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[Patre0n latest chapter: 617]
After Alina's appearance at the gate, the murky waters of Solitude started shaking at a disturbing rate.
She wore an ocean blue sleeveless dress and covered her back with a beast hide taken from some fierce animal. Her head was decorated with two mighty horns taken from a bull and her eyes and arms were covered in blue paint. Still, half of her face remained veiled.
This appearance struck no one as deep as it struck the Nords who saw it reminding them of names of the Ancient Nord Gods, not their Imperial counterparts.
Meanwhile, Jarl Elisif was the first to arrive at the gate thanks to the information she was provided by Thane Bryling and the eyes Falk Firebread planted around the town. The entire city gate was opened just by her command to allow the guests in.
But that wasn't the end of the drama. Following Elisif was an attachment of Imperial Troops who immediately started stationing themselves left and right to make a path towards the Castle and General Tullius stood in the balcony overlooking the side entrance of the castle as he sent Legate Rikki to invite Alina in.
If that was the end of it then this wouldn't be called drama. High Priest Rorlund of the Temple of the Divines joined the masses with a number of minor priests and priestesses who clearly seemed very unhappy with the appearance of the Cult of Kyne.
To add more to the mix, the Thalmor would never stay out of this one, would they? There is always a Thalmor attaché in Castle Dour to keep the "relations" with the Empire and so once they got wind of why the town was turning upside down, they were already flocking around Tullius about how he is going to let a Stormcloak traitor in.
For all its worth, Tullius was waiting to see how Alina is going to play this one out. After all, he was the one who threw a ball into their playground and led them here.
Between this and that, Jarl Elisif was burdened by the fact that the Imperial Legion wants to receive the political guests rather than leaving that job for the official court of Solitude. She knows the words that are being said about her that she is a puppet of the Empire and all that crap so if for a moment she would back down from this scene, her reputation will definitely take a massive hit.
"Lady Alina." Immediately, Jarl Elisif was the first to jump down off her horse with all her aides following her descent.
"Jarl Elisif." Alina replied to the greeting.
Two women of great beauty and power yet in the two aspects, Alina was simply superior. It would send a woman like Elisif into an instant fit of rage and jealousy of course but the current situation was very disadvantageous to her.
She came here seeking support from House Dare and she would lower her head if she had to.
"I welcome you to Solitude, it must have been a tedious journey." Elisif said.
"No, we just teleported into the ship when it arrived at the dock." Alina shrugged her shoulders.
"Amazing!" Elisif joined her hands together, "Winterhold feels so close yet so far away at the same time."
Alina could only smile at that statement and then cleared the way for the warriors who were carrying the palanquin that holds the Lord's Mail.
"Lady Elisif, I, Alina of Winterhold, officially request entry with my aides to the City of Solitude and then to the Temple of the Divines. I, Alina Moonblade, carry this statement not as the Thane of Winterhold but as a humble Priestess of Kyne. My official purpose is to perform a Purification Ritual over a sacred artifact associated with the Goddess of the Storm."
"And I, Elisif of Solitude, grant Lady Alina and 4 of her Aides official access to my city. As for the access to the Temple, an official response should come from Castle Dour as the Temple of the Divines is located within Castle Grounds."
An official exchange finally happened to convey both respect and acknowledgment between the two parties. It still can be called a victory that Elisif was after since she has finally made a connection with a popular faction between most of the Nords. Moreover, Falk Firebeard and Thane Bryling have been encouraging her to do that move for a few days now since they had prior knowledge of Alina's visit.
In the end, Jullanar and Isha as well as Mirren and Miranda switched places with the four sergeants carrying the palanquin and followed Alina in the city.
If the city entry was smooth then this is the only smooth thing that will happen during this sudden visit. The Empire and many other factions were already measuring their gains and losses in this situation.
General Tullius never seemed to be happy with Elisif stepping out of line but what happened next made him feel a bit irritated. As he ordered his men to form a troop all the way to the castle's side stairway, Alina seemed to have stopped and caused the entire parade to go silent. She then approached Legate Rikki and the two started talking with Rikki being at the wrong end of the conversation.
Even the Imperial Soldiers forming the lines were frowning once they heard the conversation going on between the Legate and Alina.
From what Tullius could hear from that distance, Alina seemed to be refusing to enter the castle through the side stairway. She said a few words that caused even Legate Rikki to fall silent.
"What is she planning?" Tullius could feel the situation going somewhere dangerous way too early but at that moment, Alina turned towards him from the middle of the street.
