Chương 386: The Battle of Winterhold (3) : A Dreadful Start
A/n: I owe you guys tons of Bonus Chapters and I intend to deliver. There are 6 Monthly Chapters +3 Bonus Vote Chapters so help me God! This is the first (1/9)!
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*Elenwen's Front*
As she took her old master away, Elenwen looked back at Winterhold with shaken expressions.
"Getting cold feet?" A voice reached her.
She looked to her left and found a High Elf man looking waiting for her.
"Lord Caalore."
"Let me see."
The man approached Elenwen and checked on her master that was rendered unconscious by Alina.
"That is one vicious spell Farlime took, agonizing pain by overloading her nervous system with corrupted energy. Very vicious."
"Will she recover?"
"Yes, but only thanks to her powerful constitution. The other guards you took exploded in a bloody mess. That's a powerful one we are dealing with."
"And master?"
"Take her away, she can't battle and will surely develop a trauma. The rest of us will take on that human girl first thing. Go."
Elenwen nodded and carried her master away to the Thalmor hidden camp. She wasn't in the right mind after experiencing Alina's power herself. As she teleported in front of her master just a few minutes ago, she was exposed for Alina's stare for a second. The dread that crawled all her skin and how her dark thoughts and the world were jumbled together was a mind breaking experience.
Now, looking back at Winterhold, Elenwen realized that this situation would take some strange turns because of that Nord girl and there may be more surprises. Winterhold was hell-bent on fighting off all spies for a reason and now Elenwen felt the disaster. Still, nine Thalmor Arch Wizards and nine Nord Clans, this should be either a crushing fight or a marvelous stand.
Only time can tell.
***
*Alina's front*
"Goddammit!"
Behind Neo Saarthal's gate, Alina staggered off Lokthur and held her head massaging her temples. That opponent she faced was someone formidable. Her eye powers were being drained to blindness as she fought that Arch Wizard off.
Now, she can't use her trump card once again in less than 24 hours. She took out her [Storm Rage Crown] from her robe and put it on so that it stabilizes the pain and restore her [Agony] eye powers faster.
"Lady Boss, everything is in place." A trooper came and reported to her.
"Good."
She wasn't intending to waste any more time and climbed the walls to stand on top of the gatehouse. There, she joined the top brass.
"Master, Father, Mother."
Nurina, Jonrad and Hilda were there. They looked a bit nervous and only nodded to Alina.
Nurina was watching from the enemy battlements detecting the strong enemies stealthily. She could count many powerful auras some of are rivaling her and Jonrad's while many others were voice masters, master mages and Aura experts.
"Not sure about open battles but this is not going to be easy." She said.
"Our odds are good, Alina's plan is very solid and this is the best ground I fight on so far." Hilda was optimistic as she sharpened her Great Dane Axe.
"..." Jonrad only exhaled as he sat down on the ground to keep his meditate and focus.
Tyr came on the wall and joined Jonrad in his medication, the two sat facing each other for a while before starting some weird warrior customs they are used to.
"What are they doing?" Nurina asked.
"Exchanging some sort of bond. Many years have passed and I never understood what kind of ritual is that. Only thing I know is that those two will go wild as a pair. Something like combining their thoughts to cover each other's openings." Hilda replied.
"Sounds great." Nurina said.
"Sounds gay to me." Hilda retorted.
Jonrad and Tyr frowned at the same time and glared at her.
A minute later, Aela joined the group.
"Ah! Another daughter of mine, I discovered that I have too many daughters now." Hilda said.
"Thank you, lady Hilda." Aela said back in her stiff tone.
"How is it?" Alina asked Aela about something.
"No one out of his place. No spies, no scouts, no assassins."
"That's a relief."
After Aela arrived in Winterhold, she and Alina cooperated as a deadly duo of surveillance and hunting. They covered all the holes in Neo Saarthal just by the two of them.
"Where is Jon?" Aela asked.
"Over there." Nurina pointed to the South between the summit of Mount Anthor and the Shrine of Azura.
"Isn't he exposed? This mountain road will be exposed to enemies who will try to raid the Whispering Town.
"He has a mercenary with him and he is up to something big."
