The tension in the air was easy enough for anyone to notice, but Ahnasha paid it little mind. Whatever Rossarm’s intentions, he would get the same answer. It was certainly a story Ahnasha had no problem telling. “That would be Meesei’s judgment. Especially after all the clans came together for the war, the Champion had to be someone both capable of leading everyone, and who could stand up to challenges from [i]everyone[/i] who thinks they could do better. Everyone from all clans in Tamriel. After Lorag retired his position, Meesei saw two people who could do it: Fendros and Sabine.”

Nearby, Lorag chimed in with a chuckle. “Tough competition, too. This was all after Sabine got captured by the enemy. ‘Cept, before we could even find her, she’d ended up recruiting the enemy general, recovering the Staff of Magnus, and killing a dragon. Came back to us all on her own. Plenty of people would be happy to fall in line behind the Dragonslayer.”

“Probably.” Ahanasha remarked with a shrug. “People like heroic tales and titles.” She put one arm around Fendros, glancing at him with a smile. “Good leaders aren’t made through dramatic stories, though. Meesei saw the potential in him through a decade of war at his side. Every little success and failure. I’m sure you know how difficult it can be to teach magic to someone born under the sign of the Atronach. It can be crippling not to be able to replenish your own magicka, but there is power in it too. They have the innate power to absorb magic, and Meesei taught him how to harness that potential into his own defense. He is a warrior that no mage can touch, a fighter that no one in the clans can best.”

Ahnasha’s gaze went back to Rossarm directly. “He’s certainly taught me how different power can look, from what I used to think.”