“I wanted experienced mages not these!”

An annoyed Mortred yelled his dissatisfaction to Mirabelle and the other deans.

His voice echoed across the halls and the floors below. An angry demigod should have been a terrifying sight for the deans and archmage. It was only if, they never knew him throwing this kind of tantrum in the past.

They were inside the Meeting Hall making this an important topic for all of them. Behind him were seven students that could be seen as children due to their appearance. Nord boy and girl, a dunmer girl, a breton girl, two khajiit girls, and a wood elf girl. Mortred felt that the eldest of them was obviously the wood elf despite her younger appearance

“I have to refute your insult. We are already promoted as battlemages of Winterhold.” one of them clearly felt offended by his statements. He looked at the complainer and saw a khajiit girl. Mirabelle smiled confidently with this and replied also.

“As they have said, they are already battlemages and not students. But they wanted to be promoted into the higher ranks which had the requirements for real battle experience.” Mirabelle said.

“Besides you already accepted bunch of students in your expedition in the past.” One of the deans argued. "This group are not different and even considered better in terms of skills and talents."

“Where we are going is not fieldtrip.” He spat back. “Did you forgot that the students I brought in the past nearly died many times?”

“And those students had become the very second group to be promoted to the Magus’ of Winterhold.” Mirabelle just smiled at his argument.

Knowing that he can’t win with her in argument he turned to the seven and asked.

“You can just ask for mercenary contracts in the holds for your proof of real life experience. You don’t need to endanger yourselves.”

“Still we insist, we swear that we will never be a burden and instead prove you that the seven of us will be great assets and not liabilities.” one of them looked directly on his eyes and said.

“My expedition is on the lands that were known to be inhabited by snakemen and man eaters. I would leave you behind if necessary and you will never get any rescue mission if you also got lost on your own. And if you did come with me, I will use you for my advantage without regard for your lives.”

Mortred looked at them now directly on their eyes which he unleashed bloodlust. Surprisingly for him, they just stared back.

"We are fine with that."

Seeing their resolve, he sighed.

“Don’t worry, the college will still be willing to provide you with scholars and mages that have focused their studies on Akavir literature and history.” one of the dean's said.

“Fine.” Then he glared at Mirabelle. “But I will take no responsibility on their lives. I will use them as I see fit.”

“Of course. It’s only right as this was forced upon you. But do you hear any complaint from them?” Mirabelle gestured again to the seven. “In fact they are the one who volunteered after I told them of their possible promotion conditions.”

“What?” he turned towards them which the seven nodded together to confirm Mirabelle’s words. He sighed. “Fine Fine fine… But you will obey me on the entire duration of this expedition. Any disobedience or insubordination that I deemed to be a danger to the crew or an obstruction to the goal of this expedition will result an immediate summary execution. If I tell you to jump, you jump.”

“Yes.” Seven of them replied.

Their straight and unhesitating answers made him crept out. It's as if he was facing his fanatical worshipers again. He coughed.

“This expedition may take at least 5 years, and a decade at most. Are you really sure with this?” he asked again.

“Did we stutter?” another one of the students raised her voiced.

He was so confused at their resolve to such threats. Mirabelle grinned at his reaction as if she was making a prank.

"Prepare yourselves within two hours. we will leave immediately after I finish my business in this city." Mortred then gave them orders to prepare themselves for an immediate departure as he may call for them at a moments notice. He left them along with Mirabelle as they still have something to discuss with the deans.

"Fuck. Another headaches to think about." He grumbled, walking through the courtyard. Then he found himself looking down on the view of the entire city of Winterhold. "This city change so fast huh."

Then a student was hurriedly running through the yard that disturbed the silence around him.

"Why...do...they...s-still...not...have...haahhh...an...ele...vator..." The student was painting and glanced back at him then asked.

"Excuse...me-" she probably immediately recognized him as she almost forgot her exhaustion and went into being embarrassed at her actions. "I-I am sorry! I didn't recognize that it was your Excellency!"

He clicked his tongue and tried to calm the panicking student.

"Breathe in first and take a rest. What's the hurry by the way?" He asked.

Then she also realized that the person in front of her was actually the correct individual to receive the message.

