EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The use of wards from the likes of Rossarm’s mages and Dominion soldiers did help to reduce casualties among Hjergir’s forces through their charge, but it was Sabine that truly gave them their opportunity. Even Meesei had not been sure what to expect when Sabine started to call forth her spell, but she ended up in almost as much awe as their soldiers on the ground. The Staff provided the power for the scale of the spell, true, but Sabine still had to be the one to give the magic shape and form. It was no spell that Meesei had taught her, but rather a combination of her own making. But, Meesei’s pride aside, she still had to focus on her own contributions.

Meesei, from atop the tower, did not opt for a complex spell, nor even an original one. Indeed, the spell she charged was the same, straightforward torrent of lightning that she had attempted to use against the Daedric Titan. Though, this time, her target could not simply fly away. Mages like Sabine and Rossarm had ample ability to cast their spells over large groups, so Meesei decided to focus more concentrated power on specific targets. Daedric spellcasters were the greatest threat to their frontline, but from above, the sources of the spells were easy to see. Once she was surrounded in a storm of lightning, Meesei pushed both hands forward and, with them, sent a stream of lightning into the Daedric lines. She did not aim too close to the front, so as to avoid friendly fire. Her spell was like a knife, cutting a narrow path from mage to mage through the Daedra, with such power as to completely overwhelm any attempt at a ward or other defense.

When the Twilights were knocked from the air, it removed a majority of the incoming spellfire and allowed their warriors to focus purely on the Daedra in front of them. And with the Thu’um empowering them, they hit the Daedric lines like a charging mammoth. Hjergir’s force consisted of skilled warriors, each one an experienced veteran. Granted, the same could be said of the immortal Daedra, but the Nords were not ones to squander the advantage they had been given. If one watched any individual duel, they would see Nordic blades, axes, and werewolf claws dancing with impossible speed around their Daedric opposition, the winds flowing around and guiding their weapons. The Senche were moving along the sides of the battlefield, climbing through rocks and other terrain that would normally be impossible for cavalry. Hjergir himself picked out the largest, most intimidating Dremora he could see and made him into his prey. While the Daedra was rearing back his cruel, barbed blade for a swing, Hjergir hooked his axe around the Dremora’s shield and yanked it downwards with such force that he nearly broke the Dremora’s hand before he could drop it. The Dremora was experienced enough to keep his swing on course for Hjergir’s neck, but his agility at the moment was nothing short of supernatural. He parried the flat of the Daedric blade with the edge of his shield, then slammed it into the Dremora’s head. From there, he reversed his grip on his axe and delivered a furious assault of repeated blows against the Daedra’s helmet with the spike on the axe’s head. Even Hjergir’s strength and speed could not pierce Daedric metal, but it hardly mattered. The sheer force of the blows were enough to kill the being within.

However, despite the heavy casualties the Daedra were already facing, the tides of battle could still turn in an instant. From within the Daedric formation came a hidden threat, crawling around their feet. Spiderlings, the spawn of Spider Daedra, started to swarm into the allied forces. Their bites carried a form of magic paralysis that threatened to halt their charge in its tracks, and to give the Daedra a chance for a deadly counter-attack.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As difficult as it would have been for the average archer to use a bow in such tight quarters, Fendros was not the average archer, and the pack was more than coordinated enough to enable him. Since Lorag could not move forward, he stayed back just behind Fendros to support him in case the enemy slipped past Kaleeth. Though, the werecrocodile took up more than half of the stairway by herself, and certainly, she had no trouble creating opportunities for Fendros. The axe-wielding Skaafin were aggressive, going straight for Kaleeth’s head, though she demonstrated a surprising amount of control in response, even for her. Her beast spirit was not normally one to fight strategically, but this time, she tilted her head to let the blows deflect at an angle off of her helmet, while at the same time pressing through the Skaafin’s defense with sheer force. She charged forward into the one on the right, allowing her body weight to barrel through him, and the row behind him. Just after, she took a swipe at the Skaafin on her left. Her claws might not have been able to get through Daedric armor directly, but she could still break his arm if he tried to block her. Though, the Daedra behind them were not without the means to fight back. Spearmen who were not being crushed under the weight of those in front of them were trying to find gaps in Kaleeth’s armor, and a mage let loose a stream of lightning straight into Kaleeth’s head.

