Chapter 66

“Pardon my ignorance, but I’m confused. I know that we had planned on going to war against the Aldmeri, at least eventually. We discussed that at your wedding. But you’ve ended the civil war here, and you’re the Empress. Doesn’t that mean something?”

“Oh, it does, Jarl Siddgeir. It means that I have a responsibility to all the citizens of the Empire. So while I’ve been successful here in Skyrim, there’s still Cyrodiil, Morrowind, and all the other provinces that are part of the Empire. And apparently the Aldmeri Dominion has noticed things here have not proceeded according to their plans. I had planned on taking the fight to them, it seems they decided to bring the fight to us first.”

We were seated around a large table that had been hastily improvised on the Great Porch of Dragonsreach. There was room for the Jarls at the table, then chairs directly behind each of them for their steward, with a small table by each of steward for them to take notes and have their books available. The housecarls of each Jarl walked the perimeter, providing security. Ysolda was seated behind me, acting as my steward, while Surgus and Delphine hovered nearby as the Imperial Advisors. Several others were seated or standing nearby as well for us to call upon as needed.

“What does that mean, then?”

“We all know that the Argonians had attacked Morrowind, driving the Dark Elves back from their homeland. This was done with Aldmeri assistance. It was only partially successful, though, as House Redoran ended up mounting a defense that allowed them to retain at least a portion of their homeland. What I found on Solstheim was the Aldmeri were basically trying to steal all the stalhrim from the island, for their own purposes.”

At the puzzled look of several people, I explained a bit more. “Stalhrim is only found on Solstheim. Weapons and armor made of it are similar to ebony, but much lighter. And a heavy armor made of it is equal to dragon plate, but again, lighter.”

“Dragon plate? What is that, Your Majesty?”

“The armor that you’ve seen me wear? That’s dragon scale. I like to be able to move around in combat. It’s literally made with the scales of dead dragons, along with other, normal items. There’s typically only two or three scales on each dragon that are useful in making this armor, thus it’s rather ... rare. Dragon plate is for those who, instead of using finesse, tend to just get into things and hack away. It’s made with both dragon scales and with dragon bones.” I frowned. “Come to think of it, I haven’t made any dragon plate. Ysolda, has Adrianne fashioned any of that?”

“No, My Queen. We made a decision that it was more effective to use the dragon bone supply we have to make weapons rather than armor. We made nearly the same decision with the ebony and Daedra hearts. With the same raw material we’d use to give one person a set of armor, we could give four archers a Daedric bow. Again, with the same amount of materials to make one set of armor, we can give each of those archers three dozen dragon bone arrows.”

Falk Firebeard spoke up then. “You’ve gone at this from the perspective of equipping an army, then.” He pulled on his beard while he continued to speak. “That makes sense. A solitary adventurer, or even a small group, might try to have the best equipment possible for themselves, but when you’re equipping several hundred or several thousand, you have to make some compromises.”

Ysolda smiled. “Exactly. Oh, don’t get me wrong, we’ve had crews working all hours of the day at the three forges here in Whiterun and your Luxury Suite making things, as well as having all the forges in the other cities working as well. They’ve not just been making basic armor, but have been taking the time to make it the best armor they can. Same with weapons. I just need to know how many troops we need to equip.”

I looked at Rikke. “We’ve stripped all but a tithe of troops from around the land. The city guards are basically covering more than they were ever intended to cover, but they know the reason why. That’s why we had their captains come here. Some of the furthest troops deployed are still making their way here, but I’d say within two more days, we’ll have every member of both the Imperial Legion and the Dragonborn’s Own possible in the camps. That should give us about eight thousand men and women in arms,” she said.

“Add in the two thousand Redoran Guard. Do we have enough weapons, potions for healing, and food for ten thousand soldiers?” I asked.

“For everyone to have upgraded weapons, yes, barely. It truly depends upon how you plan to equip them. Potions ... again, it depends upon how many for each soldier. There’s literally fifty thousand healing potions of them in two warehouses alone. I’ve stripped the land of nearly all available alchemy components, so we can make more if needed. And food ... we can feed them. Certainly not with more than combat rations, but ... we can do that for a long time. Elise, you’ve taken that on for me.”

“Of course, Ysolda. Bread, smoked meat, cheese, and most importantly, wagons to transport all of it. It’ll help that we’re going south, so the troops to a certain extent can gather food as they go. But I know it’s a balancing act. If they’re too busy trying to find their next meal, they can’t fight, so they have to have enough food to eat as well. I did some discussion with Irileth. The actual number of troops you have is twice that I planned. We have three hundred tons of food now, enough to feed five thousand for a month of combat. I don’t know if I can get more or not.”

A hand was raised. “The Queen Mother anticipated a bit of this. My troops have enough food with them now to sustain them for another two weeks, and she’s sending supply wagons with additional food to Windhelm. Once you commit our forces, we’ll need about a hundred tons of food per week. If Skyrim can supply half that, Morrowind can supply the other half.”