"Ah! Ummmm... There's actually a group of Dominion diplomats at the gates of the city asking for an immediate entry and audience to the Mage Council." She revealed. She was subtly taking glances at him and his body language, not wanting to offend him. Just being on the presence of one of the most powerful person in the world made her sweat like crazy despite casting a spell earlier to cool herself down.

But she was also feeling some sort of surreal awkwardness on the situation. The person in front of her was also considered to be a literal walking god but the image she got from him was a human of noble status, not exactly divine like what she had heard from the legends that the person was involved with. If she could compare it, it felt like having a normal dialogue with an Eldritch God without feeling extreme fear or madness that she was suppose to expect.

Mortred however was not concerned of her thoughts but frowned and then his face turned into amused at hearing the sudden appearance of Dominion agents.

"Fine let them enter. I will meet with them. I am curious on what are their demands today.” he grinned mischeviously.

"Ah-ah! Y-yesh!" She quickly tried to ran to escape the uncomfortable situation but she felt a strong tug being the back that stopped her from doing so. Morted caught her cloak from the back and leaned closer to her ear.

“Ah, by the way. I want you to subtly do this without them knowing.” Mortred whispered his command to the female student with a big wide grin.

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Veimar was gritting his teeth in anger as they were barred from entry to the city. Despite his threats to raise complaints to the High Queen, the soldiers just simply ignored him and continued their strict order to wait for the arrival of permission. As a justiciar, he swallowed his temper and turned his back in frustration from the guards then returned to his party.

A beautiful altmer with the name Aeriele commanded their contingent of thirteen. Seven battlemages, three Justiciars and three personal guards of the Dominion envoy. More than enough to wipe out the guards on the gate if they wanted to.

“We don’t have a choice, we may have to wait milady.”

“It’s fine.” Aeriele wave her hand. Her attention was on something else.

“Though I will take note of their insolence and ill manners in receiving guests from the Dominion.” he hissed at the direction of the gate.

“I am more curious at those craters though.” she pointed at the trails of destruction just outside the walls of the city. She then asked the guard that was watching over them. “Hey, did something happened here?”

The guards looked into each other, confused whether to answer or not but noting that they were not ordered to hide such news and they never received any command to silence any information about it, they answered.

“Well… Winterhold actually experienced a siege just recently.” he scratched his head awkwardly. “A hostile army attacked several days ago.”

“What? From whom?” all of the Dominion party got confused in hearing the statement of the soldier.

“I first thought they were yours.” Another guard interjected.

Then as if that was the trigger for their pent up frustration, all of them then showed their anger at the comment. Only the diplomat had a confused face.

“You dare accuse us?! Why would we even make such barbaric unprovoked attack?” Veimar’s temper rose once again but was squashed when he saw Aeriele raising her hand, stopping him from exploding.

“Where is that army now?” she asked.

“Who knows. All that we know was that we were able to repel the besieging army and forced them to retreat.” the first guard shrugged.

Strange. I never received this information from the spies that I deployed here. What the hell are they doing? I may have to clean the backyard first for better agents later. This incompetence can't go in unpunished. She thought.

Then someone on a horse arrived within the gates. It was the female mage that was probably assigned on the guard duty earlier and disappeared to send their request directly to the Council. She dismounted and walked towards them before stopping in front of Aeriele’s two elven guards.

“You have been permitted to enter the grounds of Winterhold. You are allowed to bring your weapons on the condition that you will be escorted with guards while within the walls of the city.” As soon as she finishes her statement, two contingents of riders poured from the gates and surrounded them.

Outnumbering them three to one.

“I am Helder, Captain of the 58th Mounted Winter Platoon. Me and my men will be your escort during the duration of your visit. Please do avoid from separating yourselves from our group during the entry. I would not be able to guarantee your safety if you did while inside the city.”

The subtle threat quickly entered their minds and caused gritting teeth but the Dominion diplomat, Aeriele nodded and reined her horse closer towards Helder, making her horse directly collide with his body.

“That will be beneficial to us. Lead us directly to the Winterhold College. We don’t have time to waste time in sightseeing or detours just in case you are planning to do so.” Aeriele warned.

Helder turned his back and mounted on his horse then turned to his men.

“Move out!” the captain of the riders just ignored her and led the way in front of the column.

