• Published 4th Jul 2021
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Skyrim: The Faces of Death - Blackdrag-rose



Amaryllis, a changeling infiltrator for Chrysalis' hive, goes looking for her missing queen, but is teleported to a brand new world in the process, one that is unlike anything she's seen so far, while also being in the middle of a war.

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War: Tower Reactivated

With the Dominion's forces inside the Imperial City routed Zoravoir found that their next course of action was to make sure the people were safe, as Za'kera wanted to show the people that they weren't the same as the dark Altmer that had taken over the city. One way to make sure that message was delivered was by having some of the healers tend to the wounded, to make sure their enemies didn't rough up the people that called the city home, before finding that all of the guards that had been freed were shamed to have been forced to lay down their arms when Ariantar's forces arrived. That told them the name of the Altmer that was in command of the forces that had occupied the city, but both she and Za'kera knew that they wouldn't be getting any information out of him, as Amaryllis had assassinated him earlier, opening the way for them to take the city back. Za'kera had to admit that it had been a rather interesting plan, one that she couldn't believe actually worked since she was sure a sudden change in tactics would have clued their enemies in and make them suspect that something was wrong, but she wasn't about to complain, as it seemed that the Dominion's soldiers might have been scared of their own leader and followed his orders without question.

As the two of them walked they found an Altmer approaching them, where some magic washed over his body and the form shifted before their eyes, allowing them to find Amaryllis, in all her dark glory, making her way towards them, even though she eventually came to a stop and bowed her head.

"I have to admit that that was a good plan you came up with," Za'kera said, as her plan had been to get some people inside the city and get some information, so they would know what to do once Cyrodiil was reclaimed, but while she expected her friend to take out the enemy commander she wasn't expecting her to take his form and use it against the Dominion's forces, with no one questioning it as well, "Thanks to the efforts of you and your team we have reclaimed the Imperial City, not to mention that it allowed us to free the people and the imprisoned Imperial Guards."

"I'm glad that we could have been of assistance." Amaryllis replied, where she found that some of the soldiers looked like they were a little annoyed, that an assassin, her clan, and some thieves were getting praise, but knowing Za'kera she was waiting for Cyrodiil to be totally reclaimed before offering her words to the others, "Brynjolf and the other thieves found a few things that might be of interest: more communication crystals, supply routes for where Cyrodiil's food was supposed to go when it was harvested, and plans to invade some of the other provinces of Tamriel... apparently Elenwen's job was to distract all of Skyrim and weaken it so the main force could sweep over it in a day or two."

"That would open the way for them to invade Hammerfell and Morrowind from multiple directions," Zoravoir commented, as most of Tamriel's provinces bordered Cyrodiil in some way, save for High Rock and the Summerset Isles, and the other islands they knew about, so taking this province and then burning Skyrim to the ground was a good move, only they made their move first, 'however, now that we know the Dominion was planning on invading the other provinces, and might be moving to assault them as we speak, we might be able to forge some alliances with the leaders of the remaining provinces of Tamriel. There's only one problem we need to overcome..."

"What, you mean convincing them that we mean them no harm, even though we're allied with the Daedric Princes, some of which are known for their destructive and dark habits?" Za'kera inquired, which made sense since some of the people had to be worried about the fact that the forces of Deadlands and Coldharbour were marching on the Dominion's forces, though as she said that they walked through the Imperial City, waving to the people she knew.

"While that would be a valid concern, and might be depending on who we're talking about, the other leaders won't talk to a war hero like you, as they'll be expecting an actual leader." a voice said, where Ma'jera floated over to where the group was walking, though her words caused Amaryllis to nod her head for a moment, because she had been thinking about it for a while now, "You know what we're referring to... if you want to talk with the other leaders, and convince them to join up with us, you'll have to do so from a position of equal, or even greater, political power. If you want more allies, you must become the Empress of a new empire."

Za'kera said nothing to that, where it was easy for Amaryllis to see that she was considering the information that she was being given, as she must have been thinking that being the Last Dragonborn, a figure of legend, would have been more than enough to convince her potential enemies to become allies. For Skyrim that made sense, as the people of the snowy province put a lot of faith in their legends and many knew that such a figure would have arrived to save the world, even if they were surprised to find that she decided to ally with Alduin and the others, to face a darker threat. For the rest of the lands of Tamriel there was no telling what they might feel in regards to her legend, so instead of bringing a legend into the mix it was easier for them to raise Za'kera to her final station, that of Empress, and have her talk with the other leaders, as they would be willing to listen to what she had to say if she approached them like that. Amaryllis, however, knew that her friend needed to think about this, no doubt because it wasn't something she was expecting to have happen during their war with the Dominion, and the others remained silent as well, either waiting for Za'kera to say something or thinking about what might happen in the near future.

