Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine tilted her head and looked aside. "From a certain point of view, yes. Daedric Princes cannot be harmed by us normally. But they are vulnerable to parts of themselves. Artefacts they make are part of themselves. We were looking for something called the Rueful Axe. An axe Vile made. We were going to turn it into a weapon, find a way into Vile's domain, and use it to weaken him. Thus weakened, Hircine can attack. Defeating Vile will not kill the Daedric Prince. It will force him into a weak torpor, though. And we can take back the souls he stole and release them in the process."

Sabine nodded and quickly added. "And the Empire and Dominion. They found us first. They could have destroyed us, but it would be expensive, time-consuming, and we would fight back. So, in secret from the wider population, they are...finding a way to 'assimilate' the clans as subjects, in exchange for their help and protection. We negotiated a level of autonomy. Progress has been slow with them and yet without them we may have lost the war. Mostly they send captured lycans to us instead of executing them." She gave Do'Rhajul a sideways glance. "The Empire even wants lycan legionnaires as a secret project. Lycans with good control and skill. Both can be trained."

Despite the uncertainty of sharing as much as she was, Sabine had now long put aside the notions that Do'Rhajul and Yerig were threats.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

If Sharon were here, she could have massaged some of the tension out of my body.

@BBeast

But hain are covered in an exoskele-

Oh.

Heheh.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Also, let me know if I have any tower lore wrong. It's been a while since I properly looked at it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"He does not want a price for the sake of it. Our souls are powerful but we are not numerous. Not even with the extra lycans he ordered made. Look..."

Sabine tapped the butt of her staff at the centre of the crude star she had drawn. "This is where Mundus is. Where we are. On its own, it collapses," she said, before tapping at each of the points of the star. "So it has towers holding it up. Eight of them. They are not...like usual towers. But they have physical manifestations here on Tamriel. They also have stones which are needed to keep them working." She drew a circle around the star. "This makes the wheel that all of reality is in. Between the towers are plains of Oblivion, where Daedra live."

She dug at the point of the star nearest to her. "One is the Red Tower. It is the Red Mountain in Morrowind. In the third era, its stone -- the Heart of Lorkhan -- was severed by the Nereverine." Sabine dashed aside the dirt, ruining one of the lines.

"Another is the White Gold tower," Sabine continued. "The capitol of Cyrodiil. Its stone was the Amulet of Kings. The stone was severed when Martin Septim died at the end of the Oblivion Crisis." Sabine dashed another line.

"Crystal-Like-Law is the next. In the Summerset isles. It also fell in the Oblivion crisis." The dirt was scraped again.

"There is Oricalc tower. No one knows truly where it is. Most people think it was in Yokuda. Yokuda sunk into the ocean." Another line was ruined. Only four remained.

"Brass-Walk was the strangest. The Dwemer made it. It was the Numidium, the great creature that Tiber Septim to conquer Tamriel. It was destroyed in the Warp in the West in the third era." Only three lines remained untouched.

"Green-Sap is a graht oak in Valenwood. The first graht oak. Many things have happened to it. However, there is no certainty whether it is still working or not. Everything about it is...'Perchance.' In the worst case, it no longer holds Mundus." Sabine scratched it away.

"This one you will certainly know. It is Snow Throat. The Throat of the World. The mountain in Skyrim where the Greybeards live. Its prophecy told that Anduin would appear when the Snow Tower lies sundered. Anduin did appear. Its fate was sealed with High King Torygg." With this line scratched out, only one was left standing.

"This is the only tower we know is left. The first tower. Ada-Mantia. It's Direnni Tower, on an island off the coast of Daggerfall. It has yet to fall."

Sabine raised her eyes to Do'Rhajul and continued with conviction enough to preclude any lies. "Every time a tower falls, a disaster strikes Nirn. No one knows exactly what will happen when the last dies, but we know that nothing will keep Mundus separated from Oblivion. A powerful Daedric prince could swallow Nirn into their realm and take everyone in it. We were given the proof of these theories by research given by the highest offices in the Aldmeri Dominion, and corroborated by the Empire through our contacts. This is real. The nations are paralysed by military tension. And...other policies. We have already been fighting Vile, so it came down to us. They know what we are capable of. But we still need help."

It was the simplest explanation she could manage. Sabine's initial frustration had simmered down. She was prepared to clarify anything Do'Rhajul had to ask, though if he knew history, he would see the pattern Sabine was showing him.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I do not care! You can help," Sabine retorted. "If you do not understand, let me tell you. Let me teach you. We are not making your end now. I refuse."

Sabine stood up and took the Staff of Magnus in both hands. She impatiently dug four straight lines in the dirt between them, intersecting at the middle of their lengths a central point, making a crude eight-pointed star. She turned her eyes up to Do'Rhajul, wasted tears and all.

"Why do you think Vile wanted lycan souls in the first place, Rhajul?" she demanded.

Sabine had spent much time wrapping her head around the towers. She had no guarantee of convincing Do'Rhajul, especially with a simplified explanation, but she was determined. She would teach Do'Rhajul everything about the universe if she needed to.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"My name is Sabine. Call me Sabine, not 'lycan,'" Sabine said. Some defiance showed through her shaky voice. "You surrendered to me, not the lycans. You do not get to say what I should and should not care about."

Sabine breathed in. She attempted to level herself. "Vile has not given up on us. He has not given up on you, either. He has the souls he needs from us but he is not stopping there. He wants to topple the towers. He wants to swallow all of Mundus. Cyrodiil, the Dominion, Nirn, everything. That is why we were here in High Rock to begin with. We were finding what we needed to stop him. I do not care if the horrible war is finished because the fighting is not finished."

Impassioned, Sabine raised her voice. "So you do not get to run away! If you are so guilty, you should make things right! Revenge is useless to us! Everyone wants revenge. It is the main reason why there is so much pain and killing. It makes hurt people hurt others! I hate it! If I get to decide your fate, I do not want revenge on you. I say you have to help us! When you do, you will get to save the lives of everyone in the world. Everyone in the Empire! Even your family. And you still care about them, so do not lie and tell me you would rather die. You would be a coward to them after you spent everything you had to get them back. And after all the effort you did before you did monstrous things I want you to be remembered as something better. Because even if imperial records will not say anything, we will remember. We know what you did. Most will not forgive you, but..."

She was ranting. Sabine lowered her head. She was weeping again. "...but I will," she ended softly. "Because I am sorry your life got taken away. I am so sorry. And I do not think anyone has said that to you for too long."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

You'll have to forgive me about the short posts taking so long. I'm having to think really hard about how Sabine acts in this situation.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine's jaw quivered. She spoke in a broken, stilted tone as if trying to hold back her feelings on the matter. "What if you could see them now? You have better control now, do you not? I know what it is like to not know who your real parents are. It is not fair on your daughter to lie about yourself."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The initial way Do'Rhajul described his old life felt somewhat self-serving to Sabine. Getting back a chance to reach a noble title hardly seemed to justify his crimes. Not that much would. However, when he mentioned a wife and daughter, Sabine turned her face a degree. Her judgements clouded over.

Sabine blinked twice. "Have you seen your family since you were turned?"

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

<Snipped quote by Muttonhawk>

Hello! Nice as it is to drop by, I probably wouldn't have if I wasn't mentioned, I'm afraid. That doesn't mean I'm not glad to answer any questions anyone might have about Slough's stuff, though.

@Lugubrious

No worries. Your knowledge is appreciated, my ephemeral dude. Take care!