[IC] Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

[Muttonhawk]

The abruptness of Vykosa's appearance made Fendros reach for his sword and Janius brace himself to strike. They were all on edge without the spirit of their powerful lycan acquaintance visiting them.

A moment passed to realise Vykosa did not intend to attack. Fendros relaxed enough to speak up to Meesei. He did not feel comfortable looking Vykosa in the eye for too long.

"If this Vykosa has experience leading lycanthropes, we could at least hear her out," Fendros offered.

Janius' ears pinned back under his helmet, not trusting her.

[EliteCommander]

Vykosa scoffed at Fendros. “Do you always bend so easily in the face of resistance? It is good that it is not you this one seeks.”

The Khajiit stepped up closer to Meesei, though she did not make any moves that would necessarily be considered “aggressive”. To any onlookers, Meesei, in her werewolf form clad in dragon armor, was the more imposing figure between the two, though Vykosa, of course, did not show any signs of being intimidated. “Vykosa has no interest in being ‘led’ by you, lizard. You have your warriors dressing up in armor and playing soldier like these weak mortals.” She growled, gesturing a hand towards Teroiah and gro-Tagnud. “…but we will not interfere with you. If you want to line up in formations and pretend to be soldiers, you may, but we will storm Vile’s realm and lay waste to any resistance he dares to throw at us.”

“On one condition.” A voice sounded out nearby, though it was not Meesei. Ri’vashi turned away from the map and set her stern gaze upon Vykosa. She wore newly-forged and enchanted ebony armor, with an ebony sword on her hip in the same Akaviri style as her father’s blade. “You and your warriors can do whatever you want once you are through the portal, but our plans require timing, and only so many can pass through the portal at once. We will decide when you go through.”

Fortunately, Vykosa did not seem to take offense at the demand. “Very well. You have created this portal, so Vykosa will grant you that much.”

Ri’vashi returned her attention to the map. “How many lycans will we be sending through?”

“All of them.” Vykosa replied.

Ri’vashi grunted in annoyance. “I mean, what is the size of your pack?”

“I mean all lycans.” Vykosa answered again. “The Moon Hunter pack is the strongest, but every lycanthrope that has ever lived and died will be joining Hircine on this hunt.”

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros knew Vykosa had not come to pick a fight. He did not take the bait. Whether Gro-Tagnud and Teroiah were silent for the same reasons was hard to tell.

And just as well they heard her out. Vykosa's offer took everyone by surprise. Not just for the scale of support, but the last detail in particular.

Teroiah spoke up to clarify, showing only enough pretentiousness in her tone to mark her as uncowed. "When you say joining Hircine in this hunt, do you speak metaphorically? Of all his lycans running forth? Or does the Prince of the Hunt wish to attend in person?"

[EliteCommander]

Vykosa snapped her gaze onto Teroiah. “Hircine is not changing your precious plans. He will be saving his strength for the final battle with Vile himself. It is our role to crush his minions within our claws.”

Shortly afterwards, there was movement in the sky that drew eyes upwards. Werevultures and werebats, just a few at first, but their numbers were steadily growing. Some of the smaller and lighter ones landed in trees, while others moved to any open space on the ground they could find. The lycan spirits were quickly filling up any space they happened to be able to find in view of the portal, landing in between formations, perhaps uncomfortably close to the Legionnaires and Dominion soldiers. And this was just the flying werecreatures. “Every lycan that has ever lived and died” was not a precise number, but already, its scale was coming into view. They were in a largely forested area, beyond their clearing, so they could not see off to the horizon. How many lycan spirits were converging onto their portal?

“It seems our hunters are nearly here. You may choose when we advance through your portal, but do not keep these lycans waiting too long. They thirst for blood, and may not appreciate having to be idle for too long.” Vykosa remarked.

Ri’vashi saw their new arrivals, but she kept her eyes on the map between her and the other commanders. This was a surprise, a last-minute disruption to their plans, but at least it was a good surprise. “There are places we can use this.” Ri’vashi began, glancing up to Teroiah and gro-Tagnud. “Between the first and second waves, after we clear the area around the portal, but before we start constructing our fortifications, we can send in a wave of lycan spirits. They will spread out, engage the enemy, disrupt them from forming ranks, and slow down their response. They do not need to have organization or training to accomplish that much. We can treat them as skirmishers.”

[Muttonhawk]

Teroiah and Gro-Tagnud exchanged a glance.

