The introduction of the spirits to Winterhold went somewhat peacefully, most people didn't care at all unless it affected them directly. Some were wary of those belonging to never-before-seen races, Rhasta being a Hill-Troll, Riki being a Tiefling, and Rubick, Spectre, and Medusa being... Whatever they were.
Rubick, Lina, and Rhasta immediately entered the newly built College of Winterhold after Michael had given Savos a basic, if limited, explanation of the situation, the Grand Magnus all but locking himself in the new Arcaeneum and forcing Savos and Michael to work in concert to strip the wards from the door to allow others entry.
Lina caused trouble by demanding a larger and more private room, her previous status as a Princess/Priestess making her far more annoying to handle than most others. Along with her tendency to burn people she didn't like.
Thankfully, Rhasta was more subdued in his requests, simply asking for a matt and a quiet place to meditate the days away, wishing to make himself familiar with Tamriel's local spirits and nature itself.
Savos only really accepted them due to their unique magics that functioned completely different to how anything in Tamriel worked. Plus, Rubick was a very good lecturer when you gave him the motivation to do so. A couple Magic Tomes had the Grand Magus all but shouting his knowledge in the new Hall of Elements.
Silencer surprised Michael by joining up with Anti-Mage and beginning mercenary missions around the Hold. While Surtr's rule had stifled a majority of any banditry around Skyrim, that didn't mean it'd been eliminated entirely.
With the money they collect and a sizeable loan from Michael himself, they'd begun construction on a temple on the opposite side of the mountain the Eye of the World was located. They planned to found a new Order known as the Silentium Magia, a combination of the Turstarkuri Monks and the Aeol Drias which Silencer originally belonged to. Their goal? Well, it was obvious for any who cared to listen.
The restriction of heretical magic, the maintenance of balance, and the protection of the innocent. They intended to combine the monks teachings with that of the Aeol Drias mages, creating warriors that would absolutely demolish any mage they come across.
It was a scary thought, to be honest, a warrior who could Blink right next to you, silence you and prevent you from casting spells, drain all of your mana, and use a spell that deals damage proportional to the mana you've lost.
Their Temple wasn't complete yet but they'd already started recruiting from the various orphanages around Skyrim. You didn't require great talent to learn such arts, so their pool of potential students was great... Plus, the Nordic temperament suited this kind of organisation excellently.
Medusa herself had started to try and befriend the Eredar, their unusual appearances and strong racial benefits made them the best choice for her to get her bearings in Skyrim. Their bluntness and sensitivity to magic made them preferable in her eyes... Though, even they were struggling to see through the snake-woman's appearance and see her for the person she actually is. A long road if Michael had ever seen one.
Kunkka had already met up with Ennura and the two had hit it off, and by that he meant that they'd drank a shit load of rum and fucked loud enough for the whole city to hear... Did you know Kunkka shouted 'AHOY' when he climaxes? Because Michael did, along with most of Winterhold, he wished Tiffania's Erase spell still worked on him...
Needless to say, he'd gotten permission to start construction of the Winterhold Navy. While most ship-builders were located in Windhelm and Solitude, they weren't required since Kunkka apparently had all the ship designs completely memorized. Add the fact that naval warfare in the Dota 2 universe was a lot more advanced than Tamriel, it was only a matter of time before Kunkka ruled the seas.
The only real problem on that front was manpower, Skyrim having a dear lack of sailors simply due to how the Northern Sea was. Get wet and you freeze to death, most ships sink due to the huge sheet of ice that covered the water, and winds so fierce they'd capsize even a Man O'War. Ennura was lucky Kunkka was a renowned captain otherwise their naval venture would fail before they even left port.
What was funding all of this you may ask? Well, many things, but the main economic drivers in Winterhold currently was the advanced technology that was being developed and utilised, the Frost Gems that grew in the Frozen Forest which massively enhanced any Ice Enchantments, and most recently the magical development occurring in the College.
The only real issue Michael had been having lately was Spectre... The phantom had no real goal or objective, and so treated him like her absolute master. When he'd told her to go away, she'd begun floating in the opposite direction. He'd only realised what'd happened when she'd done a full lap of the world and continued on still.
He asked if she'd happened upon Atmora or some other supposedly lost Continent but she'd shaken her head. Apparently, where Atmora once was was just more ocean, even Clavicus Vile's memories weren't concrete on what'd occurred there, so Michael thought it better be left alone for now.
After that he'd just had Spectre shadow him, hoping she'd learn something from watching him and begin finding some sort of balance. Her life in the Dota universe sounded like a horrific one, randomly appearing amidst battlefield, then dissipating once it was done, literally ceasing to exist until the next battleground was found.
According to her each iteration was another Spectre that held the same memories. This was probably while her speech was so garbled, her mind was connected with each Spectre, and multiple of her could exist in one moment.
The situation wasn't all bad though, his new 'bodyguard' didn't make much sound and was perfectly content to silently follow him. He'd only catch a glimpse of her occasionally when Darth got territorial and tried to shove her away... Only to be taught a lesson by the incredibly powerful phantom.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
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"Hmmm... This should be the place...?" Riki murmurs as he looks between a crappy drawing from Michael and the skeleton door before him. Really, with how dexterous his student had become it boggled the mind at how shit he was at drawing in particular... It's either that or the boy made it so unintuitive and ugly just to mess with him... Was this revenge for all the times he'd planted his head firmly in the ground?
