Teresa of the Faint Smile, Adventures of a Stringy Bosmer Options

[Destri Melarg]

A number of things stood out to me in this chapter. Here are a few:

-The overall sense of foreboding that Teresa feels pervades the whole chapter, thanks to the small hooks that you sink into us throughout (the ominous card reading, suspicious glances down the road, etc.).

-Typical of the Black Horse Courier! Why not tell everyone (including the Mythic Dawn) the name and the whereabouts of the only man in Tamriel who can re-ignite the Dragonfires and stop Lord Dagon’s invasion!

-Once again Teresa shows her ingenuity in the brewing and use of the feather potion inside Vilverin.

-The description of the ferry was great, as was the description of the Percheron in the stall. Then we have Teresa’s dream-flight (or is it an OBE?). From your description and the movement of the army as you have established over the last few chapters, I would say that she is witnessing the beginning of the battle of Bruma. Interesting.

A couple of typos that I spotted:

The armor and weapons of the bandits were still waiting there for her there.

She had never been down the road, so she took it to all the way to Fort Urasek instead.

[SubRosa]

D.Foxy: It is another one of her visions, only this one happened while she was awake. I went back and edited it a bit to try to make that more clear.


haute ecole rider: Thank you h.e.r. I was amazed when I stumbled upon that ferryboat, and just knew I had to use it. I think it works well as something the Dwemer would have designed.

I know most Percherons are not black, but I have seen enough pictures of those that are to make him that color. Actually he was going to be grey to begin with. But I could not resist changing it to black after I wrote that his name was Beauty (and I am surprised that you did not catch that equine homage!)


Destri Melarg: I am glad that sense of foreboding shows through. I went back on purpose to make sure it was there, gnawing away at Teresa's guts.

Funny you mention that about the BHC. I just finished watching Ken Burns' Civil War yesterday, and General Sherman considered reporters to be no better than traitors because they always did exactly what you said!

As you correctly deduced, that is the Battle of Bruma that Teresa saw opening.



All: I only finished writing the first draft of chapter 10 a few minutes ago. So it will still be a while before I can get the next four or so drafts done and start posting. At 15.5k words, it is my largest chapter ever. Hopefully toward the end of the week I will be able to start getting it up. As I promised, it will have lots of manly killing, with most of it told from the pov of our favorite Fighters Guild chapter head Greg Boyington Pappy Vitellus

This post has been edited by SubRosa: May 31 2010, 05:02 AM

[D.Foxy]

With a WOO and a HOO and HELL and a YEAH
We now alight for parts unknown n' have fun getting THEAH!
With a TEE and a HEE and a Leap and a HOWL
We'll be entertained by fair means or by Foul!!

[Remko]

True; his brother is the funny one. "Ooh, I am sorry, didn't know that was your sheep."

[haute ecole rider]

Oh , I did notice the Black Beauty homage! It just escaped my comment - my bad!

Still, black Percherons are more impressive than the grey ones, if you ask me! And they are so sweet (when they're not stepping on your toe)!

And yes, I am so glad you discovered that ferry! Horsepower (and mules) have been used on boats way before the first steam engine was invented! The thresher that George Washington developed at Mount Vernon (and recently reconstructed, we saw it two years ago) was an ingenious use of natural horsepower, too.

[Acadian]

Teresa's world is very big! The need for horses and coaches and pony and express and ferries is quite apparent!

As always, it is wonderful hearing Teresa's internal dialogue. I like the raven!

[SubRosa]

Oops, don't mind me, I was just testing what swear words are filtered and accidentally hit the post button instead of the preview.

For anyone who is interested, the following words work:

damn
balls
crap
bugger

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jun 2 2010, 06:48 PM

[D.Foxy]

But, my dear, I SWEAR I don't see any bad words in your prose!!!

[Olen]

Great chapter, you really developed the world in chapter 9, it has a strong feel to it, both like the game one but changed to make more sense and seem more alive and breathing. Where the game world feels like a diorama yours feels like it's moving and things are happening off stage all the time. It also feels BIG. I like the spin you put on it... in fact I might even steal some of the basic changes...

