Dorne, Sunspear
The Maiden
She really didn't expect that little cunt to attack her, and above all, she didn't know that she had such a powerful artefact in her possession, probably belonging to the Dragon. Although she didn't suffer any serious injuries, the attack hurt.
She could feel divine energy in the staff, a relic of some god, similar to Conviction and Faith, the sword and shield of the Warrior.
With a sigh she stood up from the shattered furniture and lightly dusted off her flowing dress, then looked at Nymeria, who was clutching the staff tightly in both hands.
"Child, did you really think you were able to hurt me in any way? I must admit that you hold a powerful artefact in your hand, and I am surprised that the Dovahkiin parted with it; nevertheless, it doesn't change the fact that you will soon regret the decision you have made."
Nymeria smiled weakly at that, then replied, "Do you really think I could believe you? I'd have to be a fool not to know that you wanted to use me against Neferion and then throw me away like a used tool."
Irritated by the current developments, she decided it was time to move on to plan B. Since she had failed to turn Nymeria against this self-proclaimed god, she was curious how she would react when she learnt that the princess was dead and Sunspear was in ruins.
A golden dagger appeared in her hand, with which she rushed at the princess with superhuman speed, easily bypassing her guard, aiming it straight at the princess's neck, but before it could reach its target, it bounced off the materialised glow that was instantly emanating blue light.
The sapphire barrier enclosed the woman as if in a cocoon. The goddess's gaze wandered to the similar ring emanating from Nymeria's left hand. Another artefact? However, this one had no divine energy in it, but it did not change the fact that it was able to block her blow.
Her eyes were immediately drawn to the other rings on the princess's hands. There were seven of them, each of which emanated strong magic, just like the necklace hanging around her neck. How on earth had she not noticed these items before? The same thing happened with the staff; she had not sensed its power until she was attacked by it.
Her mind quickly returned to the fight as she felt magic begin to gather beneath her. When she glanced down, she saw a blue-white circular glyph on the ground. She tried to quickly jump away, but the exploding ice shards and cold air hit her, throwing her against the wall once again.
This time, the princess did not give her a moment to get up. A ball of fire was already racing towards her, and an icy rune was starting to form on the ground beneath her again.
She quickly threw herself to the side, and, stretching both hands towards the princess, bright green flames flew. To her annoyance, the princess's magical barrier was still holding. It must have been an exceptionally powerful artefact, since it was able to withstand her divine flames.
She had never been good at fighting; compared to the others, she and Mother were weaker and lacked typical combat skills. If Warrior or Stranger had been in her place, Nymeria would already be dead.
Unfortunately, it was she who had to deal with this unexpected problem. With growing fury, she threw herself at the woman and then began to attack with force, faster than the human eye could keep up with, trying to break through the barrier while avoiding the spells flying at her. And indeed, after a few blows, the magic shield broke.
The released energy threw them apart, but she was immediately on her feet again and jumped at the princess, but when she was a foot or two away from her, the necklace around the princess's neck began to glow, and two large, black, winged monsters with demonic faces materialised on both sides of her, which crashed into her with enormous force.
Their powerful arms tried to tear her apart, but she furiously threw one of them away and then plunged her dagger into the skull of another. When she had one of the monsters off her head, she stretched out her hand towards the other, which was once again flooded with her green flames. She had to admit that the beast's stone-like body resisted for a long time but eventually crumbled to dust.
Her angry gaze stopped at Nymeria, who was struggling to get to her feet, wounded. Without waiting, Maiden was by her side in a second and, grabbing her by the neck, easily pressed her against the wall.
"Stupid girl, enough with your tricks. What did you need all this for?" She shouted angrily, but in the princess's eyes she saw not fear but determination.
Suddenly she felt as if something had scratched her arm, but she came to the conclusion that it was one of the wounds inflicted by the flying monsters. But when she felt the pain again and again, as if something had cut her skin. She quickly glanced at her arm at the right moment to see Nymeria struggling, grazing her with the dagger she held in her hand.
"You little whore. Do you really think that something like that can do something to me...?" But before she could finish her sentence, she felt her strength leaving her and a terrible pain attacking her divine being.
With a cry, she lowered the woman to the ground and, grabbing her head, fell to the ground, concentrating all her strength on the fading flame of her divinity.
"I'm glad Neferion was right again." The princess's voice reached her, full of satisfaction. "The smallest wound or even a scratch is enough for fate to flip a coin."
"Oh, wh... what are you talking about?" She rasped in a voice filled with pain, not understanding what the other was talking about but seeking some salvation in her words.
"This is no ordinary dagger but a relic of an evil god called Mehrunes' Razor, which had a small chance of instantly killing an enemy, even one that was slightly wounded by it. However, Neferion improved it. He plunged it into the heart of that same god, filling it with his essence. Essence of destruction, greatly increasing the chance of activating the weapon's effect."