"Everything is in order. We are now waiting for the enemy to move. Oh, I dare them." Alina said in a low tone while covering her mouth.
"HA! This girl has developed one nasty habit." Hilda commented.
It was as she said, Alina became very violent and bloodthirsty during the time of Jon's absence. Of course, she doesn't show that side to Jon as she doesn't need it beside him but now she was on her top state of focusing.
She stood at the battlements and rested her palms on them.
"I am starting now."
She focused on the scene in front of her became silent. Those who know her can tell that she is now looking in the future.
1 Minute forward! That time was enough to tilt the tide of any battle.
Alina was living the events of one minute forward and could still keep her senses with the present. One of the original eye powers that were bestowed on her by Kyne.
"They will move in 50 seconds, ready the signal flares." She spoke.
"On it." Aela was ready with some magic scrolls behind Alina.
*BOOOOOOOO*
Not long later, the horns of the 'Dragon Hunt Alliance' echoed on the horizon and the march began.
Arranged in columns, formations, siege units, ladder units and mage units; the 10,000 fighters of the Dragon Hunt Alliance were walking the mile between them and Neo Saarthal.
Drums echoed, horns blown, bards shouted. The Dragon Hunt was starting.
Alina has already seen all that and was eagerly waiting for the perfect timing to see how her visions will be applied. It was basically cheating and she was all in for it. After all, all is fair in love and war.
"The Green Flare." Alina said and Aela tore open the Green Scroll launching a pillar of green light in the early morning sky.
That signal was for everyone to move.
The first to respond to the signal was the 'Tower of Music'.
"Eliel!" Yisra shouted.
"I know." The latter replied as she moved some levers then beat the big button.
Magical energy started to be felt through the tower on a large scale and sounds started to be heard. This phenomenon was just the basic function of the tower of madness.
As the sounds became clearer, the tone was heard and vibrated far and wide in the ears.
The sound of drums, the sound of trumpets, the sound of music.
The troopers behind the wall of Neo Saarthal all stood up and felt something strange.
They were burning from inside not from fear or magic but from excitement. The sound struck deep in their hearts and made their blood rush with a sudden indescribable feeling of pride and honor.
It was just music with no singing or words but it reached deep and made them all jump up.
The drill sergeants and the commanders of the troopers started shouting and conveying orders as soon as the music started. This was the signal they were told and the troopers were all pushed to man the walls. Behind the first wall, many troops were ready on as the second was being packed with troopers only in certain places. The order came for all the troopers to stomp louder with their feet on a certain pace to keep up with the music.
The piece of music was none other than 'The British Grenadiers'. A famous and swift military march music.
The two walls were fully manned ready to receive visitors.
"Is it just one large scale [Bardic Knowledge] spell?" Aela asked.
"While being armed with an Elder Scrolls? Please, put some imagination in this, the tower is not even functioning full power yet."
The focus now was on the other side as the enemy marched steadily.
***
*Orga's Front*
She was riding on her horse in front of the march. Now, they are only half a mile away from Neo Saarthal. With her Aura, Orga could see Alina looking down on her from half a mile away.
"She just can't stop giving me those chills." Orga shivered as she murmured.
"Commander, your orders." An officer asked for instruction.
"The First Wave. Half a minute later, the second wave. Quarter a minute after, the third."
"By your orders." The officer rode to the side and started giving the commands.
The first wave indeed moved forward formed of formations of shieldbearers, low ranked mages and ladder carriers.
There was no catapults or siege engines in Skyrim's war books, only mages and voice masters were the answer to fortifications. Orga sent the best of Alliance's on the second wave as went the first wave absorb the first defensive counter.
As they marched, the soldiers were carrying their shields up for a cover of the soon to be expected arrows.
500 meters away was an area of no response and so was 400 and 300 meters. 200 meters was the danger zone for the wall catapult to respond then 100 for the danger area of the arrows. With such a swarming horde, even arrows were not expected to cause much damage.
The scene was already imagined in the head of Orga and the other commanders. She looked to the right to see the team of the High Elven mages that kept itself away and she smiled. They put her, a 19 years old girl as the head of the troops but she was already a very experienced leader with four years of commanding experience. Sure not much but being a mercenary operating in High Rock was one of Orga's strong points.