The ferry was great, kudos for finding and including that

And now a premonition (I think anyway unless we're already at the battle of Bruma), that is most unexpected... perhaps she's a more powerful witch (for want of a better word) than she knows...

Goood stuff foreshadowing chapter ten, I can't wait for the action to start.

[SubRosa]

D.Foxy: I added some swear words!


Remko: "You're someone else. Apologies, my good friend. I mistook you for someone else."


haute ecole rider: I actually prefer dappled grey horses best. And paints. Although a big black horse always looks good, like Friesians.


Acadian: Thank you A.


Olen: You are indeed correct about Teresa's latent magical powers. While she does not know who her parents are, I do. There is a lot of magical power in her family. It is the reason for her being so good at alchemy, in spite of having no formal training. In time I can see her becoming a Witch much like Morcant is. However, that would be far beyond the scope of the current arc of stories I am doing about her. Perhaps in the future I might do a fifty years ahead arc?


All: Now what all you guys have been waiting for. The Battle of Bruma. Like everything else in the TF, it will be far larger in scope than it is in the game. The new edited version tops 16k words, so it will probably take a few weeks to get the entire chapter posted.

* * *

Chapter 10a - The Battle Of Bruma

26th Midyear, 3E433

On raven wings, Teresa flew through the sky. Beneath her, she saw forested hills that rose to a steep escarpment which ran from east to west. Beyond was a plateau that stretched on for miles before rising once more to a line of snow-capped peaks far in the distance. To the west, the plateau was strewn with jagged outcroppings of rock and dotted with fir trees. To the east it smoothed out to gentle fields of wheat and grassy pastures, also interspersed with many small islands of evergreens.

A wide road of solid pavestones meandered through the hills from the south and rose up to the plateau before continuing on to the mountains in the north. An avenue of the same, heavy stones branched off from it and ran to the west for several miles, until finally ending at the gates of a large city.

The grey stone walls of the settlement rose from the edge of the escarpment, where the open fields of the east turned to rocky badlands in the west. A creek flowed from the mountains and wandered past the western walls of the city, tumbling down the steep cliffs to the southern hills in a cascade of white foam. Sturdy buildings of stone and heavy timbers filled the great settlement, and Teresa's beady, raven's eyes passed over the high spire of a chapel rising from a great square near the main gate. Within it she saw the statue of a man she recognized. Tiber Septim, the first of the Septim line, now the god Talos.

Winging from the city to the rolling fields in the east, Teresa saw arrayed there before the walls was an army of tens of thousands, stretching out for well over a mile. The golden heads of their dragon-standards glittered in the sun, and the silk wind-socks of their tails billowed out in the cool wind gusting from the mountains. Legio V, Legio VI, and Legio XII read the golden plaques beneath the great wyrm totems, announcing who strode beneath them to all.

They were ordered in rectangular blocks of soldiers, over half-a-dozen men deep and much wider. Behind each block stood a second, identical formation of legionaries, and it was clear to even Teresa's untrained eye that this pairing of units was somehow intentional. As she flew along she found that they were not arranged in a straight line, but rather in a diagonal, with each pair of units placed behind and to the left of the one before it. Because of this the right side of the line was much farther forward than the left. Finally, there were also wide lanes between each pair of units, and Teresa noted that these gaps were large enough for one block of the pair to march out to the side and then forward to fill the space.

On the far right edge was a long line of horsemen who could only be knights and other patricians. The wealthiest were clad in gleaming ebony or brilliant meteoric glass, while the less fortunate made do with the gold-tinted armor of slender, overlapping bands of the elven style, or the heavy steel of orcish manufacture. Pennants of many colors streamed from their lances, and their silk surcoats were decorated with a dizzying array of emblems. To their left were plainer legionary horsemen in their dark plate, carrying lances whose points caught the light of the sun and reflected it in hundreds of tiny sparks.