The audacity! Most of the elven party got triggered again at such obvious indifferent treatment.

They passed through the gates and was welcomed by the sudden warmth. They were all shocked at the change in temperature that they failed to hide their surprise. Then as if searching for answer they all turned to the sky as they noticed that they saw no snow falling in their sight. What they found was a transparent barrier that blocked the falling snow above the city. They got to know that it encompassed the entire city as they can still see where the barrier ended on their horizon. True they were still riding through white snow but it was not that deep compared to the scene outside the city walls.

“Impossible!”

“This is-”

Aeriele, also confused, asked the captain that was leading them.

“Ho-how did the city manage to deploy a massive barrier that could even change the climate inside the city?”

He turned his head back as if also confused on their question then realized something.

“Ah… this must be your first time here. The barrier was set up by the mages ever since they finished building the outer wall. And about the climate control… I don’t know the knowledge behind it so you better ask the mages on the college later.”

The elves went silent as they still failed to hide their awe at such grand display of capability in magic. They started having mental discussions with each other.

“This is truly exceptional. Can your mages also create such possibility for our cities?”

“If we could, we would have already deployed one on Alinor. Maintaining such barrier is not just costly to magicka but also counterproductive if all that it does was just to protect the city from harsh climate. But if this barrier could shield against magical assaults or bombardment then it would be a different matter.” the commander of the mages, Archmage Aveosachts replied. “This is not just impressive milady but also very dangerous for us. This just shows that we may have been far behind in terms of knowledge in magic.”

“Maybe this is just a temporary show off after they received news of our visit? Humans have always the immature desire to display their arrogance and hubris.” Veimar commented.

“If it was, then all of us mages here would already have been laughing after entering the gates. We could sense such deceptions if they did so but after scanning their barrier, I could feel that it had been standing for several years already. What we cannot sense though was how they were able to spend the upkeep of the barrier on this scale.” the archmage stated mentally.

They were then taken aback by another sight of a giant keep surrounded by residential houses. At first they thought that it was their destination where they would be welcomed by the local authority but realized something wrong when they passed it without stopping.

“What’s the purpose of that keep?” One of the mages asked the Captain Helder.

“That is the Castle Glassberg. The hold’s outpost for the Dawnguards. It’s one of the few castles inside the city aside from the main castle, Frozenhearth and Winterhold College. You can see another set of towers on other side of the wall, those belong to Castle Windgrace of Empire and that castle on the far side of the harbor is Castle Hevmund of the East Empire Company.”

“What? You allowed another party to build a castle inside your city?”

The sudden revelation that Winterhold granted the building of another castle deep within their walls confused them with deep sense of shock again. But inwardly, they were more shock to know that the city had a castle

“What’s the problem with it? They help maintain the order by keeping out the daedric influence and monsters from Winterhold.” Another rider who was trotted beside him answered.

This city could never support several castles inside it if it didn’t have any financial and economic capability to maintain and supply these castles. Aeriele suddenly was racked with headache as she realized that their agents had failed to mention the increasing strength in power and economy of Winterhold. She could only imagine the astronomical income of such city capable of handling this type of upkeep. Even their prized city of Alinor could only maintain the White Tower that was built on the center of their city. The only information she got was that Winterhold was somehow now known as the third largest city in the entire Skyrim. Second only to Windhelm and was topped by Skyhaven. And this city was divided into seven walled sections that could be considered a city on their own.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

She immediately went into mental calculations to quickly know the strength of Winterhold. With this limited points in mind, the city probably have the population of a ten to twelve million already. If this was already the population of the third largest city, what would be the population of Windhelm and Skyhaven who were even larger than Winterhold?

Cold sweat appeared on her forehead as she had these thoughts.

This result quickly entered her mental notes that she will use to her negotiation with the local authority.

They passed through what their escorts called the Grand Bazaar where various races from across the Empire trade with one another. They saw even some khajiit traders and argonians happily introducing their products to the interested buyers. The latter race should have been absent in this cold north due to their vulnerability to the harsh cold, but it seemed they found no problem in living here. Dunmers were busy advertising their clothes and glasses of wine in street stalls and shops.

But what shocked them even more was the greatest sight they ever saw in their lives.

