Dark Politician

Elenwen, the Thalmor Ambassador that headed the Embassy that was situated near to Solitude, slams his fist onto her desk in anger as she reads through the recent report. "First Ondolemar, now Ancano!?" she fiercely exclaims with gritted teeth.

When she'd first taken this job she thought it'd be easy. Just scheme and take advantage of the idiotic Nordlings and have Skyrim weaken the Empire for the Dominion. At first, things were going great, the Civil War was the best thing they could have hope for, forcing the land into two rival factions.

But things were rarely so simple, as her recent report had displayed... Ancano had been slaughtered in the most stupidly fantastical way she could have ever imagined. The fool duelled a young drunk girl and ended up angering one of her powerful mage friends, resulting in him and the bridge leading to the College being completely and utterly annihilated.

Indeed, she could have sworn she felt the tremors the other day, similar to what'd happened before the meeting of the Jarls where the subject had been brought up... The Arch-Mage was either lying about the exclusivity of such magic, or understated the ability of those under him.

Honestly, the power displayed was part of the reason she hadn't instantly gone on the offensive against the College, plus the fact that the Arch-Mage had expelled the two responsible for Ancano's death. They could be dealt with via cloak and dagger now, so they weren't that big of a threat, not unless they started targeting Thalmor interests...

Michael Tahlin and Megumin, the two responsible for not only Ancano's death, but Elenwen highly suspected their hand in Ondolemar's end as well, considering that they were in Markarth around when he'd disappeared. This only meant they were higher priority targets however, as they already seemed to be working against the Thalmor...

The only problem then was, how to remove them? Michael Tahlin and Megumin had shown themselves to be powerful people, they had many contacts around Skyrim and enough individual strength to throw off any ordinary assassin.

"Let's try Them first, no point in pulling men from the front lines to deal with pests." Elenwen mutters to herself before raising her voice, "Jakllen!"

An Altmer wearing Thalmor robes shuffles into the room with an earnest look, "Yes Mistress?"

"Prepare the Black Sacrament, the targets will be Michael Tahlin and Megumin. Pay the fee, report back to me if you encounter trouble."

"As you wish."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the meantime, Elenwen's thoughts on not bothering the soldiers of the Dominion on the front lines were correct and quite relevant, especially when considering how Saeko was doing in Hammerfell...

Saeko had been studying almost non-stop with Raiden Shinji, and the duo had ended up rediscovery many things about the Way of the Sword. Both in the methods of meditation and swordsmanship.

Whenever they weren't sparring on the thin stone path next to the large lake that was positioned next to the ancestral tombs, they were meditating. They sustained themselves on the flesh of creatures seeking water, and barely knew anything but blades until they slept, only to wake up and do it all again the next day...

This continued for months until Raiden decided that they'd exhausted this method of learning for now... Where he explained to her the long time tradition of wandering swordmasters, seeking to sharpen their blades with the experiences of life.

He told her of many legends that'd wander the deserts of Hammerfell, and after a day of discussion, they both decided that the best way forward was to do the same.

Thus, they both left the sanctuary of the tombs and began travelling around Hammerfell, encountering many troubled places that'd been worn down or stripped clean by the ongoing war with the Dominion.

More than once, they encountered small groups of Thalmor attempting to sabotage smaller settlements. This, of course, usually ends in bloodshed, neither Saeko nor Raiden could walk away from such sights, nor could they deny the fact that this was exactly what they'd been searching for to sharpen their skills.

This is where the duo found themselves now, standing on the edge of a half-ransacked village called Sheram as they looked out at the group of Thalmor soldiers slowly marching towards them.

The scouts had already set fire to the place, but after Saeko and Raiden had killed them, an actual unit had been sent out, somehow able to slip past the front lines where Hammerfell was trying to fend off the Dominion invasion.

"More fools who march to their deaths." Raiden remarks as he draws his two curved swords.

Saeko shrugs her shoulders as she readies herself in a hybrid stance that she'd created from her Samurai heritage, along with what she'd learned about the Way of the Sword and its Sword Singers. "Let them come. Anyone who would brutalize innocents like that deserves a long death." she retorts, having seen the travesties already committed by the Dominion against Hammerfell's people.

Raiden chuckles, "A woman after my own heart."

"You can keep it, you already know where my heart lies." she half-jokingly says in response, having already rejected Raiden's romantic intentions... Some might have thought it odd for a middle-aged man like Raiden to make such an offer, but this world viewed such matters differently than her old one... She'd gotten used to it, even if she felt the need to beat the snot out of Raiden to get her point across.

Their conversation comes to an abrupt end as the Thalmor finally get into range, one of them letting off an arrow that Saeko easily deflects via a technique called 'Shunt'. The arrow gives out sparks as it collides with her blade, afterwards slamming into the ground after she'd redirected the force of it.

Some of the Thalmor are taken off-guard by this, but they quickly recover their composure and begin shooting more arrows, attempting to take out the two swordsmen before they could get close enough to employ their skills...