[IC] Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

[Muttonhawk]

As if Meesei's closeness would some day again be the panacea for all of Sabine's worries, she returned her hug tightly. Some muffled wet sniffs were the only audible evidence Sabine gave of her sadness. She was not well and she knew it fully and completely with all the time they had spent on this island.

When Meesei retrieved the staff, Sabine's eyes lingered upon it for a moment. Instead of reaching for it — if only for a moment to have her mind back again — she turned her head away from it and fidgeted her fingers with the hip of her clothes. She shut her eyes tightly and forced herself to think.

"I have not tried something so complex at that scale with the staff," Sabine answered with great effort. "But it fills every magical part of you with its current. More than imaginable. It might be done?" Her eyes cracked open. "We would still need to find a way to carry the body through. I do not know if it is possible to move it with telekinesis. Even with the staff. Too big. Maybe...maybe it should be cut apart."

Sabine huffed as if realising what she just suggested. "It...said it used to lead armies. It was close in rank to Alduin. It must have been very old." She lowered her voice, dour. "I feel wrong killing something so old."

[EliteCommander]

"You do not need to feel guilty." Meesei replied. She stepped up to the Dragon and placed a hand on its now-cold corpse. She applied a bit of force, as if to test the creature's obviously massive weight. "From what you described, it gave you no choice. I know that you would have let it live if it were your decision. Aside from that, this Dragon was trying to lure in the Dragonborn to challenge him, right? If the legends are anything to go by, a Dragonborn will absorb the soul of a Dragon upon the Dragon's death. Considering that the current Dragonborn was capable of killing the World-Eater himself, I imagine this Dragon would have lost that duel. You may have saved his soul from being consumed by killing him yourself."

Meesei took several steps back from the Dragon to get a better look at its entire body at once. It would certainly require a large portal to teleport the entirety of the creature at once, but there was no strict limitation on how large a portal could be. A larger portal was no more complex than a smaller one; it simply required more magicka. There was enough open space for the portal, so Meesei was willing to try. "It might be almost as difficult to cut it up. Getting through those scales and bones would likely require a lot of effort, and some strong tools. Its body is certainly large, and certainly heavy, but I do not think that is anything we cannot overcome. A strong feather spell could make the corpse light enough for one of us to move it with telekinesis." Meesei suggested.

[Muttonhawk]

"Right...yes..." Sabine tried to shake the distractions out of her head and failed. She could have thought of that herself.

After a pause to wonder how to phrase herself without sounding like she wanted the staff back, Sabine asked quietly. "What shall you want me to do?"

Sabine wrung the fingers of one hand in her palm. She was unsure whether she could focus to perform any magic at all without the staff.

[EliteCommander]

"Well, the staff will naturally be needed to open the portal, though I can use it to enhance the feather spell beforehand. I believe once I lighten the body, we should be able to move it together with our own magic." Meesei answered.

Closing her eyes, Meesei concentrated on the staff to see if she could determine how much magicka was contained within, and if it would be enough to hold open such a large portal. Unfortunately, she was not near experienced enough with the staff to be able to tell with any degree of certainty. It simply felt like there was a lake of magicka within the weapon. Still, the portal could still possibly drain it dry.

"I will cast the feather spell first. Let us see if we can lift the body together before I open the portal." She suggested. Holding the staff out in front of her, Meesei concentrated, pushing her alteration spell through the staff, and adding some of its power to it before projecting forth a white orb of glowing alteration magic. The spell hit the Dragon and immediately engulfed its entire body with a white glow. The glow lasted only a few seconds before dissipating, but the effect of the magic still remained. The Dragon's massive body, while still fairly heavy, was a great deal lighter than before, and given the strength of the spell, would be for some time. Right afterwards, Meesei held out a glowing violet hand towards the corpse. "Okay, help me see if we can lift it."

[Muttonhawk]

Before Sabine had encountered the staff, she would have regarded the task of lifting an entire dragon with only telekinesis from herself and Meesei as impossible. Nevertheless, she brought a palm up towards the huge corpse and channeled. Her fingers still shook against the purple light of her spell.

Sabine felt her spell feeding back to feel its latching on to the dragon's midsection. She sounded a tiny, high pitched groan as she willed it to lift. Even with the feather spell, it was far too heavy for herself only. Meesei's lifting with the staff empowering her took most of the weight. The dragon's head and limbs limply scraped in and hung from where it was lifted.

