19th of Last Seed
We went through Morthal to pick up Valdimar so that we can all eventually head back to Jorrvaskr. Istar Cairn-Breaker has had the builders working double time to get the walls up. They've been told that if they can finish the work up at Frostfall that they'll be part of the crew starting on the new forts. This seems to have been sufficient motivation to get them moving along quite a bit quicker. The improvements to the wall are nearly complete and I'm thankful for that. It makes me feel better about being gone so much. Istar is missing his wife and children so I told him to bring them Frostfall. They can live here while all this is going on. We've got plenty of room and the loft over the guard barracks can be reconfigured to make it more family friendly. With Ralof being single, there was never a need for anything like that before. Now that Ralof's occupied in Solitude, it seems to be time to make some changes. Sophie and Lucia could use some children to play with and his children can use the same tutors that I've hired to teach Sophie and Lucia, so they won't be missing any schooling. Istar said he'd send a courier to his wife and see what she says about the idea. I hope she agrees. I think I'd like to meet Mrs. Cairn-Breaker and the girls could use some social interaction with kids their own age. Maybe that will stop some of the squabbling.
20th of Last Seed
Farkas, Vilkas and Athis all had a go at Valdimar out in the training yard. They're impressed with his skills with his mace but he's even better with an axe, once Athis suggested that he try it. Athis is working with him to train him, since Valdimar favors light armor like Athis. I'll leave him with them for a while and Aera can stay in the house. If this works out, Aera might become the new steward at Windstad in which case all this works out even better for everyone. It means there won't be a need to build a new house out there that Sorli can tax me for. Valdimar will be going on to Ivarstead where we'll put the first guild house. Once Valdimar thinks someone's ready to open a new guild house, Rorikstead will be next. Then the Merry Band and I won't have to keep up the roving bandit patrols around there.
Sophie and Lucia are excited about the idea of Istar's children coming to live at Frostfall. The Loreius family are our closest neighbors and they don't have children. I don't like Sophie or Lucia to go out wandering on the tundra alone so they don't get to spend a lot of time with other children unless I take them into Whiterun with me and I don't have a chance to do that very often. I've thought about moving but with the Justicars still prowling around, its just not safe for them. They were happier at Lakeview because they could go swim in the lake in warmer weather and there was a bit more to do. Lydia was good about taking them into Riverwood or Falkreath whenever she had to do some shopping. I can't leave them there, though, as much as I trust Lydia. That place is squarely in the path of an invasion if the Thalmor ever decide to march through Pale Pass. I do trust Lydia to get herself and the new pup, Bjorn, out of there if that should happen, but I don't want to saddle her escape with two frightened children. I don't want to have come riding in on a dragon to save my girls. I will if I have to, but I'd rather things not get to that point in the first place. Those two have already been through enough without the Thalmor getting their hands on them. Harm a hair on my girl's heads and I will lay waste to the Dominion. So help me, I'd burn the whole thing to the ground and cleanse all of it with dragon fire.
Many of things I brought back from Bruma are growing quite well here. Jon's developing a nice business in alchemical ingredients. Whatever the school isn't processing into potions, he sells before they become stale and lose their potency. Once they're processed into potions, the shelf life seems to be nearly indefinite, There's quite a bit of gold rolling in from that. The more I roam around collecting things to plant, the more esoteric ingredients he can plant. The more esoteric ingredients we produce, the more money we make. That's been enough to shut Kaidan and Talesin up about me being "distracted by picking flowers". It's also stopped all the comments about me moonlighting as a flower seller. The business investments are also starting to pay off, as well and the entire Merry Band and even our more loosely associated members like Vorstag have been getting a taste of that.
Everything I've put my hands to has started to become profitable with the exception of the horse breeding program. I'm certain that this will as well, given time. I've seen the quality of the colts that Shadr's breeding program is producing and I'm quite pleased. They're remarkably good for just have the first few being born. Shadr's been quite active with the horse breeding program. Shadr, in turn, has been pleased with my eye for picking horses. Queenie has been a good find and I've left her with Shadr. It turns out that the horse I bought for Kaidan has also been quite the find. When we're at home, Shadr's busy using him as a herd stallion. Kaidan's not willing to leave him here full time since the horse suits him well. I'm thinking of bringing a few of the beasts back from Bruma since they're lighter boned and faster than the stocky beasts we have here. That might allow us to breed some speed into the bloodline that we're creating.
