dwemer armour protected them from most of the arrows.

Divayth thrust his staff out towards the Dwemer force and a massive bolt of lightening erupted from it and smashed several of the Dwemer to the ground. Without breaking a sweat he twirled the staff and swept it upwards and a huge wave of energy rushed towards the Dwemer like a gigantic wave and threw five of them dozens of feet into the air and he could hear their screams of fear as they started to fall back to the ground ending with sickening cracks as bones were broken by the impact.

Changing tactics he stepped over to the large staircase that led down to the plains below and threw his hands out almost as if to embrace the onrushing Dwemer. Powerful winds blew out from him and battered against the Dwemer, blowing some to the ground while others of them continued to push forward towards the fort. He stopped his attack to down a potion that brought his magicka levels up to full strength again. The Chimer warriors at Koghorun had run out of arrows and gripped their weapons in strong hands.

"Fear not my friends, the enemy may be many, but we have Divayth Fyr. With him at our side we can weather this storm", Voreyn yelled to his soldiers as he took a place at Divayth's side. The men cheered with hope as they stepped forward determined to sell their lives dearly.

"Nice speech Voreyn, I'll see if I can't thin their numbers a bit more". He flung his hand out towards their enemies and a small burning orb of magic flew towards the Dwemer. The Dwemer collectively held out their shields but it was to no avail as the small orb of energy impacted on the surface of one of the shields. The small orb detonated with immense force and a huge dome of fire spread out several yards, encompassing dozens of Dwemer warriors with incandescent flames.

Divayth breathed out as he looked at the devastation. That had been the most powerful of the fire based Theurgist spells and it had almost drained him of magicka, however it had done its job. They were now outnumbered three to one and since they had the high ground it was not impossible odds.

With roaring battle cries the Dwemer thundered up the steps of the Fort. Discarding his staff Divayth drew Goldbrand from its sheath and prepared for the fight. With a crash of steel on steel the Dwemer warriors smashed into the warriors of Voreyn Dagoth. Had they been but simple warriors the battle would have been hopeless, but these mer's were the personal bodyguard of Lord Voreyn Dagoth the Lord of the Great House of Dagoth and all of them were skilled warriors.

Blood flowed as mer fought mer in a desperate battle. And at the front stood Voreyn Dagoth with Divayth Fyr at his side. With perfect synchrony they fought back to back as the Dwemer slowly but surely pushed the defenders back. Divayth lost all track of time as he dodged, blocked, ducked, slashed, stabbed and chopped. His armour had taken several hits but so far it had passed the test and they were slowly gaining the upper hand.

The Dwemer who had already lost many of their warriors against Divayth's devastating magical attacks were loosing. Their morale was worn down as the outnumbered Chimer fought like trapped animals, taking three often four of the Dwemer with them in death and suddenly the fighting stopped.

To the south a great plume of dust raised into the sky and soon enough everybody could see who was coming. King Indoril Nerevar himself was coming, riding at the head of a large force of Chimer warriors on horses. With a cry of despair their nerve broke and they ran away from the bloodied but victorious Chimer.

The surviving Chimer cheered as their foe fled. They had fought long and hard and victory was theirs. "Thank you Lord Fyr, without you we would not have achieved victory", Voreyn sad as he grasped Divayth's shoulder.

"Victory?" Divayth said disbelievingly. "We have fought and killed our own kin. Different believes they may have, but they are as much mer as we are. No this is not victory it is madness. I only fight because I have my own agenda and the survival of our people is necessary. Remember that Voreyn".

"I acknowledge your wisdom in this matter though I do not see it", Voreyn countered as he sat down at the top of the blood stained stairs.

"Then I shall educate you my friend. We fight partly because the Dwemer did as a matter of fact inhabit this country before we came, and many of us wish to see them wiped from the world for their beliefs, but unless the races of mer are united the forces of men will cement their rule over us one by one. Indeed I foresee that within four millennia the nedic race shall rule all of Tamriel as one big empire".

"Impossible those worthless slaves do not have and never will have the strength to conquer the race of mer, we are the firstborn and it is our right to rule the lands of Tamriel", Dagoth stated angrily.

"Those be your views my friend, I think I shall return to my own home for some time" and then he spun on the spot and disappeared from view only to reappear in his study a mere second afterwards.

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Vvardenfell. First Era. Year 416.

