Disclaimer: Neither High School DXD nor Elder Scrolls belongs to me, all rights to their respective owners.
Chapter 10
Bankgorai Pass - Loredas 26 of Mid year of 203 of the Fourth era
Dawn brought with it a gentle wind, which made the various banners of the troops that were stationed in this place wave. From one of the highest parts of the mountainous terrain, Edzard was looking at the camp. He had left Solitude more than ten days ago with part of the Solitude and Markarth forces, along with six centuries of auxiliaries from the Second Legion. In total there were almost six thousand soldiers among all those present. The journey had been shorter because portals were used to shorten the distance of the journey.
Of the total of these soldiers, three thousand were from Solitude and were commanded by Captain Tyr, a twenty-year-old Nord. Tyr had long hair and a bushy beard, both of which were reddish in color. He wore the same armor as his men, that is to say a scaled vest of hardened leather, under this they wore chain mail, hardened leather bracers, black leather pants and leather boots. As a weapon he carried a steel sword and a circular shield with the heraldry of loneliness painted on the shield.
Markarth's army had enlisted two thousand five hundred and twenty soldiers, led by Captain Brend. Brend is a Nord man over thirty years old. He had a bald head and a large ash-colored mustache. His clothing was the same as that of his soldiers, that is, padded leather vest, chain mail under that vest, hardened leather bracers, leather pants and boots. As weapons he carried his steel sword and a circular shield with Markarth's heraldry painted on the shield.
As can be understood, the armies wore almost the same type of armor and weaponry. The only thing that differentiated them was the color of the cloth they wore on their armor; the colors were red for Solitude and green for Markarth.
The four hundred and eighty auxiliaries under Edzard wore hardened leather breastplates over chain mail, hardened leather bracers, leather pants and boots. These did not wear helmets, but rather wore wizard hoods. These auxiliaries weren't ordinary soldiers, these were battle mages. Edzard for the part of him was wearing his Imperial legate armor. This armor was a variant of the armor of the Penitus Oculatus. The color and design were the same, that is, a musculata lorica in black. He also wore hardened leather bracers, which had a steel plate that served as extra protection. He wore black pants and his boots had steel greaves for added protection. As his weapon wore his dragon bone sword on the left side of his belt, he had decided to leave his greatsword in his tent.
As he looked around the camp, he began to remember what his departure for war was like.
Flashback
The sun was shining on the outskirts of the city of Solitude. Facing the outer city walls were the armies of the cities of Solitude and Markarth, and alongside them was assembled the Fourth Imperial Legion. All the soldiers were awaiting orders from their respective leaders, who were gathered at Castle Dour while they went over the plans for war.
While the meeting was taking place, Edzard was trying to comfort Asia. Asia had arrived at the camp with Jordis and Marie to say goodbye to Edzard.
"Then when will they leave?" Asia asked as she watched Edzard play with Marie.
"When the meeting is over." Edzard replied as he tickled Marie's belly, making the little girl laugh several times.
"Shouldn't you be there?"
"No, they are deciding how to divide the forces." Edzard replied, stopping playing with Marie to see Asia. "I already know what my orders are."
Asia nodded when she heard Edzard's reply. Stretching her arms, she asked him to give her to Marie. Before Edzard gave him his daughter, he kissed Asia, which she returned the kiss starting to cry.
"Don't cry Asia." Edzard said as he wiped her tears away and tried to comfort her. "I won't be leaving for long."
Asia nodded, knowing that the war would not last long. Edzard had told her the details and she hoped everything would go as planned.
After that they continued talking for a while. Edzard also told her that in a few days the rest of her aides would arrive and that she would leave with them for the castle of Volkihar.
"Castle of Volkihar?" Asked Asia very confused. "Do you have a castle?"
"No, it's not mine." Edzard replied, smiling. "It is from Serana's family."
"Does Serana's family have a castle?" You could hear the astonishment in Asia's voice. Although she and Serana were very good friends, she had never told him that she lived in a castle.
