Dawn of a new age

[Brutii]

The dragon looked out across the land "Tommorow a red sun will rise" VulViingKonahrik said, then he looked down at Skingrad and shouted something before launching from his perch flying towards Bruma and landing behind it. "My compromise was given, and midday has passed, it is time to send a message" he said, out from the mountains, there was a sudden sound of a horn. Several thousand Draugr were now coming down from the mountains, and Bah escourted them "Drog" they all said, bowing

"Alok." The dragon said and the army raised "You know what to do."

"Krif Ag Krii! Krif Ag Krii!" They chanted back

"Geh! Fonaar" He shouted, and the Draugr descended on the town. There orders: Kill all who tried to stop them

Edited September 21, 2012 by Brutii

[nethgros]

Rend and his fledgling werewolves descended on Bravil with a vicious ferocity, mainly targeting guards, but not hesitating to kill any civilians who got in the way. Rend was passive in this raid for the most part, allowing his followers to sate their bloodlust. He did intervene when required, such as when one of his wolves came up against well-versed guardsmen.

 

They moved through the alleys, causing general mayhem and mass murder. Rend didn't want them interfereing in the castle however, so he recalled his pack, and they left over the southern wall of Bravil. He knew just what he needed to do, so they continued south, to Leyawiin.

[Brutii]

It took lives of Draugr and Living alike, but in the end Bruma had surrendered. Having been forced back to the castle, they had no choice but to surrender as the dragon had threatened to set fire to it. The Legate came out of the castle, scowling at the dragon as he was forced to his knees before him

"You fought bravely, Joor. But you were outnumbered 5-1, there is no shame in losing this fight." The dragon said "If you and your men join me, then I swear that I will stabilise this province."

"You'll help end this killing?" The legate said, his face changed to a more curious one

"Of course, Joor, I take no joy in watching slaughter. I'm like you, you want your peoples empire back, I want mine back."

"If we refuse to join you, will you kill us?"

"No, if you refuse to join, then you will be free to go somewhere else. Or you can join me, and we can put an end to this slaughter. But be warned this is a limited time offer."

"The cities yours either way, isn't it?"

"Geh"

"Geh?"

"Krosis, Geh means yes."

"Krosis?" The legates face turned to utter confusion with a mix of annoyance

"Krosis, Krosis means sorrow, it is often used as an apology."

"I don't have to learn this language, do I?"

"No, Joor, I will let you keep you own"

"I'm with you, but on one condition. I know I'm not in a position to make demands, but you will allow the empire of cyrodiil to reform."

"I doubt it will have the same name, but there will be another empire forming because of my ally. It is led by a Joor, we have already made some terms for splitting tamriel between us. You may join her if you wish, else no other empires, other wise it could become a tamrial wide version of this war."

"I reluctantly accept." The legate sighed after a pause "I'll extend my offer to my soldiers, but don't expect all of them to stay."

"Of course not, you may go now, Joor."

 

VulViingKonahrik turned his head towards a Draugr "Change the flag" He ordered, the Draugr rushed off to comply, VulViingKonahrik turned his head towards Bah "Any draugr who can be returned to service, do so. Then you may all go and sleep" Bah bowed and set about his task. VulViingKonahrik turned his head towards the pile of bodies of Joorre who had died in the battle "RII VAAZ ZOL" He shouted, the dead slowly rose to their feet "Help secure this city!" He ordered

[Zephyr2011]

Baltis Llervu, Chorrol

 

The citizens of Chorrol had been very busy. The ranks of the undead had swelled to over 500 now. The conjurers were making excellent progress and the citizens were quite happy with their new way of life. They enjoyed much more time for studies and practice, they all found schools of magic or different useful arts to learn such as sword play or science. Many of the citizens hunted the game that brought the city its food supply until farming became viable on a massive scale, currently it was enough for subsistence but not enough for prosperity and plenty, they need never worry in the event of a siege though.

 

Chorrol's walls were now quite intact after around the clock repairs and new fortifications. Now wooden scaffolding was in place above the walls that would eventually house archers and murder holes to slay invaders. Many wards were in place upon the walls that made it impervious to all but the strongest of magics. A great ditch was being dug around the city and sharpened, fire-hardened poles were placed within it to skewer would-be attackers. The most important defensive aspect of all though was Llervu's great charm. It was a massive ward made possible by his immense reserves of magicka, but he made it easier by inscribing runes throughout the city spelling out the incantation multiple times. The charm was a massive orb of silence. No unauthorized magic could be used in Chorrol. This could not stop such powers as the voice but magicians and battlemages would rush in with infantry only to find themselves more vulnerable than when they were babes. This defensive addition was the final master-stroke Llervu needed to bargain.