I frowned. “Without harming the residents? It does no good if the soldiers have no homes to return to because their families starved to death while they were gone.”

Prince Merano smiled. “We’ve been stockpiling food for several years now, figuring that we’d have a siege or two. There’s also a section set up in the Velothi Mountains where it never gets above freezing that is basically a large meat locker. One of the benefits of being long lived is that you have time to think of things like that.”

“That’s acceptable, then. Very well. Serana, would you please bring us the map, then?”

She brought a large scroll forward, laying it on the table and then unrolling it. “This is a copy of a map of Tamriel that my father had in Castle Volkihar. To paraphrase Prince Merano, one of the benefits of being immortal is that you have time to think of things like this. I’ll admit that a few of the smaller towns may not be exact, but the terrain, including all of the mountain passes, are accurate. In case you’re wondering, he had many copies of the main map made, for his plans of conquest after ... well, anyway.”

“This map almost makes me wish wish I hadn’t killed him. Almost. Thank you. Rikke, Kottir, you have the markers ready?”

“Of course, Your Majesty. Here we go.” Kottir set a box full of small figures at the edge of the table, then started placing them on the map. “Based upon the intelligence we have from, well, every source we could get, this represents the deployment of every army we know about in Tamriel.”

Delphine said, “The problem is the armies we don’t know about, though.” She helped Kottir with the markers.

Thongvor said, “Oh, interesting. I’m used to just using little flags to indicate who held what city, or which side an army was on. This is different. What do they all mean?”

Delphine said, “Each of the little dragons represents five hundred troops of the Dragonborn’s Own. Each of the little swords is five hundred troops from the Imperial Legion. Each of the little lightning bolts is five hundred troops and wizards from Morrowind. The square blocks in bronze represent Aldmeri armies, again with each block for five hundred troops. The blocks in green are Argonian armies, the blocks in blue are Imperial armies in Cyrodiil.”

Thongvor looked puzzled. “Yes, but how does that help us?”

“I’m not done. The blocks in silver are the remainder of the Redoran Guard and the armies in Morrowind, and we’ve red blocks for the armies of Hammerfell. Neither Valenwood or Elsweyr have armies, not like we’re talking about here, so it’s not that we’re ignoring them, it’s just that they could barely muster a thousand troops between both provinces together. I’m also not bothering with High Rock as it appears they’ve decided to sit this war out if they can. They won’t hinder us, they’re concentrating on defending their own land from everyone, actually. Now, give us a moment to distribute things here, and you’ll see something.”

Rikke also helped put the little markers onto the map, then they stepped back so we could all see the results. Galmar was the first to object. “That can’t be right.”

“I assure you, Galmar, this is as close to accurate as I could get. I’ve corresponded with my ... sources ... in Hammerfell, as well as some additional ... well, bluntly, spies ... that we’ve sent out.” Delphine was adamant.

“But ... it makes no sense. How can we have an army of ten thousand soldiers here, while there are, what, barely ten thousand soldiers in all the other armies ... combined?”

Delphine looked at me for the answer. “That was a puzzle to me as well, Galmar. But I think I know the answer, and ... it goes back to something I mentioned to the Jarls before. Tamriel is, or was, the Arena for the Gods to play their little games, with us as the playing pieces. This area is where they were concentrating their efforts, so they made sure there were ... plenty ... of pieces available.” I made a tight lipped smile.

Falk Firebeard stood up suddenly. “By the Gods! They had us all gathered here like sheep to the slaughter, didn’t they?”

Prince Merano stood as well. “Wait, an Arena? You mean the legends are true?” Several others started muttering and talking together.

I held up my hands. “Quiet, everyone!” They did so, quickly. “Keep in mind that these markers represent current armies. There are smaller groups out there, holding forts and such, all over the lands. The other provinces haven’t had active fighting, not on the scale we’ve had here, and the armies there are small, other than Black Marsh. That wouldn’t prevent them from raising armies, though, if they have time. There’s probably twice that many soldiers available.”

“So. Time, my friends, is the one thing that we cannot allow them. Tomorrow we distribute the weapons, the food, the potions. The day after, we march.”

“What’s the plan, Your Majesty?”

I leaned over the map, pointing on the map as I spoke. “Our armies are here. There are three thousand Argonians near Narsis, with five hundred Thalmor as support. They’re supposed to start towards Blacklight in two weeks. We truly hope that the report that half the Redoran Guard has left will make them move their timetable forward, but it’s not needed if they don’t.”

I moved two of the counters on the map. “We’re going to send a thousand troops to Fort Dawnguard, where they can hide in the canyon, ready to move into Morrowind when needed. Those soldiers, half Dragonborn’s Own and half Legion, will be under the command of Isran. He’s assured us he can feed and house them, and will lead them into battle along with his own ... special ... troops. And no, we didn’t make a marker for the Dawnguard or the nearly hundred armored trolls in his force. This will be a one time use of them as soldiers, then they’ll go back to their hunting of vampires, this time not just in Skyrim but throughout all of Tamriel.”

