Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-5824038-20160606113513/@comment-5824038-20160630122556

(Okay let's get this ball rolling once again!)

Doubts and fears filled their minds as their journey continued. The number of airships in the skies, both civilian and military, was vastly increased, which was a dangerous sight indeed. Far below them they could see huge groups of people marching, sometimes flashes of light as gunshots and explosions went off.

'We did all this, didn't we,' Talyaras said to Lyrissa, who was in the rock room with her for the moment. 'Someone tried to kill Xarxes, and now the tensions have led to all this. Because we were too slow to uncover the truth.'

The airship carried on its way. The green rolling hills of the southern Nibenay Basin began to give way to rivers and bogs. They were flying over the marshes.

__________

Noises of shouting and squabbling filled the Chambers of War. A dozen generals wished for different attacks to be executed, and the Senator of War sat in the centre of it all, covering his face with one hand and gripping his cane in the other tightly. He simply couldn't deal with all of this.

On the one hand, if they moved straight to Samarkand's heartlands, deep into the marshes and the dunes, they would probably be obliterated very early on, given the great levels of protection around these places. But if they moved to more isolated targets, such as Morrowind or the southern cities of Skyrim, they would have no chance of returning to defend Brightwall if it were attacked. And spreading themselves thinly was never a good idea.

Truly, they needed more soldiers. If the latest information was correct, Samarkand outnumbered them five to four. It was an unfavourable war.

Then again, they had won on better odds before. The Psijic Scientific Order usually managed to come up with some absurd piece of technology that would give them the advantage they needed to beat back the enemy.

He just hoped Alinor was capable of defending itself against any attacks made on it.

__________

Wraith's ariship glided through the sky. It was much quieter than all other ships of its size, thanks to the rebel's modifications. They were moving west, towards the Colovian Highlands, where the stronghold of the Council of Nobles once stood.

'They were destroyed, Wraith,' Victorius said, still unsure why Wraith was heading to this place. 'You have said to me over and over again that they are back, but how do you know?'

The wolf mask turned to face the Imperial. 'Do you doubt me, Victorius?'

'N-no, of course not, but I wish to know why you are so sure.'

'It was by no coincidence that Xarxes was almost killed by a man claiming to be from the Foyada Tong. The Tong have what they always wanted, freedom. Or at least as much as they could realistically hope for. So why try and kill a foreign leader? It simply doesn't make any sense. Unless somebody else instigated the assassination, because they knew it would cause huge tension and distrust between the Empire and Samarkand. And then when they were focussing on each other, this somebody else had the chance to rise up once more.'

'And you think that somebody else is the Council of Nobles?'

Wraith did not reply.

__________

They sat in a large open area, there were about two deozen long benches, the kind you would find in a Cyrodiilic-style Temple of the Divines. Over a hundred people were sat. There was no floor, walls, or ceiling, instead they were surrounded by shining colours: whites, pale blues, greens, pinks, and fiery reds. These coulors shimmered and slowly moved around, creating an enchanting haze of beaty.

A Bosmer man in bulky armour stepped forwards. 'The Phoenix is coming. Your prayers have been answered.'

From the back, a fiery bird flew down from above, and as it reached the "ground" it disintegrated, forming the shape of a woman. She was dressed in green and gold, and her red hair flowed out from behind her. Everyone bowed their heads as a sign of respect and reverance.

Meledran went down on one knee, his head bowed low too.

The Phoenix came to the front, standing next to her Herald, and turned to face everyone. She did not speak, but her words echoed through everyone's minds.

''You are all here because I wished it to be that way. Every single one of you has passion and anger and love in your hearts, and you all wish to change how this world spins. No longer shall it be dictated by hatred and prejudice, no longer shall the rich and noble selfishly choose war and suffering, no longer shall the people live in fear and misery. Fire and life will exist in abundance. And we can finally be happy.''

Nobody said anything, but Phoenix could feel the bubbling sense of excitement and support inside each and every member of her Court.