But Sabine overcorrected before they had moved the dragon an inch across the ground. Her mistake made the corpse lurch down and stop lower in the air. She winced and tried to lift again. Like a hammer slipping from a nail, her efforts caused the corpse to angle instead of shift. Try as she might to stabilise, nothing seemed to work.

The dead dragon slumped onto the grass once more. Sabine fell to her knees, bent forward and holding her arms around herself. She was silent. Her face was tensed and her eyes facing away. She sucked in a breath but tried her hardest not to cry.

"I cannot do it," she mumbled. She sounded angry, likely at herself given her abilities were beyond as trivial a set of mistakes as she made. "I am sorry."

[EliteCommander]

Meesei kept her voice calm and patient. She did not acknowledge Sabine's apology, but instead immediately went to address her obvious doubt. "Breathe. Stay calm, and just try to focus on my words, okay?'

To conserve her own magicka, Meesei stopped trying to lift the Dragon in earnest, and instead just continued to exert a small telekinetic force upon it. "Magicka, as you well know, is an integral part of our world. It flows into Mundas from the starts, permeates everything, interacts with everything. That includes the natural forces and laws that guide our existence. If you use your magic to sense those smallest of interactions, then you can feel those forces at work. We are always being pulled down towards the ground beneath us. It is a constant, overwhelming force, but a skilled mage can look even further. With great focus, concentration, you can feel that everything has the tiniest pull towards everything else. That is the basis of true telekinetic power. With alteration, you know how to make an object ignore that force pulling it down to the ground, but you can also amplify that pull to your advantage. You can shape, manipulate those natural tendrils of force in the world to amplify your telekinetic abilities..."

The words Meesei were speaking were, almost verbatim, the same as those from a lesson Meesei had given to Sabine years prior, when she was still her apprentice. It was the same lesson in which Sabine, for the first time, was able to use the more powerful version of telekinesis that Meesei had adapted to combat, rather than just floating around objects. It was a lesson that Meesei remembered vividly, as it was a moment of significant pride for both herself and Sabine when she finally succeeded. Such complicated forms of magic were beyond the scope of many normal mages, so the fact that Sabine had succeeded was proof of her potential. Meesei's reason for bringing it up again now was not to just remind Sabine of how to perform telekinesis; she had mastered the spell a long time ago. Rather, Meesei's purpose was to bring Sabine's mind back to a more pleasant time, before all of the pain that was now haunting her. Meesei wanted to bring Sabine's mind back to that state of accomplishment and hopefulness that had once made her smile so widely, and doing it through the medium of magic, which Sabine understood so innately, seemed quite possible.

[Muttonhawk]

"I know," Sabine breathed under Meesei's recitation. She repeated it again with a high sound every few syllables. "I know. I know, Meesei, I..."

The memory flashed into her mind's eye.

Sabine let her arms fall to her knelt legs. She paused to breathe. Even in her position on the ground, she was markedly less angry or upset.

"You said that to me when you first taught me telekinesis." Sabine turned her head until one of her eyes peered up sideways back at her. "Why are you saying it again?"

[EliteCommander]

Meesei did not give too complete of an answer, instead continuing to encourage Sabine to think about the lesson. "Do not worry; like I said, just breathe. You remember that lesson, right? It is when you first started to learn abilities beyond those of a normal mage. It was a milestone in your education. I remember how you reacted when you finally started to get it right. Do you? Now, how about we try again?"

Reaching out a hand towards the Dragon once more, Meesei applied her own telekinetic spell to the large body and waited for Sabine to start doing the same. She was working from her own magicka reserves at the moment, and if they were able to lift it up successfully, then Meesei would use the staff in her other hand to open up the portal right away.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine looked glumly at the grass before her. The more she focussed on breathing, the better she could remember the lesson Meesei referred to. She was excited back then. Not only for surpassing the challenge but also for finally understanding the strange, disparate workings that enabled such magic in the first place. The spell had been second nature for so long that Sabine had almost forgotten all the details. Nevertheless, she felt better about trying again.

Rising up onto her feet, Sabine once again brought her palm up towards the dragon's corpse. She took her time, closing her eyes and concentrating. The telekinesis spell glowed brightly in her hands. After a moment to be secure, Sabine's eyes cracked open and she directed the corpse to rise from the ground. She was momentarily surprised by the comparatively greater share of the weight that she was lifting from before. The staff made a difference to Meesei's magic. Fortunately, there was no outward struggle evident on Sabine's face. She simply focussed for as long as she needed to.

The dead dragon scraped against the soil as its limbs curled and slid down. Its middle very gradually came up from the scorched ground, riding on thin air.