"General Tullius!" She called, "Are you really going to see us, the one who returned your Empire's treasure, from the side entrance and not open the main gates for us? I thought better of our friendship."
Tullius really wanted to cuss at that shameless Nord woman at this moment but he silently let out a sigh. This sure is a headache!
Seeing the woman who is rumored to be both intelligent and beautiful taking advantage of his situation, Tullius decided to fight fire with fire. He simply signaled for the soldiers to open a way to the main entrance and walked into the castle to receive the Parade from the other direction.
"Tell the High Priest to be present before that Nord cultist desecrates the grounds of his temple." Tullius spoke to one of his personal guards before walking in.
Meanwhile, Alina and Elisif personally walked the street ahead of the parade. They crossed the city to its main avenue all the way to the front gate of Castle Dour.
The Gate opened slowly without making them wait and General Tullius stood far inside leaving much space between himself and the parade.
"This heresy! This sacrilege!"
And here it comes, the High Priest of the Temple of the Divine.
"And good day to you too, High Priest Rorlund." Elisif replied as she seemed to be willing to take a bullet or two for Alina.
"Jarl Elisif, the Gods are disappointed in you. How could you let the heathens all the way to our sacred temple?" Rorlund couldn't wait and immediately walked to Elisif.
He was a man of average height and had a bald spot on top of his head with long hair on the sides. His eyes, however, carried a lot of contempt but his appearance was sloppy for a High Priest.
"High Priest, please don't mix between your opinion and that of the Gods. If you were to speak on their behalf, you would be the one caught with sacrilege." Thane Bryling fired the gun right off the bat making most of the Priests present in the scene almost jump in fear.
The Divines in this world are known to be less talkative than the Daedra but their signs are always clear and not meant for one person to decipher.
"Thane Bryling! This absolutely has nothing to do with me speaking for the Gods or not. I speak for the good people of Skyrim and the Empire. No Gods fearing man would bluntly allow the followers of an outcast cult into their holy ground. This is not…"
"Not what?"
And here she is, the woman of the hour.
Everyone turned to Alina as she stepped ahead facing the priest as she is taller than him and has much more aura.
"Rorlund, I assume. We've met before." Alina spoke.
"I don't remember you." Rorlund looked at Alina not remembering meeting the wife of Jon Dare.
"11 years ago, I was 9 and I was on a visit to Windhelm to the Temple of Talos with the Priestesses of Kyne. You and your Imperial followers crashed the ceremony while I was being announced as a guardian of Kyne's Grove and the people of Windhelm were giving me their blessings. I remember you saying that a little midget will guard nothing and ours is a dying cult." Alina recited one of her memories.
Rorlund couldn't put his hand on the certain accident since he has a long history of animosity with the Old Cults but this particular scene was slipping off his mind.
"And you were drunk back then." She added.
"A High Priest of the Divines never dri…" Rorlund wanted to quickly get back at Alina but all the people gathered at the gate and even the minor priests around him all looked at him as if they believed Alina instantly.
Yes, he's a drunkard. He reeks of booze all day long and a few of his famous sermons were under the effect of liquor.
"A High Priest of the Divines is a Priest of all the Divines. So he's a Priest of Dibella as well. Of course he can drink all he wants for the pleasure of the lady of life and joy." Alina added while justifying the fact that he's a drunkard to rub the salt on his wounds.
Not only was she looking down on him but she was also humiliating him by mocking his action then justifying it to him.
"Rules are Rules, Lady Alina. No ceremonies of a cult outside the Imperial Sect are allowed on the grounds of an official temple."
And here where General Tullius had to step up.
"The Gods are forgiving, General. But since when did the Empire have claims over the Temples of Gods? Do temples exist to worship the Empire, perhaps?" Alina asked.
This was a trick question and General Tullius, despite being the genius tactician he is, failed to see the trick.
"The Temples are extensions of the Empire. Those who worship our Gods are the people who support the Empire and vice versa. The unification of the Empire is a tough task if the people don't pray to the same Gods." Tullius may have casually spoken those words but his words made all the priests and many of the people around him tense up.
What he said means that the Empire is both a faith and a nationality.
It sounded fine to him since the Empire also speaks about the freedom of worship (excluding the majority of the Daedric practices). Even Cyrodiil itself has its own folk gods such as Remanada and Saint Alessia. It is even said that a new sect has formed over there around the figure of Martin Septim as a new saint.
But Tullius' mistake was that he never imagined the hidden meaning behind his own words.
