I'm doing politics again. Since I was uncomfortable with how quick it went by last time; I'm going to try to make this longer. This would last more than a chapter hopefully. I'll see if I can add intervals in between though. Any inconsistences or things that doesn't make sense please tell me.
I think I might make it a habit of mine to list things that don't make sense in Skyrim here such as: why are there more bandits, evil mages, Forsworn and other evil doers than there are guards and people in cities?
If characters are becoming Gary-Stu or are OOC please tell me; because I'll probably not notice it myself.
The walls of the Academy came into view. Its stone gates opened for them as they arrived.
Once again there was a crowd of people, jostling to get a look at them. The Princess and the Cardinal was waiting on the front steps for them, much like how Arlerus had waited for them.
More than a few gasps of surprise were given when Gah-Ei came into view. Looking like a devil, the only thing distinguishing otherwise was his scaly tail.
The Archmage drew little attention. Aware of local prejudices, he had pulled up his hood to avoid a scene.
As he slowly let himself down, the Jarl had already dismounted and was proceeding to approach the Princess.
"Well met your Highness." He greeted politely performing a bow as he acknowledged her higher position. He could be diplomatic when he wanted to be.
She curtsied slightly as she returned his greeting. Motabe and Arlerus had by then moved up to flank Kraldar.
Once again the whole party relocated back to the classroom. Motabe politely refused to remove his hood when asked and Arlerus whispered to the Cardninal, who nodded slightly.
An Elf, even a passive one, would cause a panic in the academy.
The guards securely closed the door and waited outside as to deter unwelcome ears. The room itself was filled with the same occupants with the addition of the Jarl and the Archmage.
"Your Highness, It appears I was misjudged the situation within Winterhold. I no longer believe swearing ourselves is possible." Started Arlerus.
The Princess and the Cardinal were surprised though he did not show it. Complications were expected with politics after all.
"May I ask why? Sir Arlerus was certain you would agree Lord Kraldar." Henrietta asked the older man.
The Jarl glanced at his Thane who shrugged. Did he really think that he would accept when his people would revolt?
"I don't think my Thane anticipated the… opposition we would… receive." Answered Kraldar. By the Nine, it was barely a minute in and he was already having trouble making sure his words were polite and all.
"Yes, so I must offer to become your vassal as a protectorate again." Hastily finished Arlerus.
The previous night the Jarl had agreed with his idea. While it would still mean swearing allegiance, he could still maintain the majority of control over Winterhold. It wouldn't be too unlike how the Empire allows their provinces to still have monarchs who ruled in their name.
There would be still some that might question the move and others may even go as far to question his honour. But the majority should hopefully be content and satisfied. Hopefully.
The Princess frowned. It appeared they were reaching the same complications as last time. Still; it would be better to hear the offer out first before deciding.
"And what would the conditions of this be?" she inquired.
The Jarl must have given some unseen sign as the Imperial was the one who answered with what was obviously a practiced speech.
"We would receive the protection of the Kingdom of Tristain and your assurance that Tristain will march to our defence should our security be threatened. In return Winterhold will give a monthly payment in exchange for your protection."
He took a deep breath as a break before continuing. "All military assets of Winterhold shall likewise aid Tristain on all ventures and while they will remain under the direct control of Winterhold, we will defer overall command to Tristain. That is our basic terms but they are open to negotiation."
Thoughts hurried all over inside Henrietta's brain. She was entrusted the authority to decide for Tristain by her mother and the Cardinal and she couldn't afford to make a mistake.
"How much payment are we to receive?" she asked.
"The payment will be a quarter of all earnings we make. This in turn depends on how much we trade." Answered Arlerus; not committing a definite answer.
The Princess chewed her lips. Tristain was certain to take advantage of the potions and other goods they had, so most of the money would be from Tristain's economy. But since Winterhold was within Tristain; they would have no other trade partners unless…
"As our protectorate, do you reserve the right to make individual treaties without our consent? If so then we cannot accept these terms unless you agree to seek our consent first." She said giving them an ultimatum.
