EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei raised her brow briefly. The last detail of Marod's explanation, if true, would have been quite an important one for him to share. Were the clans under less ethical leadership, it could have given them leverage over the Legate General. Regardless, it was not terribly important for the moment, and even if Marod was not lying, Meesei could think of reasons that someone could have lied to him about it. "Perhaps not the immediate action that some may hope for, but they may find it an acceptable compromise." Meesei replied.

"If you don't make them reveal it before the amnesty offer is official." Lorag added. "If no one is asking about their pasts before the invasion, then the Legate General will have his volunteers. Not all that many of our warriors were ever in the legion, really. At least, they're not a majority or anything. But, they tend to be respected, and if they agree to work with your people, others will join too."

"Indeed. And I do thank you for your efforts, Marod. I do hope that all of the parties taking part in this invasion will continue to remember that we are all working towards the same goal, on the same side. Though, on the subject of working, I do have something to say to my pack in particular." Meesei said, turning her attention firmly towards the others. Lorag stood up straight and with a silent, attentive focus. "With the results of today's events, and what we have accomplished in the past few weeks, the goals of this pack for our preparation are complete. Other, capable teams are handling the gathering of sigil stones and other minor resources for the portal, of which I will personally oversee the construction. For the rest of you, unless something unexpected happens, I will have no more tasks for you. If you can think of something else for our preparations that you believe would be beneficial, then I encourage you to pursue it, but otherwise, you will only have your normal duties for the next few months. I...do not think I need to elaborate upon how dangerous this invasion is going to be, especially considering our pack's role within it. We have always been strong together, and right now, with how far we have all come, I firmly believe this pack is a force that the Daedra themselves should fear. There is no one who has a better chance of defeating Clavicus Vile than all of us, fighting together." She said with complete, unwavering confidence. However, she soon lowered her head and let out a long sigh. Her next words weighed heavily upon her heart."...but, even for us, there are no guarantees. If there is anything you would not wish to leave...unfinished in Tamriel, you should tend to it before the portal is ready."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei nodded in acknowledgement to Lunise. "I doubt that Teroiah has seriously considered the utility that lycanthropes could provide to an army. But, if nothing else, I have forced her to challenge her beliefs today. Hopefully, her pragmatism in battle can outweigh her pride and anger for the coming invasion."

Lorag was as silently observant as usual, but with Marod's reply, he did have reason to step forward and speak up. "I trained half the warriors of this clan myself. Trained the instructors for a few more clans. Most of the clans this side of Tamriel basically already have legion training, with some changes to account for our beast forms. Alpha's right that there would be a lot of volunteers that could work easily with your people, but only if they know it won't come back to bite them later. Especially the ones that were once in the legion. Your Legate General should do the strategizing, yeah, but what you can do is get that amnesty that has been talked about confirmed, and make sure to announce it very clearly to our warriors. The Legion's 'official' policy in the past was for anyone infected by lycanthropy to report to their superiors for summary execution, so if you start calling them deserters for refusing to roll over and die, then those volunteers aren't going to come."

Relics: Trials of Kheris

As much as Jana might have wished the results to be different, she was unsurprised that Kheris was untouched. His reputation spanned the known world, and seeing him here and now, she did not know what to believe. Could he genuinely be a god? Or was he a false deity as some in other lands believed? As her father had believed. No matter what, his power was undeniable.

With how much Jana was lost in her thoughts, she did not notice the introduction of Trelon until he had started to grow in size. As he grew into such a gargantuan titan, there was no one who could fail to notice this new god of war. Even the blind could feel the ground quake under his steps. So in awe of him was Jana that it hardly even registered in her mind that he had killed the defiant evoker in the arena. The only thing that could pull her thoughts away from the titan was the declaration of war that Kheris had announced over the arena. For all of the world, dark days were ahead.

By this point, Jana, despite her ferocious appearance, looked to be as meek and frightened as a kitten. She had pulled back somewhat behind her husband and was looking up to him in obvious fear. She wanted to leave, right away.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei gave a nod towards Janius. "Yes, we cannot avoid that there will be other concerns after all of this is over, but for now, the invasion is all that is left for us. We have the confirmed cooperation of the Empire, Dominion, and Molag Bal. Naturally, as none of those three are particularly keen on working with each other, I believe it would be prudent to keep our forces cooperating...distantly with one another on the battlefield. We will all be working towards the same goal, but we can be pursuing different objectives on different parts of the battlefield."