The Chimer and Dwemer of Resdayn had many similar clashes over the years, but no real big battles were fought, and then in the year 243 a new threat emerged. Wave after wave of men who called themselves Nords attacked Resdayn from the northwest. At first the two different groups of mer had tried to fight themselves as well as the Nords but as casualties rose and smaller cities were pillaged and burned the Dwemer King Dumac and King Nerevar had entered into negotiations of a truce, and in the year 416 they formed a collective government with themselves as the reigning monarchs. This alliance was led by the two kings as well as King Dumac's High Priest Kagrenac and Nerevar's four advisors as well as the heads of the other Great Houses and the rulers of the largest Dwemer cities, and together they formed the fabled first council.

Now joined as one force the Chimer and Dwemer started to push back the invaders. The heavily armoured Dwemer soldiers usually was at the forefront of the armies and they were backed by a deadly combination of Chimer light infantry, archers and skilled mages working together as one cohesive force that even the frenzied men from the north could not beat. Nerevar's general Voreyn Dagoth often led his army into the very homeland of the Nords though he was unsuccessful at holding any area for a large period of time.

While Nerevar and Dumac's army had the best warriors as well as Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil all of them great fighters and magic users Dagoth had Divayth and a large contigent of Telvanni mages and it was often a fierce but friendly rivalry going on with whose army could defeat the largest force. It was this rivalry that had led Dagoth's army into it's current problem. Ignoring Divayth's advice Dagoth had led his depleted army deep into Nord territory and there they had suffered a grave defeat that claimed the lives of almost half of their remaining force.

This particular army had been fighting almost constantly for two years and it had been low on men for over half of that period, and instead of waiting to be reinforced and resupplied Dagoth had led his army deeper into the land of Skyrim to destroy their capitol and kill their King effectively breaking the back of the Nord invasion.

"What news do you have Master Talander?" Voreyn asked the young Hlaalu noble.

"Bad milord. The approaching army is at least twice as big as our own and it contains over three hundred heavy horsemen", he said with dismay as he tried to catch his breath. Talander and his small group of scouts had been out all night and harassed the enemy as much as they could with their longbows.

A shudder went through the gathered war council. The heavy cavalry of the Nords were feared for a reason. Clad in the finest Nordic armour the carried sharp spears and large battle axes, and so far no army without cavalry had beaten a Nord force that contained them.

"You must flee Lord Dagoth, I shall remain with my contingent of men and hold a rearguard as long as I can", Lord Arobar a Redoran Master of good standing said as he stood up to leave.

"A noble sacrifice I'm sure, but in the long run useless" Divayth said as he spoke for the first time during the long meeting. "Unless you've noticed we are trapped at the end of a valley, and I have no doubt that King Harald has already ordered one or more of his armies back to cut off our possible escape, we need to make a stand and we must do it here".

"Forgive my doubt Lord Fyr" he countered with a tone that showed everyone that he did not feel sorry at all. "But how are we going to do that? We are outnumbered. Nearly every soldier is wounded in some way and might I mention that we are facing over three hundred heavy horsemen? We will be slaughtered we cannot stop them".

Divayth rose and walked around the inside of the tent, observing the defeated look that was present on the face of every single mer in it including Dagoth's. "If you look at this map our enemy must cross this river here. Indeed it is not deep I will admit that, but it will slow them down. At our backs there is a large forest, we shall make spears…long spears three times as long as a man".

He paused as he could see some of the others realizing what his idea was. "When they cross the ford they will be forced to charge uphill and we will be there with the spears to stop the charge of the horsemen with spears so long that they will not be able to reach us without risk of death".

We can also put those of us in the worst conditions to start constructing a small fort here to defend. I will take whatever mages we have left and summon enough deadra to break even the nerve of the most stalwart enemy, in this valley we will outlast them until reinforcements arrive and trust my help is on the way".

"I see the cunning in your plan my friend, but your part with the daedra is it not dangerous to summon so many of them what if they breaks free from your control?" Dagoth asked cautiously.

"We do not need to control them we need to unleash them. Their aggressive behaviour will make them attack the onrushing enemies who will no doubt be crazed madmen".

Work started immediately with cutting down trees to make into spears or for barricades. Every mer lent a hand, the mages used magic to held with construction, while Divayth blasted out magical waves that cut trees down at the stem by the dozens.