Naturally, Teroiah spoke up first. "At least we will have force enough to hold the line. Pushing them all through could give us a shield to set up and advance with impunity."

"Not all of 'em," Gro-Tagnud countered. "We've both been working on moving boots at a large scale. There are too many to move quickly through the one portal. By the time all of them are through, Vile will have had time to rally and alert all forces. We need to have a foothold before that happens or we're just setting up a mill grinder for troops."

"We will be more likely ground to dust without their support," Fendros commented.

Gro-Tagnud frowned. "I never said they weren't supporting us. We're just goin' to have to ride in the second wave in two columns: standing soldiers on one side, hunters on the other. We set up as planned with plenty of reinforcements."

"To consolidate," Teroiah said.

"Exactly." He pointed to Teroiah in agreement. "We secure the ground we can take. Skirmishers stick to their own roles."

[EliteCommander]

“Agreed.” Ri’vashi replied, pointing a claw to some of the marks they had made on their map denoting planned troop positions. “This one thinks she knows how we can adjust our formations to accommodate them. We will have to give them space once we are through to fan out into the surroundings, but they can give us more time to establish a foothold…”

As disruptive as the sudden arrival of an army of disorganized beasts might have been, their military leaders were up to the task of adapting. Meesei still never got to see the full extent of the spirit army with her own eyes, but all types of lycans came pouring in from the forest, and the skies above. Meesei was glad that most of their warriors had already been in formation before the spirits started arriving, else it would have been far more difficult for them to simply move into their positions.

Finally, Meesei’s pack gathered directly in front of the portal. The sigil stone was being kept a safe distance away, but the message was already being sent to activate it. It would just be a short wait now. Naturally, they were also joined by the warriors of Sabine’s fledgling pack, and though he was not a lycan, Do’rhajul’s loyal friend Yerig still stood by his side, still with his ancient sword and tattered robes.

In addition to the equipment and supplies they would normally bring with them, Meesei also entrusted a few other items to some of her packmates. Fendros had been given a Dwemer control rod that could direct the actions of any of their automatons. Although her pack would not have any of the machines with them immediately as they went through, they would be bringing nearly every automaton they had built into this battle. The control rod could not give complex instructions, but it could direct them to follow, guard a position, or attack specific targets. Sabine, meanwhile, had been entrusted with two sigil stones. One was a “gift” from Molag Bal, and one among many that Hal-Neesa had distributed to Imperial, Dominion, and lycan forces alike. When used, it would create a location where Molag Bal could call down a dark anchor and send forth Daedra from Coldharbour to assist them. Understandably, few of their commanders were particularly enthused about the idea of actually using them, but they had agreed to take them as an option “if needed.” The other sigil stone was unique, and critical to their plans. It was specially enchanted to allow Hircine himself to break through and join in battle with Clavicus Vile once they were in a position to confront the Daedric Prince.

Leading up to this day, Meesei imagined what she might say to their collected armies, if she could. Although, it did not seem like there was going to be much of an opportunity for speeches. The vast majority of their forces would not even be able to hear her voice if she tried, but she did not feel too worried. Indeed, now that they were standing before the portal, moments from activation, the atmosphere just felt…strangely calm. For all of the tension and worry that had led up to this day, Meesei was focused, and she felt the same from many of the faces she looked upon around her. They had prepared all they could, down to every last detail they could think of. Now was the time to act; to do what her pack had become such experts at over the course of the past decade of warfare.

Even still, Meesei had some words of encouragement that, if no one else, her own pack could hear. “The Daedra do not fear death, and they think it is their strength. They will fight ferociously, without thought nor care to what damage or pain it might cause them, since they know they cannot truly be destroyed. But their careless aggression will no be enough for them. They are not fighting for the same stakes we are. They are not fighting for anything other than their own glory, or the words of a contract with Vile. They may not know death…” She began, a notable grin forming in her expression. “…but I think we will show them exactly how ferociously we can fight, how indomitable we can be, when we have something to live for.”

Meesei could feel the power begin to swell up in the portal before them. The message must have reached the caretakers of the sigil stone, and the activation was beginning. However, the process was quickly overshadowed by another, immensely powerful presence. The torrent of power around them completely flooded Meesei’s senses in a way that made the greatest displays of magical power she had witnessed in the past feel like a light drizzle in comparison. Above the horizon, Hircine appeared. Towering above even the mountains, his mere presence commanded nearly every lycan to fall to their knees.