"Yes, it is on an island to the northwest corner of Haafingar." Edzard replied. "You and Marie will be escorted by the housecarls, who will stay there acting as guards."
"But what about the other houses?" Asia was very confused by what Edzard had said. "Won't they be unprotected?"
"Houses and furniture can be bought back." Edzard answered solemnly. "But not your life and Marie's."
"Besides, you will not be alone, I have asked some people to accompany you." A small smile appeared on Edzard's face as he thought about the guests.
However, before they could continue speaking the leaders of the armies came out and began issuing orders. When the soldiers had already prepared to leave, Edzard approached Asia and Marie.
"Asia, I love you." Edzard said as he looked into Asia's eyes.
"I love you too,." Asia said with a sad smile on her face. I will wait for your return.
Edzard nodded, then kissed his daughter on the forehead.
"Jordis, you know your orders." Edzard spoke, looking at his housecarl.
"Yes, my Thane." Jordis replied at the command of his lord.
Nodding, Edzard climbed onto his horse and set off with the rest of the soldiers.
End of Flashback
Edzard left his memories of that day when a Solitude soldier approached him.
"Legate, the captains request his presence on the war council."
"Very well, guide me."
The soldier nodded and began to lead Edzard to the tent where the other leaders were. When he entered he saw them looking at a map of the region, which they stopped seeing when they saw him arrive.
"Legate Edzard." Was the salute of the two captains.
"Captain Tyr, Captain Brend." Edzard said in response. "What news do we have from the explorers?"
"Apparently the Thalmor have managed to pass the ruins of the Bangkorai garrison." Tyr replied with concern as he stroked his beard.
The Bangkorai Garrison was an ancient fort that guarded the pass that linked the lands of High Rock and Hammerfell. It was once a great fortress, but today it is nothing more than a ruin. He's in this state since the Oblivion crisis.
"I see. Anything else?" Edzard asked, looking more closely at the map.
"We have news of the Second Legion."
"What news?"
"The Second Legion reports that they have managed to gather many volunteers for the war." Brend replied, curling his mustache. "They also report that the ships are ready to set sail."
"Well, they seem to have carried out their part of the plan." Edzard replied, looking at the captains. "Do we have information on the number and type of troops the Thalmor have?"
"No, the scouts have not been able to count the number of troops the enemy has." Brend replied steely. "However, we believe they may have more than 9,000 troops."
"I see. But you'd better cut back on that amount." Edzard said with a hand on his chin.
"Why, Legate?"
"Very simple, they haven't been through the ruins. They've taken another path." Edzard replied, surprising the two captains.
"Why do you think that?"
"To pass through these ruins one must first pass through the vicinity of several of Hammerfell's cities."
Hearing that answer the two captains began to smile. It was well known that the Red Guards hated Thalmor to their guts. That is why it would be unthinkable that they were given a free pass to roam their lands.
"So, they must have entered from another area." Tyr said as he looked at the map.
"Yes. It is very possible that they entered through the Alik'r desert and from there they must have passed through the mountains of Wrothgaria."
"So, it's very likely that their numbers have diminished because of the weather and the terrain."
Edzard nodded and began to take a better look at the map. He was looking at it for a long time until he found a good place to win the battle that was coming.
"How long would it take you to get to this point?" Edzard asked as he pointed to a place on the map.
"At normal pace no more than four hours and three if we force the march." Tyr replied, seeing the distance from where Edzard proposed to fight.
"Well, take your troops and advance through the pass." Edzard said, seeing the captains nod.
"And what will you do?" Asked Brend.
"I'll take my soldiers and head to the same point as you, but I'll do it another way."
Both captains nodded understanding Edzard's plan. Edzard withdrew from the command tent and walked over to where his men were. When he arrived, he ordered the camp to be broken up and when the camp was already up they left.
