13 Act II: Chapter 3

Hello everyone,

I think I may have overdone it with the population of Solitude, but honestly, I'm keeping it. I think I'll try to address some of the big concerns that were brought up in the reviews over the time Hadvar spends in the city. This story is getting a lot of love, guys. Thank you for the support, everyone!

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'Beautiful.'

I stood on the balcony that I had discovered at the very top of the Wizards Tower, my new home. From the ground, it would be hard to spot, with the way it blended into the stone of the tower. No doubt, it was intentional.

The sun was starting to creep its way over the horizon, and I relished in the opportunity to watch my first true sunrise in this world.

What I did not relish in, was the fact that I saw no soldiers beneath me in the yard, marching. Nor did I see signs of any movement in Castle Dour.

'Time to fix that shit real fast.' I thought as I turned around and made my way down the stairs of my tower.

I walked quickly and with purpose. I was not surprised to find no one in the mess hall, but I will give credit to the chef. He had apparently been working on breakfast at the appropriate time, as he was supposed to. I nodded to him, and he returned the gesture before going back to his business.

There was a servant that sat a plate down on the table for me. No doubt, Tullius made sure they knew I was here, and to be treated as his Battlemage. I didn't sit down, though. My anger was stirring.

"Is it to your liking, sir?" A teenage looking girl said as she waited for me to sit.

"Where do the Legate's stay?" I asked, ignoring her question.

"They have their own quarters, on a separate floor from the men." The chef said without looking up from his work.

"Show me." I said, with no room for argument.

"Yes, sir." The girl said and started walking. I followed, ready to piss off some men early in the morning. I could have sworn I saw a smirk on the chef's face as I passed by him.

The chef had many duties. First and foremost was to cook and have meals ready for the men at the appropriate times. But he also stood at the top of the hierarchy in the castle's staff. Meaning he was responsible for order and cleanliness in the castle. He hired, and fired, his staff at his discretion. Those of us in charge, didn't care how he did his job as long as he was effective. My initial impression led me to believe he was competent enough. I thanked Talos for one less part of the Legion to clean up.

We took many turns and stairs in the castle, but I kept a mental picture in my head to map it out and make sure I could navigate it in the future. Soon enough, we entered a floor, and she gestured to the hallway with multiple rooms in it.

I wasted no time in making myself known.

"Get the fuck up!" I yelled as I walked down the hallway. Every door I passed, I kicked the door open.

"On your fucking feet!" I continued to yell other demands as I made it down the hallway.

Five Legate's jumped to their feet and hurriedly got dressed, as if they were still recruits. I got no back talk, or objections. They must have thought me General Tullius or something because their faces had a look of terror.

I went back to the front of the hallway and waited on them to get ready. It took way longer than it should have. The first man to get dressed and ready was a dark elf with red hair and a much larger build than most of his kind. I made a note to get to know his name, he seemed the most competent, but that wasn't saying much so far.

When everyone stood in front of their door, at attention, I spoke.

"There will be no breakfast today, you lazy pieces of shit. Get your men and meet me on the grounds." I commanded, and then I turned around.

I nodded to the girl, who hurriedly turned and went back in the direction of the mess hall. I sat down and found a new plate of warm food. I mentally noted the increasing competence of the chef and made a note to talk to him also.

I scarfed my food down, and rushed out into the fields. I didn't want anyone to beat me there, I needed the men to see me out there before them. I found the largest clearing that would hold all the men in formation and waited.

The sun was fully in the sky by the time all the men were in formation in front of me, then I waited some more. I was already late for my meeting with Tullius and likely wouldn't make it to the palace until noon at least.

Finally, after a good amount of time, I spoke to the men.

"Legate's step forward." I commanded. The five men from before made themselves known.

"Let me make one thing clear. I will be the last fucking person to wake in this fucking castle!" I yelled. "By the time that sun clears the horizon, the men better be fed and in this field, do I make myself clear?!" I asked the legate's in front of me.

"Sir, yes, sir!" All five answered me in unison.

"Good!" I said as I moved past those five, they didn't move when I passed them. "Men do you understand?!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The men in front of me chanted.

"Good! Now it seems I have incompetant Legates. I will not allow incompetence. So either they get their shit together, or I demote them. Do you know what that means?" I asked rhetorically.

Wisely, no one answered.

