Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-3293219-20150724223316/@comment-5543592-20150724232156

(Epic theme)

4 months ago…

Ragnar sat on his throne inside Heljarchen Hall, with his cheek resting on his fist, deep in thought. No court was in session, he simply sat there to think. It simply brought him peace. He knew his word was being spread around the province. All he had to do was wait for the word to come back to him to know he was ready.

It was these thoughts from which he was rudely interrupted by one of his guards bursting into the hall.

“My Thane! Legionnaires are circling the hall!”

Ragnar bolted upright, “What?”   No one had enough evidence to expose him like that, to make the Legion actually dare an attack on his stronghold. Either the Legion was acting on what would appear as rumors or someone had gotten ahold of some very valuable documents.

“Cavalry! The guards are taking up positions!”

“Tell them to hold off for now.”   Ragnar instructed, rising from his throne. “And take defensive positions. If they came as a cavalry and not in rank and file they mean for us to surrender. Do no such thing.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Position archers on the balconies. If you see fire of any kind, shoot the Imperials down. Target the horses. Without shields, they will be at a disadvantage on foot. Then-“

“It’s over, Ragnar.”   Said Nadina softly, coming out of a side room.

   “Nadina!”   He said, hurrying towards her. “We’re under attack. Grab your weapons, we need to hold these dogs off-“

“I heard everything.”   She said, quietly, looking up into his eyes. “I called them here. I revealed our plans to Winterhold.”

Ragnar did a double take, before shooting a look at his guard, still dutifully standing at attention. “Do as I said. Leave us.”

The guard didn’t even reply, he just scurried out.

“Why would you do that?”   Demanded Ragnar, turning back to her. He raised his voice, anger getting the best of him for once.

“You can’t fight the Empire, Ragnar. It’s ridiculous. They outnumber us a hundred to one. But you’d already gone so far… I thought it best to reveal what happened. They cannot touch you- you’re a noble. But you will be expected to pledge an oath of allegiance to the Emperor.”

Oath of allegiance…    Ragnar was stunned, and his gaze drifted to the floor. She betrayed him? His most trusted advisor. That was… unheard of. She knew him in ways no one else did. How could see shatter is trust like that? She knew how fragile it was to begin with. Or maybe she overestimated the strength of their relationship.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I can’t believe…”   Ragnar stammered, at a loss for words. He was absolutely shocked and mind boggled. Was he outplayed? He was a survivor, yes, but he would never bend a knee to the Emperor. That went against every single code he had. If he swore to the Emperor, he would be bound to the man for life. He would accept the Empire as his own.

<p class="MsoNormal">“It’s okay, Ragnar. I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do this to yourself, throw away everything you’ve worked for.”   Nadina said, her voice tender, and reached up to touch his face, like she had done so many times before. “I love you.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Ragnar finally looked up at her at the contact, coming back to reality, his eyes narrowing, focusing.

<p class="MsoNormal">“No…”   Ragnar began, finding his voice again. It was cold and had a hard edge, a striking contrast to her own at the moment. “I’m sorry, Nadina.”

<p class="MsoNormal">She opened her mouth, as if to ask what for, but was cut short when Ragnar’s massive hands clasped around her neck. He did not flinch, or halt, once. He simply steeled himself for what needed to be done. He flexed the muscles in his arms and squeezed his hands together, crushing her jugular veins. As Ragnar strangled her, Nadina looked more surprised than Ragnar had previously been. She grasped at his wrists, trying to pull his arms away, but the Nord did not budge. She was virtually unable to fight back, overcome by both fear and shock. Ragnar coldly watched as her eyes rolled back and she slowly stilled. Not a flicker of emotion crossed his features.

<p class="MsoNormal">Eventually, her arms fell slack and dropped to her sides. Nadina was now just dead weight in the Thane’s hands. The Barbarian released Nadina’s neck, letting the corpse of the Redguard fall to the floor with a dull thump. Ragnar glanced down at it briefly, before stepping over his dead lover, and towards their once shared room. He quietly dressed in his armor, hefted his warhammer, and proceeded outside to begin his attack on the cavalry.

<p class="MsoNormal">It was the last time he would ever lead any of his men. Fitting, perhaps, as the battle ended in their deaths.

<p class="MsoNormal">It’s obvious what happened next.