The sun was at the top, showing that it was already noon. Edzard's troops advanced safely over the mountains. Luckily or by favor of Talos they had not lost men on the way; However, Edzard knew that he was running out of time, so he ordered to hasten the pace hoping that Hadvar has managed to fulfill his mission.
While Edzard and his auxiliaries reached the agreed point, Captains Tyr and Brend had led their troops to the agreed point.
"It seems the Thalmor already know we're here." Tyr commented as he watched the Thalmor soldiers through a spyglass. "We must start preparing the formation for combat."
"Yes." Brend replied.
Both captains sent orders to their soldiers to form and prepare for battle. Being Nords, they lacked mages, so they had decided to position their archers at the back of the formation. Leading the formation was the heavy infantry.
In front of them was the battlefield. The field was a narrow canyon some three hundred meters wide, which was flanked by steep hills some thirty meters high. These hills prevented the use of cavalry for both sides. Since the cavalry could not use its best attribute, mobility. That would cause the cavalry to charge and stagnate once they hit a tight defensive formation.
The Aldmer had positioned themselves in front of them, in a similar formation. In front came his heavy infantry, which wore full body armor. These armors were made of an alloy of iron, refined adularia, and quicksilver. Behind the infantry came his archers and next to them were the Aldmer mages.
"Looks like the Legate Edzard was right." Brend said when he finished counting the number of enemy troops in front.
Just as Edzard had predicted, the Aldmer army had been reduced from its initial number of ten thousand to a manageable seven thousand; however, they continued to outperform the Nords soldiers.
"Yes, apparently the terrain and the weather have bled them."
"Hopefully everything goes well."
Tyr nodded and immediately gave the order for his soldiers to begin advancing.
The Nords troops began to advance slowly while the Aldmer began to close their formations more.
In the rear of the troops and riding his horse was the leader of this army, Captain Rivenar. Rivenar is a black haired Altmer. He wears elven armor over a Thalmor robe.
"It seems that the Nords beasts wish to die quickly." Rivenar said as he watched the Nords troops advance.
He was confident that he could take down the defenders quickly, as he had the numbers advantage.
"How many mages do they have?" Rivenar asked one of his officers.
"None, they only have infantry and archers."
"I see, the wizards prepare to attack."
The officer nodded and quickly ran to convey the orders to the magicians.
The Nords infantry were within yards of the Aldmer infantry when the Aldmer wizards began throwing fireballs at them. The Nords troops responded by raising their shields. When the fireballs were about to hit the shields, several guards began to emerge from these. These guards were being generated from some scrolls that Edzard had given to some soldiers.
When the Aldmer saw this they were shocked, but their surprise was shattered when the Nords archers began to rain down arrows on the Aldmer infantry. Screams of pain began to be heard as some Aldmer began to die from the arrows.
"Archers! Shoot!" Rivenar yelled
The Aldmer archers began firing, but they couldn't do much damage either, as although the arrows pierced the wards, the shields blocked most of the arrows. Seeing this, Rivenar began to fidget.
"Damn, what are you waiting for, charge!" Rivenar yelled, ordering his infantry forces to charge.
The Aldmer infantry obeyed and charged hard against the Nords infantry. The clash of both infantries was brutal. Unfortunately for the Aldmer, the Nords waited for them in a shield wall formation, while they had charged without any formation. This quickly stalled the fight, for even though the Aldmer had more soldiers, the Nords were on the defensive in a terrain that allowed them to maintain a manageable combat width for their numbers.
The Nords began to kill the Aldmer in front of them, but the wards that were generated by the scrolls disappeared, leaving them vulnerable to magic attacks from the elves. Screams began to echo as the Aldmer's fireballs began to inflict casualties on the Nord infantry. Added to this, the Aldmer archers began to unleash volleys of arrows, thus increasing the casualties on the Imperial side.
While this was happening on the battlefield, Edzard was with his men on top of one of the hills that flanked the battlefield. The march through the mountains had worked and they had come at a good time.
