The letterhead of the unfolded papers Meesei held lacked no opulence of its origin. Gold leaf and red trimmed its top and the brightness of the paper told of great quality in comparison to the stationary she was used to. The writing, just like the address at its front, was expertly scribed.

[i]To Meesei, reigning Champion of Hircine as Daedric Prince of the Wild Hunt, leader of the lycanthrope communities within Cyrodiil and beyond,

The last time Tamriel found itself breached through the gates by Daedric interlopers, they struck at a time of weakness. I am sure you are aware of the Oblivion Crisis and the hair's breadth with which it left the entire world to save itself. Tales of heroism aside, the interregnum that followed left a pure stain that reverberates on to this day. The empire was fractured. Like strips of flesh, previously loyal peoples were torn away. Let it be known that Cyrodiil shall not allow such a cataclysm to occur again should it have any power to do so.

After corroborating the veracity of your discoveries regarding the cults of Clavicus Vile, their plans, and their actions, I have concluded that the Empire of Cyrodiil is to intervene in your counter-operation against Clavicus Vile himself. To this end, I have personally ordered Legate General Tolrog Gro-Tagnud to assemble no less that 16,000 elite legionnaires to put a swift end to this matter. The Legate General is under strict orders to maintain the secrecy of your clans and this mission. Gro-Tagnud shall be your point of contact. I expect you shall collaborate and cooperate with him. He is a seasoned veteran and there is no other commander I would trust more for a mission such as this. Below are details for where I expect you to meet with the Legate General in the near future.

Gro-Tagnud is also fully prepared to work alongside cooperative forces given by the Aldmeri Dominion on the express condition that they never show themselves to the skies above the Empire for the full duration of the mission. However, he is not under the Dominion command structure and is under no obligation to carry out their requests.

This military support, good Champion, comes with conditions. I send my legions to protect my people. While this mission protects all of Tamriel, the more local scope must be addressed. You know as well as I that I have been aware of your clans' existence in Cyrodilic borders for some time. Officer Marod has extended good will to your people and their condition for the sake of good relations, but you are not an independent nation. Your clans harbour Imperial citizens. By the laws of the land, your secrecy from the wider Empire holds many people you harbour as criminals. If my peace in the land is to be exemplified by consistent rule of law, the tacit concessions to lycanthrope clans must come to an end. This is not a threat, but an extended hand. Depending on the outcome of this Gro-Tagnud's mission, I shall subsequently take steps to draft an amnesty to you and your people. The main objectives of this amnesty shall be full integration of lycan clans as fiefs of the Empire of Cyrodiil where they stand within Imperial borders. In exchange shall be offered a waiver of previous fealty, taxation, criminal accomplice, and organised criminal offences, an offer of official ruling station to the leaders of each clan, full protection offered from the Imperial Legion, and official concessions made to assist the condition of lycanthropy in the Empire. Particulars shall be negotiated as appropriate and I shall take into consideration the full account of Gro-Tagnud's reports.

Suffice it to say, Meesei, we shall be watching.

May there be peace in our time,
His Grace Flavius Mede, Emperor of Cyrodiil, Protector of Tamriel[/i]

On the reverse was a location within the Imperial City and a time and date. The words were strong, though the tone was to be expected, given the sender. What was more trouble was the push for integration. Some Cyrodilic clans enjoyed their independence more than others. And some virtually survived by the coin of illegal markets.

[hr]
Sabine swallowed hard. Even the staff in her right hand was not enough comfort. She slowly sat down on a stone bench and looked at the floor. For lack of any argument in her head, she resorted to recounting the events from the start.

"It began while we were trying to find the Rueful Axe," she said. "We had leads. A Redguard found it in the Hammerfell deserts and was becoming overconfident with it. We pursued him and his contracts in Sentinel. That is when we discovered that we were being followed. We traced our followers back to a market square. It was Do'rhajul and a team he had assembled. We tried talking to them to refute their accusations. They said we wanted to spread lycanthropy. We claimed that it was Vile, not us, that spread the lycanthropy based on what we found fighting in Elsweyr. They denied it. However, we noticed divisions in their team. A Breton woman, Arinette, was the one who called us liars. A Nord man on the team, Yerig, expressed scepticism. He witnessed Rhazii and Kaj-Julan, saw that we were a family, not a pack of monsters. It was too open to fight there, so we went our separate ways and opted to slip away from the city as quickly as we could."

Sabine lowered her staff to rest at her side. "A time later, we believed we were ahead of Do'rhajul. But we were ambushed by them. We barely survived. Ahnasha and Kaleeth were heavily injured. Do'rhajul almost killed me because of his shield but I improvised. I injured him with powerful frost magic and he could not fight. Fendros turned the tide because they did not know he was an Atronach. The enemy escaped with everyone only due to the power in Arinette's staff." She tapped her finger on the Staff of Magnus. "We left mutually beaten, a stalemate. We knew we had to eliminate them. But they were too powerful together. They were specifically assembled to counter us. Even if we overwhelmed them with numbers, they could escape at a moment's notice."

Only then did Sabine lift her eyes to give Ri'kalesh a sideways look. "Yerig, the Nord, had the power of the Thu'um. Dragon Shouts. He...used his power to save Kaleeth's life right before one of the enemy could execute her. He was also a close friend to Do'rhajul and not a zealot of Vile. We realised that if we showed him the evidence of Vile's treachery -- of his infecting and releasing lycans -- that he would sow enough discord to weaken them. We could strike then, if they did not disband altogether. We happened upon where they camped as the Daggerfall clan was looking for them in the region. We hatched a plan to plant a book of research notes from Elsweyr in Yerig's belongings. I was to counter their magical wards in the area to allow sneaking in and to keep a lookout. Ahnasha was to plant the notes. Ahnasha succeeded, but it went wrong, my fault. I was captured. They escaped with me."

Sabine had to take a moment to collect herself. She frowned at her clenched fist in her lap. By her slow and deliberate breaths, even speaking of the matters close to her torture was difficult. That pause would allow Ri'kalesh's patience to be gauged as a side effect, even if she was not focussing on him.