"There you are Sunset," Fiona said the moment that Sunset and Erandur returned to the inn, though she could tell that something was wrong, "Did something happen? No, that's stupid of me to ask at this point. It was another one of Tirek's minions wasn't it?"
"The twin of the imperial I met at Dagon's Shrine," Sunset replied, a grin on her face as she pulled out the journal, crossed off the Razor and the Skull, before showing the vampire her progress, "All we need to do now is venture to Whiterun, find the Ebony Blade and the Sanguine Rose, if we're lucky to find both, and then warn the Jarl of the Forsworn army. We need to let as many people know about the army and, hopefully, we won't have to be involved in a battle with them... but one can never know with Tirek."
And Sunset spoke the truth, because they had absolutely no idea where the Forsworn army was located at that very moment and there was no telling when Tirek would order them to being purging the rest of Skyrim. She knew that Tirek wanted to kill as many people as he could before he obtained one hundred percent, though she had never heard of him raising an army to do so. Though as she thought about Whiterun, and the artifact that was supposed to be resting in Dragonsreach, she had to wonder if the city would become a target in the future. Then she looked over at Erandur, who seemed like he had no idea what was going on, though he continued to stare at Sunset, as if he wanted her to summon the Skull so he could banish it.
That was when she finally got an idea that may just allow them to get rid of all fifteen artifacts at the same time, the last piece of the puzzle she hadn't figured out.
"Hey Erandur," Sunset said, causing the dark elf to gulp for a moment, as if he believed that she was going to lecture him or something, "That ritual you were using to banish the Skull of Corruption... do you think that you could pull off the spell again, but on a chest containing all fifteen Daedric Artifacts and not just one?"
"It is theoretically possible," Erandur immediately answered, though at the same time his right hand found its way to his chin, "but I would have to commune with the Divines and ask for the ability to use such a blessing again. Lady Mara might agree to it, but there is no telling what the others will say on the matter."
"We're heading to Fellglow Keep regardless," Sunset replied, slightly annoyed that the ritual might not be repeatable, "Tirek, the demon we're talking about, shattered the College of Winterhold and sunk the city that rested around it. He's constantly seeking the Daedric Artifacts, so he can contact the Prince associated with the artifact and absorb the power of that Prince, which is why we're trying to stop him. The moment he has the power of even one of the sixteen Princes, even the weakest one, he's going to begin tearing a hole between Oblivion and Nirn, so he can return to my home world."
Sunset's friends already knew the stacks of their conflict with Tirek, which is why none of them seemed concerned when she told Erandur what might happen. When the priest heard what the demon could do, with the power of one of the Princes, he seemed to pale until the point where he appeared to be afraid of the outcome. Sunset hated this part, where she delivered the end game, but she knew that the priest needed to know, so that he could decide whose side he was actually on.
"In essence," Sunset continued, prepared to finish explaining the stacks to Erandur, "if Tirek gets his hands on the power of even one of the Daedric Princes, then all of Nirn will be destroyed. That's why we're building an army, so that we can combat him and his ever growing power, before he has a chance to reach one hundred percent. If we can kill him before he reaches his full power then we can save all of Nirn from being erased... that's considering we can find his base of operations as well."
"Then I shall follow you," Erandur said, dropping to his knee for a moment, "I will gladly lend you and your army my strength, in both the magical arts and combat itself, so we can save this world from the demon that wants to obliterate it."
"Ah, another soul to add to the ranks," a voice said, causing Sunset to turn towards the inn's door and find both Esbern and Delphine, dressed up in the ancient armor of the Blades, standing there.
Sunset had to admit it, but when Delphine almost blew up in her face because she was gathering the Daedric Artifacts and not killing dragons, she had expected that she was never going to see them again. Yet here they were, though she was secretly hoping that Delphine had seen the error of her ways and was willing to listen to reason, instead of being angry at her all the time. She could also tell that her friends were holding their breath, while the other patrons waited behind the bar, in case a fight broke out in front of them.
"He's been told the truth about my conflict and why I'm in Nirn," Sunset said, pulling herself out of her seat before approaching the two Blades, "Tell me something Delphine; will you two fight at my side, against the demon known as Tirek, or are you going to stand in my way like the Forsworn?"
