EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Yeah, there are some things in the story that would take some time. Plus, I think it will be interesting to explore the long-term effects of the decisions everyone has been making. See how they develop over time and such.

We can do anything needed over the course of the "skip". That's not really a length of time one would simply want to gloss over.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha approached Janius' idea with just as much skepticism as he had. She was one of the most loyal followers of Hircine among the pack, so she had a fair amount of knowledge of his rituals. "I am not too certain that would work. Hircine is powerful, but I have never heard of him healing his worshipers. Even if that is something he is willing to do, he may not even be able. The power of the Daedra to influence Mundus directly is...limited. He can grant his blessing, confer lycanthropy, through ritual, but to heal someone so gravely wounded...I just don't know. If it is possible, it would require a proper ritual on a properly prepared altar. Nothing makeshift would do. We don't have the time to prepare something like that." She said regretfully. Ahnasha was certainly willing to go out and find any sacrifice she could if it would help Meesei, but she had little hope that it would work.

"I'd rip my own heart out and lay it on an altar if it'd help her." Lorag commented in a tone approaching depression. He had not budged from where he was seated, which, given that their camp was still in dangerous territory, was telling of how deeply the situation was affecting him. Normally, he was the first to step forward and deal with any matters of military or defense.

Crossing her arms, Ahnasha let out a sigh. "I just don't know what else to do but...wait."

---

Just as the healer had told the pack before, the procedure did not take long, though it had been frantic. Assistants ran to and from the tent, which glowed from the healing magic within. When the Cathay emerged from the tent, he of course made his way straight for Meesei's pack. Unfortunately, the expression on his face was not encouraging.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Yeah, I suspect a lot will happen in camp.

Though, we are nearing the end of this section. The Elsweyr mission was the only one before the next major timeskip. And it is one that would encompass quite some time. Though, I would like to do this skip differently from the last. I feel that a whole decade is too long to just summarize. What I'd like to do is skip between important, individual scenes over the course of those years. I have a few in mind, and you can add some if you wish. The next major section, I think, will be the last. I think it will give us everything we need for the finale.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As Meesei was carried away to one of the healers' tents, the others were left to fill the time before they would know of the procedure's success or failure. Kaleeth's gaze did not break from the Ring as Janius gave her his thoughts on it. "I just want Meesei to have it." She answered simply.

Both Ahnasha and Kaleeth joined the others in their embrace. Kaleeth did not hesitate to show her fears through the tears in her eyes, and while Ahnasha was not crying outright, the others would be able to feel her hands shaking. Lorag, meanwhile, kept his seat and stared blankly ahead. A stranger might have seen him as being emotionless, but anyone who knew him would recognize that he expressed most of his emotions, apart from anger, more subtly.

"I...don't know what to do, about any of this." Ahnasha said, not looking at anyone in particular. "I don't like having to just sit here and wait. I know we shouldn't get in the way of the healers, but...there has to be something? I just don't want to be here, sitting on my tail, while Meesei could be dying. Are there any ingredients we could be gathering for some potion...or some kind of spell or ritual we could prepare?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Marcaille has brewed a potion that might help us extract the silver from the Champion's blood." The Cathay answered. "It is a complicated procedure, but one we have performed before. There is not time to explain the details now, but Khajiit is willing to tell you later. This one...must tell you that there are no guarantees. The procedure does not always work, and when it does, it is not always enough, but this one has personally seen it save lives before. It will improve her chances, he is certain."

Walking over to Meesei's bedroll, the Cathay knelt down and carefully picked Meesei up in his arms. Though, he continued to look to Sabine sympathetically. "This one knows you want to help, but...the procedure is delicate, and there is not time to teach it. Khajiit promises we will do everything we possibly can for her."

"You better." Lorag muttered under his breath.