"Everyone, throw fireballs at the Aldmer archers and mages!" Edzard yelled.
Edzard and the Imperial battle mages began to create fireballs, which began to fall on the archers and Aldmer mages. Which were taken by surprise. By the time they got over their surprise, they had lost several of their mages and archers.
Edzard began to see how the Nords infantry began to be outnumbered by the Aldmer infantry. So, he decided to jump in to support them.
"Guys, keep attacking the Aldmer archers and mages."
When Edzard finished speaking, he put on his helmet, which is a closed helmet made of steel. This helmet has openings for the eyes and mouth. A curved guard protected the back of the neck. After putting on the helmet he threw himself from the top of the hill.
"FEIM!" Edzard yelled, turning ethereal so as not to suffer damage from the fall. The scream scared the Aldmer's, but gave the Nords morale boosts.
Edzard landed in the middle of the battlefield, more precisely in the middle of the Aldmer infantry. He quickly drew his sword and began killing as many enemy soldiers as he could. His sword easily sliced through enemies in front of him.
More than three hours of combat had already passed. Weariness was becoming noticeable on both sides. The Nords attacked with what little strength they still had, while the imperial mages no longer cast spells, as they had run out of magic, so they decided to start attacking by throwing rocks at the enemy soldiers below them. The archers were running out of ammunition. And Edzard found himself surrounded by enemies as he attacked and defended himself from all the Aldmer that he could. His plan had worked, as his presence on the battlefield had caught the attention of several of the Aldmer soldiers. Which eased the burden on the Nords soldiers a bit, but it had made Edzard fight until almost exhaustion.
Edzard killed several of the Aldmer that had surrounded him using the chained lightning spell, unfortunately he could not kill more because an Altmer noticed and created a guard, which stopped the advance of the spell. He had decided to quite restrict the use of his Thu'um. This is because he could accidentally kill his own troops. Although, he did use some screaming in order to survive. These shouts had been those of elemental fury and of becoming ethereal.
In the rear of the Aldmer troops, Captain Rivenar was shouting orders to his soldiers.
"Archers, fire on the right flank!"
After shouting, Rivenar saw Edzard, who was fighting several Aldmer at once. Recognizing him, he smiled and began to gather magic in his hand and prepared to cast a spell with which he could kill who he was considered a great threat to the Thalmor's plans.
Edzard was killing more Aldmer when he sensed that he was in danger. So, he quickly turned around and saw the enemy leader, who had a mocking smile on his face as he was charging a spell; however, the spell was never cast, as an arrow pierced the Altmer's throat.
The battlefield was silent for a few seconds, before a shower of arrows began to fall on the Aldmer troops. Looking up at the sky, the Nord troops realized that the arrows were coming from the hill in front of which the Imperial battle mages were standing.
"What are Red Guards troops doing here?" Brend asked as he watched as the newly arrived troops brought the banner from the city of Dragonstar.
"No idea,." Tyr replied as he killed an Aldmer who tried to stab Brend in the back. We can ask them later, now focus on killing elves.
Brend nodded and quickly parried an Aldmer's attack with his shield, then thrust the sword into said Aldmer's chest.
"Dammit. Get in the middle of the Aldmer formation, yes, what a fucking great plan I came up with »thought Edzard annoyed as he used magic to deflect the arrows that threatened to turn him into a pincushion. When he was about to withdraw from there, his ears picked up a subtle sound. This sound would have gone unnoticed by most soldiers, as the battlefield was filled with the sounds of steel colliding with steel, screams of pain and agony. Edzard began to smile when he recognized the approaching sound.
"SU!" Edzard shouted.
