EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Naturally, Meesei had expected Lunise's question, so she did not hesitate with her answer. "Varenwen's report "On Temporal Magicka". I was fortunate enough to obtain a copy to study. At least for a time. He was an early Second Era Psijic who studied the ebb and flow of time. Of course, simply studying a document would not be enough for the majority of people to learn such magic. It requires a strong prior mastery of mysticism, and many more...esoteric aspects of magic. But, I happen to have a strong background in rare and unusual magic. The way I was taught was through traditions passed down through families of Treeminders in my village. Traditions uncorrupted by time, and therefore faithful to more ancient ways of magic. I would say it opened me up to learning methods of magic that fall outside the commonly-taught magical schools."

Meesei took on a more relaxed demeanor, despite the fact that Lunise seemed to be perpetually on-edge. "Regardless, I have immense respect for the capabilities of the Psijics. They are likely the most powerful organization of mages that currently exist in Tamriel. Well, I suppose in Tamriel would not quite be accurate, but they could choose to re-appear at any time. It is a shame that their society is as insular as they are, but there is likely merit to the idea that the kind of power they command should be kept from the world at large. There are many who would certainly misuse it. Still, to have their abilities of advanced teleportation, clairvoyance, even greater control of the weather...it is knowledge I would quite like to have."

---

Ahnasha adjusted herself to sit in a more comfortable position, though it did little to relieve her tension. Fendros' sympathetic touch did help somewhat, but even a full massage would not have been likely to calm her fully. "Yes, I know. It's just that doing all of that and feeling just the same as ever is a little...disappointing almost? I suppose that would be a way of putting it. Over time, if I did it properly, I will actually start to feel younger. I'll have more energy, be more, well, youthful. More like you. Maybe not quite as young as you; there are limits to the magic. But, I'll feel better. Until then, I just have to hope. I honestly don't know what I want to do right now. I mean, I'm going to be much too distracted to just go about my daily routine. I really need to relax."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While Marod had stepped out of the room, Meesei was left alone with Lunise. There was nothing else pressing for them to speak about, but Meesei did have a topic in mind regardless. Though, she did not entirely know if she should actually expect an answer. "So Lunise, if it would not bother you to indulge my curiosity a moment, I have a question for you. How were you able to identify when I pulled myself out of time? From the Psijic texts I have read, they were able to use such magic even in the presence of master mages without detection. I am wondering if I made some kind of mistake in the spell. Regardless, it was impressive that you noticed. From where did you receive your magical training?"

---

After a few seconds, the penultimate gem was drained of energy and fractured, leaving only the last black soul gem. Nothing had changed about what she was doing, and she was not appreciably more fatigued than she had been, but Ahnasha became much more tense regardless. What she had worked for so long to achieve was finally about to come to fruition. She had to stop herself from becoming too distracted and making some kind of mistake.

The last gem required the exact same amount of time to drain as all of the others, and when it was finally empty, it shattered just like the rest. The violet tendrils of energy were absorbed into Ahnasha's body, and she was finally able to stop channeling the spell. The crystal she had been using as a focus was quite warm to the touch, but otherwise, everything appeared the same on the outside. Ahnasha had no sort of magical glow, nor did she look any younger. Mostly, she just looked fatigued and stressed. "Everything feels...the same." She finally said.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I understand if you need time, but I also cannot understate the impact that this could have. Really, it could be the single most impactful way that you could help us. We were winning this war before that weapon came to light, and it probably would already be over if they had not developed it. We can be patient, and we will of course continue doing whatever we can to obtain the ingredient, but I would ask that you at least try to do what you can. I can give you a report of all the details we know about the ingredient, its properties, where it grows, and so on." Meesei requested. Shared intelligence could of course be beneficial between the three groups, but she considered antidote production to be among the greatest potential benefits from this alliance.

"Are there any other matters we should address for now?" Meesei added.

---

Ahnasha was finally able to bring herself to smile. "Oh, I know you're more than willing to compete. Just like I'm more than willing to win. I am willing to wager that I will be the first of us to slay a dragon." She boasted. "Although, that makes me wonder, how many soul gems would it take to enthrall a dragon corpse? Such a creature as that would probably even make Leaps run away in fear."