The Empire uses religion as means to control the masses.
The Cyrodilic Empire is by no means a theocracy but the matters of the Gods are too dangerous to be left unattended and so the Elder Council keeps a close check on all matters of religious affairs and heavily supports the Imperial Sect whose worship revolves around the mainstream Eight Divines.
Sooner or later, these words will be used against him but at the moment, Alina was satisfied with the fact that she can cause a widespread misunderstanding in the Imperial Camp which will benefit the old cults.
"Either way, I didn't come to the Temple this time to argue about the Gods." Alina dropped her case slowly and pointed to the Lord's Mail carried by her companions, "We are here to return this Armor to the Empire since you guys were clumsy enough to lose it."
"You surely jest, Dame Alina."
And as if the scene needed more players, someone interfered right away. Coming out from the temple wearing some of the most expensive clothes money can buy, an Imperial brunette lady walked to Alina as if they were always close.
"Miss Vici." Patiently, General Tullius greeted the Emperor's cousin.
"Lady Vittoria." Alina as well as Elisif and the people after them greeted her as well.
"I am sure I wasn't jesting though." Alina continued where she was talking.
"Really? But that's the Lord's Mail, the treasure of the Empire! I am sure such a thing can't just get lost." Vittoria said.
"Truly?" Alina asked as if she was on a script with Vittoria, "I wonder how could we stumble on such a thing?"
"I am sure it is Fate. Right, General? High Priest?" Vittoria asked the two men while clasping her hands.
"Sorry?" The General felt like he was being dragged into some sort of a trap so he seemed like backing down from the conversation.
"What Fate do you mean, my lady?" However, High Priest Rorlund asked casually.
"Well… I am no woman of the Gods or anything but I've read that many artifacts tend to get lost and appear in the path of those who are worthy."
At this point, the High Priest and the General realized that they were played by the two women.
"Absolutely not! This is a treasure of Kynareth. We are thankful for the fact that it was returned to us by you people of Winterhold but that thing will be handled by the Priesthood of the…" High Priest Rorlund started running his mouth immediately but it was then the General stepped in.
"Who found it?" Tullius asked.
"Sorry?" Alina asked.
"Who found the Lord's Mail?" He asked again with clear patience.
"Lord Dragonborn." Alina replied.
And the silence was never this heavy.
The Dragonborn whom Winterhold has a monopoly on is now in the picture. Some people shuddered from the thought while many rejoiced. Among those who rejoiced was the General himself.
"Alright." The General seemed okay with what he heard, "The Imperial Authority has appointed me as Guardian to the Lord's Mail thus I will officially announce that the Empire shall lend this armor to the Dragonborn as a sign of friendship. Moreover, all religious sects should try and lift the curse off that armor, that includes the unofficial cults but it has to happen in the Temple of the Divines." The General said.
"General! That's unthinkable!" The High Priest exploded immediately, "Allowing them to roam unchecked is dangerous to the…"
"It is final." The General said and poured his presence into those words.
For a second there, everyone in the castle almost yielded to the might of the Imperial General. No one expected General Tullius to comply this easily with the demands of the outsiders.
"Thank you, General Tullius. I'll make sure the Dragonborn receives the armor and…" Alina acted all grateful while calculating the General's behavior slowly.
"Not so fast." He spoke.
This time, however, the General seemed to have arrived at the goal of his scheme.
"If the Dragonborn wants this armor, he must collect it personally from the Temple." General Tullius seemed proud of his scheme as he said so.
He can finally draw the mysterious Dragonborn to the light. It was written all over his face and he was so proud of it.
On the other hand, everyone was waiting for Alina to respond and suddenly, she removed the veil off her face.
What appeared was the beautiful woman whose beauty would ruin nations and she was smiling as wide as the general.
"Oh! That can be arranged."
Read Early Content on Patre0n. Also consider Commenting and Joining Discord all on this URL: https://linktr.ee/donovel
[Patre0n latest chapter: 617]
Read Early Content on Patre0n. Also consider Commenting and Joining Discord all on this URL: https://linktr.ee/donovel
[Patre0n latest chapter: 618]
"Quite the mess we've made." Jullanar smiled faintly as she stood near Alina, "I see you prepared more than just Thane Bryling."
"Sometimes I have to apply more pressure to get what I want. They were after my Dragonborn from the start but they never expected I would hand him out pretty easily." Alina replied while standing proud of herself.
"So we're going down that plan, eh? You'll surely bring the big guns." Jull asked with a cheesy face rubbing her hands together.