[EliteCommander]

To save their own magicka reserves, Meesei acted quickly once they had the Dragon in the air. She drew from the magicka in the staff to create a portal of usual size in just a matter of seconds in front of the Dragon. Then, came the process of expanding it, which was quite mentally taking for Meesei, requiring the whole of her concentration. Not only did she have to expand and maintain the portal, but she had to do so while continuing to levitate the dragon. It was not her own magicka going into the portal, but her mind was still required to shape and direct it.

As the violet, glowing portal grew larger and larger, the amount of magicka needed to sustain it grew exponentially. Meesei had never so much as attempted to create a portal of that size before, so even she had not anticipated exactly what would be required. The magicka cost seemed to be proportional to the volume of the portal, rather than its radius. It gave her a lot to theorize about later, but for now, she just had to focus on keeping it stable.

Even without examining it in detail, Meesei could feel the power draining from the staff. This was the kind of spell that could quickly diminish even the massive amount of power that the staff was capable of containing. It could allow a mage to accomplish impressive feats, but it was not limitless. Nevertheless, she was able to make it just large enough that the Dragon seemed like it would fit through. "Okay, let us push it through. Once it is through, we need to follow it quickly. I do not know how long I can keep this open."

As she finished speaking, Meesei gave direction to her telekinesis spell, tugging the Dragon forward. Slowly, it disappeared into the portal, emerging and falling to the ground at her chosen destination. The moment she could no longer feel any part of it left for her telekinesis to grasp, she rushed through the portal as well, and held it open for as long as was needed for Sabine to follow her.

The place that Meesei had selected as the destination for the portal was not just near the Silent City, it was in the Silent City. Specifically, she had selected one of the few courtyards that was large enough, and empty enough to be able to fit the Dragon's corpse. It was usually used for training among the clan's warriors, but since it was late, the only people present were some warriors, hunters, and scouts that had been using it as a space to relax. Naturally, they had cleared out of the center of the courtyard when the portal appeared. So, when Meesei and Sabine stepped through, they would find themselves surrounded on all sides by onlookers staring in varying degrees of amazement, and speaking in hushed voices to one another. By simple coincidence, Rhazii, and the scouting party he was apprenticed to, were among those in the courtyard, after having returned from their patrol. The portal closed shut behind them almost immediately, and Meesei could easily notice the difference in how much power remained in the staff.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine did not respond with more than an acknowledging "hm." She felt her focus slipping only slightly and corrected as well as she could. She did not know whether her focus or her magicka would run out first. She exhaled in relief when neither failed before the dragon was through. Once through the portal herself, she rubbed her shoulder and kept her eyes downcast. Even thinking partially about how her fear disrupted her thoughts made her feel sick.

"Aunt Meesei? Aunt Sabine?"

Rhazii's voice interrupted Sabine's thoughts. She looked up to see him glancing between them both and the corpse as if at least one was not real.

"I thought you were recovering?" Rhazii's eyes settled on the still-agape jaw of the dead dragon and its stained, pointed teeth. He held one hand close to his front and pointed a finger to the corpse. "...That cannot be a dragon, right?"

[EliteCommander]

"Hmm? Oh, hello Rhazii." Meesei replied to Rhazii, somewhat surprised to see that he was present. Although, that surprise quickly faded as she continued in a calm, matter-of-fact tone not at all consistent with the almost unbelievable sight before them. "Yes, Sabine killed it after freeing herself. I thought it prudent to bring the body back here for our use, so that it did not go to waste. On that subject..."

Meesei soon turned her attention to one of the others surrounding them. The crowd was still in awe, but once it was clear there was no danger, a few of the braver onlookers had started to step closer for a better look. Meesei did not know his name, but she recognized one of the Nords among the warriors as an officer. "Commander, I would like for you to go find alpha Mousara and inform her that we have a Dragon to be transported and stored. Be aware, it is quite heavy."

Still surprised, the Nord nevertheless straightened up his posture upon being given an order. "Yes, um, right away, Champion."

As the Nord left, Meesei looked down on the staff in her hands, focusing on it once more. "That portal drained a great deal of magicka from the staff, but it is still quite impressive the kind of capabilities it can enable."

[Muttonhawk]

"Huh?" Rhazii was only more overwhelmed. "You must be joking. How did...? Why even...?" He lifted his arms over his head.

"Not on my own," Sabine said without looking up from the ground. "I had help."

Rhazii's eyes lit up. "Oh, those men you came in with? But that still..." He let his breath go. He gave up on the dragon for now and turned to Meesei again. "What is that staff about? I saw Sabine carrying it when she arrived."

