EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Upon her return to the Blackreach clan, Meesei did not get near as much reprieve as she had hoped. She was alerted the day of her return of the developments between the clans, the Empire, and the Dominion. She did not disapprove of how her council had handled the situation, but it was another source of stress for her. The Empire, and particularly the Dominion, would be unreliable allies at best. The wisest course of action would be to not trust them, but at the very least, Saras had done everything he could to minimize the potential amount of damage they could cause. Hopefully, they would be a problem to deal with after the end of the war with Vile. The day for finalizing the agreement was set, so all there was to do was to wait. In the meantime, Meesei set to work on enchanting more of the propylons. It would not be a quick process to establish their propylon network, but once it was finished, the efficiency of the clans would increase dramatically. For Meesei's pack in particular, they would now be able to handle major issues which arose in the southern clans as well.

Only a month had passed before it was time for Meesei to attend the meeting. Saras had arranged the details over the preceding weeks. They were to meet in the small village of Kynesgrove, south of Windhelm. If all went to plan, then all the meeting would entail would be a simple exchange of signatures and handshakes to finalize the deal. Meesei's pack was not with her, though she was not alone. Saras had decided that it would be worthwhile to join her, and they had a pack of Ri'vashi's warriors as an escort. Although, Meesei did not want to attend the meeting with an entourage of armed guards, so they would be waiting just outside the town. Meesei was confident enough in her own abilities to keep herself and Saras safe in the event that something went wrong.

After allowing their escort to get themselves into position Meesei and Saras walked into the town up the hill from the main road. Winter was setting in across Skyrim, so they were both dressed quite warmly. Saras, naturally, carried plenty of hidden weapons, though Meesei simply had a good supply of potions and a basic knife, more as a backup tool than anything else.The small village consisted mostly of just an inn, a few small homes, an abandoned lumbermill, and a mine. They planned to simply find a quiet spot at the edge of town to carry out their meeting. Meesei kept an eye out for the Penitus Oculatus agents, who, according to Saras, would not be hiding their identities this time.

---

In Blackreach, Ahnasha had been up for about an hour, though she had allowed Fendros to keep sleeping. Rhazii was spending the night with Julan, so there was little to stop her from what she needed to do, except her own anxiety. Eventually, she grew noisy enough that she would certainly end up waking up Fendros. Despite having been awake for so long, Ahnasha looked as if she had just crawled out of bed. She had not gotten dressed, her fur was still a mess, and she had ended up scattering some of their belongings across the floor as she searched for her own magical trinkets among their bags and furniture. At present, she was sitting at their table with two filled black soul gems in front of her, holding up a clear glass vial in front of her and staring intently at the liquid within.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

We can probably skip ahead soon. I wanted to do some of the last scenes I had in mind simultaneously to save time, but I realize that one would be happening a lot sooner than the other. Did you have any scenes in mind that you wanted to do, with someone other than Fendros and Ahnasha?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I do want to keep the propylon chambers a secret from the enemy, but I do not want to be too afraid to use them to their potential." Meesei responded. "They will not be useful to us if we are afraid to use them. What I would like to work on would be a way to ensure that we can use them without fear of them being captured by the enemy. Perhaps a way to destroy them from a distance? With enough security measures, we could use them freely within our own clanhomes. Saras can work on getting misinformation to the enemy in the meantime. Setting the chambers up in a circuit would require the least amount of chambers, which is beneficial considering that I am the only one that can enchant them. It does not necessarily need to be a geographic circuit, but a circuit nonetheless. If something happens and a clan becomes isolated, then they would be in no different of a situation than they are in right now."

Meesei walked back over to her bag and hefted it up onto her back. "At any rate, we should likely start walking. It is still a fair distance to Alftand. If we are to set up this network of propylon chambers, I suspect I have quite a lot of enchanting ahead of me, so I would like to get back soon."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei gave a brief shrug towards Fendros. "Well, these were used by the ancient Dunmer, in strongholds long abandoned and buried in ash. Long even as Elves see time. They may have simply been unaware of them. They are not commonly studied today, as most of the strongholds are fairly dangerous. It took considerable effort for our clans in Mororwind to be able to go to one of the strongholds and locate the index I needed."