When his blades were imbued with the power of his Thu'um, Edzard charged the Thalmor forces. His sword was moving so fast that the Aldmer's couldn't even defend themselves, much less fight back. Reinforcing his legs with magic he took a great leap with which he reached the top where his wizards were. Once he was on top, he began to gather a large amount of magic in his left hand. This amount of magic astonished the Imperial mages and the Aldmer. When Edzard released the spell, an orb made of ice was directed at the closest part of the Aldmer fighting the Nords. When the orb hit the ground, ice spikes began to emerge from it, impaling all the Aldmer in its path.
When the Aldmer saw this, they began to flee in panic. Unfortunately for them almost no one would escape from there alive. The reason for this, hundreds of heavy horsemen began to arrive from his rear. These horsemen flew the banner of the city of Sentinel. These riders were led by a young man, who wore a conical helmet with a mask, chainmail armor, gray leather pants, and brown boots. He carried in one hand a curved sword and in the other a round shield. And next to that young man was a legionnaire.
The Hammerfell cavalry advanced with force, sweeping away the Aldmer who were trying in vain to retreat from the place. By the time they reached the Nord vanguard, many elves had already been crushed and the few who had survived had surrendered. As the soldiers finished counting their casualties and began treating the wounded, a hasty meeting was taking place between the Nord leaders and the leader of the Red Guards.
"Legate Edzard. Captains." Hadvar greeted. Hadvar is a Nord man with fair skin, brown eyes, and brown hair. He wore imperial heavy armor, also known as lorica segmentata, with reinforced leather bracers, leather boots with steel greaves, and a helmet called a galea. On the right side of his belt he carried his short steel sword.
"Hadvar." Edzard replied, glad to see him. "I see you got it."
Hadvar nodded in response.
"Excuse me, but who are you?" Was Tyr's question to the young leader of the Red Guards.
The young man removed his helmet and everyone could see his features. She was a dark-skinned girl, she had black hair tied in a low braid. Her eyes were dark and she had full lips. Also, she seemed to be in her twenties. The girl started to smile when she saw Tyr and Brend jaw to the floor; however, she pouted when she saw that Edzard was unfazed.
"Well, I have to introduce myself properly, but I'll do it when your mouth is off the floor."
The two captains blushed, earning a laugh from Edzard and Hadvar.
"I introduce myself. I am Mizaida, Princess of the Hammerfell kingdom." Mizaida said.
"Princess?!" Edzard yelled in shock.
The princess began to laugh softly as she saw Edzard lose his composure.
"Yes, I am the third daughter of the current King of Hammerfell." Mizaida replied with a smile once she stopped laughing.
"Thank you very much for your help, Her Highness." Edzard, Tyr, and Brend spoke in unison.
"No problem." Replied the princess. "Centurion Hadvar has given my father the Emperor's letter."
"So, you accept the terms?" Edzard asked hoping they had accepted.
"Yes, my father has accepted them." Replied the princess. "From now on we will fight together in this war."
After hearing that, Tyr poured some glasses of wine and they toasted the alliance of the Empire and the Hammerfell Kingdom. After that short celebration, the reports came in. There had been eight hundred casualties in Markarth's army and a thousand in Solitude. There had been no fatal casualties among the battle mages, only a few wounded.
Wyrest - Sundas 4 of Sun's Height 203 of the Fourth era
Edzard watched as the rising sun reflected off the sea as hundreds of ships were anchored at the dock in the Breton city of Wyrest. Ten days had passed since the so-called battle for Bangkorai Pass, a battle that culminated in the victory of the Empire. The troops of Markarth and Solitude who had come with him, had been sent back to their respective cities of origin, as they were part of the garrisons that guarded the cities.
'So far everything is fine' thought Edzard. In addition to the above, they had also received news from the south. Apparently, the bulk of the Norse army and the Fourth Legion had already crossed the Skyrim border with Cyrodill and would be arriving in the city of Skingrad next week. Legions Three and Five were already on the border with the Elsweyr region. The Second Legion was about to embark on Wyrest.
'The anti-Thalmor rebellions in Valenwood, Anequina and Pellitine have forced the Thalmor to send their troops to help put down these rebellions' Edzard thought before hearing the sound of footsteps approaching.
