Tahnar grins with slight pride as he looks down at the things below him and the tower he was currently standing on. He was Xivilai, a race created by their lord Mehrunes Dagon who were far better suited in magic than their Dremora allies who were more drawn to physical combat.
Xivilai, in general, were large, horned grey-skinned Daedra who possessed glowing white eyes and usually had glowing white tattoos covering them. Many of the Xivilai also had thick bushy black hair, which could sometimes act as armour depending on which weapon struck it... Their race was actually taller than most Dremora, along with being physically stronger making them able to wield a two-handed weapon in each hand if they so choose.
They were the elites of Lord Mehrunes Dagons forces, and Tahnar was a Xivilai General, one of the few who followed the direct commands of his lord... In this case, he was continuing the command issues many centuries ago... Build up their military force, create siege weapons, forge equipment for his armies, and continue 'recruiting' beings from other realms.
Below his scorched spire was where all of this was occurring. They were on the coast of one of the Deadland's larger islands, nearby where an old portal that'd been used in the previous invasion of Tamriel was located.
Thousands of Dremora, Xivilai, Daedroths, and other lesser Daedra were hard at work under his command, the previously barren area had turned into a veritable fortress, because while they were not afraid of any invasions, they well remembered the lesson those lizards had taught them.
Indeed, much to his shame, Tahar had been one of those overseeing the invasion when they'd been counter-attacked, tens of thousands of lizards charging through the portal and decimating the invasion force, destroying all anchors, siege weapons, magical devices, and other essential equipment as they did so.
Lord Mehrunes Dagon had not been pleased with this, and Tahnar had felt his lord's wrath for many years afterwards... Fortunately, he'd been given this second chance to claim the world of mortals for his master. At least, that's what he thought.
"GENERAL! OUR SCOUTS... ALL BUT ONE WERE WIPED OUT!" A Dremora Kynval wearing Daedric armour exclaims as he runs up to the top of the black spire, clearly shocked as there shouldn't be any real threats in the Deadlands at all.
"And? What of the survivor!? What have they to say!?" Tahnar growls, angry that they'd lost some Winged Twilights, especially with how annoying they were to poach from that arrogant cur Azura.
"THEY... THEY REPORTED A VESSEL, GENERAL!"
...
"A vessel...?" Tahnar parrots, unable to comprehend the Dremora's words as his gaze shifts to the ocean of magma before him. There was a reason they couldn't just build a portal to Oblivion under the ocean of Tamriel during their previous invasion to make their enemies unable to remove it. The state of the Deadlands made it completely impossible to build any sort of navy, or any sea-worthy ships in general... After all, what material could they use to build ships resistant to magma!? Even he, one of the more powerful Daedra had to steer clear of the terrifying pools that surrounded each landmass.
"A GHOSTLY VESSEL! IT SAILS TOWARDS US AND IS MANNED BY MANY FIGURES WHO POSSESS UNNATURAL WEAPONRY!"
"What weaponry? What do we know of them?" Tahnar questions, wanting to know everything about the enemy force.
"THEY POSSESS SMALL FIRE SALT CANNONS THAT CAN ACCURATELY DISPATCH FLYING OPPONENTS!"
...
'Small fire salt cannons?' Tahnar mentally intones. As far as he was aware, the only people who could use such things were incredibly rich merchants or the most elite military forces. Fire salts were not cheap for those outside of Oblivion, not to mention how unreliable such weapons were due to their tendency to explode, the purity of fire salts varying depending on the area and or Daedra it was harvested from.
"Is our lord's new toy responsible?" Tahnar asks. He and almost every other Daedra in the Deadlands had gotten word of the 'mortal meat' that'd been acquired by Lord Mehrunes Dagon, strangely, he'd given permission to hunt for this meat as well, not stacking full claim of it as was his right.
Tahnar had kept himself up to date on it, and quickly learned that the mortal was not so easy picking as they'd first thought, managing to dispatch large hordes of hungry lesser Daedra with ease.
The Dremora is about to answer the question when a commotion catches their attention... They look over and see many men pointing at the ocean of magma, towards a huge ghostly vessel that was sailing towards them...
"That... Is bigger than expected..." Tahnar mutters. Sure, they had walls protecting the fortress on all sides, but they'd never built weapons in preparation for a sea-based assault. If you disregarded the already built siege weapons, they'd be sitting ducks depending on how powerful the vessel's armaments were.
"GENERAL! WHAT SHOULD WE DO!?"
"Gather the siege weapons and aim them towards the vessel! Man the walls, and have the mages make use of their magic! Go, now!" he commands, sending the Dremora sprinting down the now rather impractically tall spire.
With that, Tahnar goes to gather his equipment, weapons and armour. He had no idea who was responsible for this attack, but he had already guessed that the mortal was responsible somehow... What his Lord's intentions were with this 'guest' of his, Tahnar couldn't and refused to speculate... All he knew was that he couldn't allow centuries of preparation to go to waste like this... Mehrunes Dagon would not forgive him a third time.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
ShinAmazake
Kingsprovince
Faruk Ereng