EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Yerig had subtly averted his eyes when Sabine went to dress. Of course, the kind of clothing that lycanthropes tended to wear around was not terribly covering to begin with, but the cloak helped with that. He focused when Sabine made a request of him, though there was a brief moment of confusion in his expression. "Huh? Why would I...oh, wards do work against the Thu'um, yes. It is still a kind of magic. Though I guess you'd want to see it for yourself."

Do'rhajul grabbed and raised up his shield, and after he made sure his path was clear, Yerig spoke a single word: FUS! A staggering wall of pure force erupted from Yerig's mouth, pushing back grass and leaves in its path. But, upon reaching Do'rhajul, the shield's ward glowed briefly with no apparent effect on Do'rhajul.

"Spellbreaker is a wall against magic. It shall never falter." Do'rhajul explained, lowering the shield. "But if we are truly to do this, I believe you should know how that staff of yours works. I was quite insistent that Arinette explain it to me, once I knew how dangerous it could be. As you probably know, it is the Staff of Magnus, the original architect of Mundas itself. It was the only object that could contain the power of the god. Its capacity for absorbing magicka is not unlimited, but it may as well be. However, that does not mean it will be a limitless power source for you. It can only hold what has been absorbed into it. After our first fight against your pack, Arinette had to use our entire stock of soul gems to fill it with power again, as she had nearly depleted it. I am not sure how much magicka remains within it right now. Though if we are to fight a Dragon, I suppose you could absorb its shouts into the staff to help keep it charged. There is also another limitation with its use. I am not so certain on the details of this part, but I believe that Arinette and the other researchers that were working with the staff...changed it somehow to allow the wielder to draw power from it. But it is not completely stable. There is a limit to how much a mage can safely draw from the staff at once. Go beyond that, and as Arinette explained, it could have 'adverse effects on the local reality'. I am not entirely certain on her meaning, but it is what caused those strange magical wisps that appeared in our fight. She did not summon them on purpose."

Do'rhajul eyed the staff for a few moments, then looked more closely at his unconscious former allies. "Arinette was a prideful person who did not like to admit her shortcomings, but she was no master mage. Even having just obtained the staff, you show more control with it than she did. I believe the limits of what you can do with that weapon are greater than what she could do."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Do'rhajul gave a single nod. "I believe that I have to be made an example of to satisfy them. Execution is the most obvious method, but there are alternatives. What better way to defeat one's enemies wholly and completely than to have them bend their knee to you. It may be wise for me to repeat this oath in front of your clan. Such a public act of submission would be both a shame to myself, Vile's great 'General', and elevate you in their eyes. Some may still want blood, but I believe it shall satisfy many. And, just so you know, the oath is not false. None of it. You deserve my submission, master." He explained.

Even as he had only just finished speaking the words, Do'rhajul's eyes widened upon hearing Sabine's very first order for him. "Get the axe on our own, but...you did say that its owner went to slay a dragon, yes? Unless he succeeded, that would mean that we would need to contend with a dragon. You wish to face it ourselves...without reinforcements from your allies?"

Do'rhajul let out a long breath. "I...refer to my previous statement about your insanity." Nevertheless, Do'rhajul started walking back to the camp with Sabine and pointed towards the largest of the tents. "Your belongings are in our armory, in a cloth sack on the left side of the tent. I was the one to search them."

Yerig, meanwhile, had been sitting on the edge of camp on a fallen log he had dragged into the camp. He seemed to have recovered by this point and stood as Sabine approached. "I heard it all. Ears aren't that bad yet. Never would have thought I'd hear Rhajul of all people make an oath like that, but then again, I also never thought I'd see him leading an army of cultists, so maybe I'm not the best judge." He shrugged. "For what its worth, I do believe you, even if I didn't understand everything you were talking about. I had actually heard of the Towers before, believe it or not. At least, I knew there was something special about the Throat of the World. Used to live there, back when I was young. I don't seem to remember anything ever breaking down the mountain to destroy the tower, but I'm guessing it's more complicated than that. Always is. So, regardless, where is this axe?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Your plan is...idealistic. As rational as it is, the masses will not be. They will need their closure; they will demand me be made an example of. I do not see how we could present it to them so that they will even accept it. Not unless...perhaps..." Do'rhajul began, but then there was a pause. Suddenly, he knelt down on one knee in front of her and bowed down his head.

