Act I: Chapter 7

Hello everyone,

I am a huge fan of 'The Hero's Journey', and that follows a certain pattern of: Get stronger, get beat down, persevere through, get beat down again, persevere, beat down, beat down, beat down, and finally triumph. So my stories will naturally follow that general guideline, mainly because I believe that life does the same thing to people in their everyday lives.

Anyway, that is probably the last time I will respond to a review that way. I like more personal and private conversations, so if you have another question, make sure that I can respond to you directly.

I won't ramble any today about the past update, because of how much of the A/N I took up already. I hope you all enjoy the chapter!

Authors note at the bottom.

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"This is the King of the Forsworn?"

The Jarl of Markarth stood in front of the prone form of Madanach. The King in Rags was at our feet still unconscious because of my use of magic to keep him that way.

"Yes, my Jarl." I answered him.

"And Thonar has had him locked away in Cidhna Mine?" The Jarl continued, repeating what I had already told him a couple of times.

"And using him to further his goals in the city and Skyrim." I said.

We still stood in the 'throne room' of the Understone Keep. Well everyone else stood, I sat in a chair that one of the guards had fetched. Carrying a man over your shoulder for a couple miles is no easy task, even if you do have magic to help you.

"Which you think, is to weaken my rule so that he can install a Stormcloak supporting Jarl." Jarl Igmund filled in for me.

"Yes. Or he could want it for himself." I said.

The Jarl in front of me let out a hum as he thought about the problem I had just brought to my doorstep. His right foot stepped on the man beneath him, testing his body before he hummed.

"My father left me quite a tall task." The Jarl said. "I thought I had appeased the old families."

"Nords are stubborn creatures." Calcelmo commented from the side where he leant against a pillar. "They respect strength, and actions over words."

"Am I only words, mage?!" The Jarl asked in a fit of anger.

"No, but Ulfric's actions will echo on these halls for a long time, until a bigger story drowns it out." Calcelmo answered the Jarl's rage with a calm demeanor.

"I need a bigger story, then." The Jarl said, becoming calm once again.

"This presents a great opportunity." I said, throwing my two cents in. Both of the men looked at me curiously, waiting for me to continue. So I obeyed. "They have gone to the Druadach mountains, where Madanach's throne sits."

They went silent then, and began to think about the information I laid out for them. We all knew what I was proposing, but it was never an easy decision.

"Genocide." Calcelmo supplied for all of us.

The Jarl didn't react at first, still thinking. I nodded at the old court wizard, a little shamefully. Erasing a whole people, and culture just didn't sit right with me.

"If they are truly at Druadach, then the choice is already made. I swore to the High King that I would protect my lands and people, from any threat till my last breath." Jarl Igmund said. "They have proven themselves a threat, and are occupying my lands without permission. I have no choice."

I knew this would be the outcome, the moment I decided to break out and make a play for my freedom. I knew that if I brought him the King of the Forsworn, Igmund would smell blood in the water, and strike against the Forsworn. At the end of the day, they acted as terrorists against Skyrim and her people. I felt no remorse for my actions, only satisfaction.

"My Jarl." I spoke up, interrupting the two men.

"Yes?" Igmund entertained.

"I am not a free man." I said a little hesitantly. "And I did not go into those mines out of the goodness of my heart. I did it to buy my freedom."

The Jarl laughed his booming nordic laugh as I finished my sentence. When he was done, I stood there patiently, waiting for him. My anxiety hadn't let me laugh along with him. Even Calcelmo smirked at what I said.

"I will do you one better kinsmen. Markarth hasn't had a proper Thane in years. I would burden you with the honor!"

My heart thumped loudly in my chest as I realized what he just said. Before the 'merge', I had considered being a Thane as the highest honor I could reasonably attain in my life. Now, I knew I was going much higher than that, but it was still a great honor and accomplishment.

"I don't know what to say, my Jarl." I said, but tradition took over and I dropped to a knee in front of him. "It is an honor beyond words."