What happened next caught Sunset, and no doubt her companions, by complete surprise; Esbern and Delphine drew their swords, held them out so the tips touched the floor of the inn, and knelt before her.
"I would ask your forgiveness, Dragonborn," Delphine said, though what surprised Sunset even more was that she could tell that the women was being sincere with what she was saying, "I let my rage for both the dragons and the Thalmor blind me to the real danger that is currently at work across Skyrim; the demon you name Tirek. Esbern tried to tell me to calm myself many times while we traveled with you, yet I never listened and I even considered forming an army to destroy the dragons... but that was before I finally sat down and reflected on everything that's happened.
Esbern and I felt the demon call out to us, taunting us with his lies in an effort to turn us against Nirn and hasten the destruction he was trying to cause. He promised us the power to destroy all of our enemies, be they the Dragon Cult, the dragons that have now returned to Skyrim, or even your, his sworn enemy. I will not lie Dragonborn, I considered leaving my sanity behind so I could destroy Alduin myself... but then I thought about it and reflected on his promises, and the destruction he had already caused. Esbern and I threw the demon from our minds and, with new determination, we suited up, gathered what we could afford to carry at that moment, and journeyed here, where I knew you'd be searching for another artifact after what happened in Markarth.
As the Blades of old once served the Dragonborn Emperor, we shall do the same today; we shall fight by your side and help train your army, if you would have us added to your ranks once more."
Sunset never thought that Delphine, the women that hated her with a passion, would have been tempted to side with Tirek, only to turn around and throw the offer of power back at him. She had been so sure that if Delphine had been offered the power to destroy Alduin and the rest of her dragon allies, she would have taken it almost immediately, but Sunset was relieved to hear that she had done no such thing. She was also extremely happy that both of them had even considered coming back to help her, even after Delphine continued to display her hatred for dragons.
"I... I accept," Sunset said after a moment, prompting the two of them to stand once more, "We can exchange notes on what happened after Sky Haven Temple when we're on the road, but for right now we had better get moving."
"Of course Dragonborn," Delphine replied, a smile appearing on her face for a moment, "After all, there's a Forsworn army moving across Skyrim and there's no telling when your enemy will make his move against the people of Nirn."
Sunset nodded and beckoned to the rest of her band, telling them that it was time to get a move on, which prompted them to begin collecting everything they had brought with them. Erandur, lost for a moment, realized that they were moving out of Dawnstar and hurriedly collected his meager belongings, before falling in step with the rest of them. Once outside Sunset noticed that they had another arrival, this one in the form of a female khajiit, with white fur, that was dressed up in the armor of the Dark Brotherhood... though she could guess who was standing before them.
"Sister!" Raja exclaimed, though that was followed by the two of them hugging, "And here I was worried that we might not get an opportunity to speak before I departed from Dawnstar."
"Unfortunately, I cannot stay long," Snowheart replied, sounding slightly sad that the reunion couldn't be longer, "the Night Mother has been receiving visions of people who are swearing themselves to the demon known as Tirek, and we are constantly being sent out to remove the ones we can reach. Surprisingly none of the nobles have turned to him yet, so we're merely erasing bandits and power hungry necromancers before they have a chance to bind themselves to their foul master. I just wanted to let you know that you, and the Archmage, have the support of the Dark Brotherhood, just in case you thought that you didn't have it."
"I thank you for the clarification," Raja said, patting her sister on the shoulder for a moment, "I'll let you go about your business and hopefully the next time we meet neither of us will have to depart for some time, so that we can properly catch up."
Snowheart nodded and ran into the mountainside, disappearing after a few moments, leaving Raja to rejoin her friends as they made their way out of Dawnstar.
While the band of nine traveled out of Dawnstar and down the road that would lead them to Whiterun, Sunset took the opportunity to listen to Delphine recount what information she and Esbern had collected. According to Delphine there was enough armor and weapons in the temple to outfit at least ten people in a complete set, which left eight seeing how she and Esbern were wearing two of them. Delphine did mention that they should be reserved for those that were to be Sunset's personal bodyguards, but also mentioned that they'd have to check everyone at Fellglow Keep before they could make such a decision.