"Sabine, I pledge myself to you. I pledge my present, my future, my life to you. You have shown yourself as wise as you are powerful, as merciful as you are determined. After facing you as my enemy, I concede that you are my better, in both strength and judgment. I am not worthy to live, but I am worthy to serve. You. To the end of my days, I promise to serve you. Just as a slave to a master, I shall serve every order and request you make of me. My service to you shall be my penance." Do'rhajul said with a distinct amount of conviction.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

By itself, the revelation that the lycan clans had been colluding with Tamriel's two largest political powers was enough to surprise Do'rhajul and capture his curiosity, but even that was far eclipsed by her admission of what her allies were intending to do about Clavicus Vile.

"Did I hear you properly? You wish to find one of Vile's relics and use ti to attack him? Directly, as in to create a portal into his realm of Oblivion and try to assault an actual Daedric Prince yourself? That is mad, insane, and you are insane for even considering it. I cannot even begin to list the number of ways that could go wrong, the least of which is death. Even assuming that you are able to somehow break through into Vile's realm, do you not realize that you could doom yourself to an eternity in Vile's clutches? If you die in his realm, and fail in your mission, then your soul will be his. At least if you die here on Nirn, your own lord can claim you for his realm." Do'rhajul protested. However, after a few seconds, his confrontational demeanor deflated.

"But, you already knew that, didn't you? Of course you did. You are a master mage; you understand the workings of souls. But you are willing to do it anyway. Willing to take on that risk for the greater good. The greater good..." He repeated, looking away. "Even with all of that, I do not see how I could possibly helpful. As merciful and enlightened as you may be, most people are not. I know how people are, and I know that your clan will want my head. They will want their justice, and I do not deny that they deserve their justice. They will not stand for letting me live; I would not, in their position."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Once more, Do'rhajul was quite reasonably surprised by what Sabine was telling him. The idea of towers that were somehow holding up Nirn seemed farfetched, and yet, Sabine presented it all with confidence. Do'rhajul's first instinct was to doubt her. It was still hard for him not to look at her as he had when they were enemies. He expected lies, manipulation. However, no matter how hard he thought, no matter what angle he considered, he could not think of any possible motivation she would have for lying to him. He had surrendered and was ready to march himself to his own death. He had already agreed to give Sabine and her allies every bit of information he had on Vile, so there was quite literally nothing left to gain from him. She did seem to want his aid, but if she was lying and there was no threat from Vile, then there would be no reason for her to want his help. The only way it made sense for her to be so adamant about it was if there was still a reason to fight.

Beyond the message Sabine was trying to convey, there were also other aspects of her explanation that caught his attention. "Dominion researchers? Imperial contacts? We knew your clans were organized, and we had suspected you might have been receiving outside help as of late, but the two largest powers in Tamriel...I had no idea. Even if I had killed your Champion, I doubt it would have been enough. But aside from that, this sounds...well frankly it sounds insane. But you have little reason to lie. Truthfully, I am still not sure I understand, but you say these towers somehow protect Tamriel? But if the Adamantine Tower is his true goal, then why did he ever bother with your souls to begin with? I know that souls can grant power to a Daedra, but...no, that does make sense. Lycan souls are powerful; my researchers told me that many times. It was why it was so difficult to get the poison just right. Two beings, a soul and a, what was it, a...vestige, in one body. Direnni Tower is in High Rock, deep in Imperial territory. Even if it were not well-protected, which it is, I do not imagine the first structure in Tamriel would be so easy to destroy. And if what you say is true, if he wants to 'swallow' Tamriel, then that would likely require him to be stronger as well."

