Never underestimate a man who can bend a Dragon to his will

[Scythe Bearer]

I found what follows in the file dump from Old Salty Croc via Unshod Cobbler.  I share it here in memory of Black Swan, who wrote it originally. 

 

Part I – The Facts, As We Know Them. 

 

 

Nobody truly knows what precipitated the razing of Summerset Isle. What is known for fact is documented here.

The head of Elenwan was delivered to the Monarch of the Altmeri Dominion with a note, “Surrender or be destroyed”. The Monarch was not amused and proclaimed a deathmark on whoever had killed Elenwan and had her head delivered to him.  He ordered an army be raised and sent to Skyrim within the month, with the express purpose of finding and destroying the perpetrator.    

Two days later, The Dragonborn arrived at Skywatch and razed the city in less than an hour. The lone survivor swore the leader of the attackers was riding on a dragon, at the head of an army with dragon mounts. Her testimony to a Thalmor officer in Alinor was ridiculed.  Nobody could ride a Dragon.

By the evening of the second day following The Dragonborn’s arrival, Firsthold and the entire island of Auridon was ablaze with dragon fire. No city, town, village, hamlet or farm was spared in the onslaught.

Within a week of The Dragonborn’s arrival, the entire Northern half of Summerset Isle was burning. The Dragonborn was giving no quarter as he swept southward across the Island. The island was completely cut in half, and as with Aruidon, no Altmer habitation was being spared.  The troops raised to ship to Skyrim were instead dispatched to help stop the advancing threat, and promptly vanished. 

On day thirteen following the arrival of the Dragonborn, the entirety of Summerset Isle was burning. There was no structure that had not been burned, save for Alinor. The Dragonborn and his army of maybe two dozen dragons and half as many Blades were sitting outside the gates of Alinor. The Dragonborn demanded that the Monarch of the Altmeri Dominion and his Thalmor officers present themselves outside the gate, lest the entire city be burned with them inside.

When the Monarch and Thalmor finally presented themselves, the Dragonborn walked up to the Monarch and, to the horror of the watching Thalmor Officers, set him alight with a shout.  As the Dragonborn stood silently and watched the Monarch burn, the Thalmor Officers grew restless, but remained subdued, as every movement by an Officer was scrutinized by one or more of the surrounding dragons. When the Dragonborn was satisfied that the Monarch was sufficiently crisp, he turned to the dragons and gave a simple command. “Kill them all, burn it to ash".

There are still Altmer living on Summerset Isle, but they are few and widely dispersed. The demonstration of power by the Dragonborn not only broke the back of the Altmeri Dominion, but the Altmer people as a race. They are now shattered and broken. Granted, there are a few Altmer who still hold themselves up as the elite race in Tamriel, but seldom aloud, and never publicly.

The Thalmor Officers and troops spread across Tamriel went into hiding following the death of the Monarch and the Thalmor elite.  They are now hunted by the remnants of The Blades and the people of Tamriel who lost family and friends to the atrocities committed by the Thalmor.

 

Part II –Evidence is Not Proof.

 

 

Those are the facts, well known and fully documented here and elsewhere. What is rumored and believed true and what is simple speculation follows.

It is known that the home of the Dragonborn was destroyed in a wanton attack.  It is suspected that Elenwan, angered over the defeat of the Imperial Army in Skyrim’s Civil War and his suspected infiltration of her Embassy and his killing of her guards, ordered her soldiers to capture or kill the Dragonborn.  Their efforts led to the destruction of the Dragonborn’s home in The Pale, killing the Dragonborn’s wife and adopted son and daughter and the housecarl. The steward, who survived the attack, was severely wounded and died of her wounds two days later. She was delirious most of the time, and her only words were “Elves, fucking Altmer elves”.

The day following the attack, the entire Thalmor garrison at Northwatch Keep was wiped out. Several of the officers had been tortured and were grotesquely burned. It is believed that the victims of torture had been kept alive with healing magic as they were slowly roasted on a spit.

The day the Steward died, the Thalmor Embassy was attacked, burned, and everyone inside was killed. Elenwan’s body was found stripped and rudely impaled on a pike in her courtyard.  Her body could only be identified by a burn scar on her back, as her head was missing.  Blood patterns indicate she was beheaded after being impaled, but was alive until the beheading stroke.

There are stories repeated by the Foresworn who inhabited the area of the Reach surrounding Skyhaven Temple.  On what is believed to be the day following the destruction of the Thalmor Embassy, there was a severe earthquake, firestorms and Dragon Shouts heard in the Karthspire Region.   The Foresworn further speak of the sky around Skyhaven Temple being filled with dragons of all ilk following the storm and thunderous voices.  Finally, the Foresworn also tell that by the next morning, the dragons were gone, and Skyhaven Temple stood empty.  Scholars speculate that the earthquake and firestorms were in fact the Dragonborn summoning the dragons to his service as he prepared to invade Summerset Isle. 