At the same time, Ahnasha took the chance to conjure a creature while the enemy was distracted. In the spot she could just barely see behing the ranks of Daedra, she summoned forth a daedroth. There might have been more Skaafin farther down the tower, but at least for this group, she could trap them between two imposing, powerful reptiles.

On the ground, the two sergeants that the Dominion officer dedicated to the reinforcements did not command nearly enough troops to effectively resist them, as would be evident once they crested the hill. Hjergir, however, trusted in the Champion. If she and her pack saw fit to break with the plan, then it must have been for a good reason. He pulled every single one of his warriors into support of Do’rhajul. By this point, the Daedra garrisoning the tower had been pushed back entirely inside and were much less of an immediate threat.

With their allies gathering, Yerig stood beside Do’rhajul, calming his mind and taking in a deep breath. He focused, then let out a shout that echoed through the mountains: “MID VUR SHAAN!” The magic of the shout imbued seemed to stir up the wind around each and every one of his allies, allowing them to move and attack with much greater agility.

“By Talos, the Thu’um!” Hjergir shouted as he raised his axe in the air. “Brothers and sisters, the winds of Kyne guide our blades! Charge!”

With various shouts and battle cries, the largely Nordic force charged ahead to meet the much larger Daedric force head-on. Despite their numeric disadvantage, they seemed nearly as fearless as the immortal Daedra they were attacking.

No matter their enemy’s courage, however, the Daedra were not a force to be underestimated. The rain of fire from Rossarm’s mages was undoubtedly effective. From front to back, their ranks were thinning under the magical onslaught, but they did have mages of their own, and the wide area of the spell meant that each individual fireball could still be blocked by a well-placed ward. Even before the armies had reached one another, Skaafin, Dremora, and Winged Twilights flying above shot fireballs, spikes of ice, and lightning bolts into the advancing Nords, against which simple shields provided only limited defense.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Going down into the tower provided a different sort of battlefield for the pack. Although it was a large watchtower, the stairway was still constricting to the amount of people who could fight side-by-side at once. Two of them could move alongside one another comfortably, perhaps three human-sized individuals. Though, it would be hard to justify not sending in Kaleeth in the very front of their advance. In tight quarters where she could not be surrounded, and the enemy had few options for escape, a behemoth like her could thrive.

Following Fendros’ order, Kaleeth moved down into the stairway alongside him, with the others following behind. Ahnasha decided to allow Janius and Lorag to move in the middle, with herself at the rear. Unlike the others, she could actually meaningfully help without being at the front. The top floor, below the roof, was empty of resistance, though as they passed by, they would be able to see several tables with maps, scrolls, and some other objects. Once the tower was clear and the reinforcements defeated, they could potentially gain some useful information from it, as long as there was someone present who could read the Daedric language.

While they had been able to surprise the archers, those below had, of course, heard the fighting above them. As they started to head down to the next floor, they finally encountered resistance on the stairs, and as it seemed, the Skaafin were putting their strongest warriors in the front. The three up front were in in heavy, Daedric armor, with shields and either swords or axes, while the two behind them used spears from over the shoulders of their front rank.

Outside, on the ground, Sabine’s magical flare illuminated the area deeper into the pass. There was a hill blocking the line-of-sight to the advancing Daedric reinforcements, but Do’rhajul immediately recognized the meaning of Sabine’s signal. He and the rest of Sabine’s pack had stayed on the ground, given how restrictive the indoor fighting within the tower would be. Whether or not the other commanders recognized Sabine’s signal, he was the first to respond to it.

“Enemy reinforcements! On our flank, up the path!” Do’rhajul shouted, moving into position to meet the enemy charge at the very front. Despite having no real authority over anyone else present, Do’rhajul was a hard man to ignore. He had been a general for Vile for many years, and a legionnaire for even longer before that. Everything from his tone to the confidence of his movements spoke to his experience as a veteran in battle, and made it easy to want to follow his lead.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I decided to focus on one scene at a time, so it doesn't get overwhelming.

Do you think Sabine's pack would have joined her through the portal, or stayed below?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Considering how close the Skaafin archers were to the portal, it did not take long to clear the top of the watchtower. Kaleeth was one of the first to drop down out of the portal, and her size alone was usually enough to draw the focus of her enemies. Three of the archers loosed their arrows at her as she rushed towards one of them, and all three simply deflected or even broke against her armor. The Skaafin in front of her tried to run, but being trappup on the top of the watchtower, there was simply nowhere to go. She clenched her hand around the Daedra’s midsection, and with one arm, simply threw him over the edge of the tower.

