Chapter 12: The Valtheim Alliance

[16th of Rain's Hand 4E 202]

Jarl Balgruuf the Greater had sent Jordis and me to Windhelm, to talk to Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak a second time, and this time an alliance was to be offered. We met the Jarl and his housecarl General Galmar Stone-Fist, and on the next day the Jarl with his entourage came with us to Valtheim Towers. Jarl Balgruuf was going to find us there on the next day. Jordis got to sleep next to me, and in the middle of the night I had heard her sobbing; after some prodding she admitted that she had recently learned about her older brother being severely wounded in battle,and I had offered her one of my saber cats to cuddle up to and find comfort.

When I woke up in the next morning, I could already hear some camp noises from outside, and the night's darkness had already been replaced by the twilight of early dawn. One of my saber cats started to move next to me, and when I raised my upper body and looked around, I could see that Jordis was still sleeping, and she had wrapped both of her arms around the other saber cat. It looked that my idea had worked out. With a smile on my face I stretched my body and stood up, and I descended the stairs to see who else might be up already. Naturally, most people around were still sleeping, but there was the last shift of the night guard, of course, and a small group of people started to gather around one of the campfires. I came right on time to hear an athletic looking female Stormcloak warrior asking if somebody wanted to join her for a quick morning run, and I instantly volunteered; that was my type of morning fun. She looked at me and asked:

"You are that Khajiit who's a friend of Ralof՚s, right?"

"Indeed I am, and my name is B'lushona."

"I am Hlakana, and I hope that you can keep up with me; shall we start our morning run?"

I nodded, and she took off, in easterly direction, following the road downhill. I had only one of my saber cats with me now, as the other one was still in Jordis' arms, and while we ran ahead, the Nord asked:

"You managed to tame a saber act? Impressive!"

"Not only one, but two, Hlakana; the other one is still asleep."

The Stormcloak nodded, and when we had run for maybe half an hour without talking much more, she suggested:

"Before we head back up, what about doing some body exercises?"

"I agree; I hope that you don't mind me getting some help from my friend?"

She obviously did not know what I meant, and thus I demonstrated. My saber cat knew the concept, and we had done that before. I started with a series of sit-ups, and my saber cat helped by keeping my legs down. Afterwards I did push-ups, and I did them with the saber cat on my back. I also found a sturdy tree branch for pull-ups, and I did those with the saber cat on my back as well. The Stormcloak watched with obvious surprise, and eventually she mentioned:

"I thought that I have seen quite a lot, but that's new."

She got around to doing her own exercises, but when she stated that she was ready to head back, I replied:

"Wait a minute,I still have to reward my saber cat for diligently doing the work out with me."

She looked at me with clear non-understanding written on her face, and I demonstrated what I had in mind. I grabbed my saber cat and threw her as high up into the air as I could manage to do, and I caught her again when she fell down. Repeating that a few times, this got her to purr, and I knew that she loved that. In my first life I had observed some parents doing that with their young children, and I had found out earlier that Hanni and Nanni loved this as well. As a matter of fact, I had done this as well once or twice with Mila, and while her mother had been slightly worried when she saw how high I threw her daughter, the girl had enjoyed the activity. Sooner or later my saber cats would become too large and heavy for that kind of fun, but right now this was still easily doable for me.

Once I was ready, we started the run uphill, at a somewhat slower pace than before. Hlakana was pretty well trained, I had to give her that, but she was sweating and panting when we got back. We both jumped into the river quickly for a refresher, and then we joined the others for general breakfast. Jordis came down as well, with my other saber cat following her, and before she sat down, she told me:

"Thank you, my Thane, that helped a lot!"

I had not yet managed to make Jordis use my name instead of title yet, but I'd get there sooner or later.

Jarl Balgruuf the Greater had apparently left his city early in the morning; together with some guards, he arrived not long after we had eaten breakfast. Both Commander Brojik and General Stone-Fist greeted him and his housecarl Irileth, and while some guards took care of their horses, Jarl Balgruuf looked around. A few Stormcloaks had already started to prepare an area on the grass not far from the river for the talks; none of the rooms in either of the towers was large enough for that purpose.