Sabine swallowed and stayed quiet.

[EliteCommander]

"It is the Staff of Magnus. Sabine claimed it when she escaped from her captors. It is said to have belonged to Magnus, the et'Ada who was the architect of Mundus. It is capable of containing an immense amount of magical power. I cannot say precisely how much, but it was able to contain Magnus' power, so at the very least, it can contain the power of one god. I am keeping it for now so we can study it." Meesei answer, again with a quite matter-of-fact demeanor. She did not wish to bring up the mental dependence that Sabine had formed to the staff.

The commander of Rhazii's scouting party, a Bosmer woman, finally overcame her shock enough to approach the three. She still glanced occasionally to the Dragon, but the story that Meesei had told was equally as amazing. Her eyes went not to Meesei or the staff, but to Sabine. "You freed yourself? I am so glad to hear, and see, that. We were going to be joining in the search in High Rock starting tomorrow. But...we were told that you were captured by Vile's General himself. The one who captured Elsweyr from us, and has been giving us so many problems the past decade. That means you killed both him and the Dragon yourself, or with just a little help? That's just...amazing, incredible. I'd have a hard time believing it if I didn't see, well, this myself. The Nords around here are going to start writing songs about you. Divines, I'd probably join them."

[Muttonhawk]

Rhazii had not been given an in-depth education on arcane topics of old gods, but his reaction said he knew enough. He was at a loss for words. Especially when his commander joined them.

Contrary to the Bosmer commander's amazement, Sabine's anxiety was not alleviated by the praise. The memories of her time in captivity were not something she wanted in her head. She deliberately breathed deeply and scratched at the middle of her palms to get the tingle out of them.

"I did not..." Sabine stumbled over her words. "It is not all like that. It is complex. Do'rhajul is not dead. I..." She lifted her head to the Bosmer. Her mouth closed. She looked at the staff in Meesei's hand. "Meesei, may I...? No. No, do not worry. I am..."

Rhazii's ear quirked down in confusion and worry. He was unsure where Sabine was even going with her words.

Sabine finally spoke with some degree of confidence. "Announcement. There will be an announcement soon. Tomorrow-...or the day after." She shook her head. "It will be clearer later."

"Are you okay, aunt?" Rhazii asked in a low voice.

Sabine curled her lips and nodded vigorously.

[EliteCommander]

Meesei was quick to follow Sabine's answer with a supporting explanation of her own. "Yes, suffice to say that a great deal of importance has happened recently. Important enough that there will be an announcement to the whole of the clan as soon as we are able. I want to be sure that everyone receives the same message at the same time, so there are no misunderstandings, but I can say that it is good news. A defining moment for all of our clans, really."

The Bosmer seemed confused briefly, but there was some clear excitement at Meesei's encouraging words. "I...understand, Champion. If what I have seen here is any indication, I am sure everyone will be as amazed as I am."

"Indeed, I look forward to sharing it with everyone." Meesei replied. "As for right now, I would be appreciative if you could watch over the Dragon's body until Pierette returns with the others to move it. I expect there are some that may want to claim their own trophies, and while I can scarcely blame them, I would prefer that all of its parts remain accounted for."

The Bosmer straightened up. "Of course, ma'am."

Meesei placed a gentle hand onto Sabine's back. "Come, I think you should get some rest."

[Muttonhawk]

Rhazii's concern did not end but he did not say anything more. He watched as Meesei and Sabine quietly went on their way.

When Sabine returned to her quarters, she was not long out of bed. She asked Meesei to be on her way once it was clear that she was not getting any closer to serenity over her traumas.

Sleeping was only a secondary activity over that night for Sabine. She spent most of the time staring awake at the walls or the ceiling, unable to get comfortable. She was scratching and picking at her palms so much that her left hand had a red mark in the skin.

Unfortunately, just as Sabine's fatigue overtook her subconscious fear, she woke up with a shriek in the early hours of the morning. Some of the pack ran in to find her drenched in sweat and crying once more. Meesei managed to calm her down, even as she pleaded to have the staff so she could just sleep in peace for a while. Her request was refused and they sat together for as long as Sabine needed to lay her head down again.

---

The next morning, Sabine rose late from her bed looking like one of Ahnasha's fresher thralls for what the sleep deprivation had done to her. She shuffled more than walked, nodded off wherever she sat still, and had a constant, blank frown on her baggy-eyed face.

There was no more time for recovery before the clan leadership had to be informed of Sabine's activities.

