The Dragonborn's call to arms had been spread around the whole of Skyrim in no time at all, even in isolated villages men and women spoke of it. They were all made aware of the dangers volunteers would be presented with, the notion of battling against an army of dragons frightened most off, while some were excited by the prospect, eagerly wishing to be a part of this legend in the making.
Indeed, even some bandit groups were considering accepting, though this was limited to those who weren't only out for themselves and instead had a goal in mind. Should the Dragonborn and his forces fail, the world wouldn't last anyway, which pushed many potential warriors to accept.
Even Holds that had primarily Imperial-sympathising populations accepted the necessity of it, this mainly included Solitude and Morthal, who while still lacking in numbers due to the war still allowed people to choose to fight if they wished.
Many mercenary companies and guilds also accepted, the Companions, and even a couple of members of the Thieves Guild decided to go... Most of these people were just looking forward to the loot they'd get afterwards, dragon items sold for a considerable sum.
The New College of Winterhold also had members flocking to the call, mostly to see if they could gain access to Sovngarde, which was popularly thought of as a realm in Aetherius.
Despite the recent Civil War, the whole of Skyrim was working towards the singular goal of survival... Every Hold sent gold, supplies, and other essentials to Riften, the base of operation due to its vicinity to the ancient Skuldafn temple.
Dragon activity had also risen, despite the lack of any actual attacks. People reported seeing dragons flying towards the East, while others reported seeing some fly to the top of the Throat. Surtr was forced to make a statement that he was 'capturing' dragons to have them fight for Skyrim.
Some people frowned on this of course and mistrusted having a dragon at their backs, but the boon of having dragons on your side mostly halted any hostility.
Michael wasn't idle throughout all of this either, organising and equipping the willing Eredar and Volkihar vampires with Ennura, Irarus, and Serana's help. He'd also decided to claim a favour a certain Crimson Demon clan owed him...
He had considered taking the entire army to Alduin's doorstep via a large Teleportation Gate, but thought otherwise when Irarus raised a more than valid concern... "What if the dragons attack us as we are going through? We would be annihilated with no ability to defend ourselves!"
He was right too, the narrow passage would be incredibly vulnerable to dragon fire, not to mention the fact that it'd be too small to transport the entire army in good time, giving free rein to the enemy.
While the dragon would also have an advantage against an army traversing through the mountains, it'd be lesser than the risk of utilising a Teleportation Gate, at least, when considering the army as a whole.
"Big bro! Surtr and the other dragons are meeting! Durnehviir asked for you to be there!" Illococoo exclaims as she flies down in her dragon form.
"Why am I needed?"
"Because your Durnehviir's master, He said he won't do anything without your permission!"
...
He shrugs and hops onto her back, "Alright, let's go then."
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At the top of the mountain, Surtr and a large number of dragons were arguing amongst themselves, almost causing the peak to shake from the power of their combined voices.
Dragon, as a whole, was a rather egotistical and arrogant race, so even if they were willing to fight Alduin, closely following the Dragonborn's orders rubbed many the wrong way. Paathurnax's assistance swayed a few, but many more were just getting more riled up as time went on.
"Zu'u grat het fah grah!" (I came here for battle!), "Not to be ordered by a whelp only made strong by the souls of our kin!" a dragon with blue scales growls, turning angry eyes at Surtr. "You are like a leech! Wielding no power of your own except that or which you stole! Perhaps Alduin has the right idea about your pathetic species!"
Surtr rests his hand on the handle of Wuuthrad, "Are you willing to test how strong I am? It's as you said, if you won't fight willingly, I'll take your power and fight for you, dragon." he growls, causing an uproar amongst many of those present.
"YOU DARE SAY THAT WEARING THE BONES OF MY BROTHERS!? I'LL DEVOUR YOU AND LEAD THE ATTACK AGAINST ALDUIN MYSELF!" the dragon roars as it lunges at Surtr, who readies himself for battle.
*BAANG!*
A falling projectile lands heavily atop the charging dragon's head, kicking up dust which blinds everyone present momentarily...
"Huh, I expected more organisation from you Surtr, the fight is nearing and you're still dealing with ass holes that should've been quelled days ago." a casual voice remarks.
"Michael... I had this handled, dragons do not approach war as men do, it can't be done." Surtr states.
Michael brushes his clothes off as the dust clears, Illococoo landing next to Paathurnax with a wide grin on her draconic face, "You mean, 'It can't be done without force'." he glances around at the gathered dragons, "You guys are acting like your big shit, but you seem to have forgotten who won the last war! It was us! Mortals!"
"I tolerated the Dragonborn's disrespect, but this mortal doesn't even share our father's gift! Begone before I melt your flesh and crumble your bones!"
Michael snorts and points at the dragon he was standing on, "You'll learn your place or end up like your buddy here, though, I wouldn't mind another Dragon Soul to add to the pile." he says with a grin, showing his teeth.
"W-wah!? You stole his-, another Dragonborn!?" the antagonistic dragon roars in both shock and fear. Not only because another Dragonborn was present, but because this one had killed a dragon by jumping on it!