[Muttonhawk]

Meesei's speech would have done the trick for exciting the immediate forces, but to most her words were completely forgotten before the mighty presence of a Daedric Prince in his own domain.

Fendros, somehow having convinced himself that he would never see Hircine in the flesh while he lived, let alone on this battlefield, froze up as if staring down a predator. It was easy for his mind to work out why. He saw Ahnasha's reaction and knelt. His mind was blank on any other course of action.

Janius was exhilarated, but his beast spirit held the most sway, and it compelled him to kneel.

Finally, Sabine, clutching the Staff of Magnus in both hands, felt for the first time that such an implement would do her no good in the face of such power. She knelt with shivering knees, suddenly less sure that Clavicus Vile could be held back by her capabilities with the staff.

The reactions from the Legionnaires and Dominion troops was more or less unified. They were on edge since the lycan spirits around them had appeared to join them. They remained standing fast beside one another with hearts racing and breath quickened. They were elite soldiers, made to stand against fear. In comparison to this, however, the other side of the portal did not seem so terrifying anymore.

Teroiah and Gro-Tagnud stood staring with Ri'vashi, in competition to keep their emotions held together.

"Akatosh slay me," Gro-Tagnud betrayed in a monotone.

"Look sharp, Legate General," Teroiah shakily responded. "This one is on our side. For today."

[EliteCommander]

Although nearly everyone’s attention was sole fixated upon the god standing over them, Sabine would find that her fearful show of reverence towards Hircine was not entirely ignored. She would feel a large hand upon her back, then Meesei beside her knelt down, but looking at her instead of Hircine. Even as a dragon-armored werewolf, she could still show a softness to her gaze. “Do not be intimidated. Their power is not dictated by how they choose to appear.” She said calmly. Indeed, it was easy to forget with such an impossibly dominating sight before them, but a Daedric Prince could appear in whatever form they chose. Hircine could just as well approach them as a frail-looking rabbit, while still holding all the same power within.

After a moment, Hircine spoke, though it did not feel like his voice was actually coming from the massive being looming over them. It seemed more like he was speaking inside each and every one of their heads, even the non-lycans. “Go, my hounds. Claim glory in my name. The Great Hunt of an era begins, and my Champion shall slay the most deadly of prey.”

His words were short, simple, and puctuated by the activation of the great gate. Finally, they had broken through into Clavicus Vile’s realm. The war had been long and hard-fought, and now began the one battle that would decide it all. Meesei stood to her feet and stepped forward, up to the portal, which cast her in a fiery orange glow. Elite contingents of both Legionnaires and Dominion soldiers would be following them through, but it was her and her pack that would lead the way. Meesei took in a breath, reached back to check that the Rueful Axe was firmly secured to her back, then stepped through the portal.

As planned, the other side of the portal rose up from the ground on a rocky plateau in the Fields of Regret. It was an elevated position, just over the valley they would need to cross to reach the source of power on their map. There was a large, steep cliff leading up the mountain just behind it that created a natural wall in that direction, so they only needed to worry about setting up defenses in the direction of the valley.

It seemed that Meesei’s expectations of Vile’s realm were not inaccurate. It was not entirely dissimilar from parts of Tamriel, or even the Hunting Grounds, as the valley before her seemed to be mostly forested countryside. There were, of course, mountains on both sides of the valley, though the left side, from her perspective, of what would become their battlefield was also bounded by a wide, slow-moving river. The trees and other plant life felt familiar, but the landscape did have features that made it seem more bizarre, such as spirals of stone archways floating up into the air, and levitating chunks of what looked like metal ore dispersed among the trees, seemingly at random.

However, it was their goal that stood out most prominently. On the far end of the valley, exactly in the place of the source of power Neesa’s machine had detected, was a massive tower reaching up nearly to the clouds. It had three pillars of brightly glowing, violet light spiraling upwards and meeting at the top. Meesei had wondered if they would need to scout ahead as they went to find Vile, but it seemed to her that their destination was fairly…obvious.

[Muttonhawk]

There was no holding their breath. Come curses or floods, the pack surged forward without hesitation. The sound of their armour clicking and scraping as they moved was quickly drowned out by the formation behind them marching their feet at double-time behind them to rush their assault through.

They had been instructed on what to expect, though the apparent similarity between their origin and destination planes was unnerving. The true differences did not show themselves on those green fields.

Everyone who knew the spell used magic to detect life around them. Sabine stretched her view out the furthest in search for distant hazy traces of life force. To be sure, she detected traces of undeath in the area as well.