Then to their left came the foot soldiers, also wearing plate armor. First were those under the standard of the Fifth Legion, who bore high crests of red horse-hair upon their helmets. These were the soldiers that Teresa was used to seeing within the Imperial City, and all across the countryside. The helms of the other two Legions farther along the line were bare however, something she had not seen before. Also strange was that none of their shields were emblazoned with the Imperial dragon. Rather they were all painted with the black head of a wolf against a white background. The arming swords and daggers at their hips were standard legion gear however.

When she had finally soared far to the left, over the trailing end of the oblique formation, Teresa saw soldiers wearing mail rather than plate beneath her. Their formations were not as orderly as the legionaries, and they marched under standards bearing a black eagle. They wore yellow surcoats and carried shields decorated with the same noble-looking bird, while steel arming swords hung from their hips.

Circling back over the army, Teresa saw that even more soldiers came streaming from the city gate. These wore a hodge-podge of plate, mail, and even leather armor, and carried all manner of weapons, from swords and axes, to maces and spears. Rather that falling in to either side of the main line of infantry, they grouped into loose bands in the rear of the army.

Also behind the main line of infantry, near the right side, was a large clump of riders. A great banner of golden silk flew before them, decorated with a crimson dragon and surrounded by eight stars of varying colors. Somehow it reminded Teresa of the Amulet of Kings, and how it had a red gemstone rimmed in gold, and was also surrounded by eight small gems.

Under the banner rode two distinct groups. The first was of a dozen men in legionary armor, including a few whose gear was gilded with silver and golden dragons. One of the latter also wore a red sash around his waist, and held an ivory baton in his hand. All of the other legionaries seemed to surround him, and as Teresa watched riders would occasionally come up to him, or ride off after speaking with him.

The second, much larger group was comprised of men and women wearing the banded armor of the Blades, and curved swords hung from their hips. They were all grouped around a man atop a coal black horse. His armor was of gleaming ebony decorated with golden dragons, and a sword of the same material hung from his hip. Even from her great height, Teresa could see the blue flash of his eyes, glittering like azure stars in the dark recesses of his helmet. She knew them instantly. She had seen them before. He was Uriel Septim's son, Martin.

Now Teresa flew past the human army, farther to the east, where the fields of grain were blasted and burned under a line of blazing oval portals. Like mirrors of fire, they burned between tall, curved fangs of black stone that seemed to sprout up from the ground underneath. Streaming from these infernal gateways, and already formed into a vast host, was a nightmare army.

First came four-legged beasts armed with sharp beaks and gleaming claws, spread out in small clumps along the battlefield. Great crowns of bone rose up from around their heads, forming what almost looked like rounded sails, and long tails stretched out behind them. Teresa recognized them as clannfears from their description in Varieties of Daedra.

Among them were creatures that walked upright as mer did. Yet their skin was the color of rust, and horns curled up from their foreheads. They were clad in jagged metal armor adorned with spikes, while flanged maces of the same rough-looking material hung from their waists. Each clutched a brace of chains, leading to collars affixed to the necks of the clannfears.

Those were dremora, Teresa knew, for her book had described them as well.

Teresa flew over a second line of creatures behind those, again formed in ragged clumps. There were giant four-legged beasts with long, narrow heads that she thought might be daedroth. For every one of the giants, there were nearly a dozen far smaller monsters that walked upright as mortals did, yet had long rat-like tails that whipped out behind them. With no hair at all upon their wiry frames, their distorted faces brimmed with sharp teeth, and their skinny fingers ended in narrow claws. Scamps, Teresa realized, they had been one of the first creatures described in Varieties of Daedra.

In a few places Teresa also saw atronachs: woman-shaped creatures that seemed to be made of living fire, others of gleaming ice, and even a few comprised of rocks floating about themselves. Even more rare were monsters with the bodies of spiders, yet heads and torsos that could almost be elven. As with the clannfears, more dremora walked among these groups. Only these carried not chains, but rather staves in their hands.