Finally, Do'rhajul willed himself to stand to his feet. "As terrifying as it is to say, I believe you. It means I not only was responsible for the murders of many innocents of your...our kind, but I am also responsible for putting the whole world, and everything within it which I once cherished, in more danger than it has been in since the last era. Truly, I would have been better off dead." He said, his eyes closed and his hands clutched into fists. After a few seconds, his eyes opened and he let out a slow breath. "But that is not our reality. You said you were here searching for something, yes? Is it some way to protect the last tower?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I think you got it all right.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Do'rhajul's expression was one of skepticism, but given that Sabine was still firmly in control of the situation, it was not as if he could stop her from giving her explanation. He looked down at the lines that Sabine had drawn, not quite understanding their meaning or how they related to Clavicus Vile.

"They were Vile's price." Do'rhajul answered. "A Daedra was not going to help Tamriel out of charity, even if it also benefited him. He was to give us the aid of his power and influence to eliminate the lycan threat, in exchange for us sending their souls to him, whenever we could. I took no pleasure in empowering a Daedra, but I also had little sympathy for lycans." He explained.

"What do you say he intends with them, and how certain are you of what you are saying?" Do'rhajul asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The demand for help was not something that Do'rhajul expect, particularly since he had no reason to believe there was anything left to help with. Without the background knowledge that Sabine possessed for context, her ramblings sounded almost nonsensical to him. The anger of such a powerful mage would have been something that most would fear, but Do'rhajul clearly no longer feared any such consequences, so he was not beyond arguing with her.

"Towers? Swallowing Nirn? What are these absurdities you are speaking of? You do not need to search for anything; you have already stopped Vile's followers. Unless you intend to keep hunting them down, but you have already said that you do not desire revenge." Do'rhajul responded, letting out a huff and looking away. "I do not understand what you are talking about, but I am sure I cannot help you with anything. The most I can do for your people is to give them something to cheer about when they hang me in front of your clan. I have...killed too many. It was always painful to do, but I thought it was necessary. I thought it was for the greater good, that more lives would be spared because of those that were taken. But I am no 'General.' I am a pawn and a murderer. Whatever foul intentions Vile had by spreading lycanthropy, I allowed it to happen. I was responsible for the early successes that allowed Vile's cult to expand his influence. They were inexperienced and disorganized at first. I did not merely fight for them, I organized them. I built their command structure, their training principles, convinced them to focus on an intelligence network. Had I not prepared them, you would have defeated them within a year, perhaps two. It is not justice for me to go unpunished."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It's quite alright.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Again, Do'rhajul shook his head. "To them, I died over twenty years ago. My wife certainly re-married, my daughter grieved and moved on. There is no reason for them to be re-visited by an old ghost."

Finally, Do'rhajul raised up his head and allowed his eyes to meet Sabine's. The fur underneath them was darkened somewhat by tears, and yet he still managed to maintain a firm demeanor. "But you should not care about my own personal tragedies. I am a broken old Khajiit who lived a lie. Who devoted himself to a snake and became a monster. There is no point in remembering my past. You should burn my body and leave me with no grave, nothing with which to remember me. I would consider it a great mercy if you allow me to be forgotten. Today is your victory. Please, try to drown out the memories of your pain with the knowledge that you shall never experience it again. After over a decade of fighting and toil and effort, you have done it. It's over. It's not just me you have beaten here. Perhaps the most valuable thing I can tell you about Vile's forces right now is that they are, in essence, defeated. They are not dead, nor even too weak to fight, but Vile himself has given up on you. This...my mission to kill the Champion of Hircine, it was the last effort. The last attempt to turn the tide in our favor. Even if it did not defeat you, killing her would mean that Vile would still commit to the fight. But, now that I have failed, there shall be no more war against the lycans. No more attacks on your clans or your people. Some dedicated lycan hunters may still attack you on their own, but they will be acting without Vile's orders, nor his support. The war is over, lycan, and you won."