“Another two thousand will go to Falkreath, cross into Hammerfell and pass through Elinhir. I have been assured that they can pass freely. They will take the roads south to Rihad, and then cross into Cyrodiil, taking Anvil and then moving on to Skingrad. General Kottir, you are in charge of that army. You’ll have a thousand Dragonborn’s Own, five hundred of the Imperial Legion, and five hundred Redoran Guard.”

“The remaining seven thousand ... and that includes the rest of your Redoran Guard ... will go south, past Helgen. Rikke will be in command of this army, with Merano as her second in command. They’ll take Bruma, then send five hundred towards Chorrol. The rest will continue south, bypassing the Imperial City. They’ll send five hundred to take Cheydinhal, but the main force will continue south.”

“Remember I made a rather crude comment a few days ago? There’s a trail off here. That’s where your wizards are going to come in so very handy, because this leads straight to Stormhold, in Black Marsh. You’ll send a small force down to take Leyawiin, which should still leave you with more than five thousand troops to hit the Argonians in the main force”

Merano excitedly said, “That puts us in a position to attack the Argonians from the south, while the rest of our forces come down Blacklight.”

“Like I said, ideally they’ll leave early, so the main army will catch them from behind, then have your Blacklight troops hit them in the front and our Dawnguard troops catching their flank. I doubt it’ll happen that easily, but ... that should crush them and allow you to retake Morrowind. In the meantime, the troops that take Chorrol can leave a small guard force there, rejoin the troops from Cheydinhal as well as the rest of the force coming up from Skingrad, and they will then take the Imperial City. Our goal is then on to Bravil, Elsweyr and Valenwood. From there, we go to the Summerset Isle.”

Balgruuf grunted. “You don’t think it’s going to go that easily, do you?”

“Of course not. But that’s our plan, though. Plans can change. But this is what your holds, your cities, and your citizens will be supporting. I’ve had Surgus transfer funds to the Imperial accounts in Solitude for disbursement to you all, to help cover the expenses. But make no mistake. This will cost us lives, and that’s the one resource I plan to be as miserly with as I can. All of the soldiers are my subjects, and I have a responsibility to them. That some of them will die ... this is war. But as I told Galmar, an honorable war.”

Nearly all of the Nords were nodding at the last comments I made. This was in their blood. Perhaps the Daedra had done too good a job, creating these playing pieces for their game. We’d soon find out, the only way we could.

“It’s a good plan, Your Majesty. I remember during the Great War wondering if whoever it was that planned our strategy knew anything at all about warfare at times. I feel ... much better about this.” Balgruuf rubbed his chin. “I do have one question, though.”

“Yes, Irileth will be part of my group, upholding the honor of Whiterun.” I smiled at him, hoping to deflect him from what I was afraid he’d ask. It didn’t work.

“Good, but that’s not what I was going to ask. Where will you be during this?”

“I’ll be with the main force when we take Bruma. After that ... I really don’t know.”

Elisif looked sharply at me then. “What do you mean, you don’t know? Your place as the High Queen of Skyrim is in Solitude.”

“Ah, but I’m also the Empress of Tamriel. And...” My eyes looked at a point on the map, where three blue blocks were guarding the western border of Cyrodiil. “It would be nice to have the Legion soldiers all under the same command, after all.”

“No! That’s too dangerous!”

I gently smiled back at her. “More dangerous than going to Sovngarde to kill Alduin World-Eater? More dangerous than descending into a dark dungeon to kill Potema? More dangerous than leading a group into the depths of a Falmer lair to kill a Vampire Lord?”

“But ... that was...” Tears started flowing down her cheeks. Astrid and Serana quickly ran to her side, Astrid taking her head and cradling it to her breast to comfort her.

“It’s all right, sister-wife. We feel it, too. We all love her, want her safe. Soon.”

After a few moments, Elisif wiped her eyes and moved back. “My apologies for that unseemly outburst.”

From her seat, Jarl Idgrod snorted. “Just shows that you’re human, girl, and you love your mate. No apologies are needed or expected. Take care of yourself, you and that little one growing inside of you. That’s all you need to worry about.” She thought for a moment, then said, “Well, that and running Solitude and your hold, of course.”

The discussion around the table continued for several more hours as the specific details were worked out. That included reinforcements as well as maintaining our open lines of communication, getting messages back and forth quickly. Or as quickly as possible. We finally broke for the night and my group started back to the Luxury Suite. There was a surprise waiting for us, sitting under the Gildergreen.

Lydia saw Mirabelle, quietly conversing with Danica Pure-Spring and an older man. “My love!” She cried out, then ran forward. “What are you doing here? I...” Her words were cut off when Mirabelle took Lydia in her arms and started kissing her.