Being that it was close quarters, Ahnasha had dropped down with blades drawn instead of a bow. There were plenty of creatures she could summon that would be useful in this sort of situation, but for a surprise attack like this, she decided on the simpler, much more direct approach of just running at the enemy before they could effectively react. She followed Kaleeth, and upon seeing three of the archers dedicate their arrows to her, she took the opportunity. She picked one that was trying to nock another arrow and dashed ahead, thrusting the dagger in her off hand towards his neck while also slicing her Daedric sword across the stomach. The Skaafin had only a bow to parry with, and while he did stop the dagger, her sword still spilled his guts in the most literal sense. Kaleeth had already thrown her target from the tower by that point, and the last of the three had managed to draw his shortsword by that point. However, Ahnasha was still just as quick and decisive. She shoved her bleeding foe back into the other Skaafin and followed through while he was staggered, sinking both of her blades into his torso.

Lorag, despite the protection his armor provided, still found it prudent to dash and evade while charging an archer to reduce the chance of a well-aimed shot finding its mark. But, inevitably, he still reached his target and simply used his overpowering strength to smash the Daedra’s head into the stonework.

Meesei, who had dropped through first, had not bothered to move from the spot she landed. Instead, she charged lightning through her hands and waited to see who her best targets would be. The two Skaafin closest to the stairway had decided to make a run for it to regroup with the others inside the tower, so they made for an obvious choice. The two streams of lightning Meesei shot forth found their targets immediately, and with nothing to resist her power, they dropped to the floor just as quickly. She sustained the spells until the scent of burned Daedric flesh reached her snout.

It was easy enough for the pack to surprise a group of unprepared archers. Storming down the stairway into the tower would have been the next part of the plan, but from the vantage point they now had, Meesei spotted a complication. Daedric reinforcements from deeper in the mountain pass were advancing on them more quickly than expected. The frontlines were made up of Skaafin, while more bestial Daedra were dispersed among the ranks behind them, along with some winged twilights flying above like a swarm of bats. It was a larger force than what they had brought with them into the pass, so soon enough, their soldiers down below would be both outflanked and outnumbered.

Meesei was not at all hesitant to make a decision. “Sabine, stay with me here. We need to signal the enemy advance, then we can assist from above. Everyone else, clear the tower as quickly as you can, then rejoin our soldiers below.”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For Hjergir and his warriors, the approach to attacking the tower was far more straightforward compared to the Dominion troops. Without hesitation, they charged in to deal with the Daedra holding the outside of the tower head-on. At least from what they could see from the outside, it seemed like the tower’s garrison was entirely Skaafin, so the fighting would be more familiar than when the Daedra had larger beasts among them. Still, Hjergir’s charge was not disorganized. They moved forward in ranks, overlapping their shields to protect against arrows from the top of the tower. The Khajiit cavalry, meanwhile, moved to the flanks. The tower was set in between jagged rocks on three sides, but they could still search for opportunities to deal some damage.

As planned, Sabine’s portal came well after the rest of their forces had started their assault, and the pack had to move quickly to take advantage of their element of surprise. Meesei was the first through, though the rest of he pack did not delay in following through after her. It was a short fall from the portal to the top of the tower. Meesei was prepared for it, though the sound of her feet hitting the stone, and the clanging of her dragonbone armor immediately grabbed the attention of the Skaafin at the top of the tower.

The top of the tower was a circular, mostly empty space, apart from the entrance to the stairway leading down, and a pedestal with a slightly glowing orb on top of it on the side of the tower closest to the valley. As for the Skaafin, all that remained at top once the attack had began below were the archers firing down through the arrow slits. There were eight of them, all lightly armed and lightly armored, who were clearly alarmed by the sudden arrival of a werewolf pack in close range.

Ri’vashi nodded. “Very well, Ri’vashi will send a detachment forward, have them engage the enemy, then be ‘routed’ back to a seemingly weakened portion of our lines. It will be close enough to the center, so…Khajiit supposes we shall see if Hal-Neesa truly has the power she claims to wield.”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

“Hmm, a clever plan. The staff will make it easy enough to create one.” Meesei remarked. Hjergir and the Dominion commander were gathered as well, though the Nord was not particularly keen on getting any closer to the Thalmor than he had to. The others might have heard of the power of Meesei’s pack, but they were not as familiar with their magical capabilities and would require some explanation.