Finally Teresa came to a deep, solid line of more dremora who marched under standards of bones and flayed skin. Most carried shields in addition to a sword or mace. Sprinkled among them Teresa saw some with long, two-handed blades instead, and one or two with massive hammers. The dremora did not have the neatness to their ranks that the Imperial Legion possessed. Yet what they lacked in order, they more than made up for in numbers, for their line stretched far wider, and much deeper than the mortal army's.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jan 7 2011, 03:46 AM

[haute ecole rider]

Great setup! Just awesome!

I think you've made this far more epic than in-game, and the build-up is definitely much more exciting and suspenseful.

I think we're all in for a treat! If the guys ain't happy with this chapter, I'm gonna hunt everyone of 'em down with my modified White's emasculator!

[Destri Melarg]

Using Teresa’s dream flight to get a panoramic view of the armies is a brilliant idea! Your detailed description of the field and the armies really sets the stage. You know how I feel about large-scale engagements. 16k words translates to about 64 pages (give or take)! I am going to settle in and really enjoy this.

To the east, the fields of grain were blasted and burned under a line of blazing oval portals. Like mirrors of fire, they burned beneath tall, curved fangs of black stone that seemed to sprout up from the ground underneath. Streaming from these infernal gateways, and already formed into a vast host, was a nightmare army.

This is my favorite paragraph. It not only transitions us from a description of the human forces to a description of the daedric host (I just love using that word to describe an army), it also stands as a powerful description of the line of Oblivion Gates that spawn them.

I don’t really have any nits to point out. Everything is written so well. I do have an observation that you can use or disregard: Given the depth and the detail of description that we get to see through Teresa’s ‘beady raven’s eyes’, it doesn’t seem possible that she could see and process that level of detail from a single pass over the field. It might be wise to suggest that she is circling.

If the guys ain't happy with this chapter, I'm gonna hunt everyone of 'em down with my modified White's emasculator!

@haute – Why did your emasculator need to be ‘modified’?

[haute ecole rider]

It's modified for minimal tissue trauma. Not that it matters from the patient's perspective - the important stuff STILL gets removed!

You hadda ask!

[SubRosa]

It's modified for minimal tissue trauma. Not that it matters from the patient's perspective - the important stuff STILL gets removed!

So what you are saying is that it turns guys into rabid Twilight fans?

[haute ecole rider]

Well, not exactly rabid.

More like soprano Twilight fans in drag!

[D.Foxy]

Rosa, congratulations.

I suspect you have taken the panorama idea from Oliver Stone's sweeping 'eagle eye view' panoramic shot of the Battle of Gaugemela from 'Alexander' - is that correct?

Excellent description of the Oblique order in battle! I see you have understood the tactics of the 'refused flank' and of grouping the Cavalry into a decisive wing.

I see you have placed the elite troops in the Van, and the militia behind. Good. This will prevent the Militia tripping up the heels of the elite in attack, and will also keep the Militia as a 'just in case' reserve should the enemy break through. Since defense is easier than attack this duty should be within the limited skills of the Militia.

From the Arrangement of your troops in battle I suspect the humans are going to attack first, rather than wait for the demons to attack - in spite of the fact that the humans are heavily outnumbered.

This I can deduce from the fact that you have concentrated much of the elite into a 'battering ram' on one side, with gaps between your units so that other units can be added or withdrawn as the tactical situation unfolds in battle.

This of course is necessary as the Dremora Army is much wider and deeper than the human, so that if a line - to - line contact is made the Dremora Army will simply envelop the human one.

Thus it seems that the human army will attack on one flank, refuse the other, and as and when a penetration of the enemy line is made, the Cavalry will move up from the reserve and pour into the hole to break up the cohesion of the Dremora army...

The basic plan of the Battle of Gaugamela!

But as you know very well, Rosa, the old saying "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy" holds true for all ages.