As soon as it was apparent that their immediate surroundings were clear, Fendros clutched the control rod at his hip to send Dwemer spiders out to the peripheries of the portal, even at the cliffs, to spring any ambushes that might be waiting for them out of sight.

"Anything, Sabine?" Fendros asked.

"Nothing of size." She noted loud enough for them to hear. "No formations I can find. Not nearby. Just individuals."

[EliteCommander]

“Then we have taken our enemy by surprise.” Meesei remarked as she stepped forward towards the edge of the plateau. “But they know we are here now. Vile will have felt the breach into his world.”

Reaching her hand out, Meesei pointed a claw towards the mountains off to the right side of the valley. Even from this distance, they could see the shapes of the towers on the mountains. “There are the watchtowers. Once the battle begins, we will need to move quickly to capture or destroy them. The Daedra will have view of all of our troop movements until we do.” She said, though her attention soon went to the largest tower at the far end of the valley. The spiraling pillars of magical energy surrounding it must have contained immense power.

“And that tower must be our goal. All of the power he has been stealing over the years, that must be where it is. Even if Vile himself is not there, we should be able to force him to come to us if we can take that tower. If we capture the tower and use our sigil stone to call Hircine down onto it, then he can simply absorb all of that power for his own unless Vile steps in to stop him. And if Vile steps in, then we can do what we are meant to do.” Meesei reasoned.

Following Meesei’s pack through the portal were contingents of Imperial and Dominion soldiers, who all immediately set to work securing the perimeter around the portal. Aside from one lone scamp, who was promptly slain by a lightning bolt from an Altmer, there were no Daedra in the immediate area around the portal. The others that Sabine had detected were keeping their distance.

With the first wave through and the area temporarily secure, they all cleared away from the area in front of the portal to make room for the second wave. This time, it was lycan spirits making their way through, and compared to the organized movements of the soldiers, this was more of a stampede. Quick and ferocious werewolves and werelions were the first through, most of which were running, howling, and roaring. At the same time, werevultures flew through above them and started spreading out in all directions to search for prey beneath them. If their arrival had somehow gone unnoticed before, they had certainly been detected now. Still, the advantage of their help would hopefully be enough to make up for their lack of subtlety. Right away, the lycan spirits started spreading out into the forest, and running down the hill into the valley below.

Lorag was the first one whose impatience started to show. The sounds of lycan feet sprinting past them were like a drumbeat, and their howls like a horn to signal the start of the hunt. On an instinctual level, his beast spirit had him practically salivating in anticipation of joining in. “How much longer are we goin’ to be waiting here? I want to kill something.”

Once the wave of lycan spirits were through, the next wave of more organized soldiers would join them, including Ri’vashi, gro-Tagnud, Teroiah, and in addition, Vera. She, in conjunction with a few Imperial and Dominion officers, would be commanding the critical task of fortifying their position and solidifying their foothold in Vile’s realm. Vile’s Daedra could not be allowed to make their way into the Hunting grounds. If the sigil stone keeping their portal open was removed, then they would all be transported out of Vile’s realm in an instant.

[Muttonhawk]

"I can topple a watch tower if we get close enough!" Sabine said over the calls and thunderous feet of rushing lycan spirits. "If we move now we can get to at least one before they can defend it!"

Already, the turf below their feet was getting torn up and replaced by mud and dirt from the advancing numbers of allies. Legionnaires and Dominion troops set up in blocks of soldiers ready to be deployed. Dominion battlemages deployed runes at the edges of the cliffs to ward off and warn of climbing enemies. Legion engineers brought through pieces of artillery to put together on the high ground to rain bolts and stones at range.

Over the sounds, the shouts and yells of officers held traces of Vera signalling the stages of fortification. Ditches, stake barriers, and eventually raised observation platforms would join their invasion. The Dominion would take a little more time to set up their machines of war, but the magic they would bring to bear had the potential to be devastating.

"No use us being the tip of the spear if we fall behind the front!" Fendros announced. "What is our next move, Meesei!?"

[EliteCommander]

Meesei looked out over the valley below, then tilted her head towards Fendros. “Patience. The lycan spirits may hunt ahead of us, but we still need to wait for our assault forces to come through. We cannot take on the forces guarding those towers ourselves. Or…at least not the reinforcements they will receive, once we start felling them. Once the defenses are established here, it should not be…”

Meesei’s words were suddenly cut off by a deafening roar far above them. By land, the plateau on which their portal was located was difficult to approach, and the lycan spirits rushing out into the surroundings would slow down any forces trying to converge on them. However, none of that would stop an attack from the air. Flying over the mountain behind them was the menacing form of a Daedric Titan, as well as a small swarm of winged twilights accompanying it. The Daedric Titans were originally creations of Molag Bal, though there was evidently one or more in service to Vile.