Ahnasha had to maintain her spell for quite some time. One by one, she drained the soul gems in front of her of their energy, which caused them to fracture and drain of color. It was almost an hour straight of maintaining the spell before Ahnasha got to the last few gems. The process, overall, was fairly dull, and while they were able to stay entertained for a while with conversation, Ahnasha became steadily less talkative as time went on. Even though the spell was not immediately draining, the fact that she had to maintain it for so long meant that she was growing steadily more magically fatigued, and she had to focus more to keep up the spell. Only two gems remained, so it would not be long before the process was complete.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei nodded in acknowledgment of there answers. "I understand, and I do appreciate both of your offers. Unfortunately, our production capacity has not been our bottleneck. Our limitation has been the acquisition of that specific reagent. Even with better tools, assistants, a better work environment, we would still be producing the same amount of the antidote."

Although their resources could drastically improve their ability to obtain the reagent, Meesei acknowledged that they too had their limitations, even if they were more political than physical. However, that did not mean they could not help. "I understand why you may not be able to obtain much of the plant. But, helping to find a more permanent solution could be even more beneficial. The Dominion has some of the oldest and most experienced magical scholars in the world, and the Empire has multiple, powerful magic institutions. Instead of trying to obtain expensive, rare ingredients, perhaps you might be able to just enlist the aid of a few researchers? People you might be able to trust. Any capable alchemists that might be able to help determine how to grow this Daedric ingredient in Tamriel would be of great help. Actually, they may not necessarily even need to know the reason behind it. It may be possible to pose as a private investor and offer a reward to anyone who can create a successful, repeatable process. If you cannot discretely acquire all of the necessary funds, my clans might be able to pool together some gold to assist."

---

Ahnasha had not taken her eyes off of the crystal in front of her at any point, but she did let out a long sigh with Fendros' question. The thoughts of Rhazii refusing her offers had entered her mind many times before, and they were far from comforting. "Well...it's not like I can force him to accept. If he doesn't, then...I don't know. I guess just whatever happens will happen. I, um, don't know if I would want to have any more children after that, though. I don't know that I could handle it."

Being rather eager to move on from the topic, Ahnasha continued fairly abruptly. "Aside from all that, though, I know I want to really explore Tamriel one day, but not like we've been doing. I want to do it without the war, without all of our responsibilities. I want to go to new places, and revisit some of those we've already been to, and just take in what they have to offer. I want to find new, challenging creatures to hunt, maybe take their bones and make some exotic thralls. That would be an interesting collection."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"As much as I wish I had more insight to give, Vile's motivations are a question that confounds me as well." Meesei commented. It was good that neither of them seemed to consider working with Vile's agents to be a real option, but there was still the matter of what Meesei intended to gain from the information she had shared. If there was one thing the two nation had an abundance of, it was resources. And those resources could have a definite use if Meesei could get at least one of them to agree to her request.

"At any rate, if we are assisting one another, then there is a definite way in which you could help my people. I mentioned before that Vile's agents developed a poison lethal to lycans. We also developed an antidote, but the Daedric nature of the poison means that its antidote also requires exotic ingredients. Specifically, the most limiting factor we have is a specific plant that grows only in a few planes of Oblivion, Vile's realm included. We have some conjurers among us that can obtain it, but not in near the quantities we need to give us complete immunity. We have only managed to get the antidote to last about two days by this point. With greater access to this ingredient, we could act with greater freedom against Vile's forces. If you could help us gain more of the plant, or find a way to grow it in Tamriel, then we would be more effective against the enemy." She explained.

---

Ahnasha shrugged lightly, though was careful not to break her concentration. The spell was not particularly difficult to maintain at the moment, but she would need to be able to do so for quite a while, without drawing in too much or too little soul energy at once. "To be honest, I have not been able to think much beyond the war. It's been so long; it's hard to think that it'll ever end. I think for a while, I would just want to settle down. Maybe stay here in the clan, maybe somewhere way out in the wilderness. Just somewhere that we can relax in peace so we can raise Rhazii properly. After that, once he's all grown up."