I hope in your next posts you will explain the planning of battle, the fighting and chaos that follows actual contact, and the instant improvizations that Commander have to make in the heat of battle.

Foxy Strategos Opitmus Maximus (Yes, I know I've mixed Greek and Latin. So what....I like to be historically accurate!)

[Olen]

I second the comments on how well the 'eagle eye' (raven eye?) view will work for this battle and it promises to be most exciting, I'm already enjoying it (so no fun for hauty). The descriptions of the daedra were great, they sounded right for someone who knows little about them and hasn't seen one before but I still worked out what they all were.

You've certainly made it epic... let the carnage begin...

[SubRosa]

haute ecole rider: Thank you haute. An epic feel is exactly what I am looking for.


Destri Melarg: I am glad the panoramic view is working. This chapter will alternate from Teresa's raven's eye pov to show the battle overall, and from the pov of Pappy Vitellus, who will show us a very important piece of it from up close and on the ground.

Good observation on adding something in about Teresa circling around the field to see everything. I went back and added in several bits to show that she is flying from one area to another throughout the piece.


D.Foxy: You are spot on about Oliver Stone's use of the eagle. I really liked how he used that to show the panoramic view of Gaugamela. (I have Alexander Revisited on blu-ray btw, vastly superior to the other versions of the movie). The memory of that, combined with the vision-flight of Julian, Jauffre, and Martin that I already had, prompted me to use another vision to show the battle in a way that the people within it could never see.

Actually, I was not really thinking of Gaugamela in particular when I scripted out the battle. In fact, I often forget that Alexander refused his left in that battle. Usually Epaminondas is who comes to my mind when I think of the oblique, given how he used it to obliterate the Spartan Royal Bodyguard and kill King Cleombrotus at Leuctra.

In any case, you have the gist of Adamus Phillida's plan down. He means to win with his right before he loses with his left. However, you overlooked one thing, the Great Gate and its Sigil Stone. Phillida has to ensure that the Daedra create the gate, and then he has draw their army away from it so a crack team of commandos can get inside and take the stone. Otherwise the entire battle will have been for naught.

An interesting thing I noted when I was looking over the daedra and dremora pages in the wiki is that they have no cavalry. The nearest thing they do have are some of the beast-like daedra such as clannfears and daedroth. But I envision them as being near-uncontrollable, critters they might be able to send on a straight-ahead charge, but not ones that can be used for any kind of actual maneuvering. That leaves Phillida with one huge advantage: cavalry, and he has the best in Tamriel at his disposal.


Olen: Thank you Olen. The main reason I put Varieties of Daedra in Vilverin was so that Teresa could read it, and thusly be able to identify the daedra in this battle (as well as in chapter 11). And most importantly, allow me to use their names!


All: The battle continues. In this segment we will meet some of the Bravil Fighters Guild, who have a very important mission to perform in the battle (and some of whom will play very important roles in future chapters - hint, they have pictures). As do the Blades, who are led by a certain white-haired Redguard of our acquaintance.

Also, as I have been doing Teresa 2.0, I have been making an effort to use accurate names for things like weapons. That is why you see terms like arming sword now, because that is really what the game calls a longsword. In this segment we will see a true longsword - which is to say a two handed sword - what the game calls a claymore. Likewise I am also using this chapter to establish that forms of armor such as mithril and elven are actually lighter than steel armor. Also that there are no silver weapons, but rather mithril ones, and that there are recurve bows made from sila wood.

* * *

Chapter 10b - The Battle Of Bruma

"Man for man, these dremora are bigger, stronger, and tougher than your average legionary. The Churls, who are the lowest of them, carry maces and wear the lightest armor. The higher caste of Kynvals use swords. Their officers are Kynreeves and Kynmarchers, and typically carry greatswords. The nobles are known as Markynaz and Valkynaz, and might be armed with either two-handed hammers or blades."