Amaryllis knew that there was another aspect to this, the arrival of a new empire, one aided by the Divines and Daedric Princes, might be followed by Ma'jera revealing the Stone that she intended on connecting to the White-Gold Tower, due to part of her plan being to restore the deactivated Towers, but instead of saying anything she simply followed Za'kera as she waited to see what happened next.

The first thing Za'kera did was make sure the Elder Council was okay, as they had been ruling the city during the absence of the Emperor and would have likely been taken captive somewhere inside the city, only to find that they were chained up in the basement of the Imperial Palace, where Ariantar likely lived during their time in this city. Based on what she and the others found the members of the council had been left with no food or water, being the Dominion was starving them, and based on what Amaryllis discovered it looked like the Altmer were planning on executing every member of the council at some point, as she found documents suggesting that in the palace. Ariantar was planning on breaking the morale of the city in one foul swoop, show the people their leaders, people they either trusted or looked up to, or just suffered the lives of if they hated them in some manner, and then execute them to completely break the city, making it easier for him and his forces to seize the rest of Cyrodiil in no time. As such Za'kera had some healers come to the Imperial Palace and tend to the Elder Council, to make sure they hadn't been abused by Ariantar and whoever had been tasked with guarding them, whenever the Altmer commander wasn't here, before focusing on the rest of the city.

All of the defenses were intact, Raven and the thieves sealed the prison passage so no one else could use it against them in the future, before a real smile appeared on her face as they found all of the resources that Ariantar was supposed to ship out to the other provinces the Dominion was planning on attacking.

As such that afternoon they held a feast to celebrate their victory over the Dominion's forces, having freed the people that had been captured and forced into their homes, which everyone appreciated and would boost their morale for the next stage of their war against the Dominion. Amaryllis joined them for a while, though she eventually joined the dragons that had positioned themselves all around the Imperial City's coast, across from the actual city, as they were keeping an eye out for any enemies they might have missed. Of course the forces of Mehrunes Dagon and Molag Bal remained away from the city, as both had tried to attack it in the past and had been pushed out, to the point where a battle might start if either force approached the city, so they were focusing on securing the edges of Cyrodiil. It was a good move, as it would allow them to know if enemies were coming from a direction they weren't expecting, all while she kept an eye out for assassins that were coming to take Za'kera's head, but for the most part she found that the night was fine and that no one dared to come close to the city, save for those who had been freed from the Dominion's claws.

Even though it didn't seem like anything was going on right now, with no Dominion spies trying to figure out what might have happened to their forces in Cyrodiil, if the agents in the other provinces were even aware of what had occurred, she kept an eye out and made sure the province was as safe as it could be.


When morning arrived Amaryllis and Zoravoir discovered that the Imperial City was full of excitement all of a sudden, as in everyone had been inspired by their forces and seemed to be getting ready, as the mages were getting ready to join up, all of the fighters from the Arena and the Fighters Guild were eager for a fight, and others were coming. Zoravoir told her the piece of information that put everything together for her, some of the soldiers spread the tale about what they were doing right now, that they were going to save the world from the Dominion, and it was drawing nearly everyone in Cyrodiil to the Imperial City. Even though she knew that recruitment had been on their minds she knew that this was far more than what they were initially expecting, especially since it wasn't connected to the other provinces, and it explained why the smiths were so busy, they were outfitting everyone that happened to be joining the army, the Cyrodiil branch anyway. Za'kera, on the other hand, was busy inside the Arena, where it appeared that someone had an announcement to make to everyone that happened to be in the city, no doubt forced by the gods of Nirn.

The reason she considered such a thought was due to the fact that she found every Divine and Daedric Prince standing near where Za'kera was standing, taking a more humanoid size and not being gigantic, in the base of Dagon, and most, if not all, of the godly children were standing nearby as well, where she found Sheogorath waving his staff at Jyggalag, who had been staring at Durum.

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make." Za'kera said, because a great deal of their allies and troops were sitting up in the rings that allowed them to watch the fights that happened in the Arena, save for Tullius and Ulfric anyway, and she beckoned to Zoravoir for a moment, allowing everyone to see that it was about one of their allies, "As many of you know there are nine Divines and sixteen Daedric Princes, with the separation of Sheogorath and Jyggalag there are now a total of seventeen... however, I would like to introduce another Prince to all of you, one that has joined the pantheon that will be aiding us in tearing down the Dominion: Zoravoir, the Daedric Prince of Harmony."