"That is an opportunity for you!" I said to the men in formation. "If you prove yourself competent, I will reward you with the position. I do not care about how long you have been in the Legion. What I care about is fucking competance! From now on, promotions will be based on merit, and merit only! Am I clear?!"

"Yes, sir!" Everyone chanted towards me.

"Excellent!" I said as I walked back in front of the legate's. "Now, you will not be eating breakfast because of your tardiness. Instead, you will march until the sun reaches its peak. You are allowed to break for water four times between now and then, use it wisely."

I walked away, to where a horse waited for me near the entrance of Castle Dour, courtesy of General Tullius. I didn't hear any marching behind me, so I stopped and turned around.

"What the fuck are you waiting for?!"

Feet started to hit the ground then.

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The Blue Palace earned its name.

The roof, and tops of the spires were died a brilliant blue that gleamed in the sunlight just the right way. It's towers rose higher than those of Castle Dour. It's design seemed simple. It was designed as a very large square. It's design greatly reminded me of French and Italian renaissance buildings. Except I knew this one was much much bigger.

I rode up to the guards that formed a blockade on the road that led into the palace. I stopped when they raised their hand. I dismounted when they said, and they checked my credentials on a piece of paper. After getting confirmation, one massive nord sent for a servant to guide me to where I was needed. I tried to memorize the route the boy took me on, but soon became confused at the amount of stairs and turns we made. Eventually I just focused on taking in the beauty of the place.

"You are late."

General Tullius was not a happy man, when I met with him in the hallway right outside the High King's office. Apparently he had been attending meetings without me.

"I had punishments to assign. It will not happen again, that I promise." I said to him confidently and stood behind him. The door opened in front of Tullius, from the inside.

A nord man, outfitted with the standard guard outfit stood in front of us. He had the symbol of Haafingar painted on the breast plate. A close look told me that everything he wore was made out of ebony, and silk. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. Such extravagance was almost unneeded in my opinion.

'I wonder if it is all of the guard, or just the King's personal bodyguards.' I pondered as the man stepped aside after seeing us and let us into the room.

My eyes landed on the High King immediately.

The High King was a handsome man, with dark brown hair coming down to his shoulders. His hair was held out of his face by his gold and ruby circlet on his brow. His beard was neatly trimmed. His fingers were adorned with more jewelry, and he wore clothes of the absolute finest quality.

The room shit on the quality of my quarters in Castle Dour. Everything was perfect.

"Torygg, this is Hadvar. Hero of Markarth." Tullius introduced me to the most powerful man in Skyrim, and one of the most powerful on the continent. He walked right in, as if he owned the place.

I moved in the room and sank to a knee, as tradition dictated, and bowed my head. "It's an honor, my king." I said.

"The honor is mine, young Hadvar." The King's deep but smooth voice said . "You may stand."

I did as he said, and fell into parade rest in front of him.

"You have done me a service, Hadvar. For that, I thank you." Torygg said.

"I did it for Skyrim, my King." I answered, trying to sound every bit of a nord.

Tullius didn't react to my boot licking of the King. But I got the feeling that he approved of my attitude towards him. Already, I was beginning to become comfortable with Tullius. Using his name in private, instead of rank. In public, I would be an obedient soldier.

"Good answer." Torygg said.

Then without warning, he started laughing before turning to Tullius. "Is he always this stiff, Tullius."

Tullius and the nord guards in the room all let out a chuckle at my expense.

"Give him some time." Tullius said. "He is a nord, through and through."

I smiled, finding the humor in it. Who could blame me though? I just met the man that rules over Skyrim. How often does someone get to meet their King? Almost never is the appropriate answer.

"Good." Torygg said. "Well, we should get to it then. How was Elenwen?" Torygg asked.

'Tullius met with Elenwen? As in, the main Thalmor Ambassador in Skyrim?' I thought as the name was brought up.

"She just returned from The College." Tullius said. "Apparently, one of her agents went rogue, and the new Archmage had to put him down."

That piqued my interest. 'Is the College of Winterhold storyline complete?'

"Ah, yes. I was sad to hear of Savos Aren's passing. A new Archmage has been chosen, then?" Torygg asked, curiously.

"Don't play coy, Torygg." Tullius said. "We both know that you knew the same day."

Torygg smiled at Tullius for being caught red-handed. "Yes I did. Ariella has proven extremely effective. First that business with Potema, and now this. That one has a bright future in front of her."

My brain short circuited.