Pappy heard Arentus Falvius speaking from within the trees behind him. The assembled mercenaries from his chapter of the Fighters Guild and a small detachment of Blades listened to the Bruma primate with rapt attention. Pappy had the feeling the older Imperial liked the audience.

Rather than turn to watch, the guild commander remained crouched at the edge of the brush and watched the back of the Daedric army across the knee-high fields of wheat. They were still pouring from the gates that stretched across the plain, and thankfully had not sent scouts to investigate the random groves of trees - like the one he and his people were hidden in - that dotted the landscape behind their army.

Screenshot

"The Dremora have only one purpose, to fight, and they spend eons doing it," the high priest of Bruma went on. "Their society is built around a very rigid caste system, in which everyone has a specific place in the chain of command. The only way they can advance is by distinguishing themselves in combat. They call it Azkhul Klizhata - "The Great Game" - and it makes them very eager to prove themselves."

"If this is meant to inspire us, it's not working," Pappy heard Corentin Retiene remark dryly, in that soft tone most Breton's possessed. His curly brown hair was already thinning, in spite of being more than a decade younger than the guild commander. As with all the mercenaries, a medallion in the shape of a red shield emblazoned with a white sword hung from around his neck. His mithril armor had a skirt that hung low, nearly to his knees. A sword of the same material hung from his hip, yet it was a recruved bow of golden sila wood that he gripped in his long fingers.

A chorus of low chuckles sprang up from the other men and women, and Pappy could not help but to smile himself.

"Ah but my young Breton, this is indeed where our advantage lies," Arentus went on. "For you see this makes the Dremora reckless, prone to attack precipitously and without orders, and more importantly, without coordination or support. They each want to single-handedly win the day and be the hero."

"In other words, they don't know the meaning of teamwork, sir?" Now Julian of Anvil's voice cut through the air, prompting the guild commander to turn and look back. The white-haired Redguard was about the same age as he was. Unlike the other Blades who wore their characteristic banded plate armor, she was dressed in lighter mail, with the black Kvatch wolf emblazoned across its white surcoat. The Akaviri katana at her hip looked much like those carried by her compatriots. However, it had a certain glint to it that the guild commander knew well from experience. There was power in that blade, he thought, and quite a bit of it to be so evident from two-dozen paces away.

"Exactly!" The prelate smiled, waving a hand in the air for emphasis. "They have more order than the beast-like Daedra such as clannfears or daedroth, but ultimately they fight as individuals, not units. Do not be surprised if you even see some deliberately interfering with others or outright turning on them when their comrades are not looking. They are immortal, and never forget a slight against their honor. With all that time and competition, many of them have old scores to settle with one another."

"If they're immortal, does that mean we can't kill them?" Now Valerius spoke up. A young Imperial, he was clean-shaven and wore a full panoply of steel plate that practically sparkled in its newness. Good kid, Pappy found himself thinking, always asking questions. If he lived long enough, he would make a solid fighter.

"Don't worry son, steel works just fine against them," Hirtuleius spoke up before Arentus could answer, and Pappy could not restrain a smile at the look of annoyance that flickered across the high priest's face. An Imperial whose long hair had gone to grey, Hirtuleius held an already-strung sila bow in his hands. "Put a blade in their heart, or an arrow in their head, and they will go down same as any man."

"Indeed, that is true," Arentus found his breath. "They are not slain however, at least not in the same sense as we are. No Daedra can truly die. Rather they are banished back to the Daedric Realms.

"So will that make them suicidal fighters then, having nothing to lose?" This time it was a Blade who spoke up, one whose name Pappy did not know. She was younger than he was, short and squat, with a body wrapped in muscle.

"Sometimes, but usually not," the high priest explained. "Banishment is a most unpleasant experience for the Daedra. A rather long one too. Aside from the physical suffering involved, it removes them from the Great Game while they are gone, leaving their rivals free to gain status while they are away. Needless to say, no Dremora looks forward to it."