"If you can't let an annoying person see reason, overwhelm them with what keeps them in place." Alina said, "The Empire is an old bear, dying but still a bear. It knows its way around its turf and has all the weapons it needs to survive. To play with the Empire in its current state, find what they can't do and make them admit they are unable to compete in that area."
"But they'll try." Vittoria interrupted Alina at this moment.
"They can try. They may succeed even. They will accomplish nothing anyway." Alina replied without turning to Vittoria.
In this scene, the three women were standing in a corner at the Temple of the Divines watching a ritual being conducted by the High Priest on the Lord's Mail in order to purify it from the Curse.
Seeing the Priests chant to the Eight, Alina smirked with a mocking smile in disdain of those who abandoned the names of their forefathers and turned to the Imperial Cult for worship. It is a sin to forget the names of Old to those Imperial Divines.
While the Gods are one and the same in every land no matter what appearances they take or names they assume, the worship in this world is ancestral worship. If not the names passed on by the forefathers, one is calling a name that is distant and foreign. Even the Elves know that and call their Ancestors the Aedra in respect of the Old Ways.
"Hey, Alina… when will Jon come and take me?" Vittoria interrupted Alina's chain of thoughts and switched the subject.
Alina turned to her with unamused eyes and Jullanar followed forth.
"Why would he come for you, bitch?" Jullanar asked but Alina muffled her mouth with her hands yet Jullanar flipped two birds in Vittoria's face.
"You two know what I am going through, right?" Vittoria lashed out in a low tone, "The only reason I am here in the temple is to book it for the wedding and I can't postpone it further. My mother keeps nagging me to be over with it, Maven Black-Briar doesn't stop sending Asgeir Snow-Shod with so-called wedding gifts and all this nonsense! I swear I am going to escape in a boat to Winterhold if I have to wait one more month."
"Alright, you can beat her up?" Alina let go of Jullanar who immediately smiled with two daggers immediately coming from her sleeves.
"I'm sorry." But Vittoria apologized right away.
"You're not fun." Jullanar had to look at Alina first before deciding not to rework Vittoria's face.
Meanwhile, Alina kept watching the ritual with utter patience until the High Priest came to a halt. He seemed confused but rather willing to redo the process.
"High Priest, this has been your third attempt so far. If we weren't in this together, I would expect you're trying to chase us away with boredom." Alina called.
"If you mere cultists can't show no respect for the Divines in their Temple, you better leave then. Once the armor is purified, we will let you know." The High Priest replied with disdain.
"Heh! In the end, you're nothing but incompetent fools and lazy drunkards." Alina couldn't help but cuss in the end.
Present in this scene was Jarl Elisif, Vittoria Vici, and a bunch of Nord and Imperial diplomats. They all witnessed Alina insulting the High Priest of Skyrim even so cheerfully without hesitation.
The air could only turn colder from this point onward as she seemed to be holding an equal disdain towards the Imperial Cult as much as they hold against the Cult of Kyne.
"I want you out of my temple!" Rorlund the High Priest pointed towards the door and spoke with an infuriated tone.
No matter what, he can no longer tolerate this intruding into his temple.
"I am afraid I won't comply." Alina replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"Then the guards shall drag you out." Rorlund couldn't tolerate Alina's attitude any longer and walked past her.
"But you already know they won't be of help." Alina smiled, "I am here to purify the armor and they know that. Your attempt to undermine the competition is utterly useless so let me do my job properly so I can get home before dinner."
While it was harrowing to speak to a high priest this way, the situation was really ironic.
There is no current religious regime that supports the Temple of the Divines. Back in the day, the Emperor of the Tamriel was the acting Head of the Imperial Cult, namely this was the case only to the Dragonborn Emperors of the Septim, Reman, and Alessian Dynasties.
Currently, the Mede Dynasty is not that of the Dragon blood and the situation meant that there is no acting supreme leader to the Imperial Cult anymore. Combine that with the fact that a peace treaty with the Aldmeri Dominion removed one of the nine divine pillars of the Imperial Cult, this comes as an utter approval of the current regime that the Empire is no longer a state based on religion and thus the Priesthoods of all the official Divines have lost their political immunity.
At this point, the rise of other religions based on aspects of the Divines can't and won't be outlawed unless a political dilemma was involved. A dilemma that the Empire will do its best to keep away from affecting its relations with the people again. With this missing link between Man and Divine, what the Imperial Sect was left with was nothing but a cut-off faith.
