"Hmph, look who it is, the legendary traitor himself! Ulfric Stormcloak." Igrod Ravencrone, Jarl of Morthal all but spits as she sees Ulfric walk in with his housecarl Galmar Stone-Fist.
"I see you are well Igrod, surprising, most think to hand over their position well before moss starts to grow on them and the stench of rot sets in." he calmly retorts as he sits himself at the large circular table that the others Jarls were. He then glances over to Elenwen who was standing at the side of the room with her everpresent arrogant expression, "I see you're still here too, don't you have some puppies to kick? Or should I say kittens? The loss of Elsweyr must have hit the Thalmor hard, especially with how you're all now fleeing from Hammerfell."
Elenwen sneers, "Worry not, Ulfric, the phases of the moons matter little in the grand scheme of things. The same could be said for your Province-wide tantrum."
"Indeed, this is but a tantrum compared to the wrath I'll cast upon you and the Summerset Isles. You and your kin have made many enemies, all of which would gladly light the kindling that'd see you burn." Ulfric threatens with clear promise in his word. The Thalmor Ambassador takes no notice of it however, simply continuing to sneer in his general direction.
*Clak*
High King Torygg next walks in, pausing momentarily as he surveys the room and all of the Jarls present. "You're all here then, good, we have much to discuss." he states as he takes his seat. "First, I'd like to thank you, Ulfric, for putting our disagreement on hold while we attempt to deal with the issues that'd been disturbing Skyrim as of late."
Ulfric gives a short nod, "Your people are my people, regardless of where we stand, never forget that." he says, though, everyone present easily notices his specific wording.
Torygg ignores the potential implication and gives brief smile in return, "I'm sure you've all received word, not to mention noticed the ruin that used to be Solitude's walls. This was caused by an agent of Sheogorath, a giant mud crab that led an army to storm my gates. It's only through the will to fight of Solitude and the assistance from one Michael Tahlin that we go away with little to no losses."
Elenwen squints her eyes at this, "The same man who'd slaughtered a Thalmor Advisor for the College of Winterhold in cold blood?" she asks from the side, getting a glare from many of those present.
Torygg holds in a sigh and turns his gaze to Savos Aren, the Arch-Mage of the College of Winerhold who'd been requested to be present here for obvious reasons. "I'd had rumours but thought they were all hearsay. The Michael Tahlin I met didn't seem to be frothing at the mouth like a bloodthirsty berserker...?"
Savos wets his lips, "A former Apprentice, one with high potential who'd unfortunately gotten into a scuffle with the Thalmor known as Ancano-"
"In which he savagely took him by surprise with a spell to the back!" Elenwen asserts, believing Savos to have been party to it in order to remove any Thalmor influence in the College... Indeed, ever since hearing about what'd happened to Ancano, no people in a high enough position dared to try and replace him.
Ulfric slams his palm down on the table with a scowl, "Let the mage finish, mouthy elf bitch!"
"Damn you, Ulfric!" Igrod randomly exclaims in response, regardless if such words were called for or not.
"Quiet Igrod, you aren't finding any allies here by acting like some sort of Banshee, Balgruuf the Jarl of Whiterun states before turning to Elenwen, "I too would like to hear the Arch-Mage's account. As someone who was actually there and not liable to misstate the truth."
Torygg nods, "Arch-mage, continue." he says with a small wave.
"The situation that led to Thalmor Ancano's death was first instigated by said person. He'd apparently decided to goad a drunk sixteen-year-old girl into a duel for scuffing his clothes or some such... The duel began, and Ancano seemed to take great satisfaction in decimating the girl, she'd only recently started her education so the result was a given...
The moment she started taking wounds however is when Michael Tahlin decided to step in. He interrupted the duel by punching Ancano in the face hard enough to send him tumbling backwards..."
"Against the rules of your College." Elenwen adds despite herself.
Savos nods, "Which is why he is currently expelled... I intervened when it looked like Ancano was going to be killed, allowing the Thalmor mage to use a magical device to escape, enraging Michael... Then we all spotted Ancano fleeing via the bridge that connected the College to Winterhold..." he pauses, wondering if he should reveal who was truly responsible for the magic.
"Hmph, sounds about right for a Thalmor." Ulfric remarks, giving Savos some time to ruminate on his choices.
"Tactical retreat or not, Ancano was still a member of the Thalmor, and should not have been ambushed from behind. If anything, Michael Tahlin is the true coward!"
Torygg shakes his head, "I find that hard to believe since I personally watched the man dive headfirst into an army of mud crabs alone..."
"Aye, I'd take offence to anyone calling the twice-saviour of my city a coward. That boy is one of the few people I could see matching the legends of old." he remarks, high praise considering not even the Companions could get such words from him.
Eventually, he decides to just place Michael as the one responsible. Even with all the witnesses, it would be more believable for a well known and powerful mercenary to be capable of such damage. Plus, he had a soft spot for Megumin... Having her hunted down like an animal was the last thing he wanted. "Michael then decided to ignore my words and cast a spell upon the fleeing elf, obliterating him and the bridge..."
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"Michael then decided to ignore my words and cast a spell upon the fleeing elf, obliterating him and the bridge..." Savos says, causing a variety of reactions.