Meesei focused specifically on Marod and Lunise. "Potentially with the exception of my own forces. I doubt it would be difficult to find packs willing to work more closely with the Empire and Dominion. There are some among us who still hold loyalties towards their nations, some quite strongly, and would have no problem working together with your militaries. I am willing to allow them to coordinate to whatever extent your commanders will agree to."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Likely not them for something like this.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei gave a grunt and crossed her arms. "Hmph, I suppose politicians are just as short-sighted in the Dominion as they are everywhere else. To fail against Vile is to fail in the goals they have been working towards for the past two centuries. Regardless, I have done all I can. We will get the support they are willing to give, and we will use it to the greatest effect we can. If Teroiah is as competent of a commander as she is a mage, then she will be an asset. Regardless of what she thinks of me, the Empire, or lycanthropes, she is not going to let herself get killed in Oblivion, so she will carry out her professional duties to the best of her abilities. For, if nothing else, her own sake."

Meesei elected not to share that she had a conversation out of time with Siloune, at least not with Marod present. He was already aware she had such an ability, but there was no advantage with sharing the details of her private conversation with Siloune. If what Meesei had said and done had indeed influenced her, then they would see the benefits regardless of any action by the Empire.

"All that matters now is making our final preparations for the invasion." Meesei continued. "Any other political matters can wait until after Vile's defeat."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Teroiah was ashamed, embarrassed, angry: everything that one might expect from such a defeat." Meesei replied. "I am sure she would put a knife to my throat right now if she could, but I do not expect it will last forever. I made it quite clear through my strength that any other duelist the Thalmor could have chosen would have had no better results. Regardless of how harsh Siloune's words may have been, I would not expect Teroiah's career to be severely impacted, unless her superiors are far more petty than I have judged them to be. She may always hate me, but without further motivation, actually acting against us would be quite a lot of risk for little gain." She reasoned.

Hal-Neesa gave a brief huff as she stepped towards the door of the meeting chamber. "Well, whatever 'goals' you set for yourself, I will at least concede that you managed to make for an entertaining morning. Of course, any day where you get to see a Thalmor squirm is a good one, yes? Now, I am going to go before one of you manages to do something to annoy me and ruin my mood. Good day, and all that nonsense." She said before leaving quite abruptly, and with no attention towards anything the others might have said.

Meesei sighed and gave a passing glance towards Neesa, but tried not to allow her mind to focus on her for too long. Instead, she turned back to Fendros and resumed where she left off. "Do you think you could gather the rest of the pack?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei, of course, did not expect to be left alone at any point, so she started right away on a portal back to the clan. This time, Neesa did not feel the need to accelerate the process, so it was just under a minute before they were ready to return home. Meesei was watching Teroiah periodically as she was casting the spell, but there was not much more she could glean from just her expressions. She was naturally going to be angry and embarrassed from her defeat, but Meesei hoped that she had made enough of an impression on Siloune that it would not be a permanent scar for Teroiah. The clans did not need any more enemies.

Whatever the result of the duel, Meesei had told her pack that she intended to gather and speak to them after it was over, so her portal took them to the meeting chamber directly. Fendros and Ahnasha, at least, were already there waiting in anticipation of their return, and she expected the others would be ready to come quickly.

Ahnasha stood as soon as she saw the portal, and was watching the expressions of every person that stepped through, even though it was nought but a few seconds before Meesei answered the question on her mind. "You need not worry, I was the victor. And I believe I accomplished every goal of today; we will be the ones to bear the axe, and I do not expect there will be any doubt that we are qualified for the task."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Probably a short scene with the pack afterwards. That scene would probably inspire the next ones.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Hal-Neesa did not say anything aloud in response to Siloune, though did at least acknowledge her by answering with a slow nod. Meesei, meanwhile, took the chance to walk over to the dress she had discarded before, shift back into her Argonian form, and slip back into the garment. Stepping near the Altmer battlemages, she could feel the combination of anxiety, confusion, and a touch of fear in most of their stares. They were the ones who had previously been assigned to watch her as guards, but now they would be quite aware of the fact that they would have been powerless to stop her if she truly had any ill intent. Whatever they thought of her, they would have to be lying to themselves to attempt to look down on her now.

Meesei was just tightening up the last of her straps when Siloune addressed her once more. "No, I do not believe there are any more matters to discuss for the moment. I have accomplished everything I set out to do today." Meesei replied. Now that the duel was concluded, Meesei stepped out of the arena into the seating of the crowd and requested a magicka potion from Sabine. Though she had not expended as much power as Teroiah, she still needed help recovering enough of her own magicka to make another portal home.

"I can return myself, my witnesses, and representative Lunise to my clan from here. I can come back to the usual location in a few days to discuss such topics. Would Sundas be acceptable? I would also like to bring my military adviser, as she is more directly in control of the clans' soldiers." Meesei added.