A majestic grand architecture that obviously shows off the capabilities of the one who designed and built such work.

The Grand Coliseum.

It spanned several hundreds of kilometers in length as their limited sight failed to see the other end of the structure. Probably due to the warm weather inside the city, people were bustling. They were even struggling to maintain close distance with their escort that the mounted soldiers guarding them decided to surround them closer to separate the crowd from their way.

They all felt a sense of insecurity that they never felt even after entering the majesty of Imperial City, as the comparison of what they saw with what they knew was like heaven and mud. The hostile glances from the onlooking citizens as they passed did not go unseen by them. They could feel the resentful feeling from their gazes yet they didn't move to impede them. Argonians, men and even the khajiits and the sub elven races that they considered as lesser than them, all sent them with equal degree of murdering looks. Aeriele herself also struggled to stop her personal guards and justiciars from breaking ranks to beat up the growling eyes of the people around them.

Their party didn't know to whether thank their escort from guarding them from the obviously boiling citizens or to scold them for letting them pass in a dangerous area. They are confident in repelling hundreds of peasants armed with pitchforks but an angry mob of thousands was something she knew they wouldn't be able to survive. Although their High Council would be able to use their deaths should it come to pass as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Winterhold, Aeriele have no desire to be patriotic at this point of time.

They finally entered the gates to the college. But with heavy hearts of insecurity and jealousy from the grand sights that they saw.

However it was not the end of their mental torture as they were welcomed again with majestic appearance of the Winterhold College. Floating pillars surrounds the entire place. They could feel the rich air of Magicka. Students and mages practicing their spells on the sides, others were reading books while floating to their destinations and the rest were doing their chores with the help of spells. It was a sight that wasn't even present in Summerset's Tower of Magic and Imperial College of Magic. This place could truly hold the title, School of Mages.

The winds of freedom and aura of creativity brims the atmosphere.

Their speechless selves were suddenly interrupted when the captain of their escort loudly said his farewell.

"This is where we will drop you off. You can head through the Great Stairs directly from here. Just follow the main road. Us soldiers aren't allowed to go beyond this point without permission so we will await you here to escort you again when you leave."

Aeriele didn't respond and her entourage quickly understood her hidden message. They all quickly dismounted from their horses and formed ranks led by Aeriele herself.

They will now show elegance, discipline and their superiority on this place. Their price wouldn't allow them to do otherwise.

With heads high, they walked through the road, trying to ignore the gawking eyes and the curious stares as they walked.

"Stand tall. We must maintain our grand majesty. I will handle the affairs, any interference from any of you will be punished severely later." Aeriele mentally warned.

The stairs were very high that without using Magicka to strengthen their legs, they would've already gave out in the middle due to exhaustion.

They arrived at the top where they were welcomed not by students or big ranking mages but by an empty yard with only a single mage in hooded cloak.

“We are the representatives of the Dominion. We demand an immediate audience with the Archmage of the College.” one of her justiciar said, the other person just took of her head showing a gentle smile of a Breton woman.

"Welcome to the College of Winterhold, I am Mirabelle, the current Archmage." She bowed after introducing herself.

"This is Lady Aeriele, ambassador of the Golden Eagle Order under the Dominion." One of the justiciars introduced their mistress.

"I am pleased that you took your time to visit our city and college." Mirabelle laugh cheerfully. "Please do follow me to the Hall of Words."

Aeleria just nodded and walked behind the Archmage. They were led to the giant keep that houses a giant round table with a hollow center, which had a giant blue fire floating at the core. It seemed to be emmitting warmth as they felt the temperature to rise as soon as they entered. It had the size that could support twenty chairs with enough space for two chairs in between.

"Please do take a seat wherever you wanted around the table." Mirabelle said as she sat on the other side. Only four of the Dominion agents took a seat while the rest stood behind them at a distance.

They went silent for a while, as if they were all waiting for someone else but when they found that the Archmage was the only one to arrive and speak with them, they all got confused with tinged of anger as they felt insulted. They expected the high ranking mages entering or waiting for them here but they didn't expect to be welcomed and confronted by only one person.

"So... Do you have any request to the College of Winterhold?" Mirabelle asked after seeing that the Dominion party wasn't intending to start the dialogue yet. Her voice echoed through the hall.