“Look to the sky! Ward quickly!” Meesei shouted, hoping the warning came quickly enough as the titan dove down breathing a pillar of cold-fire. Vile had certainly noticed their intrusion, and was retaliating with as much power as he could bring to bear quickly.

Upon Meesei’s warning, there were only seconds to react. Meesei herself raised a ward above her as widely as she could to protect those around her. Ahnasha protected herself, demonstrating one of the spells taught to her by Hal-Neesa. It was a conjured ward, formed from the energies of Oblivion instead of Restoration magic, which formed a glowing violet bubble around her. Do’rhajul, as well, raised Spellbreaker above him and tried to stay close to the rest of Sabine’s pack.

[Muttonhawk]

The response to the Daedric Titan above demonstrated the specialised nature of the formations coming through the portal. A few callouts by the sergeants were unintelligible for all who did not have the reflex training to lock shields, raise wards, and keep together. The coldfire washed over their defences, though some broke down under its sheer power. Those clear enough from the sweeping flames started launching arrows and spells as ordered.

Fendros defaulted to his well-practiced ward. He, too, moved to cover as much of the pack as he could, but his work was not quite enough. Janius, Kaleeth, and Lorag's forms were difficult to cover at the best of times. Against the titan's breath, they could probably survive, though they would not be unaffected. It was Sabine who stepped up and projected a ward large enough to cover them all -- impossibly large, some would say, but the power in the Staff of Magnus was immediately familiar in her hands, and she made full use of it.

Off to one side, a recognisably incensed voice shouted out some cursing taunt before gathering a noticeable amount of power. Teroiah, shortly after coming through the portal, took matters into her own hands against the great beast above their command centre. A whirling spiral of ward-like ethereal chains cast out in a drilling pattern from her towards the titan, seemingly deflecting the fire off her in a cone of safety. Then, through the middle of the spiral, a more brutish form of magic charged and released a line of crackling lightning directly towards the titan's chest in retaliation. The display lit up the entire plateau in bright white.

[EliteCommander]

Teroiah’s strike was a palpable hit against the massive Daedra. The lightning struck at the base of its neck and seemed to send a shock straight through the center of it’s body. It ceased its plume of cold-fire and let out a roar as it tilted its wings to turn off to the side, only barely managing to avoid crashing into the ground. It was a heavy, damaging hit, but Daedric titans lived up to their names. They were notoriously difficult to kill, and it would take many more heavy hits to finally fell the beast.

There were some wards that collapsed from the assault of cold-flames, but due to the experience of the mages present, many were able to hold up against the wide-area attack. Sabine’s ward did not seem to falter at all, and at least some of the magic from the attack could be absorbed back into the Staff. The titan might not have been able to eradicate their well-trained formations of soldiers, but the same protection had not been afforded to the barricades and siege weapons they had been setting up. Although the titan’s magic chilled instead of burned, the cold-flames still spread like fire over their fortifications. The freezing flames caused anything they consumed to crack and crumble, or otherwise become terribly brittle.

While the titan was gaining altitude for another pass, the swarm of winged twilights descended upon the plateau as well. They preferred lightning magic, or simply eviscerating their targets with their sharp, hooked tails. There were probably two dozen of them swarming above them, making themselves difficult to hit. They cast lightning bolts onto soldiers and structures alike, sparking several, more conventional fires in addition to the cold-flames spreading around.

Ahnasha drew her bow, but before trying her hand at landing shots against such fast-moving targets, she put her focus into a spell to call forth some extra assistance for her. A dark portal opened up before her, from which appeared a vaguely humanoid being of lightning, wind, and rock. Winged twilights were more resistant to magic than many Daedra, but lightning would certainly still harm them, and a storm atronach was the most likely to be able to hit them while they were flying around.

The winged twilights were certainly a threat that could not be ignored, but the titan itself threatened to end this invasion before it began. They had to be able to establish their foothold to give themselves enough time to get enough forces through to keep themselves from being overwhelmed. Meesei took in a deep breath, then started to draw up from her vast well of magicka and focus it into her hands. Meesei had become known for her rediscovery of lost or esoteric forms of magic, so some might have forgotten her original mastery of the simple and destructive force that is lightning. It surged through her, arcing out into the air and onto the ground around her, to the point that it would be dangerous even to approach her. When she poured all of her strength and focus into a single spell, the amount of power a mage like Meesei could achieve was incredible, but the mere act of charging the spell was a signal to her pack. If she was putting all of her effort into an attack, then she could not defend herself.