Though Kaleeth wanted to be with Meesei just as much as everyone else, she was just glad to see that Meesei was receiving more attention. Whatever the healers wanted to do, she would just pray to the Hist, Hircine, or whatever being would care that they would be successful. For now, she continued to clutch the Ring in her hands. "I'm thinking this belongs to Meesei, and no one else should ever have it. The way it made me feel...it was perfect control. Absolutely, completely perfect. I don't really have words for it. I could walk around as a werecrocodile as if I had not transformed at all, while my beast spirit simply did everything it could to help me. It was the kind of control that I think every lycan would dream of having, but I never want to wear it again. I want to never be able to wear it, because Meesei is going to get better, then take it from me and wear it herself."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Though Meesei was stable enough that her heart was now beating on its own, her overall condition had only marginally improved. As much as they had tried, they could not remove all of the silver from her body. There was little question that her life was being sustained almost solely by the many regeneration potions they had given her. If they were allowed to wear off, her body would not be able to sustain itself for long.

Among most of Meesei's pack, the mood was understandably grim. They all surrounded Meesei's bedroll, but she was still entirely unresponsive. There was no way to know when, or if, she would ever regain consciousness. Even Ahnasha had a difficult time being as optimistic as Fendros was at least trying to be. "I know her bleeding is finally stopped, but...that silver. It's in her blood. I'm almost glad she's not awake, so she can't feel the pain of it. I just wish there was something we could do. Something to get that poison out of her body. It's...hard for lycans to survive that."

Kaleeth was back in her Argonian form, and sat next to Janius with her knees pulled up to her chest. She had been almost entirely silent thusfar, staring at the Ring of Hircine, which she was holding in her hand. "I...don't like having this." She finally said, albeit softly.

Lorag, meanwhile, had not taken the scowl off of his face since he had sat down. When he finally spoke up, it was in a tone that made it seem as if he were growling. "It shouldn't've been like this. She shouldn't've had to do that, when we were leavin' I mean. I saw her; had to put herself into the fight 'cause half our men were too busy soilin' their trousers to follow their orders and get out of the gate. She had to...inspire them and all that nonsense. Shouldn't've happened. Cowards, all of em! I swear, when we get back, I'm gonna find each and every one of them that held back and make sure they get what's comin' to them. Fifty lashes for all of 'em!" He shouted, though, it was not entirely likely that he would follow through on his threats. At the moment, he just needed a place to direct his rage.

It was not long after Lorag's rant that one of the healers, a slightly shorter than usual, light-furred Cathay male approached. There had been a pause in Meesei's treatment while they waited for one of the healers to finish a special potion, but now, it seemed, they were ready to resume. By his expression, he seemed nervous, but determined. "This one's apologies, but...Marcaille has finished brewing her potion. If she is right, it should help remove the silver, but we will need to treat her once more at the same time. Khajiit needs to take the Champion to our tent. We should...know within the hour if the old Breton's idea worked."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi looked away, closing her eyes with an expression that quickly came to match Gallus'. "Then...we will save everyone we can. Ri'vashi will organize the camp's defense and direct our scouts. Just...make sure our healers have everything they need." She responded. While it was certainly important to aid the aid the healers in the current crisis, Ri'vashi's orders were mostly intended to allow Gallus to be with his friends, and his pack. Though she had lost many of those she cared about in this attack, she was in a better position to focus on doing what needed to be done in the moment.

Once Ri'vashi and the rest of her soldiers retreated into the forest, the battlefield was finally still. It was littered with corpses, both of lycans and Vile's soldiers alike, with even more within the walls of the fortress. From one perspective, the attack could have been considered a success. The enemy fortress was in ruins, destroyed on the orders of their own General. Everything that had been contained within, which Vile's followers had been building to strengthen their position in Elsweyr, was destroyed in a single day. Vile's forces experienced a severe loss of life, and the loss of their command center. But, despite what they had accomplished in the attack, there were few among the lycans who would even consider calling it a victory. There were many within the keep who had not made it out in time to escape, which, in addition to the casualties before and after, meant that nearly half of their initial force were dead or missing. General Do'rhajul had, in all likelihood, escaped, and it was unlikely that they had destroyed the knowledge of how to produce the enemy's deadly gas. As much harm as they had done to Vile's operations in the region, the war was undoubtedly going to take a strong turn for the worse in coming months.

Meanwhile, Lorag and Sabine picked up their pace as much as they could as soon as they were free from the crowd, without sacrificing Sabine's ability to heal. Even Lorag could tell that Meesei was only barely clinging to life. Her heartbeat was faint enough that he could not personally feel it with his hands, and her breaths were worryingly irregular and shallow. With as much blood as she had lost, some of the color had drained from her face and hands, so Lorag was determined to get her to the healers as quickly as they could. In fact, they were able to make it back to camp before the others could even find a usable stretcher.