"Request? It should be 'demand' or 'service'! How dare they belittle the Dominion in front of us?" A mental shout rang across their minds. It came from one of the justiciars thats gritting her teeth.

None refuted her complaint as all of them felt the same way. Aeriele glared at Mirabelle and said.

“We demand that Winterhold cede a portion of land for the Dominion in building a provincial embassy here in Skyrim.”

Archmage Mirabelle was confused. They already have an embassy here in Skyrim and under the agreement in the White Gold Concordat, the Dominion could only have one embassy on each imperial provinces.

“I thought you already have one for Skyrim?” She asked.

“Our now ‘former’ embassy was actually destroyed in an attack by raiders. The reconstruction effort was stalled and had become impossible to finish due to the continued attacks from these heretics.” Aeriele said.

Mirabelle was about to ask another question when she was stopped by a clapping sound at the entrance.

They all turned towards the source of the sound.

"How awful. These attackers should be apprehended with the crime of treason!"

A red haired man in a mage robe was standing by the wall.

The Dominion guards that were standing immediately took position to protect their diplomat. But the man just ignored their bloodlust and continued smiling in obvious taunt. Then he slowly took a seat on the right side where the Dominion party sat, just four chairs away from them.

“Well, isn't this interesting…” the man laughed on the other side of the table which made the other party uncomfortable and even angry from thinking that this stranger was making fun of their dire situation.

The diplomat herself was confused on the identity of the man and glanced at Mirabelle for answer. The Archmage just smiled and stood.

"Let me introduce to you." She waved her hand towards the man and continued. "This is Mortred Ubbelisk, first of his name. King of Winterhold, King of Windhelm, King of Dawnstar and King of Skyhaven. Lord of Solstheim... and the Dragonborn."

The last word immediately took effect when they heard it. All of their bloodlust had waned with fear and caution. Aeriele herself couldn't stop herself from showing a wide open eyes and mouth from shock.

But the man in front of them had the different appearance from what they had gathered. And none of them had saw the real identity of the Dragonborn even during the civil war due to his frequent appearance under a mask. The last time the Dominion had encountered the Dragonborn was during the talk for truce in the middle of the Dragon Crisis. So its impossible for them to know if the other side was telling the truth. And moreover-

"I-impossible! The Dragonborn had died 13 years ago! Are you mocking us with an impostor?!!!" One of the justiciars stood in anger at the possibility that they were being mocked. "This will not go unanswered!"

With her statement, the rest of her entourage immediate prepared for combat, showing preparation to cast spell and unsheathing their blades aiming at the Archmage and the strange man. The Dragonborn was last heard before his trip to Solstheim. Since then, he had gone missing and the rest of Tamriel had presumed that he had died.

Or rather the Dominion only, as the Imperial citizens still believed that he was still alive, somewhere in the continent. One of the facts was the growing influence and numbers of a new heretic faith in the Imperial lands that worshipped the dragonborn. Even when he was missing, he was even crowned as the king of four major cities in Skyrim and one of them was the hideout of the accursed Order of Blades, which the Dominion could only grit their teeth in frustration for being unable to hunt down the former rats that gnawed on the foundations of the Dominion.

But before they could do anything reckless, they heard a loud echo that destroyed their will.

"[Kneel]"

As if it was a command that they cannot disobey, all of them suddenly kneeled at their positions without even knowing how they did so. They tried resisting their action after they realized that their body had moved without their accord but failed. Then they quickly realized this power.

"A Thu'um!" Aeriele mentally yelled her realization. Thu'ums are word powers used by dragons and those who practice the way of the Voice.

This confirmed that the man in front of them was the Dragonborn.

"You have grown arrogant over the years of my disappearance. By the way, I never died, I was just on a different time and space on that duration. Still you never changed huh. Stubborn as ever you elves." Mortred tilted his head.

This was now a dire situation for the Dominion. Their greatest threat had returned and on an unexpected place even. Aeriele made a mental command to send a message to the neighboring embassies in the nearby provinces about the situation. But the mages told her that they cannot due to something blockading their connection with the outside world.

Aeriele now felt cornered and isolated. She assumed that the thick ward that had been placed in the city or around the college must have been blocking their attempt.