As they walked Sunset noticed several forts that were completely abandoned, no signs of the bandits that once the place home or the people that might move in after them. Sunset hated to admit it, but it seemed like the bandits were now under Tirek's sway and, if that were the case, she wondered if they had joined with the Forsworn army. There were easily two to three hundred bandits scattered across Skyrim, so in addition to the two hundred Forsworn soldiers Sunset knew that Tirek's forces either had the two hundred Forsworn or, and she dreaded to think this, five hundred thanks to the bandits.
---------------------------------------------------
Sunset yawned when they reached Fellglow Keep, tired from both the fight through the tower to claim the Skull of Corruption and the trek from Dawnstar to her base. She wasn't the only one that was tired from their adventure in the Reach, as her entire band wanted nothing more than to head to bed the moment they reached the keep door. Sunset considered them fortunate, as she was the leader of an alliance and was needed by Elenwen to choose where some of their building would be built. And Tolfdir, who was somehow up later than what she had usually seen of the old man, shared several updates that told her that the mages were progressing well.
She briefly looked over Elenwen's plans on where certain buildings went, flipped through the other varieties of the locations, before returning to the first one and telling the altmer that it was the best one. Once that deed was done she returned to her chambers and closed the door, where she laid on top of her bed before falling asleep almost immediately.
When morning hit Sunset joined her companions outside for breakfast, where they could observe the building that the Thalmor soldiers were doing alongside the people of Winterhold. She even saw Delphine and Elenwen discussing the training yard, where they planned on having the soldiers that focused on weapons train, so they didn't interfere with the mages. It never ceased to amaze Sunset that two bitter rivals, who hated each other with a passion, could eventually give up that hatred in the face of complete annihilation. Tirek believed that, by destroying the College of Winterhold, the rest of the Hold, and Azura's Shrine, he could break the people of Skyrim apart, but the opposite was true. Sworn enemies were now gathering together, uniting their resources, they knowledge, and their strengths, against a common enemy that sought to end them all.
Tirek's plan had created an army that wanted nothing more than to protect their world, an army that would put an end to whatever foul plan the demon had in store for everyone.
"So Dragonborn, what's the emblem of our army?" Delphine asked the moment she was done with Elenwen, causing Sunset to look at her for a moment, "You know, like the dragon that the Empire has or the bear that the Stormcloaks have? What emblem shall we show our enemy, to set us apart from the others?"
It was then that Sunset got an idea that she never would have considered, as she took a piece of parchment and sketched out her Cutie Mark, thankful that she had memorized what it looked like. Delphine looked at it for a moment, clearly studying it for flaws, before nodding and showing the rest of Sunset's allies what would be on their banners. Sunset had no idea what possessed her to reveal her special mark like that, but it was something that apparently inspired her allies, despite them not knowing the meaning behind it.
What made her nervous was the fact that the Forsworn army, the very army she knew was coming this way at some point, had yet to reveal itself and the longer it took to arrive the more she worried that Tirek wasn't interested in the heart of Skyrim. She didn't dare risk moving out of the area to search for the remaining artifacts just yet, not until she was sure that Whiterun was safe from harm.
---------------------------------------------------
It was well into the afternoon when Sunset heard something that she was dreading, the sound of siege weapons currently being used against a heavily defended position. When she was Delphine what was going on she got a report that she wasn't expecting, the Stormcloaks were currently in the process of attacking Whiterun, which was being defended by the Imperial Legion.
"Your kidding me," Sunset said, shocked that something like this was even happening, especially when Tirek was still at large, "Damn them, they're planning into Tirek's hands. He wants us weakened, so that when his own army arrives they can swarm the city and slaughter whoever is left standing. I cannot afford to let Whiterun, the center of Skyrim, fall due to the idiocy of the leaders of the other factions... not when Tirek is still out there."
"What are your orders?" Delphine asked, though Sunset could tell that the other leaders of her faction, Elenwen, Korir, and Tolfdir, were awaiting her command.
Sunset could not believe that she was going to have to show her hand, so soon no less, to the other factions, all because they couldn't heed the signs that Tirek was leaving in his wake. She didn't want to go to war unless it was absolutely necessary, so she had an idea that would work in the off chance that the Forsworn arrived while she was dealing with the assault.