 

Bruma had fallen and Baltis knew that the great dragon would be headed to Chorrol soon. He hoped later rather than sooner but it all depended on the dragon's level of reconnaissance, if it knew well enough of Chorrol, he would know that it was now the most well defended city in Cyrodiil save for perhaps Skingrad. Although, if given time Chorrol would become a much harder nut to crack. If the dragon sought large territorial gains and advantages early then it would go next to Cheydinhall, but if it sought true domination and no competitors then it would come to Chorrol to destroy them before they became strong enough to hold out too long.

 

Llervu would prefer the former situation but he expected the latter and he was making intense preparations for it and reviewing his draconic texts...

[Brutii]

VulViingKonahrik had flew over cyrodiil again, taking note of the Joorre. One city in particular was fortifying, but it mattered little. His forces were much larger, and if the place proved to troublesome, he could always burn out their farms and leave the to starve. Pathetic mortals, needing to eat all the time. How could they put up with it? Regardless, he now turned his attention towards Chorrol AND Cheydinhal. If he could swoop both into his clutches, then his work in cyrodiil would be finished and he would turn his attention northward. He had delivered his Ultimatum to Cheydinhal and they had yet to reply, their time ran short, and soon he would deliver on his threat. But now he needed to deliver his Ultimatum to Chorrol. The dragon flew above Chorrol, circling it "Joorre! Drun Hin Kinbok!" he shouted down to the people "Zul!"

[Zephyr2011]

Baltis Llervu, Chorrol

 

The dragon would have terrified the citizens had Llervu not warned them that it was in the neighborhood an apt to pay the city a visit. When the wall scouts spied the dragon, Baltis ordered citizens to calmly enter their homes and await further instructions. There would be no easy slaughter of his people while bunched up in a crowd and gawking. The citizens of Chorrol now knew that their leader cared for them and sought to protect them, as such they gave him much respect and obeyed him, not necessarily without complaint or question but the orders were obeyed nevertheless.

 

Llervu himself sat on a stone bench around the great oak of Chorrol. The roar of the great dragon reverberated throughout the city with the power of the thu'um. Baltis remained seated with his legs crossed. He did not reply to the dragon with words but rather magic. He casually raised his right hand then slowly clenched it into a fist. As he did so, a great blue flame spread from the center of the oak tree and enveloped the entire canopy. The flames did not burn the tree but shown brightly in the city. It was to be an unmistakable beacon for the dragon. 'Here I am.' It said. Llervu would not shout back to the dragon. Not yet. He had learned from the greybeards some of the powers of the voice but not nearly enough to challenge the venerable dragon. His command of the dragon tongue was for speech, not for war. He knew the great dragon traditions after speaking with Parthurnax following the slaying of Alduin. He would wait for the dragon to introduce himself before he spoke and began parley. It was best to get things off on the right foot and gain some respect early on rather than have to gain all of it by blood.

[Brutii]

Baltis Llervu, Chorrol

 

The dragon would have terrified the citizens had Llervu not warned them that it was in the neighborhood an apt to pay the city a visit. When the wall scouts spied the dragon, Baltis ordered citizens to calmly enter their homes and await further instructions. There would be no easy slaughter of his people while bunched up in a crowd and gawking. The citizens of Chorrol now knew that their leader cared for them and sought to protect them, as such they gave him much respect and obeyed him, not necessarily without complaint or question but the orders were obeyed nevertheless.

 

Llervu himself sat on a stone bench around the great oak of Chorrol. The roar of the great dragon reverberated throughout the city with the power of the thu'um. Baltis remained seated with his legs crossed. He did not reply to the dragon with words but rather magic. He casually raised his right hand then slowly clenched it into a fist. As he did so, a great blue flame spread from the center of the oak tree and enveloped the entire canopy. The flames did not burn the tree but shown brightly in the city. It was to be an unmistakable beacon for the dragon. 'Here I am.' It said. Llervu would not shout back to the dragon. Not yet. He had learned from the greybeards some of the powers of the voice but not nearly enough to challenge the venerable dragon. His command of the dragon tongue was for speech, not for war. He knew the great dragon traditions after speaking with Parthurnax following the slaying of Alduin. He would wait for the dragon to introduce himself before he spoke and began parley. It was best to get things off on the right foot and gain some respect early on rather than have to gain all of it by blood.