"Are you still thinking about the war?" Hadvar spoke from behind Edzard. "Or are you thinking of your family?"
"In the war." Edzard replied sadly. "If I think of Asia and Marie I could drop everything and go to see them."
"Ja, ja, ja. That wouldn't be good for our morale." Hadvar laughed.
"I know." Edzard spoke with a smile. "But, let's change the subject, is everything ready for us to set sail?"
"Yeah, it's just a matter of waiting for the sun to be higher." Hadvar replied, earning a nod from Edzard.
"How many soldiers do we have altogether?"
"Over seven thousand here with the legion and auxiliaries alone." Hadvar replied, putting his hand to his chin. "But, if we also count the High Rock soldiers who come with us, it would be a total of ten thousand."
"Ten thousand soldiers here alone, and if we also count the more than eight thousand who arrived from Hammerfell." Edzard spoke, letting it be understood that they had more than significant strength.
When they were about to continue talking, a legionary arrived and informed them that they were about to leave. Edzard and Hadvar nodded and headed to board their ship.
When evening came they were already in the open sea. Edzard was in the captain's cabin in the middle of a meeting through magical projections with the other generals.
"Report on the advancement of the forces we have." The emperor spoke through a projection. "General Tacitus."
"Yes. We have already fully reinforced the defenses of the Imperial city." Reported the general of the first legion, which was stationed in the Imperial city itself. "We have also prepared the citizen levies, in case there is an attack."
"Very well, General." The Emperor spoke, earning a nod from the General of the First Legion.. "General Darryn."
"Yes. The Second Legion has already set sail along with the High Rock forces. We hope to be able to disembark near the city of Falinesti."
"Very well, General." The emperor spoke.. "Legate Edzard, any news on Hammerfell?"
"Yes. I am happy to report that the Red Guards have accepted the alliance and will join us when we attack Summerset Isles." Edzard spoke.
The letter Hadvar had brought to Sentinel City was a letter where the emperor negotiated an alliance with the Red Guards.
"Well, that's excellent news." Said the emperor with a smile. "General Nullius."
"Yes. The third legion is already entering Anequina and we will soon arrive in the city of Fluvia. We will meet with the leader of the rebels in that area."
The emperor nodded to his general. "General Tulio."
"Yes. The fourth legion and the bulk of the army of Skyrim are about to reach the city of Skingrad. After that we will head to Arenthia to support the rebels in the area."
Nodding, the emperor looked at his other general. "General Scipion.".
"Yes. The Fifth Legion has already crossed the border with Pellitine. We will go to support the rebels to take the city of Corinth."
"Very well." The emperor replied. "Where is the general of the sixth legion?"
No one answered, because they did not know why the general had not reported; However, before anyone says anything, a projection of the mentioned general appeared.
"My emperor, bad news." The general spoke in agitation. "The Thalmor have put the city of Bravil under siege."
"Bravil?" The emperor asked worriedly. "How did they get there?"
"We don't know." Answered the general.
"How many troops are there? And how long can they resist the siege?" General Tulio asked.
"Apparently there are more than twenty thousand troops." Replied the General of the Sixth Legion. "And at most we can hold out for a week."
"One week!" Cried the emperor in dismay.
"They seem to be trying to use the same tactic as in the past war." Tulio said.
At that moment all the generals began to plan a way to break the siege. Since it was very dangerous for the Thalmor to control that area, this could lead to the war stalling, as the Thalmor could advance towards the imperial city again.
Edzard, who saw all the generals arguing, decided to give his opinion on this.
"My emperor, generals." Edzard spoke, shutting everyone up and gaining their attention.
"I request permission to go support the Sixth Legion."
"Legate, that's crazy." The Sixth Legion general replied. "We would need at least the support of three legions to break the siege."
"Legate Edzard." General Tulio spoke. "How long will it take to get there?"