Finally, there is a strange record from the archives of the Graybeards.  Their records indicate that as the Dragonborn was summoning the dragons to his service, the Graybeards’ leader, Paarthunax, struggled to stay calm and remain atop his perch on The Throat of the World.  The record also claims that Paarthunax committed the unheard-of act of calling all the Graybeards to the summit, that they might experience the power of the Dragonborn’s shout as he did.   A curious comment is scrawled in the margin of this record. 

“That Paarthunax heard the Dragonborn’s call to arms was obvious, and he wanted the taste of blood, man’s blood.  He needed us at the peak to distract him and keep him on this mountain.  Maybe, after all, the Blades were right about Paarthunax.  Or, it may be that this Dragonborn is too powerful.  His Dragonblood is alight with new and intimidating power and it has given this Dragonborn a command of Dragonspeech far beyond our training and his limited learning.  His hatred of the Thalmor has empowered and enriched his Thu’um, while darkening his soul.  I fear for this world, as it may not have been Alduin who was to be the unmaker of this world, but the Dragonborn.  Absorbing the souls of Miraak and countless dragons have given this Dragonborn power which no Dragonborn before had ever hoped to achieve.  Even more than Martin Septim, who defeated Mehrunes Dagon.  Maybe even more than Tiber Septim himself”.   

 

Part III – Speculation and Afterthoughts.

 

 

Once asked if he regretted wiping out an entire civilization, most of its history and culture and reducing the remaining people to abject destitution, The Dragonborn is rumored to have replied, "The Altmeri Dominion declared war on me and mine.  I engaged them in that war.  I defeated them in that war.  I ended that war.  I leave judgement to Talos". 

The Dragonborn’s reference to Talos is worthy of consideration.  The elevation of a Man to the status of a God was particularly anathema to the Altmer Race.  It is that hatred, which is believed to be a major, if not the, contributing factor in the Altmeri Dominion’s overthrowing of The Empire of Tamriel and establishing the rule of the Altmeri Dominion and the banning of the worship of Talos. 

It is also to be noted that the Blades, notorious dragon killers, incongruously rode with the Dragonborn as Summerset Isle burned. The speculation is that the Blades had joined forces with the Dragonborn and his dragon army as they were seeking a separate revenge on the Thalmor for the massacre at Cloud Ruler Temple and their attempts to erase the Blades from history.  It is also believed the Blades desired the Dragonborn proclaim himself Emperor of Tamriel and elevate the Blades to the position of power they had held preceding the Altmeri Dominion and the White-Gold Concordant. 

That the Dragonborn did not proceed to Cyrodil and the Imperial City following his campaign against the Altmeri Dominion is a curious detail. Having single handedly destroyed Summerset Isle and the Altmeri Dominion the route to proclaiming himself Emperor of the whole of Tamriel was open.  And, given that he was Dragonborn and had broken the yoke of the Altmeri Dominion, it is highly probable that the Elder Counsel would have make the Dragonborn Emperor by acclamation.  Yet the Dragonborn chose to turn back to Skyrim.

The dragons on Summerset Isle are another curiosity.  It seems that once their service to the Dragonborn was complete and the Altmeri Dominion destroyed, the dragons were free to do as they pleased.  Staying on Summerset Isle pleased quite a few, which accounts for the population of dragons on that island continent.  There have been unconfirmed reports that the dragons on Summerset Isle were given free reign by the Dragonborn to kill any Altmer who might remain on the island.  Despite the several claims by some to have been assaulted by dragons, there is on proof that this charge was given by the Dragonborn.

It has been rumored that the True Altermeri Monarch escaped Alinor before the Dragonborn arrived and that the Altmer burned by the Dragonborn was a double used to foil assassins.  Driven insane by the complete and utter destruction of his domain, the virtual erasure of his people’s history and culture and the death of the vast majority of the Altmer people, the True Altmeri Monarch aimlessly wanders Summerset Isle, alternately cursing his advisors, his generals, the Thalmor administrators, the Dragonborn, or Elenwan.  Attempts to verify or dispel the rumor the True Altmeri Monarch survived have all proved unsuccessful.

The name Elenwan is now a curse.  An angry epithet spat at anyone whose hate fueled, rash, impulsive actions have far reaching, catastrophic and unforeseen consequences.

 

 

Part IV – On War and Dragons.

 

 

Before proceeding, it is important to make one point.  Dragonfire is not like the fire you have in your hearth or cook fire or campfire.  The fire you know, and use requires material which will burn.  Wood, dried grasses and brush, mammoth dung, even mummies will burn, and these fires can be extinguished by smothering with dirt, drowning with water or simply stomping them out.  Dragonfire, does NOT require material which will burn.  Dragonfire will burn on stone, iron, steel, and even water.  Dragonfire cannot be extinguished by any known means.  Dragonfire will burn for as long as the dragon wishes it too and dragonfire will ignite any material in the area which will burn.  