[Muttonhawk]

The pack closed as safely as they could around Meesei to protect her. Fendros loosed arrow after arrow, each one punching an arrow halfway through a twilight's body and tumbling them to the ground. Janius coordinated with Kaleeth to boost his jumps into the air to snatch at twilight legs and tails in his mouth, pulling them down with his weight and tearing them apart.

Sabine was the one capable of taking the broadest approach as she gathered her own power and whirled her arms in a magical pull. The air around them blew into a tornado-like gust a ways above the ground, throwing the smaller of the flying creatures out of control in Meesei's vicinity. Fendros pushed through the gale towards Sabine to cover her with his own ward should any of their enemies notice the source of the effect.

During the commotion, Janius finished up catching another twilight from a surprising altitude. It gave him a terrible idea. "Pull that big one further down," he snarled, hefting the affixed axe blade on his hand, "and I could cut its wing open!"

[EliteCommander]

With the combined response of her pack, Meesei did not even come close to being touched by the Daedra surrounding her. Even if the storm of wind had not been enough to keep back the twilights, then the others’ attacks ensured nothing got through, despite the Daedra targeting her as the largest threat to the titan. Chain lightning from Ahnasha’s atronach arced between three of the twilights, and Ahnasha’s own arrows joined Fendros’ in finding whatever targets they could. Even Leaps bellowed forth a roar, followed by a stream of lightning into the air.

Regardless of how terrible Janius’ plan may or may not have been, they did not get a chance to test it. The immense power of Meesei’s spell could not be ignored, and instead of flying in for another pass, the titan behaved in a way that she never would have expected. It started to fly away. She finished charging her spell as quickly as she could and unleashed into the air a persistent, blinding storm of lightning; however, despite her power, her spell still lost strength over distance. The titan raced away from the danger, so instead of a debilitating electrocution, the lightning was only strong enough to wound it as Teroiah had. She could not take it out of the sky, as she had hoped to, and could only watch as it flew far out of range of any attack.

The Daedric titan’s retreat was both surprising and concerning for Meesei. She had never known a Daedra to run away from a fight, regardless of the odds. She had expected it to fight to its body’s destruction to do as much damage as it could, even if it was inevitably overwhelmed. To retreat was a tactical choice, so if even a portion of these Daedra observed tactics more than their own pride, it could make this battle much more difficult.

The winged twilights had managed a few hits from casting lightning into formations of soldiers, but they were ultimately more of a distraction than an actual threat against the strength of forces they had already brought through the portal. They fell quickly when they were the only opponents that remained.

It was tempting to want to catch their breath after that ambush, but while their soldiers had protected themselves admirably, the same could not be said for the fortifications they had been building. Over half of their barricades had crumbled and were burning from either cold-fire or lightning-sparked flames, and they did not have a functional siege weapon remaining. Of course, there were plenty more supplies just waiting for transport back in camp, so all that had been destroyed could easily be replaced. It would just take time that, unfortunately, they may not have.

“More Daedra!” A voice shouted out nearby. As the last of the winged twilights had been finished off, Ri’vashi had moved to the edge of the plateau to get a better look over the battlefield below, and so was the first to spot the mass of Daedra moving up the path towards them. It was, considering the amount of time they would have had to organize their response, a fairly large formation of many kinds of Daedra, primarily led by Skaafin. No doubt the lycan spirits had slowed them down, but disorganized skirmishers could not stop a Daedric army. Certainly, they outnumbered the combined forces they had managed to move through the portal so far. By the looks of things, they had only a few minutes before the Daedra would make their way up the winding path, and with their fortifications in shambles, there was a real danger of being overwhelmed.

[Muttonhawk]

The commanders were calm and in complete control. While their initial rush had not been given the time to solidify into a fortified bastion, what they did have was a foothold, enough room to manoeuvre, and a vanguard of disciplined soldiers.

"Shield wall!" Gro-Tagnud boomed with an experienced, resonant voice. "I want this plateau fenced end-to-end!"