After a day of hard work the bulk of their force, nearly a thousand altogether moved out nearly every one of them carrying a six metre long spear. Back at the fort a few dozen mer continued to work. The fort itself was built up with tree trunks so big that a mer could not grasp around it, and a deep moat surrounded it filled with sharpened wooden stakes, and a small bridge led towards a hole in the wall that was barricaded with wagons and wooden logs.

At the crest of the small slope that led down to the shallow river stood the remains of Voreyn Dagoth's army, and at the front in neat lines the long wooden spears laid ready at their feet, here they would meet their doom and only the hearts and spirit of the tired and defeated army would decide if they escaped with their lives.

Before long they could see the larger army approach. It was the personal army of King Harald the III himself and every one of them were bedecked in the finest of Nordic chainmail. All of them carrying large axes or hammers, broad shields was slung on their backs and at the forefront of the army rode the heavy horsemen. The army finally stopped about a hundred yards from the other side of the riverbank. Almost immediately a group of three riders thundered forward and stopped a few yards from the river and waited. Divayth received a small nod from Voreyn and then apparated directly to the riders.

"Greetings men of the north what message do you have for us?"

The leader of the riders moved his horse forward a bit and looked down at Divayth. "Our King bids you to surrender and your lives will be spared".

"You mean that he will give us the honour of working as slaves for the rest of our lives. No thank you we do not fear death and if comes to battle we will fight to the last breath, do yourself a favour and flee while you still can".

The riders simply shook their heads in disbelief and then rode back to their King to deliver the news while Divayth apparated back to Dagoth.

"Well they won't surrender", he quipped to Voreyn, making many of the mer jeer loudly against the Nord army.

"You really are insane my friend", Voreyn laughed. "At least we have the element of surprise against them".

"Helvettes jaevel" 'Damn Bastard', Harald the III cursed when Divayth's response was given to him by his envoy. "Eg vill ha denne Fyr's hovud paa ein stake" 'I want this Fyr's head on a stake'.

The envoy nodded fearfully at his angry liege.

"Send hestane, fullt aattak" 'Send the horse, full attack', the King said.

His champion nodded and raised a horn to his lips and blew hard. As the signal went off the Nord cavalry started into a light trot towards the small force of elves at the tip of the slope on the other side of the river. As soon as the entered the river they expected to be met with a rain of arrows or magic, but nothing came forward. Amazed with their fortune the charged into a hard gallop as soon as they cleared the river, coming closer by every second.

The ground shook as the cavalry charge closed with the elven lines. Drops of sweat erupted on the brows of many of them but they held their ground waiting for the signal. At the very last minute the signal was given and every mer on dropped his or her weapon and picked up a long spear from the ground and yelled threats and curses at the cavalry.

Torger Ulvbane (Wolfbane) smiled as he and his cavalry closed with their enemy. Surely there was no greater feeling than leading a charge of heavy horsemen towards the enemy. His euphoria changed into panic as a huge wall of sharpened wood rose up not even a yard from him, "KA I HELVETTE?" 'WHAT THE HELL', he yelled. The last thing that went through his mind as he was impaled on two thick wooden spears was that they had been fooled by an enemy of superior intelligence and cunning.

All over the line the Nord cavalry died as they were impaled on the long spears or crushed beneath their panicked horses as they tried to escape the forest of spears. Some were unfortunate to be thrown into the elven lines as their horses were skewered on the spears. Those few were beaten or even strangled to death by the elves who were furious at their earlier defeat.

Not even fifteen minutes had passed since the charge had begun before it had been stopped like an arrow is stopped on a shield. Screams of pain from the wounded and dying filled the air before they were silenced one by one as elven warriors stepped forward and stabbed them with their weapons. "Your move", Divayth mumbled towards the Nord King at the other side of the river.

King Harald the III was incensed at how easy he had been tricked, but he was not king only because of his skill in battle. He was a cunning leader and knew when he was beaten. While his force still outnumbered his enemy he knew that another army was only a day's march away, so he decided to wait for its arrival before attacking with nearly twice its strength, with heavy heart he ordered his force to make camp, two days from now they would scour the presence of this elven scum from their land.

That night no one slept peacefully, both man and mer could not stop thinking about the battle that would come. The elves knew that they would have a hard fight before them as they were outnumbered and most of them were wounded to some degree. And the Nords knew that they were facing an enemy of fearsome skill and cunning.