By ensuring Tristain remained their only trade partner then Tristain would have a monopoly on their goods. Other nations would be unable to trade directly and so must come to Tristain instead. Since their currency was likely useless in Halkengenia, they would need to draw as much wealth as they can while potions and enchanted items are still new to build up capital in Ecu.
Arlerus looked to his liege who gestured for him to come closer. Leaning in they conversed for a few moments before they separated.
"What type of treaties do you take issue with us deciding on indepedently?" the Imperial asked.
They both knew the types of treaties she took issue with but the question had to be voiced regardless.
"The ability for you to make private agreements with other nations cannot be accepted by us. While you have dealt with us in good faith so far, there is no guarantee that this would last forever." Answered Mazarin in her stead.
The Winterhold party looked offended, the Jarl more than the others. "I don't know if it's the same here, but honour is important to a Nord. If we planned for conflict then we would face you head on, not use some underhanded tricks." Growled the Jarl.
There was a noticeable increase in tension that permeated the room. Captain Wardes's hand fell to his belt where he stroked his sword-wand, seeing this; the Imperial Thane gingerly touched the hilt of his blade in return.
Quickly backing down, Henrietta defused the situation. "My apologies, we did not intend to question your honour, but it remains a concern nevertheless."
Kraldar nodded in understanding. "My thanks for your understanding. But your terms… limit us greatly."
Arlerus nodded in agreement. "Yes. Could you not-"
"This is not negotiable." She stated firmly. As much as she sympathized with their situation, she must put Tristain ahead first as per her duty as the Princess.
The Imperial closed his mouth. He gave a glance to the Jarl and lowered his head slightly; signalling that he would leave the decision to the Jarl.
Kraldar though it over. Obviously she was trying to make Winterhold dependent on Tristain for trade. While this would limit them somewhat, their location would probably make Tristain their largest trade partner regardless.
However it also meant that he couldn't make provisions in the event Tristain turns hostile. If they attacked then it would help if they had an outside supporter. Unfortunately he and his entourage were too high profile to make 'trips' to other nations and not draw suspicions. Though the Princess seems earnest enough.
"We agree your terms on the condition that we are able to manage our own resources without your interference."
"Done. I'll have scribes to put the agreement to paper." confirmed the Princess.
"And now for another issue." Stated Arlerus.
The Archmage reached up and pulled his hood down to reveal a pair of pointed ears. If this was anywhere else in Tristain, then people would be staring in dumb shock. Luckily the Tristainian party had already been informed of the nature of their guest.
"I am Archmage Motabe of the College of Winterhold. It's an honour to meet you." Greeted Motabe.
"Likewise."
"I don't believe I would need to explain why this would be an issue."
The Princess shook her head. She did not want to sound demeaning or racist, but he was an Elf; only one of the many that resided within Winterhold. That by itself would cause many problems.
They were, after all, the enemies of mankind for thousands of years. Even if these Elves were different to their Halkengenian counterparts, age old prejudices were still strong.
"How many Elves are present within your lands?" she asked apprehensively.
The Imperial thought about the answer for a moment. "They're a minority so I'm not too certain… do you know Motabe?"
"I believe there are around three thousand Mers, or Elves, in Winterhold." Answered Motabe.
Three thousand Elves were not a good propect. If there had even a fraction of the power the Elves in Haklengenia had…
"And then there are about maybe five thousand Khajiits and Argonians. A bit more Khajiits though. There's some six hundred Orcs too."
Orcs? She thought.
"Yes. There are Orcs in Winterhold. Though technically they're Elves as well, so I suppose that brings the number of Mers to around 3600."
Realizing she had actually voiced her thoughts, she light blushed in embarrassment, though no one seemed to mind; being too busy listening the Elf.
Wait. How could Orcs 'technically' be Elves. This time intentionally voicing her query; the Archmage stopped his talk to answer.
"It took thousands of years but the early Elves split into a series of sub-races; all of whom still have 'mer' in their name. These are the Bosmer, Altmer, Dunmer and Orisimer."