Battlemages either side of him shot signals up into the air towards the enemy. The covered formations of the legionnaires broke into a chorus of unified footfalls as they morphed into a many-ranked line formation to face the oncoming enemy. Rows of spears lowered to meet the charge.

Teroiah, standing with her still sparking hands clasped behind her straight back, opted for a magically enhanced voice. She carried just as much weight in her words. "Command Sergeants! Break this charge!"

The thinner numbers of Dominion soldiers in their yellowed moonstone armour rushed up behind the legion shield wall in teams of three, each team several meters apart. Unlike the legionnaires, their shields were on their backs and they had only backup weapons at their belts. In a graceful series of movements, the centre dominion soldiers began gathering purple-blue conjuration magic in their hands while the two either side hefted them up by the legs. At the height of the lift, the spellcasters shot a hand each out beyond the formation, opening up thrumming portals from elsewhere in Oblivion. Each one brought forth the a steaming, crystalline forms of large ice atronachs.

The atronachs did as they were mentally commanded; curl into a ball and roll down into the oncoming horde.

The pack kept their eyes out for particularly powerful threats. Fendros already had an arrow nocked with a long shot in mind for the vital point in the best target.

[EliteCommander]

Ri’vashi too organized her warriors in the short time they had available. The legionairres formed a formidable shield wall, and Teroiah’s specialist mages provided a powerful offense, so Ri’vashi decided to carry out some of the tactics her warriors had been drilling. She organized transformed lycanthropes into columns in the narrow gaps between blocks of legionairres. The legion soldiers formed the structure of their defense, the mages could open up opportunities, and lycans were shock troops that could exploit them. At a moment’s notice, they could charge forth in front of their ranks as soon as they perceived any weakness in the enemy ahead of them. They could deal damage rapidly, then once the Daedra started placing too much focus on them, they could fall back behind allied lines just as quickly, if needed.

Meesei’s pack had the discretion to act as they chose, and she knew they would be most impactful at the front of this battle. “It seems we will have the chance to be the tip of the spear after all.” Meesei commented to Fendros before moving up through the ranks of soldiers, to the frontline.

Meesei moved to the very front of one of the columns of lycan warriors, followed closely by Lorag and Kaleeth. Ahnasha, meanwhile, climbed up onto the back of Leaps and drew her bow, while directing her atronach towards the frontline as well. She conjured another quiver of bound arrows to allow her to shoot more liberally into the enemy ranks. Her physical arrows were limited in number, and would be reserved for tougher foes.

Moving up the hill, the Daedra opposing them were greater in number than the amount of forces they had managed to bring through the portal thusfar. The enemy ranks were noticeably more dispersed, without the same kind of strict organization; however, they also had more than just Skaafin among them. Atronachs, daedroths, ogrims, spider daedra, clannfears, and hungers were just a few among those Meesei could see from her position. Other forms of humanoid Daedra, like dremora, were more difficult to pick out from the Skaafin at a distance.

Teroiah’s approach to their defense was an aggressive one, using conjured atronachs to disrupt the Daedra’s charge before they could even reach them, and that was enough for Ri’vashi to give the order to charge. Across the plateau, werewolves and other lycans sprinted forth, following right behind the frost atronachs, and Meesi’s pack was, for the most part, at the very front. The Champion’s pack were easily-identified targets for the Daedra, but actually harming them was another matter. A few Skaafin archers not in the path of the frost atronachs shot a small volley of arrows at Meesei, but against the dragonbone plate, they hardly even scratched the armor, and Meesei only barely felt the impacts.

[Muttonhawk]

The charging adversaries met with a rolling wave of claws, teeth, weapons, and noise. The faster combatants positively leapt onto their first kills. Bones and shells were crushed and broken, while pained yelps and whimpers heralded retaliation from the Daedra themselves. But without a solid formation, not to mention without silver, the Daedra were at a disadvantage in breaking the lycan momentum.

Janius took his axe blade to the enemy in a frenzy that his werewolf form relished. A surprised hunger was planted into the ground by his first overhead swing. With the leverage, he pulled himself forward to grab the beak of a charging clannfear and directed its momentum upwards to slam it body-first into the ground behind him. The next row of Daedra were cleft across the middle or otherwise forced to dodge away from another swing. Barbs, claws, cruel weapons, and arrows failed to surpass his armour as he cut a swathe through the growing numbers before him.

Sabine had much to concentrate on. At first, she struck lightning and frost into the enemy in wide areas to fell as many as she could in a short time. When the smaller mindless chaff of the enemy thinned and proved ineffective, she directed more focussed spells to benefit the pack. She fortified their speed to keep up with the waves of the enemy and she struck her more powerful debilitating spells out to the spider daedra and other magically-inclined creatures to keep them from disrupting her allies.

