Sirius heaved a sigh as he watched the Dragonborn and his team disappear into the distance before rubbing at his face, already wondering what he was getting himself into. Behind him, Balthazar and Mayhem exchanged glances, the vampire's eyebrows raising as he tilted his head toward the half-elf and opened his mouth to ask a question, only to shut it again when May shook her head, giving him an amused look. "You seem nervous," she said as Sirius finally turned to look at them.
"We'll be passing far too close to the Embassy for my liking," he huffed.
"We won't be that close."
"It's still close enough."
"...I seem to be missing quite a bit of context here," Balthazar spoke up, looking between the two elves. "What's the Embassy?"
"It's a bit of a long story," Mayhem started.
"I assumed it would be," Balthazar told her patiently. "I have been sealed away for quite some time, after all. But seeing as it's going to take us a few days to get to my family's castle, I believe we have the time for a long story."
"Can't argue with that," Mayhem agreed with a shrug. She turned to Sirius. "Perhaps you better tell it though, you would know the details better than me." Balthazar turned an inquisitive gaze onto him, and he sighed.
"How familiar are you with the Aldmeri Dominion?"
"I can't say I'm familiar with the name."
Sirius stared at him for a long moment. "...When, exactly, were you sealed away?"
"If I recall correctly... Five hundred seventy-four of the Second Era."
"That was a thousand years ago!" Mayhem exclaimed.
"And just a few years before the First Aldmeri Dominion was founded." Sirius frowned thoughtfully to himself. "However, that's of little consequence to current events, really. The Embassy is the base of operations for the Third Aldmeri Dominion here in Skyrim." He paused as he took a moment to decide how he wanted to continue. "Until almost two weeks ago, I was First Emissary. A title I took great pride in... until I discovered how expendable I was." Mayhem reached over, gently squeezing his shoulder in commiseration.
"What do you mean 'expendable'?"
"I'm only half Altmer. But as I was my father's only child, the Thalmor allowed him to keep me, and upon discovering my talents, decided I could be of great use to them."
"What exactly is the Aldmeri Dominion?"
"A group of zealots convinced of their own superiority," Mayhem sighed. "They are quite intent on restoring elven rule to Tamriel, on the claim that humanity is too immature and destructive to govern itself properly."
"The Third Dominion got its start a little over two hundred years ago. It was just a small faction then, but upon ending the Oblivion Crisis and restoring the Moons, they gained quite a bit of traction." He bit his lip at the look Mayhem gave him. "Or so they claimed, anyway. The true heroes of the Crisis were Martin Septim, the illegitimate son of Uriel Septim the Seventh, and a man most only know as the Hero of Kvatch. I've come to know him as Benny."
That surprised the vampire. "You mean the Daedric Prince that's been hanging around the Temple?"
"The one and the same," Mayhem confirmed, giving him a grin.
"That's a separate story. Most Altmer didn't know any different; at least not at first. When the daedra suddenly disappeared, and the Thalmor came up claiming to have banished them all back to Oblivion, people were quick to believe them, wanting someone to thank for putting an end to such a horrific ordeal. It was the same with the Void Nights- roughly a century ago the Moons disappeared, and two years later reappeared. No one is certain what caused them to vanish, but like with the Oblivion Crisis, the Thalmor claimed to have brought the Moons back using 'Dawn Magicks'- which I can certainly confirm is quite the hoax, as I never came across any such thing in any of my research, and even as a hated 'half-blood' I had a lot of access to restricted files due to my position within their ranks. Anyway, now we come to where the story really becomes relevant- thirty-five years ago the Thalmor finally made their move. I accompanied my father, who was First Emissary at the time, to the Imperial City with a 'gift' for the Empire, and a list of demands. It was the start of a vicious war, which ended only when the Emperor offered a treaty that agreed to nearly all of our original demands." His gaze fell to the ground. "I was instrumental in much of that. When my father met an untimely end, I was offered his title, and improved upon much of his work. It was only when the rebels managed to capture me by pure random chance that..."
"Things began to change," Mayhem finished for him. "Sirius was with us for only two weeks before the Thalmor found us and reclaimed him. But it was enough to open his eyes, and he was prepared when the Thalmor decided they no longer needed him. Very bad move on their part, I believe."
"I still haven't agreed to join you, you know."
"If you say so."
Balthazar chuckled softly. "I'm with her on this. I barely know any of you, but even I can see it's inevitable. You seem the sort who would have been long gone already if you didn't have reason to stay." Sirius fell thoughtfully silent as they walked.
YOU ARE READING
Murphy's Law
Fanfiction[Skyrim Crossover] As if Skyrim wasn't already hectic enough, with its inhabitants fighting both the Aldmeri Dominion and the Empire. Now there's dragons, too, and Emmet finds himself unwittingly roped into the whole mess. What else could go wrong?