Riki lets out a sigh and walks towards the door, only to stop and rapidly turn towards a nearby shallow pond. "Careful, creature. I promise I'm more than you can handle." he says while giving a toothy, fanged grin.
The fiery red eyes within the pond blink a couple times before disappearing, leaving Riki to continue.
"What is the music-" the door begins rasping out but Riki interrupts it, "Be quiet and let me pass."
"You are not worthy..."
Riki shakes his head, pulling a lockpick from seemingly nowhere and reaches his arm into the right eyesocket of the door, he finds the mechanism at the upper back of it and quickly breaks through, allowing the door to swing open.
Once inside however he's greeted by the entirety of the Dark Brotherhood, their security measures warning them should anyone give the wrong passcode.
Riki looks the leading woman up and down, nodding slightly at her figure. "Astrid, I assume?"
She nods, "Rikimaru."
"Michael wasn't lying when he said you were a busty wench with an unfortunate face." Riki idly remarks, causing a vein to throb in Astrid's forehead.
"Oh, he said that did he?"
"Watch what you say to my wife, Imp." Arnbjorn, the resident Werewolf growls.
"Imp? How creative for a dog." Riki glances at Astrid, "Is it the tongue that does it for you? Or the knot?" he jokes, causing a couple Brotherhood members to chuckle, only to be quickly silenced when Astrid and Arnbjorn send glares their way.
"Enough, what do you want and why are you important enough for Michael to send you?"
"Well, I did teach him. As for what I want? I wanted to see how the 'top' assassin's guild in this world functions... Not well from what I've seen thus far. Is there a reason you all dress in skintight leather? Other than personal fetish?"
"Tradition, comfort, effectiveness. Take your pick." Astrid shrugs.
Riki hums in thought, quickly noticing one of the Brotherhood member's eyes twitch towards something nearby him. His form blurs as he turns invisible and steps to the side, quickly catching an elf-girl trying to sneak in behind him.
He appears at her side while jabbing a finger into her ribs, causing her to let out a small 'oof'. "You're quite good, girl. Better than the rest of this lot, I hadn't expected them to act like warriors instead of assassins..."
"What do you mean?" Eleril asks, realising that the Tiefling could have killed her there and then.
"They all gathered at the front entrance and confronted a would-be intruder. Not at all assassin-like, is it?"
"No, I guess not... What would you have done?" she asks, ignoring the irritated looks sent by her other Guild members.
Riki jabs two fingers at multiple shadowed areas in the hallway, "I would have taken up a position somewhere over there if I had no time to prepare. Give me five minutes and I'd have booby-trapped the entire place. My own secret hidey-hole had so many traps that I'd triggered some on myself more times than not." he admits with a chuckle before turning to her. "Say, you're the only one here I've seen with an ounce of talent. What would you say to becoming my student?"
...
"Like Michael? Because he destroyed me and Babette when we tried to ambush him..."
Riki laughs, "Yeah, like Michael."
Before Eleril can answer Astrid decides to butt in, not liking the Tiefling poaching her best assassin. "Can you just tell us what you want already? We've wasted enough time on you, something we currently have a dire lack in."
"Just wondering if you wanted an experienced assassin's assistance." he glances at Eleril, "Since I've found something worth staying for, I'd like to offer my semi-permanent membership."
"Semi-permenant?" Eleril questions.
"Until I've taught you all you need to know. It'd be a disgrace to leave such a seed unwatered, I might be an assassin but I still have my honour." he says, ignoring the fact he was standing in the midst of thirty or so assassins...
"Astrid?" Eleril asks, unsure how to answer.
...
Astrid gives a shrug, "Whatever, Michael's vouched for you so you must be worth something. Hm, let's see if you can help us with our recent assignment." she says, gesturing to the large table next to her, a thing filled to the bring with maps, papers, crudely drawn architecture designs, etc.
Riki shuffles over and balances on his tiptoes to see it all, his lack of height making a rather comical sight. "Well, you've got the information covered I suppose. Some of these seem rather out of date however." he states, lifting a building design a hundred or so years out of date if Michael's recent explanation was accurate.
Astrid sniffs, "Yes, well, gathering this much cost me far more than I'd like to admit. We also failed to uncover any unofficial plans, making any secret entrances a choir to find."
"You also seem to lack any agents around your target. The Emperor I assume? Given most of your information is on guard houses, patrols, and architectural plans surrounding the Imperial Palace of Cyrodil."
"Very smart, it's as if you have all of my plans at your fingertips." she drawls before gesturing at a corkboard on the wall, "I've already outlined a basic plan to complete this task, opinions?"
Riki goes over it and struggles to hold back his laughter, "Unless you're planning to downsize your guild, I would recommend other avenues... This plan would be suicidal even to me, it's as if you're trying to get yourselves killed." he points to the first step, "First, your entry into the Empire should not be as a group, that's just painting a target on your back. Second, utilising hidden merchant routes is screaming you're up to bad business. Third-"
Astrid and the other assassins watch and listen to Riki's lecture, quickly concluding that their previous plans were essentially just them bum-rushing the Emperor while using each other's bodies as stepladders. Needless to say, Riki was made the Operations Manager, a position he intended to make full use of.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to : https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
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Faruk Ereng
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