While the Nords waited for reinforcements the Chimer and Dwemer warriors continued to fortify their makeshift stronghold. Oil had been poured over large patches of ground before the walls of the fort and smiths were producing armour piercing bolts and arrows by the minute. A few of the more intelligent Dwemer were tinkering with something inside their tents and the clang of metal along with the various yelled curse and small explosion was a regular feature from these few tents.

Finally after almost one and a half day of hard work the few Dwemer who had chosen to lock themselves up in their large tent came out and the sight that met the remaining forces of the army would have to be comical. Hundreds of small metal spiders about the size of a head came out from the tent. No eyes were visible yet they seemed to know exactly where they were going.

Everybody was broken out of their wonder as the sound of thousands of feet thundering on the ground met their enhanced ears. Every mer grabbed his or her weapon and went to their stations, Divayth and his remaining Telvanni mages stood at the top of the wall ready to summon as many daedra as possible.

The sight of the large army was humbling and the seriousness of their situation was only now appreciated as they saw the immense size. "DO NOT WORRY, WE HAVE OUR SHARE OF TRICKS THE ENEMY WILL NOT EMERGE VICTORIOUS", Divayth yelled as loudly as he could.

The elves screamed out their various battle cries and started to beat their armoured hands or their weapons on their shield.

"ARCHERS… TAKE AIM", Dagoth's order was followed swiftly as every single bow armed mer readied his or her bow at the enemy. "LOOSE", the sound of hundreds of arrows being released filled the fort as arrows or bolts were fired towards the enemy. Screams tore into the air as bolts or arrows lodged themselves in human bodies and dozens of Nords fell. Before they could truly realize that they were being fired upon another volley landed in their midst cutting down several more men.

The Nords yelled loud curses at the ensconced elves and charged over the ground. Panicked screams followed by meaty 'thuds' erupted as the enraged Nords failed to see the spiked moat in the evening gloom. Divayth waited for even more men to press as close to the fortress as possible and then he gave the command. Dozens of fireballs were launched to various points on the battlefield, and agonized wails broke out as the oil poured over large parts of it ignited lighting hundreds of men up Christmas trees.

The attacking army halted as they watched hundreds of their own flail around as they burned to death. The large fires made it difficult to assault the wooden fort and they were still assaulted with volley after volley of arrows, bolts and magical attacks. Wisely the Nords retreated out of bow range to wait for the fires to die out.

The fires raged for almost three hours and the air was thick with the smell of burnt flesh when the Nords attacked again. As before they encountered resistance in the form of arrows bolts and spells, but the increasing casualties only fuelled their hatred and they thundered forward unheeding of their growing losses, the spiked moat was already filled with impaled victims that allowed the rest to traverse it safely. Those Nords with the best armour assaulted the barricaded entrance with a thick log again and again splintering wood with every stroke. When the barricade eventually broke a victorious cheer went up through the Nord army and they stormed against the only opening into the fortress.

The first men screamed out in warning as almost a hundred crossbows took aim. The crossbow armed elves fired in three bursts scything down almost two score men at close range. Instead of reloading they dropped their crossbows and picked up long spears that had been left over when they prepared for the cavalry charge earlier. With a roaring battle cry they threw themselves at the enemy impaling several of them. Again the Nords charged forward but the forest of spears blocked their way.

The wall of spears was soon broken however as some of the Nords picked up the massive log they had used as a battering ram and charged straight into the spear armed elves. The lines broke as the massive log smashed into them and then the Nords broke through. Like a knife through hot butter they formed a wedge into the elven lines more and more pressing through until almost a hundred Nords were inside the walls of the fort.

Divayth nodded to Voreyn who barked a command at his personal bodyguards and with a mighty yell they jumped down from the wall to lead the counter attack.

Divayth yelled a command of his own to his fellow mages and then he concentrated his very hardest. Drops of sweat poured from his brow as he focused every single bit of his magical potential and when he was sure he had it right he released it. They sky darkened and fire flashed over it as a gate of massive proportions rose up from the ground. As soon as the large portal had stopped growing a barrier of flames swept over it as daedra started to swarm out by the dozens. The other mages summoned as many daedra as they could and then just released whatever control they had over them.