"You are refreshing, young Hadvar!" The Jarl said as he loomed over me. "But being a Thane is more political and ceremonial than anything, admittedly."

'Of course it is, but it gives me credibility, and political power immediately.' I said to myself while thinking about how I could use it to my advantage.

"I will accept it nonetheless." I told the Jarl.

"Now, we have a battle to prepare for, a captain to sack, and Stormcloak supporters to strongarm into submission."

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I can't tell you how satisfying it was to walk into my old captain's office, with the symbol of Markarth on my breast and the Jarl at my side.

"Get out of my seat." I said as he stared at me and the Jarl, processing what was happening. When he didn't move, I walked over to where he sat dumbfounded and lifted him up by his neck and arm before shoving him face first on the desk.

"What is this madness?!" The ex-captain said as his face met the desk. "I'll have you court martialed, you jumped up…"

He couldn't continue his sentence, because I had lifted his head up and smashed it back on the table, breaking his nose and knocking him out. Once again, I can't describe the feeling of euphoria that rushed through my system as he slumped to the ground.

"A proper Nord, aren't you young Hadvar." The Jarl said with a laugh at the body now on the floor. "But that is only your seat, until General Tullius says otherwise."

"Of course, my Jarl." I said. "I have been waiting to do that for a very long time now." I told him with a smile on my face.

He returned the smile and nodded in satisfaction. "I know the feeling! He always was a rat bastard." The Jarl told me as he walked out of the door. "Clean this up, and meet me at the keep. We have more to do."

"Bjorn!" I barked towards the door. The man entered with cuffs in his hands and two men behind him. "Get this corrupt piece of shit out of my sight."

Bjorn and the men obeyed me and lifted the man up and cuffed him. I grabbed Bjorn as he walked past me. "Don't kill him." I told the man.

It didn't take long for Bjorn to reveal why him and the men were so cold to me during my stay in the cells. Apparently, all of them were close to being court martialed just from their association with me, according to the ex-captain. I knew that the captain would have a hard time getting to the jail cell in one piece.

Bjorn nodded at me as they too left. I was alone, in my temporary new office. I knew I wouldn't hold the position, once word got out. In fact, the only reason I was able to occupy it for a little was because of my new title as Thane of Markarth. The Jarl had not only given me the title of Thane, but had elected me as general for the coming campaign against the Forsworn because of how well I had trained the men during my time as Quaestor and Praefect.

In his own words. "This is my city, and I pay the legion a lot of money to rent their men. I'll do as I like. Tullius himself better come have a talk with me if he dislikes it."

I didn't complain, as I was about to get some serious political weight in Skyrim. The man who secured the Reach for Skyrim for generations to come has a good ring to it.

'That's only the beginning.'

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I walked in the Jarl's office, which was the size of a large house, to see two similar looking middle-aged men standing in front of him. They didn't have cuffs on their hands, but the guards standing behind them didn't make me think they had a choice but to attend the meeting.

"Ah, my new Thane has arrived." Jarl Igmund said as he looked up from his desk.

'How long has he made them stand there and wait on me?' I wondered as I nodded a greeting at the men.

"Hadvar, this is Thongvor and Thonar Silver-Blood." The Jarl said while gesturing towards the two men, both of them nodded to me and waited for the Jarl to continue.

"Hadvar here came to me last night, with a man on his shoulder screaming about 'The King in Rags'." The Jarl said dramatically.

The one introduced as Thongvor put his head in his hands and pinched his nose for a moment, as he realized what was going on. Thonar showed no outward reaction of the news.

"Madanach, a man thought dead or exiled deep in the mountains, King of the Forsworn dropped at my feet by a man in jail." The Jarl continued.

Both of the Silver-Bloods were sweating then, and looked in my direction.

"And where did he get the King in Rags?" Igmund asked the two brothers in front of him.

"My Jarl, I.." Thongvor started his begging.