Lorag gave a look up towards the top of the tower. “We should still make sure to time this right. If we let everyone else attack from the bottom first, then we can drag their attention down from the top and we’ll get more of an element of surprise.”

Meesei nodded, then turned to Hjergir and the Dominion commander. “Have your men attack as you normally would from the base of the tower. Once you have their attention, my pack will use a portal to get to the top and fight our way down to the bottom at the same time. We will be able to crush them between us.”

Standing next to Sabine, Meesei turned her gaze up towards the top of the tower, then placed her massive hand onto Sabine’s back. “You should create the portal. You will need to do it by eye, so…just make sure to judge the distance correctly.”

Ri’vashi gave a look at their map, as well as the markers they had placed to denote the progress of their troops, and sightings of the enemy. “Perhaps a bait may not be a bad idea?” She remarked. “This one can send her warriors ahead of our lines to force the enemy into battle, but without your support, we will still be limited in how many we can fight at once. We might try, instead, to trick the enemy into committing to battle early, of their own volition. These Daedra are more soldier than beast, but they are still prideful. Impulsive. If we show what seems to be a weakness they could exploit, some of their more ambitious commanders may see it as an opportunity to earn glory.”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

There was something of a rush to catch up to their forces moving up the mountain pass, but as a relatively small group, they could move more quickly than formations of soldiers, even with some of their slower members like Kaleeth. Do’rhajul was, notably, sticking quite close to Sabine all the way up the path, alert and with Spellbreaker in hand. Despite the fact that she was perhaps the most capable person in their whole army of protecting herself, he could not shake the feeling of responsibility he had to keep his leader safe and unharmed.

The pack had managed to catch up to their forces moving up to the northern flank and started to lead from the very front of the formation, which was split on the left and right between the Dominion unit, and Hjergir’s frontline forces. Although, Meesei made sure to insert her pack in between the two, as she definitely sensed some…tension from one of the sides. Hjergir had once been a Stormcloak commander during Ulfric’s uprising, and some of his men may have once been loyal to him as well, so having to march alongside Thalmor soldiers had him perpetually sneering. Meesei was sure that the only reason there was not more tension among them was because the Dominion soldiers had no knowledge of Hjergir’s prior allegiance, though she did still expect some judgmental glares, at minimum. Although Hjergir himself, and many of his soldiers, used Dwemer metal in their armor, they were still adorned in traditional Nordic styles. Furs and pelts were common, and Hjergir himself wore, over his helmet, a bear’s head. They did have the look of the “savage men” the Thalmor tended to look down upon.

The first of the watchtowers was close to the beginning of the mountain path, so they did not encounter any meaningful resistance before they started to close in on the first tower. Meesei’s pack did not even need to lift a finger to deal with the small scouting parties they ran into along the way, but she stopped them all short of being in range of the tower. This was the first of four towers they would need to deal with, and would likely be the easiest. The tower was a fortified outpost, but not for the kind of military invasion this realm was currently experiencing. The Daedra had not yet received reinforcements, so the tower would likely just have its normal contingent. Based on its size there probably would not be more than twenty-five to thirty Daedra, against a whole unit of Dominion troops, Hjergir’s warriors, Khajiit cavalry, Rossarm’s mages, and both Meesei and Sabine’s packs. If they wanted to, they could simply charge straight in with their combined forces, but Meesei was not sure that was the best approach.

“We need to decide quickly how we intend to attack, before they can be reinforced.” Meesei said to the others. They did have the advantage of numbers here, but the tower was quite a defensible position, even against a larger force. It was a large, stone structure with quite a few floors worth of stairs to climb within, a fortified door they would have to break down, and some light barricades around its base. If they were to simply charge straight in, there would be some losses. They would not likely lose too many soldiers, but they did need to keep up a fast pace through the mountain pass for the next three towers. If, at any point, they needed to wait for reinforcements, then the enemy would have more time to fortify, and further fights would become even more difficult. They needed to mix caution and aggression to take each tower efficiently. For this tower, they would need to decide if they wanted to destroy it, or to capture it, and how they wanted to attack. They would need to move uphill while under fire from arrows and spells, but the defenders did not have the forces available to actually slow them down on approach. They would need to deal with any Daedra that might be manning the barricades outside, then either break through the door, or destroy the tower entirely.