Nymeria knelt down, staring at her agony, then added, pulling out a strange metal object resembling a star or a radiant sun, "In this way, the dagger became a weapon that could kill even a god. And although I doubted his words when he told me about it, now I see that he was right again when I look at your condition."
The princess continued talking, but she was no longer able to understand anything, feeling her avatar begin to fall apart when, at the last moment, she managed to release her divine essence, but before she could return to their heavenly abode, something began to attract her.
After a moment, she realised that the metal star was another artefact and was currently absorbing her divine soul.
"NO! NO! PLEASE, NOOOOO...!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Riverlands, Riverrun
Neferion
Before his eyes stretched a truly pleasant sight, if only to subtract the gathered army. Riverrun was a fairly good-looking, large, well-fortified castle, surrounded entirely by a wide moat.
The air smelt of smoke, unwashed bodies, and the stench of urine. Unavoidable with such a large number of men. Plus, he had to admit that it was the most pathetic army he had ever seen. Even that son of a bitch Ulfric's stupid Stormcloaks were much better trained and armed. And even despite all the bullshit they gave him about hating mages, they had them in their ranks. Hypocrites.
Not that he needed mages right now, but he wouldn't mind at least one legion right now. Disciplined troops were much better at taking over and securing territories, and that was what mattered to him at the moment.
The outer walls were packed with defenders, and even more waited inside the keep. He guessed there must be between 5 and 6 thousand men inside. Normally, such a well-fortified, moated keep could hold out for months against much larger forces with the right supplies.
The Lords of the Riverlands under him might have brought in nearly 12 thousand men, but most of them were simply starving peasants dragged off their farms. And the fact that they had eaten better since he had started providing them with food couldn't simply reverse the years of famine.
After a moment, he moved towards the nearby gathered Lords of the Riverlands, who were lively discussing the actions they should take. A siege was never an easy matter, at least not for the common folk.
"Gentlemen, I think your discussion is unnecessary. I have no intention of throwing men upon these walls when I have other better options." He addressed them, immediately drawing their gazes.
"I do not need troops to conquer lands or capture castles for me. I am self-sufficient in that respect. I need soldiers to hold these lands and castles."
"So why bring an entire army, my lord?" Roland Blackwood asked, his tone clearly indicating that he was not questioning his decision but was simply speaking out of human curiosity.
"So that they may see and believe. All these people are future witnesses of my power and future believers. What will happen here is they will carry back to their villages and homes, telling what they saw and experienced," he explained, watching their reactions.
Seeing their surprise, but also their realisation, he laughed lightly. After a moment he said, "Tomorrow morning we will begin the attack. You will line up your troops about a mile from the moat, between the road and the forest."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Riverlands, Riverrun
Lord Lothar Bracken
The warm rays of the rising sun were slowly breaking up the darkness of the night, revealing the rebel forces gathered in formation in the distance. He wondered why they hadn't attacked yet. He had expected them to attack just before dawn, when visibility was at its worst and the guards were at their most tired.
If his plan was to work. He would need an army, or at least the Dovahkiin be within 500 feet of the walls, for that was as far as the tunnels dug, laden to the brim with Wildfire, would go. 2,000 special containers, filled with a substance created by Valyrian alchemists and delivered by Valyrian ships.
Of course, the tunnels were filled in just below the moat so that the raging fire could not reach the castle.
Another quarter of an hour passed, and then another. He and his men were growing impatient, their nerves growing increasingly tense. But then there was a commotion in the attacking ranks, and a single figure broke away and began to walk alone toward Riverrun. At first he thought it might be a messenger, but after a moment he realised it was the Dovahkiin himself. His armour was too distinctive to mistake him for anyone else once he had been seen.
"It's him", "Dragonborn, "Dovahkiin", "Lightbringer", "It's the new god," he heard the murmurs and whispers of the soldiers around him everywhere, their voices full of fear mixed with admiration.
Lothar suddenly he began to feel weaker, and it was harder to stay on his feet, as if an invisible weight was pressing down on his shoulders. His breathing became heavier, and even the sky seemed to darken in colour, despite the fact that there were no clouds in sight. He looked around, noticing that the same thing was starting to happen to all the defenders of the keep. Some even began to wobble on their feet.
With each step Dovahkiin took, the pressure grew stronger; many soldiers fell to their knees, and the rest, like him, tried to hold on to whatever they could, including their comrades. The silhouette of their enemy suddenly blurred and swelled, and in its place grew a huge white dragon, which covered the entire horizon. Lothar felt his knees buckle under him; at that moment, the force crushing him increased many times over. He desperately grabbed the battlements, stubbornly trying to catch his breath. His head was pounding, and he felt like vomiting.
The giant dragon opened its mouth as if to roar, and from it came words that shook the world, and his heart and mind filled with fear such as he had never known. Panic seized him and all the defenders, who began to flee, seeking salvation; many threw themselves from the walls straight into the moat or down at their comrades, who trampled each other. Pure chaos and madness reigned in Riverrun.