But that isn't the case for the Cult of Kyne and many other cults especially the Daedric ones who still have their live links with the Divine beings.
The words of the Divine shouldn't be taken literally but up until now, all the Imperial Cult was living on are distant interpretations from the Elder Scrolls which they no longer possess.
In other words, this faith is nothing but a lingering shadow of its former glory and Alina is making the most of it by stepping into the most sacred Temple of the Imperial Cult on Skyrim.
As the Empire no longer cares about faith and uses it as a political tool just as it was stated by General Tullius, a tool can be replaced by another. Yet to Alina, faith is never a tool, it is a goal.
Jon provided her with the best opportunity to embarrass the Imperial Cult and a mere High Priest won't stand in her way.
"Your ritual has taken long enough." Alina stated.
"Then leave." Rorlund replied, blocking Alina's way with all he could.
She only smiled and turned to Jarl Elisif.
"Five minutes, that's all I need." She said,
"You are not stepping a foot on my altar!" Rorlund roared but Elisif immediately stood up.
On her side, she wanted the support of the Dares and she was desperate for it.
"High Priest, it has been a couple of hours already and we are entitled to our court duties as well as witnessing the purification of this Divine Artifact of Kynareth. Whether it is Kynareth or Kyne of Old, we Nords don't and can't tell the difference so please, you shouldn't be stubborn. Time is of the essence." Elisif spoke her words quickly.
"Jarl Elisif! This is blasphemy!" The High Priest kept insisting.
"It is not." Alina spoke back, "We pray to the same Gods in the end. Whether you call them by old or new names, you have to choose the most efficient way."
She then turned to Elisif and the Solitude Diplomats.
"Five Minutes." She said.
"Please." Elisif replied to allow Alina ahead.
It is now clear that the Priests shall step down as Alina walks in.
She looked left, she looked right, she counted eight Divines each with his shrine with one of the eight missing.
The Missing Divine.
It is ironic how there is one always missing yet she sees him every day.
She watched the armor standing on the altar in the middle of the shrines where the priests tried to invoke the power of the Divines. It was simply no brainer for her to invoke power without a proper prince.
For eras, the Dragon Blood was the price to maintain the link to the Divines, an exchange that is no longer possible.
"The bag." Alina simply called and from the corner approached Jullanar handing Alina a big leather bag.
Alina simply opened it and stood in front of the Shrine of Akatosh.
"Lo, there do I see a Dragon, maker of worlds, sustainer of worlds, eater of worlds…" She prayed as she took a large heavy bone from the bag and put it in front of the shrine.
She then moved to the next shrine.
"Lo, there do I see a Snake, binding my kin in their crypts…" She prayed and carried an actual living snake out of the bag, placing it above Arkay's shrine.
"Lo, there do I see an Owl, teaching our clever folk the runes…" She prayed and placed a feather above the shrine Julianos.
"Lo, there do I see a Whale carrying our kinfolk to Sovngarde…" She prayed and placed a whale's bone on Stenderr's shrine.
"Lo, there do I see a Moth guiding the way beyond heaven…" She prayed and placed a living moth on Dibella's shrine.
"Lo, there do I see a She-Wolf sheltering her cubs from danger…" She prayed and placed a wolf's fang on Mara's shrine.
"Lo, there do I see a Hawk… mother… with a wing that brews thunder…" She prayed and placed a Hawk's feather on Kynareth's shrine.
The only shrines left untouched by her so far were the shrine of Zenithar who is not entirely Nordic and the empty shrine of Talos. Also, the symbolic Deities she hasn't prayed to yet are the Fox and the Bear who are considered to be the Dead Gods Tsun and Shor.
There is, however, one nail she had to strike at the side of the Imperials as she finally approached the empty shrine of Talos. Seeing her walk in that direction made the crowd gathered in the Temple feel very tense.
"Lo, there do I hear Ysmir… Shor son of Shor… Dragon of the North… Lo, does he call to me..." She prayed and simply placed nothing on that shrine.
She threw the leather bag to the side and walked to the armor placed on the altar and put her hands on it. She felt the pain running through her body from the effect of the curse she just erected and kept praying and calling the Symbolic Deities as she closed her eyes and then…
"By the Nine!" Someone swore in the middle of the crowd.
… She opened her eyes, red and glowing in a serpentine shape. The once peaceful temple fell to the dreadful glare of Alina Dare.
Read Early Content on Patre0n. Also consider Commenting and Joining Discord all on this URL: https://linktr.ee/donovel
[Patre0n latest chapter: 618]
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