Ahnasha had not been giving too much of an emotional expression before, but now there was a certain sense of uncertainty or worry in her face. "After that, I am...kind of hoping to convince him to let me do the same thing for him. He wouldn't necessarily have to learn all of the magic I have. As long as I am around to maintain the magic every few years, I could extend both of our lives."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I took us out of time only to ensure our neutrality." Meesei responded calmly. In truth, she wondered how Lunise was able to detect that anything had happened at all, unless she had knowledge of the specific kind of magic she used. The Psijics could and had used such magic in the presence of master mages, with them being none the wiser. "It would be foolish of me to try and take sides when half of my clans reside in the Dominion. You know that you are a rational person who would not risk your people by trying to deal with Vile, but how am I to know that? We have only just met. Marod knows you far better, so I asked him. Remember, I have been fighting a war with Vile for nearly a decade. A war in which the slightest leak of information, the smallest missteps when speaking with strangers, can get my people, my brothers and sisters, killed. I have to ask that you forgive my paranoia, for it is what has kept us alive. I apologize for any offense; if you would like to ask me any questions, I would be happy to oblige."

Meesei motioned her hand forward. "And as a token of good faith, I have an offer for the both of you. As Marod alluded to before, both of you could potentially want to integrate lycans into positions in your own militaries and other organizations in the future. However, I doubt you would have the same experience as my people at training lycans to master their beast spirits. I can offer to send instructors to you both to teach your people how to most effectively train newer lycans not only how to control their beast spirit's urges, but to form a connection with it that will strengthen their abilities."

Naturally, Meesei did have another motive for making such an offer. If either of the nations tried to integrate poorly-trained lycans into their militaries, then there would be a strong chance of an incident that could lead to a loss of life for their other soldiers. That would give their governments an impression of lycanthropes that Meesei would like to avoid.

---

Ahnasha took in a deep breath, staring at the crystal in front of her. "Okay. I suppose...everything is ready, then. Nothing is holding me back. I can just start whenever I please."

Despite her anxiety, Ahnasha could not stall herself forever. She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes to concentrate. "I suppose I can still speak to you during all of this, just, um, don't expect me to concentrate too much on the conversation." She added. Finally, with nothing else left for her to do, she began her ritual. From the first soul gem in the top row, she began to draw in soul energy. The violet tendrils of energy flows first into the crystal, then in a more concentrated form into Ahnasha herself. Ahnasha had not said explicitly how long it would take, but the pace she was going did make it seem like it would take a while.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei nodded. "So you do not believe she will react negatively to the information? Excellent. And do not worry, she will not recognize the magic. She would have to be a Psijic to even understand it. I simply wanted to be sure of my words. You know Lunise far better than I, so it would be foolish of me not to listen to our input before speaking. Now, just act natural."

Just as quickly as it had started, Meesei ended the spell, keeping her eyes on Lunise just as she had before. Without any delay, she continued from where she had left off before speaking to Marod. You see, Vile's agents were hunting Talos worshipers in that area, not lycans. Well, there are lycan hunters in that area, but they also have teams dedicated specifically to hunting Talos worshipers. At first, we worried that the enemy in the area might have made some deal with the local Justicars, but our investigation proved that to be untrue. His agents fight against the Thalmor openly, despite their shared goal. Their reasons for hunting them are a mystery to me. It does not make sense with anything we have learned about Vile over the years; his goals, his methods. We do not know what he stands to gain by hunting Talos worshipers, but it does show that he has goals beyond just Tamriel's lycans. And while it may happen to work in your favor for now, I would not expect that to remain true forever. Vile does not strike me as the type to take a political stance against heretics, so it also tells me that there is something tangible to gain by killing Talos worshipers specifically."

---

"Yeah, it will just help...if it's made right, of course." Ahnasha commented. Uncorking the vial, she poured its contents over the crystal just in front of her. Fendros was not sure of its function, which made since considering that she had not actually taken the time to explain anything yet. She was having a hard time focusing, and had to take a moment to collect herself.

