Fendros shook his head and put a hand up at Saras before he took his leave. "Put that axe somewhere secure and out of site. It is still Vile's artifice. We are done with him."
As for Ahnasha, Fendros had a much less stoic face to show her by the time they were alone again. He looked down at his hand in hers and squeezed. "I have the words well enough, I think, without taking another few days to agonise over them." He tried a smile. "If you could be by my side, that would help me the most at this point."
With another long, deep breath, Fendros straightened up and leaned into the steps that took him up to the outcrop looking over the crowd.
The loud murmuring took a few moments to die down. Fendros could see every kind of person he could imagine before him. They focussed their bright or weary eyes, turned their large or small ears, and exuded a kind of billowing expectation.
Fendros looked back at them, borrowing his father's stony face suitable for any substantial matter.
Now, Fendros thought, the time to fear was before.
"Lycanthropes of Tamriel," he projected his voice louder than he thought he would be able to. That put quiet into the remainder of the crowd. He continued. "You may know me as Fendros Avarul. I am the Champion Meesei's chosen second. I would have your ears for a short while, for there is much to tell."
Fendros almost hesitated.
"We stand here victorious over an enemy the likes of which has brought empires to their knees. Every drop of blood, every terror, every worry, every labour, every life sacrificed has lead here, to salvation."
Heat shot through Fendros' eyes. He had expected as much after the meeting with the council. He lowered his eyes only for a moment before bringing them back up.
"The servants of Hircine endure. But even their strongest had to give everything to ensure it. Many of you will be resting tonight with a missing place in your families. General Ri'vashi and our own Meesei...will be two such late friends. On the approach to Vile's tower, Ri'vashi held back the horde of Daedra intent in stopping us. Meesei, further towards the tower, annihilated a vast host of Daedra to ensure the rest of her pack's passage to the prince, and gave her life in the act. They both will await us all in the Hunting Grounds, no doubt right alongside everyone else who could not return with us."
Fendros had to stop for a moment and clench a fist to keep himself together.
"Meesei's pack; Ahnasha, Kaleeth-rei, Janius, Lorag, and myself, as well as that of her protegé Sabine, her pack in Do'rhajul, Yerig, and Tarna, made their way to the seat of Vile's power. It was with everyone's efforts that we fought through Vile's servants. Hircine himself manifested to fight Vile in single combat, but he was stymied by Vile's stolen power. Sabine's quick thinking released a rebellious daedric ally in the entity Barbas, who drained Vile of this power and opened the way to strike. Percieving us with the Rueful Axe, Clavicus Vile sent a torrent of magical destruction upon me. Only with the sacrifice of our old foe Do'rhajul lending me his artefact shield did I repel this power long enough to send the axe down on Vile's flesh. The small wound was enough to bring our enemy to Hircine's mercy. To shorten a long and painful recount, I then awoke much as the rest of you on those Fields of Regret did, back in the Hunting Grounds. The war was over. The war is over."
He paused. Fendros had no desire to exhaust everyone's last trails of energy with every detail of their advance. No doubt a more thorough story could be told later.
"This cost to preserve ourselves will be felt for the rest of our lives. We now look to the present and the future, forever changed. As Meesei's second, I have taken the position of Champion of Hircine." He held up his hand with the wolf-headed ring for all to see. "I intend to fulfil the duties of champion to the best of my abilities for all who sacrificed in the war."
Fendros lowered his hand.
"Everyone, we are visible now. Recognised across Tamriel, perhaps not yet by common people, but by the institutions of the Empire and Dominion. We are no longer savage monsters to be put down by force, but citizens of our nations once more. People with ambitions and morals. For any who wish to try returning to the life before – of wandering in the wilds in packs, none can stop you. For those in clans, however, you now find yourselves open to opportunities the likes of which were impossible before. Prosperity, trade, safe passage, and legal and military protection, all the while your self-governance is preserved. But, this, too, comes at the cost of ties to your host nations. I do not fear this cost. If nothing else, the war has demonstrated an adaptability in our people that will serve us well in these changing times."
Fendros percieved the absence of immediate uproar as a good sign, even if what he said was generally known among clan leadership.
"But these are challenges for home. Here, today, we mourn, we rest, we convalesce, and sleep in each other's arms. To all those who gave life and limb in the battle, we are in your debt forever.
"Tomorrow, I declare this a site of celebration for the memory of those we lost and the future we gained. Tomorrow we feel the weight of the world lift from our shoulders. We think of the danger passed and laugh with our companions. Take the time to express all you might have regretted to withold yesterday. We say to those in the hunting grounds that we shall not take for granted this life they provided us. Finally, we feast as if our larders held the flesh of a fallen daedric prince, for that was our prey, and our hunt was a success!"
Curious Fawn
Frettzo
headintheclouds
Forsythe
Master EffeX
Hokum
Vec