 

VulViingKonahrik saw the 'beacon' that was a burning tree and landed near it, he watched the mage, saying nothing for a whole minute, before speaking "It seems there is finally a Joor in the world that understands respect and honour for anothers traditions. That is an admirable trait." The dragon said "Joor, I have no wish to wipe you all out, but I will fight you if that is what it takes for me to regain my dominion over Joor. Alduin is imprisoned, his kin almost waiting in their death-sleep once more. The Dov have much pain and sorrow. While we deserve some of it for our perversion and abuse of power, I still feel we are treated wrongly. Why are we monsters to be afraid of? Why are we hunted? Why are we the villains in your stories, where brave knights slaughter us? Why do you wage war on each other again? Did our return teach you nothing? " The dragon paused for a moment "Krosis, I sidetracked. Now Joor, I want my lands back, I wish to have my empire. I want this city to be part of it. But you Joor are stubbon, as are Dov, I know you will not simply give it to me. So are was hoping we could come to a compromise or agreement of sorts. What says you?"

[Zephyr2011]

Baltis Llervu, Chorrol

 

When the dragon landed Llervu released his spell and the blue flames slowly faded from existence. Baltis listened intently as VulViingKonahrik spoke. He smirked slightly when the dragon mentioned the demonization of dragons and the follies of man and mer. When he finished Llervu began by revealing his true form, "Great dovah, I understand your plight. Your kind has been subjected to much adversity, wrongly so. Men and mer do not understand the Dovah and they fear what they do not understand. As for our wars? Surely you understand this. Those who have no power covet it, and those who have power will do anything to maintain it. Such is the way of things. They do not care that joining together and subverting their own desires for the greater good would bring them greater wealth and reward, they care only for themselves and see only the immediate. This is why we are in such a predicament now. My city is different from the others, you shall see. I have convinced these townspeople to forgo ambition to save their lives and better one another. This town is now heavily fortified and could with stand any length of siege. What it cannot do, is continue to populate itself during that. We lack no supplies or courage, but only man power. We are different.

 

"As I said, we are heavily fortified, you can see this. You will find this city a great thorn in your side if you should choose to conquer it. You now march on not one, but two fronts. One as venerable and knowledgeable as yourself understands the inherent risk of this. It has been the downfall of many and army. And, many an empire. Cheydinhall will fall easily before you but then what? Morrowind and Skyrim have grown much stronger, as has Blackmarsh. You will be hard pressed to advance further east into Morrowind. Even with your vast armies, it will take every soldier you have. If you attack Chorrol you will lose many valuable troops in its assault. Each draugr that falls shall rise again against its brethren and our numbers will dwindle far slower than mere men or mer. And once under my control they will not fall unless obliterated utterly. You also are reluctant to fight and shall only do so if necessary. We will fight to the death. Tooth and nail. Every inch of road and field to every step and threshold. Our ferocity is not to be discounted. Attack us and you will lose thousands of your legion, irreparably so. You will have to find new soldiers, not just resurrect the old ones. It will take many weeks, months, years to truly conquer us, even with your might. Your assault will stretch your forces thin and it will be hard to counterattack the dunmer when they strike out at you, which they will in preemption. My city is not one you wish to entangle yourself with. Not now." Llervu paused for a time here. He let his words sink in slightly, knowing that the dovah would be calculating.

 

Baltis then continued, "You want power here, not death. This, we can give you. Leave this city untouched, and its country and you shall be rewarded. We will become a glimmering gem of your empire. Our economy's foundations have been laid and it shall flourish. Our army is strong, worth more than its number in yours. Our land is rich and fertile. Leave our sovereignty intact and trade and commerce shall flow through us, with you to benefit. Our legions shall supplement yours and our resources shall fill your coffers. We will accept annexation without qualm if you leave us to govern ourselves. Think on this dear dovah, both of us stand to benefit far more from this than from war."

[Brutii]

Baltis Llervu, Chorrol

 

When the dragon landed Llervu released his spell and the blue flames slowly faded from existence. Baltis listened intently as VulViingKonahrik spoke. He smirked slightly when the dragon mentioned the demonization of dragons and the follies of man and mer. When he finished Llervu began by revealing his true form, "Great dovah, I understand your plight. Your kind has been subjected to much adversity, wrongly so. Men and mer do not understand the Dovah and they fear what they do not understand. As for our wars? Surely you understand this. Those who have no power covet it, and those who have power will do anything to maintain it. Such is the way of things. They do not care that joining together and subverting their own desires for the greater good would bring them greater wealth and reward, they care only for themselves and see only the immediate. This is why we are in such a predicament now. My city is different from the others, you shall see. I have convinced these townspeople to forgo ambition to save their lives and better one another. This town is now heavily fortified and could with stand any length of siege. What it cannot do, is continue to populate itself during that. We lack no supplies or courage, but only man power. We are different.