Given their sudden change of location, most of the pack started to open up their bags to retrieve their thicker coats and furs. They were mostly packed deep within their bags, since they had not expected to be needing them so soon. "I hope we will not need to deliver them all ourselves. That would be inconvenient. I should be able to enchant the activation spell into a scroll, so with proper instructions, any enchanters or mages in the clans should be able to have them set up properly. As for creating them in the first place, our craftsmen can carve the stones into their final shapes, but it would not be a quick nor simple task to teach anyone else how to properly enchant them. It requires knowledge that has not been taught since the days of the ancient Dunmer, so anyone else would have to start from the basics. In all likelihood, I will need to enchant each and every one of them myself."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

One by one, the pack appeared from the propylon. The enchanted device did not seem to have any trouble transporting all of the pack at once. There was a wide variety of reactions from different members of the pack. Kaj-Julan had been frightened at first, much like Rhazii, but after arriving in the destination chamber, he actually found the strange experience to be exciting. He turned back around to touch the pillar again, but since the index had not been used from this side, nothing happened. Kaleeth very quickly noticed the frigid air pouring in from the door Meesei was holding open, so her surprise was cut short by the immediate desire to get a coat around herself and Julan, along with getting Leaps into his enchanted collar to ensure he did not freeze to death.

Even Lorag could not pretend that he was not impressed by Meesei's creation. Being transported halfway across a continent in an instant was not an average feat. He stepped out towards the door, ignoring the cold for the moment. "So...either that's Skyrim out there, or you've put a real tricky illusion on us all. Either way, it could be useful."

"Hmph, that's an understatement." Ahnasha responded, crossing her arms and beginning to shiver slightly. "I'm guessing you made two of these things, then that one back in High Rock brought us all the way here to Skyrim? Definitely useful, but, uh, you know you could have told us what to expect before we started touching it."

Meesei laughed. "Indeed I could have, but am I not allowed to have some fun occasionally, Ahnasha? At any rate, I have been speaking about this to as few people as possible. Other than the locations of our clans, it is one of the greatest secrets that I would like to keep from our enemy. Having this capability could turn the tide of the war, if I can spread them across Tamriel." She explained before directing her attention more to the group in general. "A propylon can allow a person or object to be transported near instantaneously from one to the other propylon that it is bound to. All that is required is to use the correct propylon index on the device beforehand. I left the index for this chamber back in High Rock, and there is another index here which can take us there. Effectively, these two locations are linked for instantaneous travel in either direction. It requires only a few seconds to be energized by the propylon before being teleported. As you can see outside, it is the same time of day as when we left. Well, it is actually later in the day here, since we are now much farther east, but only a minute or so has passed since we left."

Meesei closed back the door to keep out the cold air, then stepped back over to the propylon to look it over with at least a hint of pride in her expression. "These are an ancient Dunmer creation. They linked their old strongholds together, allowing for more effective communication and trade. The Dunmer placed these chambers in their strongholds themselves, but I am afraid that is too risky for us at the moment. If one of these chambers is compromised without us knowing, and the enemy learns how to operate it, then we could suddenly find ourselves with enemy soldiers in our clanhome. So, all of our propylon chambers are going to be a fair distance outside of our clanhomes, at least for now. Perhaps in the future, if we can develop adequate security measures, we will be able to move them within the clanhomes for even more convenient travel. In the meantime, these chambers could allow us to complete months worth of traveling in under a day. All I need to do is to create two propylons for each of Tamriel's clans. Each propylon can only link to a single other device, so a proper propylon chamber contains two of them. The ancient Dunmer arranged their strongholds into a circuit so that each stronghold linked to two different strongholds, forming a chain that linked back onto itself. We can do the same. It will require us to go through intermediate chambers to reach any destination not directly connected to this chamber, but that can be accomplished in minutes."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The moment Sabine touched the pillar, her whole body was quickly overcome with the glowing magicka surrounding the pillar. Over the course of a few seconds, she started to glow brighter and brighter until her body itself was hidden beneath the glow. Then, just as quickly, the glow dissipated, and she was gone."