"There are several different ways to go about this kind of ritual. Marcaille said this would be the quickest method I could learn, so it is what I went with. There are methods that require less souls, but require a lot more study, and have a higher chance of failure if the necromancer does something wrong. This crystal will act as a focus to help me channel the soul energy into my body. The oil purifies the crystal to make that a bit easier. I will need to maintain a constant flow of energy from start to finish. To little and the connection to my own soul will break, causing the energy I've already channeled into myself to fade. Too much at once and my soul will sort of...close itself off. In either case, all of the gems I would have used up to that point would be wasted." Ahnasha explained.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I see. I mention it because High Rock was where myself and my pack were carrying out an investigation when you first contacted Ardan." Meesei began. However, before she finished her statement, she released the spell she had been subtly preparing. All of the sudden, Marod would see the world around him overcome by a washed-out light blue field of energy, with sparkling particles of pure magicka popping in and out of existence all around them. Lunise, and everything else in the room, would look to be frozen in time to him. Although, it would be more accurate to say that Meesei had taken Marod and herself out of time.

"Forgive me, but I felt that I wanted to give us a chance to speak privately." Meesei explained, not so much as even acknowledging the unique nature of the feat of magic she had performed. Only if Marod was familiar with the magic of the Psijics would he be able to even identify what Meesei had done. Naturally, the spell she was maintaining was rather straining, so she could not keep it up forever. She would need to get to the point quickly. "The information I have from High Rock is that Vile's agents in the region have been hunting down and killing Talos worshipers. And yes, it is as confusing to me as it likely is to you. Had I not seen the evidence with my own eyes, I would not have believed it. I cannot even begin to speculate on why Vile would be hunting Talos worshipers, of all things, but it does confirm that he has plans beyond hunting lycans. At first, we thought he might have an alliance with the Thalmor, but we performed and extensive investigation to find that there is no sort of allegiance between them. Vile's hunters do not consider the Thalmor allies, and have come into open conflict with them. So, whatever reason they have is Vile's will alone. I want to know what you think Lunise will make of this information. It seems that, in this instance, Vile's hunters are working towards the same goal as the Thalmor Justicars. They are certainly not allies with the Dominion, but I do not want Lunise to start to think that there would be some advantage for them to gain by working with them. Vile's plans will not be in the favor of either the Dominion or Empire."

---

"A source of trouble, and a great deal of stress. But, at least it is almost over. Hopefully. I am going to be...beyond angry if I make some kind of mistake and waste all of these souls. It has taken me a lot longer than most necromancers; they simply take the souls of whatever travelers happen to pass by their lairs. They do not need to worry about finding some enemy soldier to kill." Ahnasha commented. Unlike Fendros, she showed not a hint of remorse or doubt over the souls she had taken.

Once the soul gems were arrayed in a few rows in front of her, Ahnasha placed down the white crstal in its holder just in front of the gems. She then sat herself on her knees in front of it, then reached into her bag to pull out the vial she had been looking at back in their room. "The texts say this oil is not strictly necessary, but it could make the process easier. Make it simpler to focus with the crystal. I asked Sabine for advice in helping make it. Though, I don't think she really knew what I was asking her to make. It's a purifying concoction, not exclusive to necromancy."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"With the sheer number of lycans I represent, I can almost guarantee there will be resistance." Meesei answered honestly. "There is simply no way to please everyone, as anyone who works in leadership knows. There will be those who will not accept anything other than complete independence, and unlike the Empire or Dominion, I cannot require them to remain under my command. As with anyone else, they can simply leave their clans. However, I do not expect any large scale resistance. If I survive this war, and we emerge victorious, then there will be no question of my right to rule. Some clan leaders may want to challenge me regardless, but fortunately for you, we have traditions regarding such disputes. If they wish to challenge my decisions, then they must challenge me: a trial by combat to determine who truly has the right to lead. It may sound far from humble, but I do not know of any clan alphas who would be capable of besting me. I am the Champion for a reason."

Meesei had more to say to Marod and Lunise, though she was mentally debating on how to go about it. There was a particular question she wanted to ask Marod privately, without drawing attention to it. Fortunately, she knew a particular spell that would help in that regard, something she had learned in Apocrypha of the Psijics. For now, however, she wanted to learn what, if anything, Lunise already knew. "Now, I too have questions for you." Meesei continued. "Lunise, have you heard any reports of recent events in High Rock, near Evermore? Vile's followers there have come into open conflict with Thalmor Justicars. Do you know what Vile's followers have been doing there?"

---

Ahnasha gave Fendros a curious look. "What smell?" She asked, which also neatly answered his question.

As Ahnasha was clearing out a space in the center of the room, her skeletal servants began to carry out the tasks she gave them, all without any verbal instructions. One picked up a wooden crate from the corner of the room, while the other collected a strange crystal in a modified soul gem stand.