The Archmage then delved into a fascinating explanation of the Elves of their lands. The Tristainians listened closely in interest as he went on about the first Elves; the Aldmer.
While they sound as powerful as the Elves in the Holy Land; they were no less strong. Some of the feats of magic they performed actually made what their Elves have done pale in comparison.
The Psijic Order he described seemed to be the epitome of mastery over magic. Being able to move an entire land mass with magic was impossible, yet they had accomplished it nevertheless.
Thinking about it made her realize how little they knew of their Elves in comparison. Aside from knowing they were powerful, occupied the Holy Land and hated humanity there wasn't much else known about the. Though; thousands of years of hostilities, understandably, made learning about them extremely difficult.
A knock on the door interrupted them. So engrossed we they that they failed to realize how much time went by, and how much was wasted talking about history.
"Pardon the interruption. But the midday meal is prepared." The nervous servant said.
The Jarl was the first out of his chair. "Perhaps it would be best to continue this after some food."
The mention of food brought a small rumble within her stomach. Perhaps it was time for a meal.
The Alviss Hall was packed with students. Everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of her royal highness and the strange foreign dignitaries that arrived earlier. There were rumours of a lizard that walked like a human and wore armour forged from the skin of a devil; that came with the foreigners.
Louise was seated in her usual table. Her ghostly wolf had sadly disappeared over the course of the last few days. At first; it was just him becoming fainter, but that could have just been a trick of the light. Eventually he did disappear when the ghostly canine burst into ashes just, like Siesta's had.
Trying the spell again, she had brought it back but now everyone knew it wasn't a real familiar. That would mean she would have leave the Academy. What would she tell mother…?
"Oh, Louise! Where are you?" the annoying Germanian's voice could be distinctly heard over the clamour of hall. She sank lower into her chair. Right now she didn't want to put up with Zerbst.
Unfortunately her own hair worked against her wishes. The natural pink was easy to spot among the students and served as a beacon for the harlot.
She sauntered up to her and plumped herself down on the seat next to her; the ever silent Tabitha sat quietly beside Kirche. As usual she drew plenty of attention from the nearby males with her body. Unwillingly Louise looked down and compared herself with Kirche; another reason to be depressed about.
"Ohoho, so this is where you went Louise." Kirche said with a smile.
"Go away." She mumbled in reply.
Seeing Louise was plopped down on the table, all but ignoring her food, she snuggled Louise. Her chest met Louise's face as she hugged her. "Now you know I can't do that Louise. So why don't you tell momma Kirche what's wrong and I'll make it all better?" she teased.
She got the desired response as Louise blushed and struggled to push Kirche off her. "Get off of me you harlot."
"I already told you; not until you tell me what's wrong." Kirche tightened her hold on Louise as she spluttered.
True to her word; Kirche did in fact make things better somewhat. Now instead of wallowing in her depression; she was now comically fighting for her life as she struggled to breathe.
"Her Highness Henrietta of Tristain, and Lord Kraldar of Winterhold!" the declaration of the herald resounded all over the hall. Hushed silence fell over the hall as everyone turned to watch the entrance. Taking advantage of this distraction; Louise pulled herself out and took in precious air.
The Princess then entered the room. Her entrance was cheered at by the students. In return she gifted them all with a warm smile, which just made the cheering louder.
Then entered the Jarl of Winterhold, wearing a rough but noble robe. He was having a conversation with Cardinal Mazarin. Behind them came the Imperial Thane Arlerus, and Motabe, his hood back on.
Louise's heart fluttered when she saw a glimpse of her fiancée, Jean-Jacques Francis, Viscount of Wardes. He however did not see her as the group made their way to reserved table at the end of the hall.
Servants rushed in carrying trays of extravagant food. Only the finest quality meats and vegetables were suitable for a gathering of such importance. The entrees were served first and were quickly devoured.
The main course however was problematic for a certain individual.
Kraldar looked at the food with distaste. Where was all the meat and ale? Even in Skyrim; political gatherings at least had passable meals.