All the while, Fendros aimed for the most dangerous. Through thin keyholes in the lines, dark arrows would appear through the necks, armpits, or knees of the most heavily equipped Skaafin and Dremora.

The orders shouted out by the Legate-General were hard to hear for the pack at their distance, but the army of steadily marching armoured boots behind them was apparent to all. The shield wall was consolidating their ground as they received more sections to widen the formation. With their uphill advantage, the occasional stray Daedra that would break through the lines was stuck with several spears before it could see the eyes behind the crested legion helmets before it.

The spare moments allowed legion, lycan, and dominion archers to bring themselves to bear. Again, the high ground gave them more range to fire volleys over the lycans, though the commanders were sparse with their fire orders. The staggered arrangement of the enemy and the possibility of another airborne attack kept them reserved.

[EliteCommander]

For most of the lycan forces that rushed forward into the openings the conjurers had provided them, they struck quickly and did as much damage as they could, but did not stick around to be punished for their aggression. They made their kills, disrupted the enemy and broke apart their lines, then retreated back behind the safety of the Imperial Legion shield wall. However, Meesei’s pack proved an exception.

Kaleeth had been slower to reach the enemy than the rest of her pack, but once she arrived, her impact was immense. Quite literally. The first three ranks of Skaafin in front of her, she simply trampled over until she caught up to Janius. Spears and blades tried to stop her, but they did nothing but deflect off of her dragonbone armor. The protection it offered was not perfect, though it was easy for her to feel invincible while wearing it. She naturally wanted to stay close to Janius, and the first thing she did upon catching up to him was to protect him from a Daedroth threatening him. A Daedroth was comparable to a werecrocodile in many ways, and was one of the few Daedra strong enough to really challenge a lycanthrope. Normally, a duel between the two would be quite a struggle, but when Kaleeth arrived, she was practically a force of nature. She was already powerful enough on her own, but the enchantments on her armor enhanced her strength even further. She slammed into the Daedroth from the front and, with thanks to Sabine’s spell enhancing her agility, she got a grip around the Daedroth’s arm and twisted it backwards. Despite the Daedroth’s own, considerable strength, she was able to bend it to the point of breaking at the elbow.

The enraged Daedroth unleashed a fireball from its maw that enveloped Kaleeth, but her enchantments were strong enough to keep the damage to relatively minor burns. However, it did not stop her from growing even more enraged with the beast. With a swift movement of her arm, she thrust her claws into the Daedroth’s stomach while, at the same time, grabbing it around the throat with her other hand. It seemed like it took little effort for her to lift the massive beast up entirely above her head, for all in front of and behind her to see. With a snap of her jaws, she disemboweled the Daedroth, then threw the corpse at the Daedra in front of her.

Lorag was on Janius’ other flank, and while he did not do anything as dramatic as Kaleeth, he was every bit as deadly against his opponents, if not moreso. The confidence he could have in his defenses was shaped and tempered by his vast experience. He knew exactly when he could be aggressive, when he could ignore his enemies’ attacks, and when he needed to defend himself. Much like Janius, he was cutting down every opponent in his path. The Daedra’s formation might not have been as tight or organized as the Legion’s, but anything facing down Lorag still could not simply have turned and ran, even if it wanted to. Spears and swords would require a great deal of precision to find any gap in Lorag’s armor, and he was moving far too quickly to make that an easy task. For Skaafin or Dremora, it was easy enough to rip the shields from their hands, if they had one, then either eviscerate them with his claws, or break their skulls with his crushing strength, depending on their armor. At a glance, he could recognize which opponents could actually harm him so he could deal with them just as swiftly. The moment he saw a warhammer, or perhaps a spellsword, he could pounce upon them with unmatched ferocity to ensure he remained unthreatened.

Even with just a few individuals, the impact of Meesei’s pack could be felt across the battlefield. They could push into the Daedra’s lines, yet even as they were being surrounded, they spread a great deal of confusion among the Daedra about the fact that they were simply not dying, no matter how many of their own turned to try an overwhelm them. Along the center of the battlefield, their presence made the Daedric assault more disjointed. More fragmented. Almost by themselves, Meesei’s pack were breaking the enemy lines into two separate halves, and that was before even considering what Meesei herself was doing even deeper into the Daedric forces…