"[At Ease]" Mortred said with a echoing voice. "Please do take your seats.

He smiled again and gestured them to their chairs.

All of them felt freed from being forced to kneel and slowly returned to the seats. The Dominion entourage was now in caution on how to proceed with the talks. Silence between them continued for several seconds until Mirabelle herself broke the ice.

“The stewardship of Winterhold is given to the Winterhold College on the absence of its king. It is not needed anymore.” Mirabelle said as she glanced at Mortred.

She probably intended to have me involve with them. So I will have my own fun with them and she can never blame me for that. Mortred bottled up his urge to laugh.

"What if I say no?" He leaned closer supported by one of his arms.

Such statement made them go into shock again. Despite being the Dragonborn, the elven party were still confident that the other side would yield to their demands.

“It is stipulated in the White Gold Concordat that every province have the responsibility to provide the Dominion enough land to house an embassy as sanctuary for our people in the provinces... And seeing that you have allowed others to build fortresses and castles of their own inside your city, we also demand the vacant castle of Grugenmurst be handed to us.”

It was a former castle that belonged to the Order of Stendarr before Dawnguard finished the construction of their castle. But due to some falling out with the local rising religion within the city, they were banished by the Archmage and the council. Since then, it just became another armory for the soldiers. It was one of the few information that Aeriele got from her spies that the castle was vacant. Although she didn't expect it to be a literal castle and she only thought it to be a fortified manor or a walled mansion.

“If we are denied, then we have no choice but to send diplomatic complaint to the High Queen.” The envoy grinned with her threat. “This would be a very uncomfortable escalation… for both of us of course.”

The archmage, despite their expectations of her accepting their demands earlier, just sighed and look at the man who was with them on the table, still with an amused face.

Are they forgetting that they are facing a walking demigod? Mirabelle thought. I don't blame them however as I was the one who planned to have all of this on the table but I didn't expect Mortred to be... Enjoying this than what I expected.

Then Mortred asked.

“These Orders were allowed to build their own castles inside the city as they brought great benefits and advantages to the people for the city. What about you? What are you bringing with you?”

The Dominion party immediately stood in shock, with hostility and pure anger.

“You're asking us to bribe you?!” Aeriele hissed.

"I didnt mention any of that sort." Mortred showed a mocking grin as he rested his chin "Though you are welcome to provide one if you want to."

Silence once again already on the room. Aeriele sense patriotism would not allow her to back down after the obvious taunts and insults to her country.

But before anyone could start anything, the envoy raised her hand as if to command her entourage to stand down.

Mortred used that to make his counter.

“Lets just be honest here. I know you’re not here to ask for land. You are here for something else.” he leaned closer.

Afterall, the Dominion would never send such force if they wanted only land or castle. In fact they would just probably send a dove or a messenger bearing their demands and if rejected they would just send their issue directly to the Emperor or High Queen. Knowing this, Mortred already realized their true objective in coming to Winterhold. Something that the Dominion always wanted.

Aeriele, now noticed that Mortred probably knew of their true goal, decided to come clean and stop beating around the bush.

She nodded and showed an aura of superiority.

“Aside from a ceding a land to us, the Dominion demands for the Eye of Magnus to be handed over.” she said.

Mirabelle glared at the sudden turn of statements. Mortred however was trying to hold back his urge to laugh.

It seemed that the Dominion never knew that the Psijic Order took the Eye of Magnus. Then another player decided to join their little game.

“As that Lizard mentioned, you elves are still arrogant as ever.” a soothing voice interrupted the Dominion's attention and turned again to the left side of the table. A beautiful being with pointed ears, pale skin, white hair and cold winter eyes sat just a few chairs from them. A snow elf had appeared just beside where they seated.

Marah’ Ziah revealed herself. She was actually already waiting inside before Mirabelle and the Dominion party entered the hall. She just hid herself with magic to watch the talks.

The group of altmer however were even more shocked to see a living snow elf. Much less in the city of humans.

Mariah' Ziah stood from her chair and walked towards the Dominion envoy which her guards immediately stood and formed defensive stance around her with weapond unsheathed. The former just walked as if she doesn't care about their actions.