*BOOOOOO*
The attack horn sounded.
As her plan was flowing smoothly, she suddenly felt an ominous feeling as her soldiers moved. A strange sound of music came from the Neo Saarthal.
It was unexpected and uncalled for in many ways. An unexpected thing in battle is the worst kind of situation by all accounts.
Why music? Orga wondered.
She wasn't an expert in Magic herself so she looked to the Shaman she brought with her and he shook his head, she looked to the Nikkr Clan's head and he was as clueless as her.
She then looked at the Elves to see their faces grow pale.
They were more sensitive to Magic than any human and their stiffened faces meant something not right. Too bad the march has already started and the soldiers would never back down any time soon music or whatever.
Orga rode to them with a concerned face.
"What is going on?" She asked.
"Very strong Magicka! This is a large scale spell, the largest I have ever seen." A young elf said.
"What large? Where is the spell?" Orga asked.
"The music! It is the spell, you dimwitted human." The Elf lashed at her right away and continued, "It is no attacking spell but if they have this much Magicka to use for an attack, why not use it right from the get-go?"
The Elf raised a fair point and Orga ignored the insult for now.
Winterhold was fighting in her own way. This wasn't good by any means.
"Does the music do anything?"
"To us, no. But to their soldiers, I fear if they have a 1000 soldier, the effect of that music will make them fight like 3000. Smart! Is this is the way they are going to compensate for the numerical disadvantage?"
Orga looked at Alina and smiled.
"What is that puss peppers doing?"
She was thrilled now, it seems Alina's confidence wasn't baseless from the start. This big music must be the true trump card of Winterhold.
Just like the spell [Harmony], this music can make soldiers tire slower and become stronger. This is just an Army Level spell, the only difference is it being a buff rather than an offensive one.
An Offensive Army Slaying spell was something only a power like the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion can make but it was more of a Forbidden-Level spell, Higher than that of Master-Level and Arch-Level spells.
But it was true, why not use this power on offense rather than defense?
The answer should be a lack in technique or something along the lines.
Orga was worried less now but she still couldn't do anything about the march. It was going to be okay anyway. In front of Magic power, buffs and all that was nonsense.
Still, the harbinger of Orga's worries came faster than she could think. Her troops were now only two meters away from Neo Saarthal started to take the ground up to the wall and not a change happened until the second red flare was launched in the sky.
The change was sudden and unprecedented.
Ruthless and cruel.
Scary and mighty.
Not even the Elves, the Humans or the Spirits could see this one coming.
The world felt wrong in all senses of fashion.
An artificial phenomenon that made everyone lose hope and desire.
The music stopped, the air settled, the blood froze.
No sound was heard.
This was it.
No sound.
No tone.
No music.
Utter silence.
The Charge was going as the soldier crossed another 100 meters to be of the same distance to the walls of Neo Saarthal.
It was it.
They stopped and looked around and each other.
They couldn't hear themselves.
They couldn't talk to one another as their tongues moved but their voices were not there.
The Voice masters couldn't shout, the mages couldn't muster the magic.
A No Magic Zone, a No Voice Zone, a No Talking Zone.
There was nothing they could do but look back at their commanders who were as clueless as they are.
From the first wall of Neo Saarthal to 500 meters at the front feet of Orga's horse, no voice was coming out.
She extended her hand forward and snapped her fingers to hear nothing. She took it back and snapped her fingers to hear it.
She was right on the edge and Neo Saarthal was on the other with half of the Dragon Hunt Alliance forces in between.
The Half inside the Silent Zone exchanged looks with the half outside.
A young man looked at his brother on the other side with his lips moving. The one outside saw the fear in his brother's eyes and understood the word of help.
It was a cruel reality.
To hear nothing was scary. To lose the power to control your magic and voice were scarier.
Darkness enveloped their hearts under the cold light of day.
Even on the walls of Neo Saarthal, the Dare Troopers were utterly shocked. After the blissful music came this utter dreadful silence. Even they couldn't speak or utter a sound not from the spell but from the dread.
Only one voice broke the silence and traveled from Neo Saarthal to Orga's ears.
Alina's voice.
"Open Fire."
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