"Assemble those that can fight," Sunset finally said, a sigh leaving her as she stared at the map, "but I want scouts looking at the roads around Whiterun. There's another army out there, Tirek's Forsworn army to be exact, and I'd rather not wear out our people before the true enemy strikes... so get them ready, but wait for my command. If I'm right, and I pray that I'm not, the Forsworn are almost here and they'll obliterate the city in no time."
Delphine and the others nodded, though Sunset summoned the Staff of Magnus, walked outside to gather her friends, and immediately departed for the besieged city. As they drew close Sunset was constantly upset by what she saw, siege weapons that were firing at the city, soldiers in blue assaulting the walls and the steel wearing soldiers that protected the city, and the flames that ate at the walls. Her plan was simple, she was going to get into the middle of the conflict and, with the Staff she held, she was going to make everyone stop before the Forsworn arrived.
Once she was near the Stormcloak army she flashed into the heart and ducked under their weapons, dodging the blows that were intended for the Imperials and avoiding the arrows that were supposed to hit the Stormcloaks. People watched her move though the madness, though some of them uttered her name as she passed them by, magic pulsing around her and the staff. She seriously hoped that her plan would work, otherwise the enemy would be upon them and they wouldn't even notice until it was way too late.
"Stop fighting," Sunset shouted, though as she said that she noticed that not many people were paying attention to her, which caused her to start spinning her staff before slamming the base into the ground, "I SAID STOP FIGHTING!"
Her voice, increased by the power of the staff, echoed across the fields with the magic not far behind, hitting everyone around her and causing them all to stop fighting each other. It was a powerful spell, one that she had gleamed from one of Princess Celestia's books, but it served her purpose at the moment and she'd gladly suffer the consequences if she could stop the fighting. She sighed as the spell finished, though her victory was short lived as someone approached her from behind, though she was surprised to find Jarl Ulfric standing there.
"You have no right to stop this assault Dragonborn," Ulfric said, holding a steel axe in his right hand, "We're here to liberate this Hold from the Empire that is too weak to defend itself."
"I hate to agree with the enemy, but I must insist that you leave," a second voice said, just as General Tullius, the leader of the Legion, appeared on the nearby wall, "We're here to defend this Hold from the savages that seek to tear the peace that the Empire fought hard to win to shreds."
"Oh for the love of Celestia," Sunset groaned, raising her voice so the both of them, and the Jarl of Whiterun for that matter, could hear her speak, "There's an army of Forsworn soldiers coming this way. What you are doing right now will only allow them to destroy the both of you, and the rest of the Hold, faster than if they were left alone. They're under the influence of the demon that sunk Winterhold, destroyed the College of Winterhold, shattered the Shrine of Azura, and flattened the Thalmor Embassy. For the love of whatever you believe in, be it Eight or Nine Divines, please stop this senseless fighting and listen to someone who knows that they're talking..."
Then she heard it, the sound of a war horn that didn't belong to either the Imperials or the Stormcloaks, which caused her to look down the road that lead to the destroyed watchtower. Even from her distance she could see the faint line of Forsworn coming their way, confirming her worst fears as she noticed that the rumors of the bandits leaving their fortresses were true. She quickly glanced at both commanders, who were in shock by what they were seeing, though she had no time to waste before the enemy was upon them. She gripped her staff and prepared for what was to come, though she heard the sound of another group of soldiers approaching and guessed at who it was.
"We're here Dragonborn," Delphine called out, spotting the enemy and turning back to their forces, "Soldiers, form up and prepare for combat with the enemy!"
Sunset's forces wrapped around to the front of where Sunset was standing, forming perfect military lines that she suspected they had been practicing while she was gone. It showed their dedication towards saving the world, which caused her to smile towards her allies as they came to a stop near her position. Elenwen was dressed up in the traditional elven armor the Thalmor wore, Tolfdir wore what appeared to be master robes that came with a hood to protect his head, and Korir was dressed in heavy steel armor. Then, just as they thought that they'd be fighting the Forsworn alone, both Tullius and Ulfric shouted for their soldiers to form up alongside Sunset's army, while they stood beside her.
"Kill them all!" the Forsworn commander, no doubt the King that the Markarth guard had mentioned, shouted at his forces, "Leave none of them alive and burn the entire city to the ground!"