When the two Jarls saw each other, they both started to grin, and under the watchful eyes of their housecarls they hugged and shook hands.

"My friend," Jarl Balgruuf said, "it has been a long time."

"It has been that, Balgruuf, indeed. Galmar here believed that you would not come around, but I kept believing in you."

"It was a close call, Ulfric. Killing the High King with a Shout was something many did not like, including myself, and if your attitude towards other races had not changed in the last few years, I'd have Tullius in my hold at this time."

"Yes, I understand this, and I cannot blame you for that. I realized that very few people heard when I offered to fight without my Thu'um, and Torryg even provoked me. Still, I could have reacted in a different way, knowing that he understood my reasoning, but despite all that he was just a puppet king. Anyway, even a Jarl makes mistakes, and a good Jarl listens to his advisors. So Balgruuf, what exactly do you have in mind?"

"In general, I intend to transfer responsibility to military actions over to you. I believe that I am doing a reasonable job running a hold, but I have never thought about a good way to conquer another one. This is something you should be in charge of. For some operations I might even be willing to lend you some of the hold guards, and I assure you that the towns in my hold will cooperate with you and help you to feed the troops. I do expect, of course, that the soldiers behave themselves and do not steal from towns and farms and such."

"For the latter, this is something Galmar will make sure. He is not called Stone-Fist for nothing, and every soldier respects and even fears him. There will not be any plundering and such."

"Right; of course I will make sure that my boys and girls behave."

"So, Balgruuf, what do you get out of it?"

"Ulfric, you know that I am a man of peace. If we manage to decide and end the Civil War within a reasonable time, ideally this year, than I will be happy. I ask that you try to minimize bloodshed as much as possible and to accept surrenders whenever applicable. Finally, I expect that a decision on a new High King will be made in a proper Moot when the fighting is over, and specifically I expect that you are very careful whom to select as a new Jarl in the holds you conquer. A Jarl should not be a political figurehead, but someone who actually cares about a hold's citizens and who works for them rather than into their own pocket."

"I tend to agree, my friend. I hereby promise that I will consult you at least for each new Jarl I nominate. Now, let me look at the contract your steward has prepared."

Both Jarl and their advisors stepped into the southern tower where a table had been prepared in the largest room. Brunwulf Free-Winter and court wizard Wuunferth the Unliving studied the contract together with Jarl Ulfric, and this took the better part of an hour. Every few minutes they stopped to discuss a paragraph briefly, but they seemed to agree in general. A few times they had questions and raised them to discuss with Jarl Balgruuf, too. There was one issue, though, which required a longer discussion, and Jarl Ulfric outlined it:

"Balgruuf, do you really insist that all races need to get access to all cities and towns without restrictions?"

"Yes, I do, and that's exactly what I mean."

"But why? I don't want Khajiit in my cities!"

"And why exactly?"

"Well, Khajiit are known as drug dealers and thieves…"

I cleared my throat; Jarl Ulfric looked at me and continued:

"… well, most of them, or at least some of them…"

"You realize, my friend, that this applies for all races? Some of every race are probably drug dealers and thieves and worse."

"My Jarl," Brunwulf made himself heard now, "isn't that similar to what you had thought about the Dunmer until a couple of years ago?"

"The Dunmer are different…"

"Because?"

Jarl Ulfric opened his mouth and closed it again. Brunwulf had probably hit a nerve, and the Jarl of Eastmarch knew it. He apparently pondered the issue and asked after a few minutes:

"How can we distinguish the good people from the bad ones, Balgruuf? If we allow everybody in the cities…"

"We can't, Ulfric, not really. But that's not really different from what you've got today. How many Nords in Windhelm turned out to be trouble?"

"Including Rolff Stone-Fist, for instance, and a few others like him?"

Jarl Ulfric opened his mouth, but closed it again without replying.

Slowly Jarl Balgruuf explained:

"Ulfric, I was in a similar situation. When the Dragonborn first showed up, I was very reluctant to allow a Khajiit into the city with her, and yet B'lushona had helped to defeat the dragon which had attacked the Western Watchtower; later on I even made him a Thane in my hold. I admit that I don't have many Argonians who want to come to Whiterun, but I'd welcome them, too. Whiterun has a school teacher who is an Orc. We have to come to a decision about who is a sentient and intelligent being with full citizen rights and who is not, Ulfric. I draw the line when we get to vampires and Falmer, for instance, but even that does not have be an absolute limit."