Near the gate, at the commanders’ table, a werevulture messenger soon landed. In addition to their scouting abilities, flying lycanthropes serves as far more effective messengers than any form of cavalry, especially for messages more complicated than what could be communicated by simple signals. Ri’vashi read the message quickly before relaying it to the others. “Our main force is proceeding into the valley, but they are being harassed by skirmishers and are facing frequent, suicidal attacks from small groups. The Daedra are trying to slow us down, give time for them to collect their army into a unified force. Our forces are having to move carefully to prevent excessive casualties. But, if we have to face the Daedric army all at once, we will be significantly outnumbered.”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I didn't think anyone else was reading it, to be honest.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Hal-Neesa hummed to herself for a moment. “A titan? I suppose I would expect Vile to have some more powerful Daedra guarding his…” Neesa began as she looked out towards the tall tower at the far end of the valley. The twisting pillars of light around it made it even more of a beacon than it would have been otherwise. “…I do wonder exactly what that is? It does look like this realm’s version of Crystal-Like-Law. I did wonder if the counterparts in other realms would collapse as well when Summerset’s tower was destroyed. It seems they did not. Or perhaps Vile just rebuilt it? No matter, it does not change the plan. I will join the diversion force advancing through the valley. Now that I am here, Vile will see me as his primary threat.”

Neesa turned away from the table and mentally signaled for her force of undead soldiers to start advancing down the hill into the valley. Though, a grin soon came across her face. “You all should feel quite fortunate, you know? You and your soldiers are about to have the honor of experiencing something that few mortals ever witness me do: try.”

At the front of the battlefield, the effect Meesei’s pack had was quite pronounced. Not only had they stalled the Daedra’s advance, but the lines of legionnaires were now advancing down the path to finish off an enemy that had been…somewhat routed. Despite the fact that Meesei’s pack had helped open up a split in the enemy ranks, which their allies quickly took advantage of, there was no surrender for the Daedra. As beings that could not truly die, they did not stop fighting until their bodies were destroyed, no matter how hopeless the battle. For mortal armies, one could expect retreat or surrender when a fight was lost, but this was to be an exhausting battle against relentless foes.

Meesei bolted back to the front lines of their own forces just before Sabine unleashed what was essentially a meteor shower on the remaining Daedra. It was a rather spectacular display that lit up the battlefield with an orange glow of flames, and certainly rallied their own troops. What was left of the Daedra in this wave were little more than stragglers, but as tempting as it was to celebrate, they could not afford to lose their momentum. The initial wave that the Skaafin had managed to pull together was only the beginning. There would be far more ahead of them in the valley beyond, and they would be ready this time.

Of course, Meesei’s pack would not be advancing through the front line of the battlefield. They would be moving north, through the mountain pass, and taking out watchtowers as they went. They would be supporting the Dominion soldiers that Teroiah was sending up through the mountain pass and, as well, would be joined by a few teams hand-picked by Ri’vashi. Among them were a Khajiit cavalry unit led by Ri’kalesh, though instead of horses, they were mounted on the great “battlecats”, Senche-raht. Cavalry traditionally did not perform well in more restrictive, mountainous terrain, but the Senche-raht’s intelligence and physical prowess would allow them to navigate the battlefield with surprising effectiveness. Another team had formed a silent reunion between Saras and Hjergir Steel-Heart of the Riften clan, bringing with them both warriors, and some of Saras’ most accomplished agents. As well, the team of mages formed by Fendros’ father had also been assigned to the northern flank, and a few werevultures to serve as messengers.

As the bulk of their forces were advancing deeper into the valley, Meesei’s pack split off and reconvened just to the north. The fighting in the mountain pass would likely be more small-scale battles, but every bit as important. The watchtowers were valuable positions from which the Skaafin could coordinate their troops and artillery, though in a way, it was almost fortunate that they were there. They provided a convenient excuse for them to send forces to escort the Rueful Axe through the mountains towards Vile, without giving away the fact that Hal-Neesa was not his true threat.

“We need to hurry.” Meesei remarked as she turned her gaze towards the mountains. “It looks like Teroiah is already sending her forces to the pass. We need to regroup with the Dominion commander and help lead the way.”

Ahnasha walked up alongside Fendros and Sabine, guiding Leaps with her. “Do either of you want to be the one to ride Leaps into battle? I might be more useful fighting on foot.” She asked. Her first instinct was to pose the question to members of her own pack, though there was also Yerig, or any of the members of Sabine’s pack who could take up his reins.