Afterwards, Meesei maintained her smile. "See? It worked perfectly."

Kaleeth, quite understandably, was startled. "Worked?! It...she disappeared! What happened to her? She's just gone."

Meesei simply returned a light chuckle. "That she is. I would recommend you follow quickly." She responded just before reaching out, touching the pillar, and disappearing herself, just like Sabine.

On the other side of the propylon, Sabine would find herself standing on a near identical propylon platform, touching the same kind of pillar, with the same kind of energy surrounding her. For the first few moments, she may not have noticed that anything happened. However, she might notice that the air was a bit cooler. Once she looked around, she would see that she was no longer in the basement of an old Imperial watchtower, but rather inside an even older Dwemer building. It was larger than the basement she had been in, though not by too much. She was also surrounded by different people: three lycan guards sitting around a stone table that could possibly have seemed familiar to her, depending on how often she interacted with the Blackreach clan's warriors. They too were startled by Sabine's sudden appearance, though they calmed quickly. Naturally, they had been told what to expect before being assigned to guard the propylon chamber.

Seconds after Sabine arrived, Meesei appeared alongside her. Although, she allowed Sabine a few moments to collect herself before saying anything. While the guards quickly got out of their seats to stand to attention, Meesei calmly took the thick fur coat off of her backpack, put it on, then walked over to the tall Dwemer doors just in front of her. It took some effort to push them open, but once she did, the frigid air outside poured in. It would take a few moments for everyone's eyes to adjust to the blinding whiteness outside, but through the door was a rather spectacular view from near the top of one of Skyrim's many mountains, perhaps in Winterhold or the Pale.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine was probably around 19 when they arrived back at the Bruma clan, after everything in Elsweyr. Then, there was the move up to Skyrim. Between traveling and getting a large force from the Riften clan to Ralbthar was probably a few months. After clearing it was a two month skip to get everyone settled. A few weeks after that, they set off for Black Marsh. Traveling across the continent, with a stop in Cheydinhal, probably would have taken some time. They took a quicker route on the way back, so it probably was not an entire year, but would be the better part of one. But, in combination with the months before that, I'd add another year, making Sabine over 20, probably getting close to 21. Then, there was a two year skip to Julan's naming day. Sabine would be 22 at that point. Then three years to present. So, Sabine would be 25, close to 26. Ahnasha is 33, Meesei is 39, Lorag is 43, Fendros is 35, Janius is 32, Kaleeth I think is 29, since she was 19 when Sabine was turning 15. If Rhazii was born at that time, then he is currently 10. With Julan being one or two years younger.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Do you remember how old the children are right now? I'm trying to make sure I'm keeping track of all the timeskips correctly.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei gave a slight grin. "Not quite Ayleid, no. In fact, I had to send teams from one of our Morrowind clans into ancient Dunmer ruins retrieve the index. Once I had that, though, I was able to use it to construct more of them, as well as to complete this masterpiece. I learned of the propylons in Apocrypha, of their function and how to construct them. It makes use of some old forms of magic, and some methods of enchanting that may not have been used outside the ancient Dunmer. Luckily, Apocrypha's libraries span all parts of the world, through all times, without restriction. The only limit to what I can learn is what tomes I can find. I have found books written far in the past by ancient civilizations, some from different planes of Oblivion, and some that seem to have been written in the future. Much of it is disjointed, but as you can see, I have managed to put together some useful information, and put it into practice." Even after she gave her explanation, the rest of her pack was unlikely to understand the propylon's function, unless they had specific knowledge of ancient Dunmer creations.