Brunwulf nodded and was apparently fully in agreement to that, and of course so was I. Racism was a different issue in Tamriel than it was or rather had been on Earth. On my home planet, people had discriminated against other people multiple times because of skin color, religion, or other issues, even with all humans biologically being of the same race. Here in Tamriel, we had real different races, and while the differences between men and mer were smaller ones, an Argonian or a Khajiit was clearly very much different and a member of a separate race, although I was not sure about the proper biological terminology; was race the same concept as species or so? So, racism had at least a real background here, and to a certain extend I could even understand it.

"Do you remember, Jarl Ulfric, when I hinted that Argonians might even be able to help you with conquering Solitude?"

"Yes, I do, and I have not forgotten that."

"Of course, if you want their aid, you will need to make sure that they're not treated like third class citizens and they get paid decent wages and all."

"Yes, don't I know that."

Jarl Ulfric did not look happy, but I was sure that he had thought about that before multiple times. After a few minutes he said:

"Maybe I should have taken more time to think about those issue and potential implications, but I have been focused on the war and on military issues. Now, Brunwulf, Wuunferth, Galmar, do you all agree that this is the right way to proceed?"

They looked at each other, and within seconds there was nodding all around. Galmar hesitated a little bit longer, but then he added:

"My Jarl, allowing Dunmer into the troops was a good idea, as I have to admit. They have a different style of fighting, but we can integrate that, and there clearly is potential for having a few magic wielding elves in the individual units. You know that I had been very reluctant to try that, but they can at least help with healing, and there are some uses for destruction magic, too. We know that other races have their own specialties, and I could imagine that some Khajiit, with their sneak abilities, might make good scouts, and we have also discussed Argonians and their own racial skills. So, yes, I am also in agreement, not only for granting full citizen rights to members of all races, but also allowing them into the Stormcloak ranks. Naturally, if some act up, they will have to deal with me."

Galmar՚s statement was probably the last corner stone which was needed to make Ulfric come to a decision, and ten minutes later both copies of the document were signed by both Jarls and their housecarls. Ulfric and Balgruuf shook hands, and then they both climbed up to the highest platform on the southern tower together and shouted out:

"Everybody, soldiers and citizens, the alliance has been signed!"

Before they could continue, there was lots of shouting, cheering and applauding from everywhere around, lasting for the better part of a minute.

"From today on, Whiterun and Eastmarch are allies, and we will work and fight together."

"Stormcloaks are now welcome in Whiterun hold, and the hold guards will work with them to defend this hold and the others under our control from the Imperial Legion."

"Combined Stormcloak and Whiterun guard detachments will leave soon to fortify the borders south to Falkreath, west to The Reach and northwest to Morthal, and we will decide together where we can extend the border fortifications."

This was indeed a historical day, and I was a little bit proud of myself that I had contributed to getting here. Naturally, I could not tell for sure if this was the best option for the future, and it was clearly a variation which had not been available in the game. However, I had a good feeling about it.

While most of the soldiers moved on with the next couple of hours, the two Jarls remained until noon time and had lunch together, together with some mead. After this was done, they slowly took the road west towards Whiterun, as the Jarl of Eastmarch was going to stay in Dragonsreach as the guest of honor for a few days. Galmar, once he had taken care of the military orders, rode back to Windhelm with Wuunferth and a small escort, as he needed to organize the upcoming large scale troop movements. Meanwhile, Ralof, another commander and a few squad-leaders took charge of the various soldier detachments which were already here and were now going to merge with Whiterun hold guards to occupy key positions around the hold.