"Shut up, Thongvor!" Thonar barked at his brother, standing like an unmovable object. Thongvor cowered beneath his younger brother and shut his mouth.

"It seems you two know just how serious this matter is." Jarl Igmund said after watching the exchange between the two brothers.

"I told you!" Thongvor said to his little brother.

Thonar looked like he was about to murder his older brother. "Shut up, Thongvor!" He yelled, to the same effect as earlier.

We all stood in silence for a good long moment. Jarl Igmund and I stared at the two brothers with hard eyes. Thongvor managed to weather my gaze for a full minute before cowering, showing his weakness as a nord. I snorted. Igmund and Thonar's staring contest lasted a long time, before Thonar looked down in submission. I smirked at our little victory.

"Tell me everything." Jarl Igmund said even though he knew pretty much everything.

Thongvor went to speak before Thonar shot him a look. Then Thonar decided to speak.

"Thongvor has been the official head of the family since our father died in the war. It soon became apparent that he was incapable of properly managing it, so I took over. Then I discovered the King in Rags and a city of Forsworn in my very own mine. He was willing to do whatever it took to keep his people alive, and I saw an opportunity." Thonar admitted to his Jarl.

"So it is safe to assume that the terror that the Forsworn have inflicted on my city over the years is because of you, Thonar?" Jarl Igmund asked the man.

"Most of them, yes. But in the last year, Madanach has become increasingly uncontrollable. I was developing plans to dispose of the problem before it became one." Thonar said and shot a glare at my direction.

"You were too late." I told him quickly. "When I took him, most of his people were already out of the city or packing up the last of it. They are half-way to Druadach by now." Thonar took in the information with a stone face.

"And so I discover a conspiracy in my city, one that I now have to clean up." Jarl Igmund said as I finished. "Can you imagine what I have in store for you two?"

"Execution." Thonar said the word as if it was already decided. I will admit that he faced the prospect like a true nord would. His brother was a different story. Thongvor started looking around the room at the guards surrounding them, and his face showed terror.

He dropped to his knees, and looked like he was about to begin weeping. Thonar watched his brother with nothing but disdain on his face.

"No." Jarl Igmund shot the idea down. Thongvor looked up from his position on the floor, with a pitiful look of hope on his face. The Jarl sighed in disappointment at the man's actions.

"It was a mistake to make the mine a prison, and give the most powerful family free labor. It has allowed you to rise to the top of Markarth, and foster the deepest pockets in western Skyrim. That changes today." Jarl Igmund said, starting to reveal his master plan.

"From now on, the mine will employ citizens of Markarth."

That single statement, represented an absolutely masterful decision as Jarl. I had no idea the ridiculous deal the Silver-Blood family had prior to this meeting. They had one of the most profitable mines on the continent, with almost no overhead. At least seventy percent less overhead they should have had.

That wasn't even the best part. Markarth was about to see a boom in the local economy. The city did well before, but not enough to stand out from the other holds around Skyrim. Despite its close proximity to two major 'states' in Tamriel. Those being High Rock and Hammerfell. It should be the premier city in Skyrim, but the Silver-Bloods have been holding it back.

Now, with a small change to a single family's mine. Igmund had redistributed a significant portion of wealth to his people, stimulating the economy of his city. An economy that he gets to tax, and return the money to his pocket before redistributing it to his city in other projects like exploring the rest of the Dwemer ruins deep in the mountain, or improving infrastructure of the city.

This would lead to more money in the people's pockets, so that they could start their own businesses that would thrive because of the overall wealth of his subjects. Then the cycle would repeat. Obviously, this wouldn't happen overnight, but in a few generations, Markarth would be the hold it was meant to be.

It showed a lot of his overall competency as a Jarl. His grasp on the politics and the economy of his city was worth noting. This would lead to the Silver-Bloods downfall in the politics of the city, thrusting his position of Jarl as the main political player, as it was intended. I was impressed.