Sabine did not think she could prepare herself any better if she had an entire week's worth of peaceful and consistent sleeps. She approached the meeting room with Meesei in front of her and idly picked at her palm. Her exhaustion allowed at least one emotion to come through to her face; misery. Misery from the dread of reliving what she had been through.

"Meesei?" Sabine asked ahead. "You are going to show the staff to the council, are you not?" Her tired voice lowered out of nervousness, even if Sabine's intent was sincere. "May I...just hold it while I recount what happened? I know I am going to...It will not be uninterrupted." A lump grew in Sabine's throat. "I want to tell it without needing to walk out every few minutes."

[EliteCommander]

"Truthfully, I was going to give you the staff for this meeting regardless." Meesei replied. She had kept the staff with her for the night, since she did not yet have a properly secure place to store it. She felt that an item of such magical power would warrant some additional magical protections than their normal vaults. With the staff in hand, Meesei paused a moment to charge a restoration spell through it, and amplify it with some of the power that remained. It was a stamina fortifying spell, about twice as strong as usual, which she cast upon Sabine. It would not be healthy for her if she could not start getting sleep soon, but magic could at least keep her alert for now.

"I believe holding open that portal yesterday drained most of what was stored in the staff. It was an exceptionally draining spell, something that would require the assistance of an entire team of mages normally. We will need to experiment with charging the staff later. But, for now, I believe holding the staff will give you at least some more...legitimacy for the council. They are going to require some convincing. We both know what Ri'vashi's opinion is, but I know some of the others will have their concerns. Vera is still the alpha of this clan, and is still ultimately responsible for the security of its people. Having a former enemy general among us will raise concerns that she will have to deal with. But, I trust you, Sabine. I trust you more than enough to believe what you say about Do'rhajul, and I trust that you will be able make them see it your way as well. I would just say that you should not be afraid to be a bit...assertive. Do not be afraid to make a forceful argument. Our council will not take kindly to simply being ordered around, of course, but you can appeal to all you have accomplished. They are going to have some emotionally-charged opinions, but try to avoid letting yourself get intimidated." Meesei advised.

Before giving Sabine a chance to respond, Meesei held out the staff in one hand, and placed the other on Sabine's shoulder. "But after this is over, whatever we decide, I want you to take all the time you need to get the help you need, okay? I will take care of any business that needs to be dealt with."

[Muttonhawk]

The fortifying spell almost immediately had Sabine paying more attention. Her visage was still telling of her disturbed sleep but now at least she could concentrate better.

What Meesei brought up was yet another worry that had been bouncing around in Sabine's mind. Sabine nodded to each of the points while internally preparing herself. Standing up to Ri'vashi on her own was terrifying enough. She could not have done it without knowing she had the power to stop Ri'vashi in her tracks with magic. Now she would have to finish what she started while convincing everyone else at the same time. But Sabine still had her convictions. She was not prepared to give up easily. If the council and her reached an impasse, she was prepared to do anything.

"I will make them understand," Sabine said. She wrapped her hand around the Staff of Magnus and felt its magical flux. The familiar feeling of potential and power came with it. And following that, a knowing security that she was now capable of just about anything, even if the staff had since been drained. "And I will get help," she added, looking at Meesei directly. "I promise. It is what I want."

[EliteCommander]

Meesei nodded and gave Sabine a quick hug. "Good luck. I suppose we should not keep everyone waiting." She replied, walking with Sabine towards their meeting chamber. Everyone else was already gathered, so they would be able to begin right away.

The subjects they would be discussing were sensitive, so Lorag and Janius had been the ones to escort Do'rhajul and Yerig to the chamber. They were both standing beside the table, about as far away as they could be from Ri'vashi. Neither of them were armed or armored any longer, though both were still wearing the same clothes they had the day before. Do'rhajul's mere presence had created a silent tension in the air, punctuated with suspicious glances from many of those present.

Ri'vashi had safeguarded the Rueful Axe, which was now placed on the table between everyone. It was a great victory to have claimed it, but there was also an undeniable sense of dread surrounding the weapon. Having it in their possession meant they were one step closer to what would be the final, and most critical battle of the war.

Usually, it was Ri'vashi that was quick to get their meetings started, but this time it was Saras who had spoke up as Meesei and Sabine were taking their seats. "Sabine, it is good to see you alive and in good health. We were all terribly concerned for your safety. It is not often that I am the one surprised by developments, but you have surprised me on all accounts. I think we will all require the best explanation you can give to understand what happened."