As for this… this here hardly counted as a meal. Thin strips of heavily flavoured meat covered with other vegetables would barely be enough to feed a child, much less a grown man like himself.
The wine was not an option either. He needed to keep his head clear for later and couldn't risk having alcohol addle his brain.
Did they not have larger portions of food here? Where was the roasted meat? He would even take a single sweet role over this.
"Is your meal unsatisfactory, Lord Kraldar?" the sweet voice of the Princess broke his thoughts.
"No, no the meal is just fine. I was just thinking on other matters." He reassured her. Damnation, now he was stuck with it. He would just have to hope there was more in the second course otherwise he would have to somehow sneak away to eat with his men.
Motabe smirked in amusement as he observed the Nord.
The average Nord could probably eat nearly three time as much as an Elf, whether they could drink us under was another debate however.
Right now it was clear the Jarl didn't have enough food on his plate to satisfy him. It was admirable for him to be polite and not demand more, but he really should have just asked for more.
The Elf used the fork to impale another piece of what assumed was lamb. It was of very good quality and blessed his mouth with its taste.
Watching the Jarl pretend to be content with his meal, and failing miserably at that, was rather comical.
Good food and entertainment. Who could ask for more?
Arlerus sought out Siesta after the meal. It was decided to take a small break before they returned to talking about the future.
The Princess said that she would arrange to set up a pavilion outside to replace the stuffy classroom. Why she didn't do that before was unknown; but he supposed it was likely because she wasn't as prepared as she seemed to otherwise be.
Motabe walked beside him in silence. It was a risk for him to walk around but they took it regardless. The road to success was always rife with risks after all.
This wasn't helped by Gah-Ei deciding to see this prodigy of his. Even when not wearing his daedric armour, he couldn't help by attract attention. A walking and talking lizard was not a ordinary sight.
They found the young maid outside feeding a small blue dragon. A large plate of meat, seeds and other food lay next to her.
"Kyuuii?" the dragon raised its head from its meal to take a look at the incoming trio.
Following Sylphid's eyes, Siesta turned around and brightened at the sight of the Imperial.
"It is good to see you again, Miss Siesta." Greeted Arlerus.
"Ah… Sir Arlerus it's good to see you too." She beamed.
"Well then, introductions are in order. So Siesta this is Motabe, Archmage of the the College of Winterhold and the talking lizard is Gah-Ei, a good for nothing tramp."
The lizard did something that looked like a smirk. "It couldn't have hurt that much."
"That's because you weren't the one being hit. By the Nine, who in their right mind wakes someone up by smashing a bottle over their head?"
"You survived, there's not even a wound there. There's no need to make such a fuss about something so small. I take worse on a daily basis." Countered the Lizard.
Seeing nothing of interest Sylphid turned back to her meal. While the two argued, Motabe moved up to Siesta. "So are you the one that Arlerus has given all this praise to."
"Y…yes my Lord." She stammered in response.
Motabe frowned slightly. "I'm no lord or anything, so there is no need to address me as such."
Pulling her slightly away from the two, that was still arguing about the ethics of hitting a sleeping drunk with a bottle of ale.
"Now could you please show me the spell Arlerus taught you?" He requested.
"R…Right now?" asked Siesta in worry as she glanced around. There were several students watching from afar and casting a spell would attract a lot of bad attention.
Seeing her worry, the Archmage muttered something under his breath. The world suddenly turned grey and lifeless. Siesta started in fright. Everything seemed to have stopped, nothing was moving.
People were frozen in place almost as if there were statues. Even the small drops of saliva dripping out of Sylphid's mouth had stopped moving.
"Don't be afraid. This is just a trick I learned from an old associate of mine." The Archmage reassured her.
Shock turned to awe as she faced him. The man before her had just stopped time and dismissed it like it was a regular occurrence. So this was the Archmage of Winterhold, the city of mages.
"Now there won't be any unwelcome eyes observing us." He appeared to be in thought for a moment. "I may as well get this over with."
Slowly he pulled back his hood. This time Siesta screamed at the sight of his pointed ears. An Elf!