Ahnasha opened up the crate, which contained all of the soul gems she had been collecting over the last few years. All, apart from a few grand soul gems, contained the mortal souls of the people they had killed for her research. One by one, Ahnasha carefully started to pull out each gem and place them side by side in front of her. It would be the first time that Fendros would have seen them all collected together in one place.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei leaned forward onto the table, nodding slowly through the pair's explanations. "So, you are saying you have infiltrators in your governments working to further Vile's goals. And, I imagine that you have certain restrictions investigating ranking members of your own governments. I can understand the problem that creates. We have had to deal with infiltrators before, but I benefit from having absolute rule over my clans. I know there are infiltrators and can institute policies to combat them. I doubt you have the same freedom. I expect that you will shape your reports to discourage any action against us for as long as possible, but I cannot expect you to perform miracles."

Letting out a long sigh, Meesei stood up straight. "I suppose it would be best for me to tell you. This is information I have not even shared with all of my own clans, but I find it important for all of us here to fully understand the...realities of this situation. That being the purpose for Vile's attacks against us. This is not just a quarrel between Daedric Lords. Hircine did not anger Vile to spark a war, nor do I believe Vile cares much at all about lycans themselves. This war has been all about what Daedra so often crave: power. You see, I am sure you know that lycan populations have expanded drastically over the past decade or so, but it was not our doing. Vile's followers were the ones to start infecting people, to start spreading the condition wider and wider. And they did it for our souls. Souls are a source of power for a Daedric Lord, both those of their willing followers, and those they claim by other means. A lycan soul is particularly potent. Within our bodies, we have both our mortal soul, and the immortal vestige of our Daedric beast spirit. Capturing one of our souls grants more power than that of the average mortal. As you said before, keeping lycans captive is very difficult and dangerous, so instead, they decided to fight us. Vile started a war, encouraged us to group ourselves into nice, contained clans. Then, they developed a weapon: a poison to harvest our souls from a single breath. It is devastatingly effective, and we survived only because we discovered their plan in Elsweyr before they were ready to strike. We delayed them, but we did not stop them."

While Meesei did have reservations about sharing any information at all with either of the diplomats, there was a particular advantage she sought to gain which she felt worth the risk. Besides which, there was not much actual harm that could come from the particular information she was sharing. "I do not know what Vile's final goals are, only that our destruction is not it. He has a plan, and he is using us, lycans, as the means to carry it out. We are just a...resource that he wants to harvest. Imagine the kind of power he would gain from collecting every lycan soul in Tamriel. That is the kind of power that I doubt either of you would want to see a single Daedric Lord possess; particularly one as malicious and self-serving as Vile. I am telling you all of this to make it clear that, if we fail, it does not mean that it is over. It just means that the enemy will now have the means to carry out the next phase of his plan. And we will not be there to help you; it will only be the Empire and Dominion. Likely, he would just drive the two of you at war with one another before finishing his plans unopposed. I do not need to say how trivially easy of a feat that would be to accomplish."

---

Ahnasha shook her head. "No, I have always been careful when coming here. You'll be the first person to step inside aside from me. Well...first living person."

Just as Ahnasha finished speaking, the door to her laboratory opened, and not because Ahnasha was the one to open it. The laboratory itself was contained within a small Dwemer structure built into the side of a rocky cliff. The large, metal doors were opened by a being, or more accurately, a creation of Ahnasha's: a reanimated Falmer skeleton. It was a permanent thrall, made using a filled soul gem instead of a simple, temporary spell. Its bones creaked and clanked together with every movement, and the glowing orbs of magicka that served as its eyes stared ahead at them lifelessly. Naturally, Ahnasha gave no reaction to the thrall. She simply instructed it to step to the side. She needed to speak no words to do so, since its connection to her was telepathic.

The interior of the Dwemer building was fairly small. The hallway in the back was collapsed, so Ahnasha had only a single room to work with. There was a myriad of soul gems, enchanting tools, and other magical trinkets scattered across a few stone tables. There was even alchemy equipment, though Ahnasha had not shown herself to be an alchemist. Of course, there were also a few full skeletons worth of bones, the distinct smell of rotting flesh in the air, and a second skeletal Falmer thrall.