Divayth sighed as he allowed the Oblivion gate to deactivate trapping the deadra who had come from it in the material world. The every single one of the daedra roared in hatred of being summoned and naturally they attacked the closest enemy they could find. The Nord screamed in panic as the daedra in their midst started killing left right and center, though their King rallied them quickly the damage was done, Nords were fleeing all over until their King ordered them to remain. Now rallied once more they coordinated their efforts and one after the other the daedra were banished back to the accursed realms from whence they came. Back at the gate the situation was worsening Voreyn and his men were unable to push back the stronger and often better armoured Nords and in a war of attrition the Nords would without doubt win due to their greater numbers.

Help was then received as the Dwemer smiths ordered their spider constructs forward. In the chaos of battle the large wave of metal spiders with pointy sharp feet were not noticed until they started to crawl onto the Nords stabbing them with their little feet wherever they could.

Divayth who had downed three strong restorative draughts to replenish his magical energies looked out over the battlefield. They needed more time and they needed it now. He sighed angrily as he realized that he would once again have to all but drain his magical energy. It wasn't that it was any dangerous as he had potions for recharging it, but each time he drained himself completely he tired greatly, and he knew that there was several of the Telvanni who would love to arrange an 'unfortunate accident' to him.

If he seized to stop breathing due to a dagger in the back or over a slit throat it would count as an unfortunate accident…by Telvannyi standards of course. He shook of his paranoia, he always left enough energy so that he could apparate away from harm and recuperate so it wouldn't be too big a risk. Again he started to focus, and when he was sure that he was ready he thrust his hands towards the sky.

Immediately the sky darkened and the air turned heavy and oppressive as huge rainclouds gathered. Suddenly several bolts of lightning struck down into the Nord army and booming thunder echoed across the valley as heavy wind and rain buffeted the Nords. Wile summoning the massive gate to Oblivion had been hard keeping this deadly storm active was even harder. He had to concentrate in order to make sure that his fellow warriors were not affected.

The Nords sensed the danger they were in and pressed on even harder and more and more of them penetrated the inner sanctum of the wooden fort. Finally after almost an hour he allowed the storm to dissipate, too many Nords were already inside the fort and so it would be a waste of magical energy to continue with the storm. Instead he grabbed his staff and dissapparated.

He reappeared at the back of the Nord army from where their King surrounded by his bodyguard was overseeing the battle and giving orders. Before they could realize what had happened Divayth forced most of his remaining energy into a modified killing curse. It worked the same way and used the same words, but instead of one concentrated unblockable beam it could be fired as an arching wave that could be stopped by a strong enough magical shield.

Unfortunately for his enemy the single wizard who was with them could do no more than to widen his eyes before the wave of death hit him and several others of the King's bodyguard. The King drew his enormous battle axe and looked at Divayth with pure undiluted hate.

"Lat oss slaass som menn", 'Let us fight like men', the King yelled at Divayth. Divayth nodded and banished his staff away and drew Goldbrand from its sheath.

The King surged forward and slashed his axe towards Divayth's throat with impressive speed and Divayth barely managed to duck in time. For an hour they fought back and forth, neither one of them giving the other ground as they tested each others defences. The king had skill and strength on his side, while Divayth had speed and agility at his. And unlike the King Divayth was armoured with the best suit of armour available and due to the enchantments he had put on it was completely weightless.

Both fighters were tiring when Divayth suddenly slipped on a loose rock and fell to the ground. He cursed as the Nord King raised his axe for a killing blow but was suddenly distracted by the sound of dozens of trumpets, from the south Nerevar was running at the front of a large army who was coming to their rescue.

King Harald the III was broken out of his reverie by a stinging pain in his chest, followed by pain in his whole body as the fire enchantment on Goldbrand tore into him. With a detached mind he looked at the sword that had impaled his heart and then he lifted his head to stare into the regretful face of his killer. As his life slipped away he gave a slight nod in appreciation and acknowledgement of Divayth's skill and honour, he knew that Divayth could have killed him easily with magic, yet he had chosen to fight the King as an equal and Harald… well he was sure that the manner of his death would earn him a place of honour in the halls of his fathers after all who could claim to have fought and nearly defeated the mightiest mage alive and then darkness consumed him.

Divayth wayched with regret as the proud King took his last breath and then he withdrew his sword and closed the King's eyes. "Du ta ham med dykk og giv ham ein helts begravelse". 'You take him with you and give him a hero's funeral' Divayth said to one of the King's stunned surviving bodyguards.