As the Forsworn army broke ranks and charged at their position Elenwen shouted her own command, the archers raising their bows and beginning to rain arrows on their enemy. Sunset, seeing the enemy draw even closer, sounded the charge and her army was off, charging across the plain until they slammed into the front of the Forsworn. From that point on it was pure chaos, as her soldiers hacked, slashed, and blasted their enemies in the chest, while the Forsworn took pleasure in hitting whoever they could get their hands on. The Legion and the Stormcloaks joined in, smashing their shields into those that stood before them, while blocking attacks that could mean the end of them.
In the first few minutes it seemed like both forces were equal, but as Sunset fought those that served Tirek she felt the ground shake for a moment and worried that their true enemy had shown up. Then, when she looked at the source, she spotted a line of at least thirty necromancers breaking into the ground, summoning a massive army of skeletons to do battle with Tirek's enemies. She knew that they could deal with the Forsworn and bandits by themselves, but with an additional five to seven hundred skeletons added to the mix she had no idea if they'd save the city.
She twisted the staff towards the army of skeletons and blasted one right in the chest, blowing a small hole in their numbers as the rest of them continued down the plain towards the conflict.
"Damn him to Tartarus," Sunset spat, fearing that all of her preparations would be in vain, "It doesn't look like we're going to make it out of this fight after all."
That was moments before several large figures burst out of the clouds, roars filling the air as five dragons, lead by Alduin himself, flew down on the necromancers. Sunset recognized only one more of them, as it was the one she had met at Kynesgrove, the dragon that had been called Sahloknir, as he landed behind the Forsworn and started hitting them with both his tail and his wings. Fire rained on the necromancers and the Forsworn, who Sunset could tell were beginning to regret challenging such a force of soldiers with their pitiful numbers.
As the fight dragged on Sunset charged through the crowd of Imperials, Stormcloaks, Forsworn, and Bandits, searching for the Forsworn King as she drew her ebony sword from its sheath. She found him directing the attack from the center of his army, trying to salvage his failed assault on the city, and almost grinned when she found that he hadn't even noticed her coming his way. Magic wrapped around her sword as she drew closer, but by the time he turned her way and finally noticed her coming it was far too late for him to move. She roared with all her anger and swung the sword, releasing a wave that struck him in the chest and, quite literally, cut his body into two halves before the eyes of his army.
The Forsworn, seeing their king fall in battle, fought against their enemies, but as they did so Sunset noted that many of them were falling to the ground in a pool of their own blood. Then, not moments later, the Forsworn laid dead around them while the dragons moped up what remained of the necromancers and their skeletal army. Sunset would have enjoyed the victory, but it only pained her heart to see so many dead, all because Tirek had tempted the Forsworn to turn against everyone else.
"Well I'll be," Tullius said, coming to a stop beside her, a look of wonder on his face, "I had heard that someone had allied themselves with the dragons, but never in a hundred years would I have expected the rumors and stories to be true. You did Whiterun, and all of Skyrim, a mighty deed that none of them will be able to forget for many years. Come along Archmage, I think that Jarl Balgruuf will want to express his gratitude towards you saving his Hold and I know that both Ulfric and I have some words to share with you."
Sunset smiled as she followed the commander of the Imperial Legion back to Whiterun, wondering if she could simply ask him to hand over the Ebony Blade, instead of having to steal the key and everything. And maybe, just maybe, both factions of this civil war would be willing to ally with her, until they were done with whatever wicked plan that Tirek had in store for them.
---------------------------------------------------
Tirek stood before the shrine of Malacath, listening very closely to the echo of his chosen Warlord as the battle for Whiterun began, just as magic gathered around his hand. It had been so simple; just raise an army and send them to destroy the Hold, but then his enemy had to appear and obliterate every soldier that he had tempted to his side. It should have made his so furious that he could have shattered the entire Hold he was in, but he didn't want to alert Sunset as to where he actually was. There was too much at stake for him to release his anger and destroy the entire Rift, but he could settle for something that no one would miss.
No one besides the orcs of Largashbur, but he had already decimated the small stronghold and, when he found no one there, he settled for coming here to the shrine. He brought his hand back and then swung at the statue, cracking the air before shattering the entire statue into a thousand pieces, letting the power of the attack break the area around him as he walked towards the cave entrance.
"This game is almost over," Tirek said, a small hint of a smile appearing on his face, "and soon I'll be able to shatter this world... and those that bother defending it along with it."