 

"As I said, we are heavily fortified, you can see this. You will find this city a great thorn in your side if you should choose to conquer it. You now march on not one, but two fronts. One as venerable and knowledgeable as yourself understands the inherent risk of this. It has been the downfall of many and army. And, many an empire. Cheydinhall will fall easily before you but then what? Morrowind and Skyrim have grown much stronger, as has Blackmarsh. You will be hard pressed to advance further east into Morrowind. Even with your vast armies, it will take every soldier you have. If you attack Chorrol you will lose many valuable troops in its assault. Each draugr that falls shall rise again against its brethren and our numbers will dwindle far slower than mere men or mer. And once under my control they will not fall unless obliterated utterly. You also are reluctant to fight and shall only do so if necessary. We will fight to the death. Tooth and nail. Every inch of road and field to every step and threshold. Our ferocity is not to be discounted. Attack us and you will lose thousands of your legion, irreparably so. You will have to find new soldiers, not just resurrect the old ones. It will take many weeks, months, years to truly conquer us, even with your might. Your assault will stretch your forces thin and it will be hard to counterattack the dunmer when they strike out at you, which they will in preemption. My city is not one you wish to entangle yourself with. Not now." Llervu paused for a time here. He let his words sink in slightly, knowing that the dovah would be calculating.

 

Baltis then continued, "You want power here, not death. This, we can give you. Leave this city untouched, and its country and you shall be rewarded. We will become a glimmering gem of your empire. Our economy's foundations have been laid and it shall flourish. Our army is strong, worth more than its number in yours. Our land is rich and fertile. Leave our sovereignty intact and trade and commerce shall flow through us, with you to benefit. Our legions shall supplement yours and our resources shall fill your coffers. We will accept annexation without qualm if you leave us to govern ourselves. Think on this dear dovah, both of us stand to benefit far more from this than from war."

 

"Aam? A voice of reason. A rarity amongst your kind, while I could take your city if I marched in full force, you are right that it would leave my army open to many attacks, it would take time and soldiers. Every soldier lost would take more time to bring back. And then there are the attacks. Even the dead cannot charge up and down Cyrodiil fighting at every turn. I think you have summed up everything I could wish to ask. Chorrol will join my empire, you will be appointed as the Ruler of Chorrol... what is it that the Joor call their lands here? Holds? Counties?" The dragon paused for a moment "Krosis, I remember now. You will be the Count of County Chorrol. Your people need not worry. They will not need to change their ways, they will find that their ways are almost perfectly compatible with mine. I think that this agreement is most excellent for both sides" VulViingKonahrik leaned back and shouted into the air "Drem Ko Mu Tiid" he looked at Baltis again "Fahdon Drem Yol Lok. Until we meet again!" VulViingKonahrik launched into the air and flew away from Chorrol

[Zephyr2011]

Baltis Llervu, Chorrol

 

Llervu smiled broadly when the dragon flew off. In the great game of chess that was the world he had just advanced astronomically. He and his county may be subservient to the great dragon but they retained their sovereignty for the most part but now they had a far more massive army and a dragon to aid them should the need arise. With friends like these Llervu and his people could build up in almost perfect safety. This was good, very good for them. Llervu summoned his necromancers, captain of the guard and the various people of import within the city and told them of the new situation. A gleam was in the lich's eye, partly for a lack of disguising it but mostly for sure joy and cunning. The city's expansion could become more aggressive and he could begin his next project much sooner.

 

He commanded his legion of undead to cease their fortification of the town walls for now, he did leave about a score on the scaffoldings for now but the rest he sent to mine stone and survey the land surrounding the city. He had about fifty others gather up the stored seeds and plows in the city. The undead began plowing new fields, thankfully it was still the time of year when this was feasible. The other minions marked out the foundations for a much larger curtain wall for the city. The city needed to be far larger to support the kind of growth Llervu wanted and to protect her most vital resources. The wall extended to the edge of the Orange and Black roads that surrounded the Eastern edge of Chorrol and followed the black road west for a while to the west before looping back around to meet with the other section. It would take some time for the wall to be complete but its foundations could be laid now and trenches, embankments and fortifications could be made to hold off any would-be attackers. Units of the guard, swiftly becoming an army, marched through the area slaying all beasts, bandits and foes that were hostile to the workers. Each unit traveled with a necromancer that resurrected the fallen adversaries to use as beasts of burden, weapons of war or thralls for expansion. Chorrol was growing rapidly, at least in scope. The true growth would not occur until conquest and bounty drew the masses to her gates.