Meesei gave a nod in response to Vera. “There were no other great tragedies to befall us, no. It is unlikely that the Senchal clan will have the strength to be independent for the foreseeable future, but they will be safe among the Orcrest clan. However, during the attack…well, strictly speaking, it is good news that we learned of this, but it is troubling all the same. We uncovered information that very well may answer the question of why Vile is waging this war to begin with. You know how the number of lycans in Tamriel have been increasing drastically for years, even before the conflict began. I had always thought it might have been the response of feral lycans to new threats, or even the influence of Hircine himself to bolster his forces, but it seems the truth is more sinister. The enemy has been capturing people, turning them to lycans, then releasing them into the wilds where we can find them. Our numbers, the strength of our growing army, has been fed by the very enemy we have been fighting. The documents did not explain their motivations precisely, but everything we have learned seems to point to one answer: our souls. Lycan souls are stronger than those of other mortals, and for a Daedric Prince, souls grant power. To what end, I do not know for sure, but Vile wants our souls to fuel his power. He wants many, many lycan souls, but we are inherently difficult to keep prisoner in large numbers. So, he had his followers start creating more of us, release them, then start this war to gather us all together. We have formed clans larger than have ever existed in known history. All of these lycans concentrated into one place…we are the perfect target for this soul-tearing gas. I believe my pack and I delayed its creation four years ago when we halted their production of the suppression gas. But, now they have finally perfected it. They have built up our numbers like farmers planting a field, and now it is time for them to harvest. They call it the ‘Culling’, according to a prisoner Gallus interrogated. But, I do think there is still some hope. Because of our attack, we learned about their new weapon before we should have. They are not yet ready to mount a coordinated attack on all of our clans at once, so we have given ourselves time to react.”

The news Meesei was explaining was certainly grim, but she still had her plan. They had been playing into the hands of their enemy for years, but she aimed to turn that to her advantage. “To that end, I am going to be making some rather drastic changes to our leadership, and I am not referring to this clan in particular. If we are to fight against Vile, all of the clans will need to be able to coordinate, so I want to create a new council to coordinate them. This council will not be a part of any particular clan, but will be leading our overall strategy. This is why I have brought Ri’vashi. You may know her reputation as a warrior, and I can assure you it is well earned. She is a brilliant military leader, and as of right now, will be taking over the role I have been serving in planning our military strategy. I will need more, though. More leaders; people who can organize every aspect of our operations with the greatest efficiency. I want the most talented people we can find. Secrecy is going to be our greatest tool moving forward, so we are going to need a…spymaster. One who can make sure we remain undetected. We will also need a criminal, and I am not referring to a simple thief. We will need an experienced crime boss to make sure the income we receive cannot be traced to us. For any role we need filled, we need to find an expert.”