'Ariella finished 'The Wolf Queen Awakened' AND 'The College Of Winterhold' problems?!' I realized as I recognized the name that Torygg mentioned.

I wanted to interrupt and ask questions, but my position did not allow me to interfere with the conversation unless prompted. And I didn't want to make a bad impression on my first day with the High King.

"Agreed." Tullius answered. "Apparently, she will be here for the challenge." Tullius said.

I smiled, without thinking about it. 'Well I'll just wait to ask her about it, then.' I thought about the knowledge of her coming to Solitude.

"Something to add, Hadvar?" Torygg asked, apparently seeing my smile.

I dropped it quickly, realized I had interrupted them. "Apologies, my King." I said.

"No, no, that won't do. Speak." Torygg said, before waiting.

'Fine.' "Ariella traveled through Markarth, on the way to the College. We became fast friends. My sword is an enchantment of her make, actually." I said, quickly explaining my relationship with the powerful magician.

Tullius turned to me, surprised at the information. Torygg didn't let his surprise be hidden either, and looked at me curiously.

"Although, I thought she was just going to act as the Master Enchanter of the College." I said, to alleviate the stares.

"Yes, well she got caught up in quite the conspiracy and came out on top. Much like yourself, actually." Torygg said as he tilted his head. "The resemblance in your stories are actually staggering."

"Skyrim is changing, Torygg." Tullius said. "What of the new jarl in Whiterun?" Tullius asked, apparently a common topic between him and Torygg.

'New Jarl in Whiterun?!'

At this point, my brain was becoming overstimulated.

'How much happened while I was in Markarth?' I raged in my head.

I knew that Markarth was far removed from the rest of Skyrim, and so news of the other holds were slow to reach its walls but this was getting ridiculous.

"Ralof has stated his intentions of honoring traditions, and will be here. He plans to make the pledge before the challenge." Torygg answered.

I actually stumbled at 'Ralof' and had to grab on to the back of Tullius' chair not to fall over. All eyes turned to me.

'It has to be another Ralof.' I reasoned. 'No way my hometown friend had found himself as Jarl of Whiterun.'

"Hadvar?" Tullius asked me as he turned around.

"Apologies. I did not know that Balgruuf no longer ruled." I admitted as I fell back into parade rest.

'Yea, it's not my hometown friend.' I decided, for my mental health's sake.

"You need to catch him up on the state of Skyrim, Tullius." Torygg stated, ignoring my reactions from then on out.

"I thought he would have been privy to the information during his time as Captain of Markarth." Tullius said apologetically. "He will be informed later. We can continue. Control yourself Hadvar."

I clenched my jaw at the embarrassing way Tullius spoke to me, but I knew that I deserved it. There were too many bombs thrown on me in a short amount of time. My future knowledge was going to shit with this new information.

I barely paid attention to the rest of the conversation after that, only listening during important parts. I was too busy trying to come to terms with the information revealed.

'What would cause Balgruuf to no longer be Jarl? And how would Ralof get into a position to take over?' I wondered as they continued to talk about issues that didn't interest me.

Soon enough, Tullius stood and we left Torygg.

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We entered Tullius' office, and the first thing he did was go straight to the whiskey table. He grabbed the glass bottle and uncorked it before pouring into the two glasses sitting on the table. He handed me one as he sat down, done with meetings for the day.

I sniffed the whiskey, curious as to if it held up to my other worlds standards.

'Still smells like whiskey.' I decided as I downed the glass. It had been a long day. I didn't even think about the fact that whiskey probably shouldn't exist yet. I just chalked it up to bullshit this universe has decided to throw my way.

The burn lasted for a moment and I relished in the feeling. Tullius just watched me before taking a sip of his glass, savoring it.

"What do you know of the events of the last four months?" Tullius asked.

I didn't know anything about the last four months, so I told him the truth. "I was extremely preoccupied with Markarth. So next to nothing. From the conversation earlier, I know that Ariella is the new Archmage, and Ralof is the new Jarl in Whiterun. What I don't know is how, or why." I answered.

Tullius nodded and took another sip. "The College started investigating some ruins near Winterhold. But they reached a door they couldn't get through. Ariella blew hole through it, apparently earning her the ire of her peers for destroying a relic of Skyrim. But what they found there, they won't tell anyone. It caused the ambassador sent with Ariella to go insane and kill the Arch Mage, Savos Aren, along with about twenty of the students there. During this, Ariella had apparently been embarrassing her fellow masters in their own disciplines and rose to the top. She killed the ambassador a few weeks ago. Maybe around the same time, you won your battle at Druadach." Tullius explained quickly.

