EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth pulled herself closer to Janius, hugging him out of empathy for the worries they both shared. Even to herself, it was not much of a comfort, but she did at least try to say something to calm some of his fears. "I understand; we haven't been able to see him in so long, but I have to just keep reminding myself that it's a lot better he isn't here. All this suffering...he doesn't have to see it. At least he's probably still too young to really understand what is happening. He definitely misses us, but he probably doesn't know that he should be afraid for us. And...at least we're both okay. We'll still all be a family when we get back."

---

Ri'vashi stopped in place when she heard Gallus' voice sound out behind her. She had done all she could do for the night, so she did at least have the time to talk. At this point, the rush to fortify the camp's defenses were over, so many of those who could were rushing to check on their friends and loved ones, with Gallus being no exception. "From what Ri'vashi knows, there are three Senche-raht survivors, but all are badly wounded. This one has as many healers as possible treating them. The Senche fared better than the Senche-raht, being lower-priority targets, so we still should be able to move all of our carts. But, we cannot move until the Senche-raht are able to move. We cannot carry them, so if a Senche-raht cannot move on their own...we will be forced to leave them behind. As for S'nishi, Ri'vashi does not know anyone by that name. She is assuming that S'nishi is from the Senchal clan, yes? One of the survivors is from that clan, and she is not in the worst condition among the three. You will have to check yourself to see if she is the same Senche-raht you know, though. Ri'vashi apologizes. Just be cautious not to crowd the healers."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I was." Kaleeth groaned, letting out a yawn. The numbing effect of the potion had helped her to get to sleep, though it did not stop the more intense pain caused by Janius prodding her wounds. She carefully turned herself towards him, then remained as still as she could to let her pain settle.

"You having trouble sleeping? I know there's a lot to worry about; I just feel tired enough to fall asleep anyway. Um, what's bothering you right now?" Kaleeth asked, already knowing the answer.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei wished she could sit up to speak with Gallus, but even if she were not in the middle of being healed, what muscles she could actually feel at the moment were weak. "You have done more for us than I could have ever asked for, Gallus. You and your pack deserve the highest honors. When you agreed to this task back in Bruma, you were not agreeing to fight a war in Elsweyr. You have done far more than was required of you."

There was more hesitation from Meesei, which she masked by focusing another spell through her body to keep it numb to the pain. There was something more she wanted to say to Gallus, but it was a promise which she did not know if she would be able to honor. Even so, she ultimately decided to, for the moment, embrace at least some optimism. She decided to speak confidently, even though her own future was very much an unknown to her.

"When I...return to Bruma, I will be sure to mention your contributions to your father." Meesei grinned, trying to generate some measure of good humor, despite the situation. "You did have some flaws, of course, but I believe your father will be proud of all you have done. And...we will find some way to honor everyone who will not be returning from this battlefield."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi stood, arms crossed and in deep thought. She lightly shook her head as she let out a sigh. "At this point, this one is going to assume that every enemy force we meet has access to this gas. As powerful of a weapon as it is, it would be too dangerous not to. Our focus needs to be on getting home, learning more about this gas, and trying to work out an antidote. Until we do that, nothing we do could stop Vile from turning this war in his favor. We will not be able to defend our clans, or attack their strongholds...we will be at their mercy."

"Marcaille, is it safe for Ri'vashi to assume that our alchemists are busy with the wounded?" Ri'vashi asked.

Marcaille nodded. "Afraid so, ma'am."

"Well, then we need to focus on getting our wounded well enough to move. We can move some of our supplies out of the carts, but we have nothing that can move a Senche-raht. Ri'vashi will go make sure the healers are tending to the Senche, and find a scout willing to return to the fortress." Ri'vashi said before turning to leave.

---

Ahnasha huffed, then slowly brought herself back to laying down on the bedroll. "And how many necromancers have you known, personally? That cult in Black Marsh was a cult of Molag Bal. You know, the lord of domination, rape, enslavement, and any number of other atrocities? Do you really expect that anyone in that place was going to be anything remotely good, necromancer or no? Mages in general get a bad reputation in a lot of places in Tamriel. People fear what they don't understand. From what I understand based on what I've learned so far, all I'll need for the actual process of extending my life are strong souls. Maybe some alchemy ingredients as well, but I doubt that's going to cause you any ethical problems. I just need to learn enough to be able to actually be able to perform the rituals. Nothing about that is going to make me into some sort of power-hungry madwoman. Have I done anything of that sort yet?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"It is true that they likely used the majority of their supply of the gas in forcing our retreat." Meesei conceded. "But, even a single barrel could inflict terrible casualties on a formation. Granted, it would not be as effective outside, but from what I witnessed, it does not take much to kill. I...personally would feel more comfortable getting everyone to safety as quickly as possible. Especially since we know enemy reinforcements will be returning to their fortress at some point in the future."