All the generals were silent, because they did not understand what the general of the fourth legion was saying.
"It will take me between two to three days." Edzard replied looking at the general, who began to have a smile on his face, as he began to understand what Edzard was planning to do. "I will go together with the winged snow hunter."
The emperor was meditative for a moment, he did not understand who this winged snow hunter was; however, his eyes widened when he remembered General Tulio's report on the dragon crisis.
"Very well bequeathed, you have my permission." The emperor spoke. "Get out immediately."
Edzard smiled and bowed, then left the meeting. Already being out of the cabin he met Hadvar.
"What happened?" Hadvar asked watching Edzard leave the cabin and begin to walk quickly.
"Hadvar, I'll tell you everything when I get back."
"Are you coming back?" Hadvar asked confused. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to Bravil to help lift the siege."
Once on deck, Edzard took a deep breath and screamed. "OD! AH! VIING!"
The cry was heard by the entire Imperial fleet sailing in the direction of Hammerfell. The curious soldiers approached the railings of the ships to see what was happening. Freaking out when a loud roar was heard above them. Looking in that direction they could see a large scarlet dragon flying in the direction of the first ship.
When Edzard watched his brother arrive, he began to smile. When Odahviing was alongside the ship, Edzard approached him.
"Odahviing, I need you to take me to Bravil."
"Bravil? Why do you want to go to that place?"
"We're going to kill elves." Edzard replied, rolling his eyes.
"Elves?" Asked Odahviing, confused.
"You know, elves, the pointy-eared idiots." Edzard replied to the dragon, but when he saw that the dragon did not understand or was disengaged, he began to get irritated. "The Mer."
"Ja, ja, ja! You should have seen your face!" Laughed Odahviing. "Ok, let's go."
"Wait, just like that? There are no threats about why am I taking you around? or that you are not a horse?" Edzard asked without understanding, but when he saw that the dragon shook his head, he decided to ask again. "Tell me why do you do it?"
"I have not eaten a Mer in many centuries." Odahviing replied flatly.
Hearing his response, Edzard hit himself in the face. Denying the dragon's attitude, he simply jumped off the deck of the ship. Already on the back of his brother, he began to fly in the direction of Bravil.
Volkihar Castle - Turdas 15 Sun's Height of 203 of the Fourth era
Asia didn't know if she was in heaven or hell, or maybe she was in both at the same time. Almost a month had passed since Edzard went to war against the Aldmer Domain. And it had been two weeks since she arrived at Volkihar Castle. The castle was located on an island near the border with High Rock. This one had a watchtower or watchtower on the outskirts of the castle, very close to a small wooden pier. To the northwest side of the castle there is a dock, which is used for the entry of supplies of all kinds to the castle. Inside the castle, there is a large living room where the dining room is located. A small alchemy laboratory is located on the left side on the first floor, while a forge is located on the right-hand side, and the rooms are located in the front. And finally, in the courtyard inside the castle is Lady Valerica's personal garden.
The reason for Asia to consider this castle a kind of hell is not because of its gloomy aura, nor the continuous fog that there was, no, the reason is named Valerica Volkihar. From the moment the vampire saw her, she began to follow her around the place trying to examine her sacred gear and her physiology. This got to the point that she tried to go back to Solitude with Marie in her arms for fear of being dissected alive. This action was stopped by Edzard's Housecarls, who told him that they should stay there for the safety of both.
However, this treatment changed when Asia began to help her with the restoration of the garden. After several days of working together pulling weeds, planting flowers and caring for the plants they had both sat down to drink a cup of tea. They were talking all afternoon, while she told him part of her life, the vampire told him everything about her. At the end of that day, Valerica herself had offered to train her in destruction magic and alchemy.