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Surtr sends an intense stare at Michael, conflicting feelings bubbling up until one becomes prominent, jealousy, envy, righteous indignation... He was to be the only, and last Dragonborn, yet Michael shows up and claims the same status!? "Impossible! You cannot be Dragonborn!"
Michael shrugs his shoulders, "I'm not, I can just steal souls, mortal and immortal."
"That should be impossible, none but father could take our souls, only him and his kin, we Dovah." Paathurnax says.
"Well, believe it or not, I don't care. We should focus on beating Alduin, your petty squabbles can resume afterwards."
"Your idea is to organise dragons as we do men. As I said before, Michael, it can't be done." Surtr argues, knowing that even the fear they feel right now wouldn't remain for long.
"The Dragonborn is right! We won't follow like sheep, we are the rulers and rightful owners of the sky! You look up to us!"
Michael lets out a sigh and shakes his head "Mortal won the last war because you guys were too fucking retarded to understand proper military tactics. It feels good to incinerate a town solo until a bolt strikes you in the eye or throat. Surtr, have you ever seen more than one dragon attack a town at a time?"
"No. Never."
Michael nods, "Yeah, because they don't do it for protection, supplies, or some goal, they do it to torture the 'pathetic mortals' and 'show them their place', like children would ants." he glares at the dragons, "But even children grow out of it eventually, you lot act more like room-temperature IQ, down-syndrome kids with scales and wings!"
"I do not understand the insult, but you are acting too arrogantly, mortal! The destruction of your little villages is for only that, destruction!"
"Paathurnax! How much damage would a line of dragons flying over a city do, compared to just one?" he asks, recalling the World War 2 bombings of London.
"It would burn it and everyone inside almost instantly..." the elder dragon states.
"If it were for only destruction you'd do that, or you had any brains! Plus the attack would be too quick for anyone to respond to. No, you dumb-fucks just kill people to get a kick out of it, you sadistic scaly cunts!... NOW! You're all going to listen to Surtr as he teaches you MORTAL TACTICS! And you're going to fucking like it! Do you understand!"
...
Michael listens as the dragons still grumble reluctantly to themselves, like overgrown children. He activates [Silent Terror], [Presence of the Dark Lord], and finally [Global Silence].
"SILENCE!" he bellows as the spell takes effect, causing all the dragons present, Paarthurnax and Durnehviir included, to step back in shock. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?" he shouts, his voice defeating in contrast to the absolute silence of everything else.
He nods to himself as none of them goes to answer, "Good! Surtr, sort them out please?" he asks, walking towards where Paathurnax, Durnehviir, and Illococoo were waiting, the dragons around him clearing a path forward.
Surtr watches his back as he walks, internally making arguments, insults, threats, and other things he felt it better not to say aloud. Michael had just done him a favour, yet it felt more like pity than anything.
He shakes his head and turns toward the dragons, "IF WE FIGHT, WE'LL FIGHT TOGETHER! WE'LL BE OUTNUMBERED SO IT THAT OR DEFEAT AND DEATH!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So, why'd you call me? Pretty we never laid down rules on what you can and can't do." Michael asks Durnehviir.
The dragon nods his head over at the now dominant-acting Surtr, "I felt the Dragonborn required a push. Your presence would ensure that."
"What, you knew I would do that?"
"Indeed, if not that then advising the Dragonborn, which would have the same results... I do not wish to return to the Soul Cairne so soon, we must win against Alduin."
"Is this all of them or...?" he asks Paathurnax. Right now only twenty or so dragons were present, their number heavily crowding the peak.
"Five left before you arrived, they left to join Alduin."
"Huh, I probably shouldn't have killed one then... Think anymore are gonna leave?"
"Doubtful. Your show of power will convince them, the Dragonborn's presence will keep them."
"Think we'll win this? Twenty dragons and an army of 'mortals' against Alduin and his forces." Michael asks.
"... I think answering my true thoughts would lower our chances of succeeding. Alduin's defeat will have shocked him, he will not fight as he did."
"So, we're fucked basically? Good to know."
"That is why I did not wish to speak it."
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After sorting out the dragons, Michael makes his way back to Winterhold where he'd arranged to meet with Serana and Valerica, the duo arriving at his Spire's doorstep with a small entourage of elite vampires.
"This all you're bringing?" Michael questions as he'd been told otherwise before.
Valerica sniffs, "These are only our guards, the rest are making their way to Riften to await further orders... I do hope you have planned for the battle to take place during the night, our subordinates might rebel otherwise."
"Yeah... That's actually what I wanted to talk to you guys about. I need some blood from either you or Serana." he asks, causing some of the guards to step forward with a clearly hostile gait.
"D-do you mean to use THAT!?" Serana blurts out, horrified at the idea.
"What do you mean? What are you planning?" Valerica asks looking between her daughter and Michael.
"Well, I can't control when we'll reach Skuldafn, especially since the mountains aren't mapped out at all. So dealing with the sun directly was the next best thing."
Valerica's eyes widen, "You can't! All our work defeating my husband would have gone to waste!"
Michael shakes his head, "I've already looked into it, the arrows seal off the sun for a limited time depending on how much blood is used." he didn't mention the fact that he'd need to drastically empower the veil before he did this to prevent Molag Bal from doing anything.
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