Ri'vashi's approach to the situation did not outright dismiss Gallus' idea, but she was cautious. "Perhaps we should try to learn more about this gas before we make the decision to head back in? We recovered notes from their alchemy laboratory, correct? We should have our own alchemists read over those notes to try and learn more about what we will be dealing with."

---

Ahnasha was not one to quickly back down from defending her own position, but the argument was at least not escalating at the moment. She crossed her arms and maintained eye contact with Fendros, not showing any sort of doubt in her expression. "I can't promise anything like that when I don't really know what you're talking about. What does a 'dark path' mean to you? You can't just give me some vague warning, then get angry when I do something you don't like. Be specific; what did Meesei's warning mean to you? Because to me, using corpses to protect our allies is not what I would call dark."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus' next question took considerably longer for Meesei to consider, particularly with the focus she was having to place into her own healing. Nevertheless, she tried to give something of a smile. "You certainly did not come to me with only easy questions." She commented, quickly turning more serious. "That...is not an easy decision. Do not doubt that I understand the importance of morale. I do not need to see the camp to know how our warriors must be feeling. Recovering those bodies would help to give them closure, but if the enemy is still present, and they find our scout...we may only be adding another body to the grave. Even if there is no resistance, it is not something we can do quickly. If my memory is correct, we lost many soldiers, some within the keep. And, we do know that enemy reinforcements may be returning to their fortress from their failed ambush to the west. The group that reinforced them during the attack could not have been a full ambushing force. There would be value in returning, both for the morale of our soldiers, and in terms of the valuable equipment we could salvage, but it would force us to stay close by for longer, and put us in more danger. We must decide if that is worth the risk."

Ri'vashi was looking at the ground, involuntarily clenching her teeth as she tried to at least decide on her own opinion. "It...is an awful risk."

---

With Fendros' last question, Ahnasha sat up on her bedroll. It was unquestionably clear what Fendros was doing, and she certainly did not appreciate it. He was trying to make the argument personal, to force her to feel guilt over it. But, just as he could bring family into the argument, she could do the very same thing. She looked him dead in the eyes and maintained a deadly serious tone. "I would raise your corpse to save Rhazii's life. I refuse to believe that you would not want me to bring your soul back for one last chance to defend his life if it was in danger. Look at me. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you would rather me let our son die than to bring you back."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei gave something of a huff. "Hmm, straight to business I see. I do intend to at least try and survive this night, you know?" Meesei commented, though she quickly moved past it and let out a short sigh. "I suppose I have not made my plans very well known, but I planned for succession years ago. Lorag is my second, and has been for many years. He is a strong, capable warrior, and an experienced leader. He is...rough around the edges, but I am more than confident in his abilities. If anything ever happens to me, he will become the alpha of my pack, and he will bear the Ring. Of course, I cannot simply confer to him the title of Champion. The Ring of Hircine is a powerful artifact, but it is still essentially just a magical trinket. Merely possessing it is not enough to make one Hircine's Champion. Hircine may choose to grant Lorag that title, if he finds him worthy of it, but otherwise, he will bear the Ring and act as my successor until such a time as a new Champion is chosen."

---

Ahnasha did not directly answer Fendros' question. No one truly close to her had ever died in her memory. There was her grandmother, but Ahnasha was very young at the time, so she did not experience the full weight of it. Regardless, she did not think it to be relevant. "Those are things that benefit the living not the dead. Sure, I understand why people go through all those rites. It helps calm people's minds, give them closure. I am fine with all of that; it makes sense to me, but it still does nothing for the person who died. And, personally, I would rather deny a few of our allies the ability to bury one of their friends, than to have a few extra bodies to bury after the fight. They didn't like it, I know, but would you really rather them be dead than just angry?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei's concentration on her own healing was such that she was almost in a trance when Gallus and Ri'vashi arrived. Ri'vashi had held just as serious of a demeanor as Gallus on the walk over, but even she felt nervous in disturbing the Champion. Regardless, after a few seconds of silence between everyone present, she eventually willed herself to speak up.

"Our apologies, Champion, but...there is something we would like to speak to you about." Ri'vashi commented.

