Morning… Lucius stood at the balcony of Castle Anvil, overlooking the crowd of Res Publica supporters. The crowd went silent when they saw Lucius and their ears all perched as if he were about to give them verbal gold. He cleared his throat and shouted out, “My fellow countrymen, for as long as it can be remembered, we have had to tolerate an evil plight known as monarchy! Under this immoral system, we were forced to say that men – or all races in fact - are not equal! No, we were told to obediently call a few ARROGANT families royal, divine, special, etc.! We licked their bootstraps as they dragged our sons and daughters into war after war! We paid their taxes and starved whilst they enjoyed every luxury available to mortal man! We gave them our loyalty even as they stabbed us in the back! And why!? Because there bloodline entitles them!? That ends today! From now on, this nation will resist the outdated, antiquated, fossil of hereditary rule under a new form a government, one where the people rule themselves - a republic!” When the short speech came to an end, the Res Publica banner was raised all along the walls of the castle, replacing the old banners of the count. The crowd roared with approval and Lucius took a moment to enjoy excitement. “Res Publica! Res Publica! Res Publica!” The chanting was almost euphoric to him. Noon… “What!?” The former legionarie muttered tepidly, “Y-yes sir… it seems Bravil, Leyawiin, Cheydinhal are still out of our control.” Lucius, seated within his new throne (formerly belonging to the count of Anvil), turned deeply red before a taking a deep breath. “I was hoping we’d take all the major settlements in one swoop… especially Leyawiin” “Why Leyawiin, sir?” “With both Anvil and Leyawiin, we could cripple Mede’s access to the sea. Now, however, the bastard can still send supplies and troops between his other provinces! Not to mention his land routes-“ “Actually, sir, if I may interject – it would appear that the Stormcloaks have secured the Pale Pass. Mede won’t being getting help from his forces in Skyrim anytime soon.” With that, Lucius went from boiling with rage to ecstatically joyful. “Hahaha! That’s perfect! Accept for Leyawiin, he’s completely cut off from the outside world!” “What shall be our next move, then?” He sighed and thought for some time before inquiring, “Hmm… what is the status of those mercenaries?” The officer produced a slip of paper from his pocket and squinted to read the text, “We managed to hire roughly 8,500 foot soldiers and nearly 1,500 mages. We’ve been orchestrating their movements toward Skingrad until further notice.” “Send the 1,500 mages and 3,000 of the foot soldiers to surround the imperial city. Make it abundantly clear that they are to let no one pass the bridges leading into the city. And I mean nobody… unless, of course, they carry the Res Publica medallion.” “And the rest?” “Send the remaining 5,500 down south into Bravil and then further down into Leyawiin. Considering the importance of this task, I also want a quarter of our Talos clergy to go along with them. No doubt the restoration magic will be necessary. Furthermore, get word to our friends in the other cities that they are to send any of the ex-legionaries under their watch toward the imperial city, along with any volunteers willing to offer their services.” The officer bowed respectfully, “I shall do as you ask… for the Republic.” “Oh! One more thing! Make it known to our supporters that impeding the emperor's forces is highly encouraged. Tell them to heckle legionaries, block roads, destroy any of their farms, or whatever it takes to make the Legion's day a little worse." The officer nodded obediently and left. Lucius licked his lips and counted the coins he’d been keeping in his pocket… Dusk… “Please! Please, don’t kill me!” The servant was practically bawling, surrounded by several of Lucius’ men. Lucius laughed as If the situation were less dire than it seemed. “Don’t worry… I just need you to do me a little favor.” “W-what do you want!?” He was shaking profusely. Lucius snapped his fingers, signaling one of his soldiers to present the head of the former count of Anvil. “I’m sure you recognize your former master, yes?” The servant whimpered and nodded with quivering lips. “Well, I need you to be a good little servant and take his head to the Imperial City. When you get there, I want you to deliver it the emperor along with a certain message. Tell him, ‘Surrender or you will end up like this man. You cannot win anyhow. Even the Elder Council support us.’” In reality, no one on the Elder Council supported the Res Publica, but the emperor didn’t know it. Considering one member of the council had tried to assassinate him not too long ago, it wouldn’t be too hard for Mede to believe. It would certainly hurt the already tense relationship between the emperor and council. “O-okay…I’ll do it.” Smiling with wickedness, he handed the man a Res Publica medallion. “Wonderful! Here, you’re going to need this if my men are going to let you past the barricade.” Lucius’ guards backed away from the freightened servant and allowed him to leave the throne room of Castle Anvil. He took one deep breath through his nose and sighed, “I wonder what it feels like to sit on the emperor's throne…”