Her thoughts were focussed on running but her legs refused to run. Her eyes were filled with fear as the Elf moved closer to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, that glowed green on contact, and suddenly the fear subsided.
"Calm yourself, I'm not the same Elves your people fear. I come from Winterhold not your Holy Land." He reassured.
"You're not going to kill me?" she squeaked out.
"I have no intention to hurt you or anyone else." He said warmly.
Siesta took deep breaths. So he wasn't going to hurt me. That's good at least. The previous fear seemed silly in hindsight. Sir Arlerus wouldn't have brought up all her hopes about magic only to bring an Elf to kill her.
"So, now can you show me the spell that Arlerus taught you?" he repeated.
Right, she needed to impress the Archmage to get into the College. She could do this, just like last time.
Siesta held out her hand and focussed. She felt the same strange feeling in her chest that she did the last time she tried.
It was powerful and yet brought a warm feeling to her. A small ball of purple mist slowly formed in her hand.
Arlerus's instructions echoed in her head as she flicked her wrist and dropped the ball to the ground. Like last time, a misty wolf appeared and looked at her expectantly.
Elation filled her heart. The same feeling she got from last time. She could do magic. Magic!
"And this is your only your second time doing this?" asked the Elf, no, Archmage Motabe.
She nodded her head. She didn't have the time amidst all the work she was burdened with to practice. And what precious free time she had was either spent sending a portion of her pay to her family or tending to her flowers outside. And she wasn't going to use magic in such a public place.
He scratched his chin in thought. "Well then, application to the College generally requires a proven aptitude in magic, which you have just proven. But since I can't confirm whether you really did do that spell on your first go; I'll have to you another test."
He told her about a spell called magelight. After some more in depth instructions and a demonstration; he had her to try.
Siesta once again mentally reached into the power in her chest. Though this time instead of focussing on an image of a wolf she turned her mind towards imagining the brightest light she could think of.
It was harder this time. But she managed it, as a swirl of white magic formed a ball in her hand. Compared to the seconds which she achieved the conjuration spell, this was much slower.
The Archmage didn't share this view however as his eyes widened in surprise.
The ball of light slowly raised itself of her hand. Siesta shuts her eyes in concentration as the magelight became airborne. It fledgling light barely made it off her hand when it flashed out with a blink.
Siesta spirit fell at that. She failed. She couldn't make it go up all the way. Small tears began to form in her eyes before she heard clapping.
Blinking the water away she opened her eyes to see the Archmage clapping and smiling in approval. "Well done. I had not expected you to even generate the basic form, much less get it up in the air. It appears Arlerus wasn't exaggerating."
With that admittance the colour returned to the world. Her wolf that had sat through all that was consumed by a small portal of energy before everything started moving again.
"…to hurt me" finished Arlerus who blinked in surprise, seeing the Archmage and Siesta somehow getting closer to him without his notice.
Gah-Ei likewise blinked in surprise before understanding dawned on him.
The Archmage then asked Siesta the vital question. "Siesta of Tarbes. I offer you a position of learning within the College of Winterhold. All expenses shall be covered by me and a sum will be given to you to compensate your lack of employment. By agreeing to this; you will abide by the rules of the College and will spend the next year studying to expand your knowledge of the Clever Craft. Expanding my sponsorship for further tutelage will require you to perform to the utmost excellence; slacking off and laziness will not be tolerated. Do you accept?"
Here it was. If she declined then she would keep a stable job at the College. Leaving might tarnish her reputation as an unfaithful servant and further employment in high paying noble houses was unlikely.
But if she accepted the she would learn magic. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever imagine she would get the chance to do this; and yet here it was in reality. Sir Arlerus had always told her how mages were always high in demand back in his homeland and that it was just a likely here. Not only would she become a practitioner of magic but she could get more wealth than she would she ever get from working at her current job. Her family would no longer have to worry about starving and financial issues if all went well.
So of course she gave the obvious answer.
I'll address Louise going to Winterhold later.
That being said does anyone have a suggestion on what to do with currency issue? I'm trying to wrap my head around it right now and its hurting.