With that out of the way, lets continue. 

The tactics used by the Dragonborn in his destruction of the Altmeri Dominion have caused military tacticians to rethink their strategic defense plans.  Up to the razing of Summerset Isle, the stratagem was to allow the citizenry to enter the major cities and to shelter in these fortresses.  Given that these bastions were built and defended to withstand a long and protracted siege, such actions preserved the most people and resources. 

Unfortunately, this strategy failed miserably during the campaign by the Dragonborn against the Altmeri Dominion.  In truth, the Dragonborn used this stratagem to inflict the greatest number of casualties possible. 

First, apart from Skywatch, the first city attacked, the local farms, hamlets and villages where attacked, driving the survivors into the major, fortified cities.   This concentrated the populace into a confined citadel, and eventually trapped them there. 

When the local targets had been sufficiently eliminated and the populace driven behind what were perceived as impenetrable and defendable walls, the Dragonborn used the dragons to their best advantage.  He had them set the perimeter of the cities alight with dragonfire. 

This fiery barrier prevented people from escaping the cities, trapping them.  Further, as is the nature of any fire, the fire on the perimeter drew itself towards the center of the city eventually engulfing the entire city in flames.  This led to the destruction of both the city and everyone in it as the flames consumed everything. 

Furthermore, the destruction of the major cities in this fashion ensured that the elite of the Altmer people and their culture were destroyed.  Only the rich and powerful were able to live in the gossamer palaces and constructs of the major cities.  Trapping them in a conflagration ensured the Altmer culture and power structure were destroyed along with their cities and population. 

That the Dragonborn’s strategy was successful is a horrifying simple understatement.  The Altmer people and their culture are all but extinct.  Following the Dragonborn’s campaign, the surviving population of the Altmer race is greater beyond the Summerset Isle than on the island continent itself.  And the cultural history, architecture and collected learning of the Altmer people exists only in fragments and memories. 

 

 

Part V – Consequences.

 

 

One great consequence of the Dragonborn’s success is the utter confusion of, and a falling out among, military strategists.  Their quandary, to defend against dragons or not.  Military experts are divided and a great and bitter debate rages. 

On one side are the people which believe the assault on Summerset Isle was a singular event and happened only because of the strength and abilities of the Dragonborn.  They contend that if the Dragonborn had not been involved, the assault would have not played out as it did, or even happened at all.  They believe it was the Dragonborn who is responsible for the type of warfare used in that campaign and the dragons were a unwilling tool used to accomplish an end. 

On the other side of the debate are those who believe that history repeats itself.  In the early history of Tamriel there was a war against the dragons.  That war was a close-run thing then, and if not for the Akiviri and an Elder Scroll, could have ended very differently. 

Now, they argue, dragons are back and the current Dragonborn has demonstrated the inclination to use dragons to achieve his personal goals.  This single fact alone demonstrates the danger dragons pose.  Couple that fact with the demonstratively overwhelming success which the strategy employed by the Dragonborn achieved, and the additional fact that dragons now know and understand this strategy, and Dragons pose a very real and immediate threat.  Consequently, they believe defenses need to be in place to defend against dragons, and a more effective strategy for protecting the people must be developed so that entire populations are not again destroyed in a single attack. 

With all that, there are two outliers. 

First is a group who quite seriously propose that the people of Tamriel form an alliance with the dragons.  They point out the effectiveness of dragons in combat and believe that a single dragon could defend a large section of Tamriel.  Their opponents point out that each town, city, hamlet, village and farm would have to separately negotiate with a dragon for protection, as dragons were fiercely independent and no one dragon spoke for them all, not even the great Paarthunax.  Those opposed also point out that Paarthunax himself admitted that dragons have a lust to power, and any alliance between a dragon and men would probably end badly for men. 

Then there is a faction which has proposed that the Blades be recruited to fulfill their original charter and kill every dragon in Tamriel, basically rekindling the Dragon Wars.  They claim that this could be easily accomplished with the assistance, willing or otherwise, of the Dragonborn.  They have yet to find anyone brave enough, or stupid enough, to attempt to make the Dragonborn do anything against his will.  As one pundit pointed out, the Dragonborn was, for all practical purposes, a dragon himself.  He just lacked wings, at least for now. 

The one point most camps agree on, the only thing keeping the dragons from destroying humanity now is the presence of the Dragonborn and his obvious power over dragons.  They fear that, when the Dragonborn dies, the dragons will again exercise their lust to dominate and attempt to subjugate the whole of Tamriel.   Their one hope, that the blood of the Dragonborn has rendered him, as other dragons, immortal.