20th of Last Seed
We're in Falkreath so I can have a chat with Dengir. If the Thalmor invade, he's squarely in the path of it. We've worked out a system to pass the warning to other holds, should this happen. I've told Dengir not to worry about trying to hold against them and just clear out. He's promised to create an evacuation plan to get everyone out safely. If I don't have to worry about injuring civilians or our own troops I can be a bit more drastic in how I respond to such a thing. Dengir asked what I was planning and I told him that it was well in hand. He's not happy about my unwillingness to share my plans but I reminded him of what he always says about Imperial spies being everywhere. He nodded and took that with good grace.
I'm not sharing my plans with anyone except Ulfric and the Merry Band. Talesin says that they won't be expecting what I have planned and likely won't be able to counter it. I'll go get a dragon and tame it, for a time while I call up Odahviing and Durneviir. Faced with three dragons and the Merry Band plus whatever other troops I can muster, we can turn them back. Once we do, we'll launch the counter-invasion and take Bruma. I don't think they'll be expecting us to take Bruma but I plan to put them on their heels early on and keep them there until all of Cyrodiil has fallen. Once we take Bruma, we'll start building fortifications so that we can hold Bruma. Bruma will become the launching point for the rest of the invasion.
I'll be having a chat with all the Imperials we can capture to see if they're willing to join us in casting the Thalmor out and restoring something that looks like the rule of law and justice. If they are, they can fall in with the Stormcloaks. If they aren't, we have islands off the coast where they can wait out the war, unless they happen to be Penitus Oculatas. That bunch of Thalmor imitators is dead. Tristane's got some ideas for taking Chorrol and Cheydinal, the neighboring provinces. They've become fat and lazy during the peace that the Empire has brought. The keeps there aren't in good shape. Most haven't been maintained since the second era and won't stand up to dragon fire.
Once we take Chorrol, we can link up with the resistance in Hammerfell. The not-Erik has been good to his word and we have allies there that will help us take Kvatch and Anvil since it lets them secure that part of their border and stop the Thalmor incursions that have been plaguing them. Without those, the resistance in Hammerfell should be able to push the Thalmor out of Hammerfell competely. We might have to go help them, but if it gives us an excuse to purge Thalmor and solidify an ally, then so be it.
We also link up with the Bosmer resistance to help us take Kvatch and Skingrad. Auri's been distressed by many of the things we've found, including the torture and enslavement of other Bosmer by the Thalmor. She's agreed to petition their king to hear me out when the time comes. Too many Bosmer have been kidnapped and turned into Thalmor assassins through the use of torture, Skooma, and threats against relatives. She thinks its likely that even if the king doesn't openly back us, many of the Bosmer will flock to our banner. That will cut off Nibenay and they'll either capitulate or starve, as the choice suits them, in their valley. That will only leave Bravil, Leyawin and Blackwood. Once those fall to us, we'll have all the outer provinces. The Imperial City... that's another nut to crack. Controlling the outer provinces will let us cut off the food supply into the Imperial City.
The Elder Council hasn't considered the people that they've been ruling for two hundred years. Let's see how well they fare without them. I don't think it's going to take much to get the city's population to hand them all over once the food gets in short supply. I'm sure that the Elder Council will try to hoard whatever they can. It's going to get ugly inside the city. I hate that it will take starvation to force the population to act, but nothing else less drastic has been able to shake many out of their complacency with their greedy, sell-out rulers. Why has everyone continued to tolerate them? I suppose because they haven't personally been threatened by them, at least not in ways that they're aware of.
It's about time all their bad decisions came back to roost on their shoulders. Hopefully the weight of it will crush the Elder Council and doddering twat who sits on the Ruby Throne. I've told Adius to send for his family and that they can live in White Pine Lodge, the house I bought in Bruma. He said he'd consider it and I told him to do more than that. I'd rather they not be there when the time comes for us to do these things, but I can't tell him what I have planned. The odds of them surviving what I have planned aren't good. Once the Empire has fallen, we can turn our attention to Elsweyr and Valenwood and help them drive out the Thalmor there too. That leaves Morrowind, High Rock, and Black Marsh before we all turn on Summerset. With my ties to House Redoran and House Telvanni, I'm not terribly worried about Morrowind. They hate the Empire and the Thalmor. They might not help us directly, but I seriously doubt that they'll interfere. Kaidan knows people in High Rock since Brynjar used to take him to High Rock from time to time. We might be able to scare up some allies there. With Skyrim's growing independence and trade network, High Rock's independence from the Empire is sure to follow, at least according to Kaidan. I have some ties to Black Marsh from my time in the Jomsbrodirs and I'll try to see f they can help us there to at least keep the Argonians out of the fight, if not helping us cast the Thalmor into Oblivion.