Irileth, Jordis and I followed the Jarls, and a few hours later we stopped at the stables to leave the horses there; not me, of course, as I had not been riding. Jarl Balgruuf invited all leaders to a banquet at Dragonsreach for the evening, and as a Thane I would have to attend. For now, though, I had a couple of hours to myself, and I used them to relax in the warm pool in Jorrvaskr. Despite their size, my saber cats were still welcome even in the pool; not every Companion fully agreed with that, but Kodlak had insisted. However, I was polite enough to ask if the main pool was already occupied; I fully understood that not everybody would enjoy sharing the pool with two adolescent saber cats,well educated and trained or not. Today, though, there was just Irene in there, and she did not mind us joining her. The Breton seemed to be quite relaxed, and she smiled when Hanni and Nanni joined her in the warm water together with me. After she had spent a few minutes frolicking around with my two girls, I asked:

"Say, Irene, how is your sister doing? Is she still in the city, and does she enjoy being here?"

"Yes, she is still around, and she has found work as barmaid in the 'Drunken Huntsman'."

"Really? Well, I have to admit that I don't like this place."

"You don't? Why?"

"The proprietor and his buddy Nazeem don't seem to like me, and I feel uncomfortable there; I much prefer the Bannered Mare."

"Oh yes, I can understand that, Elrindir can be quite rough, and sometimes he gives you dirty remarks."

"You too?"

"Well, he tried a few times, until he found out that I'm quite able to talk back dirty; since then, he's given up on me and we get along nicely. Wulfryn even talks more dirty than I do, and he does not stand a chance against her."

"Okay, good for you and your sister, I guess. Fortunately his brother, the one who sells meat in the market area, is not quite like that."

"You are a big meet eater, aren't you?"

"Not only that, but I sell some of the meat I hunt to Anoriath."

She nodded, and we enjoyed the warm water and the cuddling with Hanni and Nanni for some time, before Irene suggested:

"B'lushona, during Saturalia last year I may have mentioned that my family has ancestors dating back to the First Era, and I have been told that you are some kind of scholar. Would you like to learn a little bit about that?"

"By all means, yes, I would love to!"

"All right then! Most people are not interested about old stories, and I appreciate your interest; do let me know when it becomes boring, right?"

I nodded, and the Breton lady continued:

"At some time in the First Era, Aluciel, King of Bjoulase in High Rock, decided to send an emissary to Cyrod, with orders to find out if trading with the Cyrod Ayleids was possible. The emissary's name was Atkynd, and he duly traveled to Cyrod. He somehow managed to get involved with Alessia՚s slave rebellion which had just started at that time, and somebody managed to collect some of his notes on scrolls and wax tablets and such. Atkynd seems to be related to our family, and the notes found our way to us; it is written there that his original intent of establishing trade routes with Ayleid nobles was more and more supplemented and even replaced by aiding this rebellion."

"Alessia՚s time? This is fascinating! I read a few books on that, and didn't she have some powerful friends, like this half bull Morihaus or so?"

"Indeed, yes, he is mentioned there, as well as Pelinal Whitestrake."

"Pelinal – wait, he is the one who fought against Umaril, right?"

"Yes, you are right. You know about that one, too?"

"Yes, I have read a few books about the events and specifically about the Hero of Kvatch restoring the Knights of the Nine; with help, he had to fight against Umaril again."

"Correct as well. Now, Atkynd's notes have a lot of first hand information about Pelinal's actions and the slave rebellion; maybe I could get you a summary, if you like."

"I would very much like that – thank you!"

That was quite interesting. I had played the 'Knights of the Nine' DLC to TES IV a few times, and I vaguely recalled that there had even been a mod expanding on that story and allowing the player to travel back in time, when the slave rebellion had taken place, to meet some of those people, including Alessia and Pelinal. I was looking forward to reading stories on how all this had really happened.

[Author's Notes: As mentioned in an earlier chapter, the notes from Atkynd are connected to the story "Tales of the First Era: Alessia" written by "Blackvvater", with the author's friendly permission. IMO this is a greatly written story, with lots of lore details. The Nexus also still has the Oblivion mod 'Knights of the Nine Revelation', too.

Balu՚s ideas on race and species may not be fully correct. Wikipedia claims that species is "is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring", while in TES men and Khajiit can have children together, I think. Not sure if the game lore explains that somewhere; the book 'Notes on Racial Phylogeny' states this: "It is less clear whether the Argonians and Khajiit are interfertile with both humans and elves".]