"So you meatheads, what all this means is that if we work together as a team, we can beat them." Pappy finally raised his own voice as he stepped to the center of the gathering with a clatter of metal. The golden laurel engraved across the front of his legion breastplate glittered even in the dim light beneath the trees. Heavy orcish steel sheathed the rest of his body, and the strap of his legion helm was fastened around his belt, allowing it to hang free. A sword of the ancient Atmoran style hung from his hip. With a thick, straight blade, it ended in a gold engraved crossbar, with a whalebone grip and wide pommel of lobed design. Like the rest of his armor, it bore the gleam of enchantment.

"We fight together, not separately," he continued. "Every man holds his place in the line. You help the man beside you, and sing out when you're in trouble. Keep your potions ready and don't hesitate to guzzle them whenever there's a lull."

"So does that mean we women do not have to hold our place in the line?" Tadrose Helas spoke up with a faint smile on her lips. The Dunmer wore the amber steel of the elven races, formed in numerous overlapping bands shaped like long, slender leaves, over a suit of fine mail. In her hands was a longsword of the elven style as well. With a blade nearly as long as she was tall, the hilt of the two-handed sword was decorated with twisting vines and eagles with wings outstretched.

Screenshot

"Oh no, I would never presume to tell a woman what to do is all." Pappy replied with a grin. That brought a chorus of laughter from the other members of the Fighters Guild, Tadrose included. The Blades on the other hand, looked on stoically.

"At least when they're clothed…" Paol Lirrene added, which brought more guffaws from the mercenaries. A middle-aged Breton with brown eyes and hair well on its way to grey, Paol's burly frame was clad in heavy orcish armor, and a hammer of meteoric glass lay near his hand.

"Or holding weapons!" Now it was the turn of Aissa to chime in. The young Redguard was lean and practically glowing in her mithril armor, and fingered the wire-wrapped hilt of the meteoric glass sword that hung from her hip.

With that the Fighters Guild members and Blades drifted apart into small knots, talking quietly to themselves. Pappy glanced up into the treetops overhead, where he could just barely pick out the red fur of a Khajiit. Making his way to an Altmer with long blond hair tied behind her head into an elegant series of knots, the guild commander clapped a hand onto her armored shoulder.

"Seridwe, go up there and relieve J'sharr," he said, glancing back up above. "He's been on lookout all morning."

"But Pappy, what if those branches get in my hair? They'll ruin it!" the youthful-looking high elf complained. Still, she stood up and shouldered her composite bow before making her way to the tree that the Khajiit was perched within.

"I promise I'll personally pay for the best hair-dresser in Bruma to fix it up," the middle-aged Imperial responded, cupping his hands into a stirrup before the Altmer. She put one boot into his hands and leapt into the branches overhead as he pushed up.

The Altmer seemed as light as a feather as she rose skyward, in spite of the elven armor that covered her tall and slender frame. Not for the first time, the guild commander found himself wondering how the elven smiths could make armor that was not only stronger than human steel, but so much lighter as well. Tadrose would know, he thought, she had forged most of their gear after all. Not that she would ever give him a straight answer. No elven smith would ever part with their secrets.

"You'd better! I spent two hours on it this morning!" Seridwe's voice drifted down from overhead.

"And keep an eye out for the Tenth Legion!" Pappy called up after the high elf, "They might still make it in time!"

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jul 30 2020, 01:41 AM

[haute ecole rider]

Nice shift from the panorama of the battlefield to the individuals who will be participating in the upcoming maelstrom. I especially enjoyed the introduction to the Fighters Guild members who will live or die on the morrow (I'm speaking figuratively here). Letting us get to know some of the participants increases the sense of tragedy that always accompanies each battle.

I also liked the lesson about the Daedra. Know thy enemy is one of the most basic tenets of Sun Tzu's Art of War. You have done well to illustrate it here.

Oh, and I especially liked a certain Redguard's cameo here!

[Verlox]

To think some of these characters could die pretty soon, it's not a great thing to think about.

I applaud you for writing characters that I've come to like and enjoy.