“This so called Dominion had no right to take anything nor make any demands to the college.” She added. “The society of mages was never bound to the White Gold Concordat.”

Aeriele's mind was now in chaos, how in the world could she comprehend her situation with the sudden confusing events before her eyes. First the advancement of magic on Winterhold, then the return of the Dragonborn, and finally a surviving snow elf, a long lost cousin that they all thought to have been extinct. But instead of standing on their side, this being was acting in hostility against them.

“You are an elf. Why are you taking the side of these… nords? These short lived monkeys?” One of the Justiciars stood in anger.

However, this triggered something inside Marah’ Ziah. Her eyes instantly glowed in light blue with an overpowering aura.

“PROSTRATE!!”

With a single command the entire elven company suddenly found themselves on the ground again. This time, their faces stuck on the floor. They were so dumbfounded as it never occurred to them that they would receive such hostility from a fellow elf. The command itself was so sudden that some of them gained broken noses and teeth due to the impact on hugging the ground.

Marah’ Ziah kicked the face of the justiciar that refuted her, he lost another few teeth and bleeding gums, then she used her right foot to step on the head of the envoy.

“I may be an elf but that doesn’t mean I have any duty or responsibility to tolerate the hubris, stupidity and arrogance of my fellow race.”

Then she added salt to their injury that was never said by to their faces before.

“Heh, despite claiming that you are the closest race to reach the status of gods, it would always be the humans that you called short lived monkeys to ascend into godhood.” this was the last straw, two of the dominion mages, tried casting some spell from their hands but before they could even start the channeling of magicka, their hands burst into pulps of flesh and gore.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!”

They screamed in pain.

“It seemed that I was actually more gentle on my approach, let me fix that.” Marah’ Ziah then walked to the two mages grabbed their heads. “You are not worthy to use magic.”

“NO-NO!!”

“NO!!! AAHH!”

In an instant, she absorbed their magicka and ability to manipulate the chaos.

“The extinction of my race was justifiable as proof with your actions. To be honest, I was even glad to know the fate of my race and being one of the few left. You see, I found the feeling of being a rare sight, addicting.” she grinned as she continued to suck out the very pride of the Dominion mages from their bodies. Then when she was done, she dropped them back to the ground.

Aeriele thought the snow elf killed them but realized that the two were still concious. However, the two felt something very wrong. They wailed in despair as they realized what it was.

“If I see you here again within the walls of this city, I will visit Summerset and resume what Ymir had refused to do.” she glared.

Aeriele quickly understood the last line and made them realize that this snow elf was probably present on the days Snow Elves became extinct, and from her revelation she had implied that she was involved in the massacre of her own people by aiding the Atmorans.

"I am Mariah' Ziah, Grand Magus of Winterhold. Leave this place and never return." She released them, earning only shocked faces, fear and frustration from the Dominion entourage. The latter then quicklt organized themselves and helped the others to stand that were still trembling from what happened.

Mortred just smiled at the events and he added.

"I don't forgive and forget. But unlike her, it would be my pleasure to see you again in another place at a different time."

Aeriele could only stare blankly at the two overpowering individuals.

"I hope the Dominion will not be naughty later because I would be present this time around." Mortred sent a vague threat of his own.

They didn't even answer as the Dominion party left quickly than when they entered this hall. The only people left were Mariah' Ziah, Mortred and Mirabelle. The third of them was also in a very foul mood.

“Why did you have to make such threats?!” Mirabelle knew that what happened would just give her more headaches in the future. She thought bringing Mortred in the table would reduce her responsibility as a steward. But she didn't expect things would get worse. She found herself exploding in anger.

Mariah’ Ziah casted a ward on her ears for the incoming barrage of rants from Mirabelle while Mortred already sneakily crept into the corner of the hall to prepare himself for a teleportation away and back to Skyhaven. His business here was complete and he would just wait for the college mages to arrive on the temple, hiding from Mirabelle's incoming justified beatings. He opened a rift in space without making any sound while taking advantage of Mirabelle's attention to Mariah' Ziah and disappeared in the darkness.

He reappeared in the balcony of Skyhaven. Sighing in relief, he returned back to the room where he came from. That was until he was welcomed by an angry pouting face of Fang.