The bodyguards nodded and placed the king on their shields and started to march away one of them stopped and looked on Divayth for a moment. "Du er ein manna av heder og aere, maa Gudane bistaa dig i all aeve" 'You are a man of honour and glory, may the Gods be with you for eternity', he said before following his comrades.

With their King dead the Nords broke and fled for their lives, leaving the elves cheering as the battle was over. "That was some fight Divayth, I'm honoured to have fought beside you", Voreyn said as he met him out on the field.

"That was the last time I will ever fight for you my friend", Divayth said calmly. "Your own arrogance and desire for glory could have killed us all, and if I may say so had I not been with you every single one of you would have been killed or made into slaves by this day".

Voreyn recoiled as if he had been struck, before he gave in. "You're right as always, Azura I should have listened to you had I done so many more would still be alive".

"Explain yourself to Nerevar and not to me, I am tired and will return to my home, but we shall see each other again", and then he disappeared as he teleported back to his stronghold, unknowingly leaving twenty very nervous Telvanni behind. How they would inform their Grand Magister of their failure to kill Divayth and retain their lives was running through their minds before they shrugged and left. They decided to try and reach Summerset Isles where their Altmer cousins lived and try their fortunes there rather than to return to the Telvanni Isles and risk death.

'Home sweet home', Divayth thought as he rested in his bed, it had truly been a long and hard war, and the sad part was that now that it was over a new one would soon occur and it was going to change or destroy both the Chimer and the Dwemer forever.

A few explanations on various elven/meric races:

Mer: A common name for all elven races. The eleven races are:

Aldmer: The common ancestor of all elves that sailed out from the first elven homeland of Aldmeris, eventually became modern day elves.

Altmer also known as High Elves: Tall golden skinned elves with a much better natural affinity for magic than any other race, though they also have a strong hereditary weakness against magic. They settled the Sumemrset Isles during the days when the elves left Aldmeris.

Ayeleid also known as Heartland Elves: Golden skinned elves who inhabited the centre parts of Tamriel during the first Era. Went extinct after the slave revolt led by the human Slave Queen Alyssia in the year 242 of the first Era.

Dwemer also known as 'Dwarves' by the ignorant: Golden skinned elves that inhabited the province of Resdayn/Morrowind also called Dwemereth during the early days when the elven race left Aldmeris. Believed to have gone extinct during the 'war of the first council' in the year 457 of the first Era.

Chimer also known as Light Elves: Golden skinned elves that left Summerset Isle or the Ayleid kingdoms due to the political climate in the early first era. They settled in the province of Resdayn/Morrowind also called Dwemereth and renamed themselves Chimer. After the 'war of the first council' in the year of 457 of the first Era they became the 'Dunmer'.

Dunmer also know as Dark Elves: After the events of the 'war of the first council' in the first Era the Chimer's skin turned ash grey/blue and their eyes turned fiery red and they renamed themselves Dunmer.

Bosmer also known as Wood Elves: Short elves of normal skin colour that left Summerset Isles and settled in the wooden realm of Valenwood on the mainland. Gave birth to the Camoran Dynasty which is the longest known successive line of royalty in history.

Orsimer also known as Orcs. Tall and big boned humanoids with a greenish skin tone. Originally Aldmer that became warped by the destruction of their leader Trinimac who is said to have become the Daedra Prince Malacath.

About Aldmeris:

Virtually nothing is known of the elven homeland. Its location, its environment, its politics, its religion, even its current existence is the stuff of conjecture. Translations from ancient tapestries and texts in the Crystal Tower of Summerset have yielded only the barest of a beautiful but very strange land. In no representation of Aldmeris are there any trees or life but the Aldmer themselves. It appears as an endless city built upon itself over and over again until no nature remains at all. The highest towers are reserved for interring the dead, a tradition continued on in the Crystal Tower itself.

What happened in Aldmeris since the elves who settled in Tamriel left is perhaps the oldest of all mysteries. For countless centuries, adventurers have sought "Lost Aldmeris," only to return disappointed, if they return at all. Some say that Aldmeris was sunk into the sea by the angry Gods of the Aldmer. Others claim that the elven homeland has left the Mundus , and will return only when the races of mer are united as one.