The Jarl continued to describe the changes that would go on in the mine. He detailed a new tax structure that was more than generous to the Silver-Bloods. He could have gone for the jugular, and within a decade they would have whittled away to a minor family after they were forced to sell the mine to stay afloat. Instead, with this, he kept a very powerful family under his watch and the city, and by extension: the people, profited from it.

After both of the brothers signed their names on the dotted line, I could feel the air shift for the city of Markarth. As we left the Jarl's office, Igmund said something that I found oddly appropriate.

"Blood and silver flow through this city no more."

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I stood, watching over the training grounds of the Imperial Legion in Markarth. At least a thousand men stood below me, in marching formation practicing basic movements that should have been mastered a long time ago.

"They look good, Thane." Calcelmo said as he joined me and the Jarl on the raised platform.

"These are basics that should have been beaten into the men before they ever got their first posting." I told the old Court Wizard.

"You have been busy, these past few weeks." Jarl Igmund said as he looked out over the men in the training grounds.

"First thing I did is make sure we are ready for the coming battle." I confirmed.

"I don't know where you got this idea." The Master Wizard countered.

I shot him a look. "What idea?"

"The idea that legion has been anything but disappointing since the Great War." Calcelmo said.

I thought about that for a moment, and eventually I mentally agreed with him. When I joined, it was because of stories that had been in circulation since the days of Tiber Septim. Stories of a Legion that conquered the continent. Now, I have let go of that ideal. The Legion is shit, but it wouldn't be for forever, and I would start with Markarth.

"Tiber Septim conquered the continent with the Imperial Legion, and brought in an era of prosperity." I said. "How is it that in the same time our culture and way of life has grown leaps in bounds, the very reason for that prosperity has been undermined so much that it feels like we're going backwards?"

"The Elves." Jarl Igmund answered simply, and spat on the ground in disgust.

"You correlate martial prowess with prosperity?" Calcelmo asked curiously, and I was reminded of the researcher he was at heart.

"Absolutely. Speak softly, and carry a big stick." I told him a famous quote from my last life.

"The Great War took its toll on Tamriel. Tiber Septim led the continent into prosperity for everyone but the High Elves. When he marched on them, he set the race, and magic with them, back six hundred years. For such a long lived race, you must understand that the grudges they hold last for thousands of years." It was Jarl Igmund that cut in this time, and he once again revealed his intelligence under that nordic head.

"They have recovered the magic thought lost, and gone further in their ambition." Calcelmo said. "You remember the ambassador sent with Ariella?"

"Ancano." I nodded. "Are you telling me that the Aldmeri Dominion, and the Great War are to blame for the state of the Legion, and by extension the continent."

"That is exactly correct." Jarl Igmund confirmed before getting a thoughtful look on his face. "I like that saying. 'Speak softly, and carry a big stick.'"

I smiled at the man. "You can use it, just make sure I get the credit!" I joked.

We all stood in silence after that, and turned our gaze to the men below, once again. I couldn't stop thinking about the Aldmeri Dominion. In the games, they were in the background manipulating Ulfric Stormcloak and the civil war to weaken the Imperial Legion and the Empire. Was it the same in this world? The only evidence to support that idea was Ancano, and even that was a stretch.

"The Aldmeri Dominion huh?" I could help but ask.

"You have no idea."

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A/N: Boom!

So I know that some people will think that Jarl Igmund was too lenient on the Silver-Bloods but I really want you to think about public opinion and politics before disagreeing with me. If you still disagree, then let me hear it!

So Hadvar jumped up in the world by a lot, and has gained the title of Thane for Markarth. It will be explained what all that entails later, I promise. Now him being in charge of the legion in the city is TEMPORARY! It's basically Jarl Igmund giving a middle finger to the legion and the High Elves.

What did we think? This is my plan on speeding the story up a little bit. We've got some battles coming soon, and some politics that will come into play soon. I'm excited for it.

Let me know what you think in the reviews!