Thanks to those who had ran ahead, a few healers were already prepared to receive Meesei as soon as they had stepped into camp. The healers were already overburdened with wounded as it was, and supplies were stretched thin, but there were a few who were ready to focus all of their attention on the Champion. Were she conscious, Meesei almost certainly would have wanted the healers not to place any more focus than was required on herself so they could still treat the other wounded effectively, but there was no one present who was willing to take any resources away from treating Meesei. Lorag in particular was willing to sacrifice anything, or anyone, to ensure that Meesei recovered. He wanted to remain by her side until the moment she was fully healed, but the healers, quite understandably, insisted on keeping away anyone who was not directly involved in her treatment.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag had moved away from the front with a group of soldiers to protect the last of the wounded from any mages that might still be lingering in the forest, and had reached the crowd around Meesei just as Sabine was shouting for potions. They were words that left little question as to Meesei's current health. Fortunately, a mage produced a potion for Sabine before Lorag went on a rampage to single-handedly tear down the enemy fortress looking for one. Nevertheless, he was hardly idle after Sabine resumed her healing.

"Well, What're ya'll waiting for? Potions! Healing, magic, everything; just get them to her! Now!" Lorag yelled, pacing back and forth beside Sabine. Every aspect of his demeanor, from his voice to the way his boots stomped on the ground, spoke of the desperation and rage within him. Among anyone that knew Lorag, there was absolutely no question that Meesei was the person who held his singular loyalty. No other entity, from his flesh-and-blood family, to Hircine himself, garnered more of his respect than Meesei, so his fervor in wanting to keep Meesei alive was far from unexpected.

Lorag knelt down beside Meesei and slid his arms underneath her body, careful not to interrupt Sabine's healing. He looked Sabine straight in the eyes, with his own showing determination, and the fear he was no longer bothering to hide. "I don't care if I have to carry both of ya. We're going to bring her to the camp, get her to the other healers." He said. This time, he would not be rushing ahead of Sabine.

By the time Gallus reached the frontline, the enemy was in a full retreat, so there was no delay for Gallus to speak to Ri'vashi. She picked up on Gallus' severe demeanor, though she could not know what was causing it. "Yes, the wounded are clear. The enemy has broken off and returned to the fortress. This one doesn't think they have the numbers to mount a counterattack, but we should get our camp moved to safety as quickly as we can regardless. Let's get back to camp and shore up our defenses until the worst of the wounded are dealt with. No one else is dying today."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Unpredictability, is what I would say I'm going for. So unpredictable, in fact, that I end up fooling myself. I forgot to kill S'nishi. Oh well, I guess she can live. Who knows who might live or die? I apparently don't.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Despite the situation, and the fact that Vile's forces which were still in sight, almost everyone that saw Meesei being held in Sabine's trembling arms stopped, apart from those who were too severely wounded. The enemy would be growing no closer, as with their ruse revealed, many of them were already in retreat towards what remained of the fortress. However, that would do little for the Champion. For a few moments, the only sounds were murmurs of concern among the growing crowd, and Sabine's sobs.

Since the enemy was in a disorganized retreat, Ahnasha had pulled back into the forest to have her arm tended to. When she saw the crowd of people stopped just beyond the treeline, she was about to shout at them to get moving before she moved close enough to see what they were watching. Seeing Meesei being held in Sabine's arms, she could not know for certain what her condition was, but the first thought in her mind was seeming frighteningly likely. "Hircine...guard us..."

Meesei's life had been drained from her body, by silver and blood loss. Her bones were cracked, her muscles shredded, and her scales torn open. Her appearance seemed to embody death, and yet...that life had not been entirely extinguished. Her heart and breathing had stopped, but only for a few moments before Sabine had reached her. Sabine's outpouring of rejuvenating magicka had given a spark to her heart. It caused it to beat, erratically and weakly, but it beat nonetheless. Her condition was as dire as ever, but within her there was still a small, fleeting glint of life.