Meesei was quite slow to respond, either due to her concentration, or her general weakness. Her eyelids slowly crept downwards until they were finally open, and she took in a breath. "Ah, Gallus, Ri'vashi. Good to see you are both well. I thought you may wish to come by and speak to me. I am sure there are a few who would want to, though I imagine many of the others are rather...distraught right now. Now, was there anything specific you wanted to say first?"

---

Ahnasha's reaction was, of course, defensive. She did not get up from where she was laying, and for the moment, did not make eye contact with Fendros. "No one is going to get to put their friends to rest, Fendros. What, do you think we're actually going to be going back there? No, as soon as we're able to pack this camp up and leave, I guarantee that's what we're going to do. All those bodies back there...all those people we lost, they'll be lucky to get a mass grave. I know it's not pleasant to say, not nice to think about, but it's reality. You know as well as I that can't be denied. The best we can do is honor their sacrifices, and wish their souls well in the Hunting Grounds."

"As for myself, nothing's changed, Fendros. I've always been a...how would I say it? A pragmatist. You shouldn't be so concerned about the dead that you'd sacrifice the living. Back on the walls, that lycan's body was able to help us, even after he died. He killed our enemies, he helped break through our lines. He might have saved some lives. Don't you think that's what he would have wanted? To keep his friends alive? I know I would. So, he was reanimated, but what does that really mean to the dead? Sure, his soul was drawn back to Nirn for a few minutes, but what is that next to eternity? A body is just meat and bones, even a person's body. The only thing that matters is the soul. Burial rites don't actually do anything; they're just...traditions. The soul will go on its way regardless, so why waste the body?" Ahnasha argued.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi nodded silently at first. The possibility that they might lose their Champion was one that she had been thinking on since they arrived in camp, but that did not make it any easier to come to terms with it. Finally, she broke away from staring out into the forest to look to Gallus. "Yes, it is a...conversation that needs to be had. We need to be prepared for anything, though since the Champion is awake, Ri'vashi imagines she has been thinking on the very same issue. As long as she is still of sound mind, of course. Do you know if it is a good time for us to question her, or are the healers still working? Regardless, she would at least head over to the tent."

---

Ahnasha had no equipment to contend with, so she simply laid herself down on the bedroll in her and Fendros' tent while Fendros dealt with his own belongings. She closed her eyes quickly, but Fendros apparently had something specific in mind for them to discuss. Ahnasha had her suspicions on what he was referring to, and was not exactly looking forward to any of the conversations she had in her mind. Ultimately, she answered vaguely. "I remember a lot of things happening in the fighting, and few of them were pleasant."

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Despite Meirin’s worries, Ssarak seemed unfazed, and still in quite good humor. He leaned his head to the side slightly as she rubbed her hand across his muzzle. He gave a soft, pleasant hum. ”You need not fear. I know what it is that I am doing.” He answered confidently. They were nearing the edge of the cloud, so the truthfulness of his words would be proven shortly.

As the pair ascended into the cloud from below, Meirin might have been surprised by the sensation, in that it did not feel too appreciably different from flying anywhere else. For someone who lived their life on the ground, a cloud might appear soft, like cotton, but the only change they could feel physically was that it quickly became strongly humid. It was almost like flying through a very thick fog, and indeed, they could not see more than a few feet in front of them. Even Ssarak’s sharp eyesight did not allow him to see any farther than Meirin. Regardless, he had flown through many clouds in the past, so there was no panic from the fact that he could not see their current bearing. He simply continued to spiral upwards in the same circles as before.

Even with the lack of sensation, Ssarak did not doubt that the cloud was a new experience for Meirin. Clouds were simple things, and a common sight to anyone who did not live in a desert. But, that only meant that they were something most people could fanaticize about, without actually being able to reach them. Among Humans, Meirin was now one of the few exceptions. However, what was even more impressive than being in the clouds was the view once they breached the top of the clouds, and were able to fly above them.

Extending out in all directions around the pair were clouds, which had replaced the horizon below. Though their underside had been dark, even stormclouds were almost solid white from above. They appeared more beautiful than threatening, particularly for one viewing them for the first time. From the ground, clouds tended to appear deceptively small, but now that they were flying just above them, their true scale was readily apparent. They were like mountains floating through the sky all around them. Above them, the sky was bright blue, like the clearest of days. Some of the splendor of the sight was lost on Ssarak, since he had flown to these heights before, but he could still remember his first time testing the limits of his wings. Between the clouds’ white color, and their sheer scale, it was like flying inches above the landscape of some strange, foreign world.

”Sublime, is it not? Just tell me if you start to feel short of breath, and I shall climb no higher.” Ssarak commented.