Walking around the spire, Meesei closely inspected every detail she could observe about her creation to ensure that the scholars had assembled it to her specifications. She charged a small amount of magicka into the central pillar, and each of the three crescent pilars around it to check for any damage. All the while, the Breton woman was rubbing her hands together nervously.

"Is, um, everything alright, Champion?" The Breton woman eventually asked.

Meesei nodded. "Yes, you seem to have done a fine job. The propylon should be ready to activate. It contains within it the capacity to sustain itself, it just needs an initial spark." She said before holding out her hand towards the center pillar. Her hand began to glow red, but not with fire, or anything resembling a from of magic that any of her pack would be familiar with. Suddenly, the crystals in the three crescent pillars started to glow with a vibrant violet color. Then, the pillars each started emitting the same kind of bright glowing red magicka from their base. The energy was disorganized for a few seconds, organized itself into three solid spirals of energy twisting around the center pillar. Finally, all of the runes etched into the pillars started to glow bright red."

"Now, just one last step." Meesei commented as she approached the center spire. Reaching into her pouch, she produced a small black object with a similar design and runes as the center pillar. She inserted the object into a slot in the center pillar for a few seconds before removing it, then handing it to the Breton woman, who was understandably amazed at the sight. "There we are; the propylon should be ready for us to use for about a minute or two. Now, this index is vital for the propylon to function, so make sure it is kept safe here."

Turning back to her pack, Meesei motioned to the propylon encouragingly. "Now that I have used the index, you need only step up to the center pillar of the propylon and touch it in order to activate it. Do not worry, I have tested it extensively back in Skyrim."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmm, at this point, I do not know that she actually needs many more." Meesei commented. "But, I am sure we will be able to find a way to help her, with enough persistence on our part. Just, regardless of what approach you decide to take, be cautious if you confront her about this. Ahnasha has a silver tongue. She is quite adept at spinning both rationality and emotions to convincing others of whatever suits her goals. It is a skill she was taught at a young age, and that all of her work in recent years has only improved. She will argue against you, and she will do so effectively. She can easily make herself surprisingly sympathetic, and she will say things to you that make sense. You have to be strong in your convictions for her not to convince you too; likely stronger than you think. It might be why Fendros is being so accepting of her."

---

The next to join them in the chamber were Fendros, Ahnasha, and Rhazii, so Meesei and Sabine's conversation died down very quickly. Once the rest of the pack joined them, they set off. Their current destination, where the Evermore clan's scholars had set up Meesei's project, was about half a day's journey from the clanhome on foot. It was a fair distance to travel, but she had specified the location for the clan's overall safety. Indeed, their destination was quite isolated from any sort of civilization.

The pack made their way back into the mountains, far from towns or roads. It was not a convenient trek, but Meesei's pack was more than used to rugged conditions. Eventually, they ended up at the ruins of an old watchtower at the top of a worn path, which now overlooked a strategically unimportant passage through the mountains. The watchtower had not been maintained for hundreds of years and was partially collapsed, particularly at the top, but it had a basement that was large and structurally sound enough for Meesei's purposes. The Evermore clan could work on restoring the watchtower over time.

On approach, the pack was met by two Breton scholars, and about five stronger-looking warriors. One of the scholars, a Breton woman in a full hooded robe, greeted Meesei enthusiastically, then led them quickly down into the basement. The chamber had been a former storage room, so it was reasonably spacious. Though, upon Meesei's request, it had been cleared entirely of anything that was not attached to the stonework. In its place was a peculiar-looking creation, one that was entirely out of place against the old Imperial architecture that surrounded it. It was a three-sided stone pillar slightly taller than the average person with Daedric runes etched into all three sides, from top to bottom. It was sitting atop a round stepped platform, and had three more objects positioned evenly around it. They were crescent shaped with their points facing inwards, carved mostly from stone, and their inside edges consisted of a slightly translucent gem-like material. It was obvious they were enchanted in some way, though no magicka currently flowed through them.