Ulfric and some other Jarls smirk as they imagine the face of Ancano before he was annihilated. All of them had received word of the massive explosion that'd temporarily made the College inaccessible. If anyone deserved such a death, it'd be a Thalmor.
Ambassador Elenwen disagreed of course, "The Thalmor has awaited recourse for long enough, High King, under the laws of this land he should be put on trial and then executed for the murder of a government official." she states, ignoring the twinge of annoyance at the fact her attempt with the Dark Brotherhood hadn't worked.
"And under the laws of this land, you and your allies should be tried the same! Or do you think the happenings in Northwatch Keep had gone unnoticed!?" Ulfric angrily retorts, causing Elenwen's eyes to widen. The torture of Nord civilians and officials in Northwatch Keep was perhaps the most dangerous thing to be revealed... It might just give Torygg enough cause to expel the Thalmor from Skyrim entirely.
Unfortunately for her, her reaction had not gone unnoticed.
"And what is held in Northwatch Keep, Ambassador? I'm sure I only gave permission for it to be used to station the unused Thalmor forces?"
Elenwen shakes her head, "Worry not, High King, it has been used just so. But we will drop the matter of Michael Tahlin if it's such a controversial issue. For now at least."
"Oh, so you won't explain why so many missing Nords were last seen in that area? Or that one Nord claims to have been held in Northwatch Keep's dungeons along with many others? What about the torture and interrogations done there?" Ulfric continues, unwilling to let this go so easily.
"Big words for someone who is likely doing the same at this very moment. How many Nords have died already due to your greed, Stormcloak? Just so you could claim the High King's throne?" Elenwen spits, attempting to draw attention away from Northwatch Keep. "For someone who claims to love Nords and Skyrim, you are responsible for more death and destruction than anyone else this century."
Torygg lets out a sigh, "And do you have anything to substantiate your claim, Ulfric? As you know, I cannot just force my way into what is essentially an Aldmeri embassy."
Ulfric leans back and folds his arms, "Unless you'd take the word of a well respected and honourable Nord who'd once been their prisoner, no."
"Then we should leave this matter for now, and discuss the real subject I called you all here for... Markarth, Whiterun, Windhelm, Dawnstar, and my own Solitude, all have been affected by these Daedric plots. If the Blood Moon wasn't already ominous enough." he explains.
Jarl Igmund nods, "Were it not for Michael Tahlin, I believe most of Markarth would either be dead or still hiding within Understone Keep... He managed to dispatch a Vampire supposedly wielding Molag Bal's Mace, and an Orc who was using the infamous Volendrung, the bastard tore down Markrath's gate with it..."
"Hmm, do you have confirmation that these artifacts are the original ones?" Savos politely inquires.
Igmund lets out a chuckle, "Well, yeah, Michael left Volendrung stuck in the side of a building on the third floor... It's still there to this day, people are actually calling it a blessing from Talos, despite it being a Daedric Artifact." he says, ignoring the slight glower from Elenwen at the mention of the banned god.
"And the Mace of Molag Bal?" Elenwen asks curiously, and with a greedy gleam in her eye.
Igmund shrugs, "No idea, Michael must've taken it. I'd rather it be in his hands than someone else's anyway, so no harm done."
Torygg crooks a brow, "Hmm? He surely did the same with the Mad God's Wabbajack..." he trails off, unsure of what to think of this news
Balgruuf coughs into his fist, "Years ago, one of my citizens was possessed by Mephala's Ebony Blade, causing a litany of murders around Whiterun. Michael Tahlin eventually visited and uncovered the threat after joining the Companions, unfortunately having to kill the possessed person in the middle of the street... It's then that he revealed to me and my Court Wizard that he possessed an artifact, a book, which was seemingly able to seal away Daedric Artifacts...
I named him Blade-Bearer and gave him the responsibility for it, which seems to have worked as we haven't heard of any other news concerning the blade... It makes sense that he might be collecting these cursed items, but perhaps that's what brought the Daedric Prince's wrath down upon us?"
The new Jarl of Riften decides to chime in at this moment, "Yes, but that still wouldn't explain everything else that has been happening. The destruction of Azura's Shrines? Moon Sickness? Clavicus Vile's change in status to a Patron god of Elsweyr? Plus, Michael didn't seal Volendrung either.
If the Daedric Princes were truly doing this in response to Michael's actions, wouldn't they be targeting him instead of attacking random towns? Indeed, it looks to me like it was he who was hunting them." Brynjolf says, bringing many doubts to those who thought they were actually getting somewhere.
Ulfric nods, "This would match what I saw. Two different people serving under different Daedric Lords fighting one another. One belonging to Boethiah, and the other belonging to Clavicus. Clavicus' slave won, and when they did, they ignored me and my men entirely, claiming the Ebony Mail of Boethiah before disappearing instead of attempting to slaughter us as you might expect."
"So... A war between the Daedric Princes?" Torygg speculates.
"It seems so?" Igmund mutters.
"It isn't completely unheard of, though, I believe the Blood Moon itself holds implications that none of you has mentioned yet." Savos states from the side, having researched the topic when the Blood Moon appeared.
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