It was obviously a summary of the many reports he read about the subject, but it worked for me. I knew more about the College than he ever could, no doubt. I didn't blame her for keeping the 'Eye of Magnus' secret, I would have done the same thing.

"Ok, Torygg was right. Not so different from my own story in Markarth." I said, agreeing with the High King.

"Now that I think about it, so is Ralof's." Tullius said with a thoughtful look.

"From the reports I received, he was a man, close to death, who showed up on the companions doorstep. After being nursed back to health, he began rising through their ranks. He worked his way into what they call 'the inner circle' just as the Silver Hand began their campaign against the Companions." Tullius explained.

It sounded just like the normal Companions storyline, but with Ralof in the center instead of the Dragonborn.

"They claimed that the Companions are werewolves, and worshippers of Hircine." Tullius continued.

'Partially true.' I couldn't help but think.

"A lot of things happened within a short time, then." Tullius said. "Five hundred of The Silver Hand snuck into Dragonsreach, through a passage from the bottom of the mountain that runs underneath the city. And this is where the story gets interesting." Tullius explained and moved forward with his elbows on the table.

"They claimed Balgruuf was a Companion in his youth, and that he was also a werewolf." Tullius revealed. "Massacred seventy percent of the population in Dragonsreach. The Jarl's family, gone in a night, along with important members of the noble families there. In the end, Ralof led the Companions in killing every single Silver Hand member. Everyone watching the battle saw him wielding Wuuthrad…" Tullius paused and looked for my reaction then.

I did react, with my eyes widening. That came from my childhood. Wuuthrad was probably the most legendary weapon in nordic history, ever. Even if I knew that you could reforge and wield it in the game, I was still surprised.

"...fighting like 'Tiber Septim' himself. Apparently you nords care about history a lot. His possession of Wuuthrad and heroic deeds during the battle landed him the position of Jarl, and nobody opposed him." Tullius finished up the story, and then finished his glass of whiskey.

"Now you know. Legendary tales are popping up all over the place, Hadvar. Ulfric, Ralof, Ariella, and now you. The Legion was falling by the wayside before you fell into my lap, and I'll be damned if I don't take advantage of it." Tullius said, piecing it all together.

That actually made more sense to me, and it also confused the fuck out of me. 'Are all the other main quest lines going to be completed soon? Giving rise to more heroes? What does this mean on the greater threats of civil war and Alduin?' I pondered before another question hit me.

"Ralof, is he from Riverwood?" I asked, curious if it was my old friend.

"Yes, how did you know?" Tullius asked with a frown.

"He is my age, and we grew up together. We were inseparable, until our maturity. Both of us were prodigious fighters. Me with blades, and him with hammers and blunt objects." I explained. "He chose to seek out Ulfric. Worshiped the ground at his feet because of his outspoken nature against the Thalmor. Both mine and his parents fought in the war, and died for it. Ralof resented the elves since then. So do I, but I'm smart enough to know that the Legion is the only option."

Tullius hung on to my every word, and his usually calm composer cracked with my reveal. He sat there for a moment trying to process it.

"I guess that explains your reaction during the meeting." Tullius said as he ran a hand through his hair. "He's proving himself extremely capable as Jarl also." Tullius added at the end.

I snorted. "Ralof has a way about him. But I wouldn't have guessed it." I commented.

"Why is that?" Tullius asked.

"I was always the smarter one. He never seemed the type." I said with a shrug, not going into too much detail. The end of our friendship was still a sore spot for me. Both of us could have handled it better.

"Well, you'll get a chance to see your old friend soon. Everyone important will be present for the challenge." Tullius said, dismissively.

I caught the dismissal quickly and turned around to leave, the day had been a long one, and I needed rest. Tullius didn't let me leave just yet though and barked out orders for me.

"You're free the next two days. I expect a weekly report on the men."

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A/N: Boom!

Big reveals this chapter! Ariella is Archmage, Ralof is Jarl, and Hadvar has to whip the legion into shape. More of the same, and yet everything is progressing. Soon, the Challenge will happen.

What do we think about it? I am heavily implying a lot of things this chapter, can anyone guess what it is?

Let's talk in the reviews!