As the days passed and according to Valerica's own words, she had made great strides in her learning in Alchemy. She was fond of alchemy, especially the preparation of healing potions; however, she was also taught by Valerica to make poisons. At first, she did not want to, but due to much insistence from her teacher, she ended up agreeing to learn. Valerica also taught her to grow native Skyrim plants, that made her quite happy, after all she liked everything related to gardening. And so, she was spending her days, until about five days ago the guests that Edzard had mentioned arrived.
Flashback
Asia was in awe as she watched the small boat anchor in the small harbor outside the castle. In this boat were Fortunata, Laure, Gyda, Fridda and Aela. They all had some trunks and bags with them. When they saw her, they dropped the bags and ran towards her.
"Asia!" Was the cry of the four magicians of her throwing herself to embrace her friend.
"Girls!" Was Asia's answering cry as they all hugged each other and began to laugh.
"But how?" Was Asia's question when she separated from her friends.
They did not respond verbally, but instead showed all a few letters. When Asia read them she started to smile, in the letters Edzard asked them to come keep Asia and Marie company while he was at war.
"So, this is where you stay." Laure said as she looked at the castle. "She did not know that the Arch-mage had a castle."
"It's not from the Dovahkiin." Valerica answered, introducing herself to the group.
"Who are you?" Laure asked as she pointed at Valerica.
"What terrible manners you have." Valerica reproached Laure. "However, courtesy compels me to introduce myself."
"My name is Valerica Volkihar." Valerica introduced herself with a small bow. "And I am the owner of this castle."
"Is she the mistress of the castle?" Fortunata asked, receiving a nod from Asia.
Seeing this Fortunata, Gyda and Fridda bowed. Valerica just snorted, seeing that at least some of the girls had manners, but she winced when she saw Aela.
"Looks like you've brought a pooch with you." Valerica said harshly. "I hope you don't have fleas."
Aela simply smirked at Valerica's comment.. "You should ask your daughter if I have fleas."
This caused a wave of gasps from the girls. While in Asia an atomic blush was presented when imagining Serana and Aela having sex in a bedroom; however, she got even redder when the image changed and began to show her and Edzard doing just that.
'God, please forgive my sinful thoughts' Asia began praying to God for the bad thoughts she had. Once she calmed down, she looked at her friends again and saw them all quiet.
"Aela, is Serana your lover?" Asia asked her friend.
"No, we're just occasional companions." she replied with a smile. "Not all of us can be lucky enough to have someone like Edzard to warm our bed at night."
When Aela mentioned this everyone presents started laughing at poor Asia, which she just stuttered.
After that moment, everyone withdrew into the fortress. Once inside, Valerica told them where their rooms would be.
End of Flashback
Asia came back to the present when she heard her daughter cry. She rising from her chair on her way to her crib where she had left her resting.
"What's up Marie? Are you hungry?" Asia asked taking Marie in her arms, but she quickly dismissed that she was hungry when a bad smell reached her nostrils. "Looks like you need a diaper change."
"I think Edzard decided to go to war to avoid changing your diapers." She said as she finished removing her daughter's diaper. "Let's take you to the bathroom, you need a good bath."
After finishing bathing and changing their daughter's clothes, they both went to the dining room. When they got to the dining room they could see everyone gathered, even Edzard's housecarls were present at that meeting. When they got closer, she saw Serana, who walked up to her.
"Asia, I have news of the war." Serana said, motioning for her to sit down.
Once she sat down, Serana began to recount the battle for Bangkorai Pass. Asia had sighed when she learned that Edzard had survived; however, he became concerned when the following news of the war was mentioned.
"The Thalmor have besieged the city of Bravil." The room fell silent when Serana mentioned that.
Author's note:
To those who have made it this far, Thanks for reading.
The first battle of the second great war, I must say that writing battles from scratch is a bit complicated; however, it is interesting to do so. In the next chapter we will see how the Thalmor react to the war.
Well, I apologize for any misspelling. Don't forget to leave a comment if you liked the chapter or if there is anything that needs to be improved. With nothing more to say, until the next chapter.