Amaryllis found that many of the people were unsure of how to react to the news that there was another Prince, two if they had no idea Jyggalag existed, though her friend held her head up and walked like she had been an existing Daedric Prince, no doubt Ma'jera's training coming through, causing her to chuckle a little bit. The fact that she walked with the confidence of a Daedric Prince, not to mention had the power of one, eventually won over the people and she could see a number of the scholars trying to figure out just how many more Princes might be out there, if they were only now finding an eighteenth member. Of course they were interested in what else the Prince of Harmony did, as every Prince had other aspects to them, other titles that mortals called them by, like how Boethiah was the 'Prince of Plots' and the 'Dark Warrior' to some, though the only one who could give Zoravoir that information was whatever remnants of her predecessor she could converse with. Amaryllis found that her friend had really grown into her role as the next Daedric Prince, and used all of her training to maintain control over the power that came with such a title, before noticing that Ma'jera was pulling out a golden chain that looked like it belonged to a small necklace, smaller than what the Amulet of Kings was rumored to be at before it was destroyed.

"But that's not the only reason we came here, as there's one more announcement to be made," Ma'jera remarked, where her words caused everyone to die down as they turned their heads towards Za'kera for a few seconds, no doubt curious as to what else might be shared with them today, even though Amaryllis noticed that her necklace was missing a gem, as it was hollow in the center.

"People of Cyrodiil and Skyrim, I, Za'kera Saratamil, am the Last Dragonborn, chosen champion of Akatosh," Za'kera said, where her words caused many of the people who weren't in the loop to start whispering among themselves for a time, no doubt realizing what the existence of a Dragonborn meant, given that those in Cyrodiil once called their rulers by the same title, until the death of Martin Septim, "and with my armies retaking Cyrodiil, while driving out the Dominion, it falls onto me to take on the mantle of Empress, to unite all of Tamriel once more and stop our enemy from fulfilling the terrible plan they're trying to set in motion."

"Are you insane? Why would we desecrate the Empire's throne by putting a Khajiit on it?!" Ulfric exclaimed, though as he took a step forward Amaryllis discovered something, no one approved of his words, as the majority of the people that were in the stands were those from Cyrodiil, with the commanders from Skyrim mixed in, meaning they were those who knew Za'kera more than anyone who came from Skyrim.

"Because it was what Akatosh planned on doing, to stop the Dominion." Za'kera replied, where she didn't bother to raise her blades, as there was no reason for her to do so right now, something that caused Ulfric to stop as he realized that no one was rooting or cheering for him to take her down, before she tilted her head for a moment, "Besides, I've never had a problem with people worshiping whoever they wanted, be it one of the Divines, a Daedric Prince, or the other deities that the Dominion has a problem with people worshiping... meaning you could kiss the White-Gold Concordant goodbye. Though if that's not enough, than by all means, come at me."

Ulfric paused for a moment as he heard that remark, where Amaryllis knew that he was a proud Nord warrior and that he could face off against all sorts of warriors, in fact he had proven that fact during the first wave of the war by taking down several of the Dominion's forces, but she could feel fear. Sure, he knew how to use the Thu'um in the form of the very first Shout that Za'kera had learned, though that paled in comparison to the knowledge that had been drilled into Za'kera by the Dragon Priests, meaning she was far stronger than the Jarl of Windhelm. She could see that he understood that just by looking into her eyes for a few seconds, demonstrating how calm she was in the face of an impending battle, if he drew his axe and charged at her, before he glanced around at several of the figures who were resting among their allies, as in some of the most powerful figures in Skyrim. Harkon and Miraak, for example, were watching him with some interest as both of them waited for someone to make a move, because if Za'kera was slain the alliance would be broken, but one would likely attack him, not counting the fact that Alduin would smash him before bringing about the end of the world himself, and it wasn't counting what the others might do if he tried to cut her down for this event.

In the end, however, Ulfric released his weapon and backed off, showing that he understood that challenging her at this point in time was a bad idea, but Amaryllis wouldn't put it passed him to try once the war was over, even if it might break the new empire if it suddenly lost the one leading it. With that done many cheered for Za'kera, showing that she held the support of her people and neighbors, those who knew her far better than anyone else and knew she wouldn't attempt this without a good reason, while Akatosh summoned a sapphire that looked like a smaller version of the gem that fit inside the old Amulet of Kings. A few seconds later he and Ma'jera combined the two pieces together, where Amaryllis found that they had made a new amulet, likely the Amulet of Rulers or something, before slipping it over Za'kera's neck, something all of them watched with some interest. As that happened, however, Amaryllis and everyone could feel something in the air shift, the awakening of the White-Gold Tower when she thought about it, as part of Ma'jera's purpose was to reactivate the Towers of Tamriel, before a smile appeared on her face.

Not only was Za'kera going to become the Empress of a new empire, and no doubt seek more allies from the remaining provinces of this continent, another Tower had been reactivated, meaning the Dominion was losing ground and soon their plans would be utterly ruined, they just had to be persistent and face whatever might be coming their way.

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