» Thu Feb 07, 2013 2:31 am An Elder Scrolls Roleplay
GM's:
August Kohr1993
The Pompous Altmer
The Rules and Participants of this roleplay can be found in the "Season's End, Sign-up/OOC" Thread. Let's keep any OOC there. We'll also discuss any time jump and storybombs in that thread. I'll get around to putting the participants in this thread too soon.
It has been three long years since the Helgen Incident. Three long, bloody years for Skyrim. The country has been wracked with war, destroying more homes and families every day. But all that was coming to an end, at last. With a fresh legion from High Rock, and more and more conscripts in the Western Holds, The Empire began winning battles. After the battle of Whiterun, Imperial troops began pushing farther and farther into Ulfric's holds. A year after Whiterun, Dawnstar also fell, and it's port once again became a safe haven for the Imperial Navy. With the year after that, General Alain Weyler, a skilled tactician from High Rock, led his legions through the ruins of Helgen and directly into the Rift, taking Ivarstead and soon Riften as well.
The Stormcloaks were on the brink of collapse. The taigas north of the Rift were constantly falling between Imperial and Stormcloak power, while Winterhold was cut off from most of the supplies it had once received from friendly Holds. Either through attrition, or conquest, Skyrim would soon be a stable, if damaged, Imperial Province once again.
However, such success was not present in other parts of the Empire. Cyrodiil's border with Valenwood and Elsweyr's kingdoms had become quite unsafe, with constant border disagreements and skirmishes resulting. Thalmor diplomatic relations were quickly failing as well, as many Thalmor believed that Talos worship was still going strong throughout the Empire. A petty claim for war, some would say. But the Thalmor were nontheless insistent that the White-Gold Concordant was being breached.
In the waning months of 4E 203, the Aldmeri Dominion demanded that Cyrodiil cede the city of Anvil and the majority of the Gold Coast to them, as reparations for alleged damages to border settlements in Valenwood. The Empire adamantly refused, hoping that a show of backbone would dissuade the Dominion from any rash moves. Unfortunantly, the Aldmeri Dominion invaded Cyrodiil for the second time, and took Anvil once again. Fighting erupted throughout southern Cyrodiil, and war was declared soon after. While the Empire was not as ill-prepared for this second war, it still proved terrible. The entire border of the Imperial Province became host to battles between Legions and Thalmor armies, each trying to take a foothold in the other's lands, while hold onto their own.
It was only two months after the war broke out that the unthinkable happened. A Dominion Fleet, larger than any ever seen in past battles with the Thalmor, attacked Skyrim. Some believe that while the Empire's troops and attention was focused on it's southern borders, the Dominion sailed completely around Argonia and Morrowind, a massive undertaking that would have taken months of planning and arranging beforehand. Others are convinced that Aldmeri Wizard-Lords opened portals straight to Alinor's ports in the vast sea north of Skyrim, giving the fleets a fresh supply route after they attacked. Theories mattered little, when compared to the actual invasion.
The Thalmor fleet first attacked Dawnstar, with such ferocity that only a handful of runners could escape the Massacre of Dawnstar. The Imperial Fleet there was completely destroyed, most ships burned down before the deckhands could even wake. A massive Dominion army then moved south to occupy Fort Dunstad, and block off any and all movements into the Pale. The fleet then split off into two more groups, with a strong siege force attacking Solitude, and a second group of smaller, troop-transports filling into the White River to take Eastmarch.
Skyrim, already weak and battered from years of civil war, now faces an even more powerful enemy then itself. Tired, weather-worn Legions face fresh, eager Dominion armies, wielding weapons, magics, and even soldiers that the Empire has hardly faced before. The Stormcloaks are shattered with the Sack of Windhelm, with some fleeing south to join the Empire to fight a common enemy, and others fleeing north, namely Ulfric Stormcloak himself, to find safe haven in Winterhold, whose steep cliffs and harsh climate deterred an immediate Thalmor invasion.
This is where you come in.
4E, 203
10th of Sun's Dusk
The Sack of Windhelm was an inglorious end to the City of Kings. The Aldmeri Dominion's sleek troop transports boarded the docks in the middle of the night, and before the city guard could organize themselves, the docks were lost. The Dominion's army of Altmer, Bosmer, and Khajiit was larger and better equipped than the Stormcloak's troops, who were already tired from years of rebellion. Dull steel swords were swept away by gilded moonstone armor, and rusted chainmail coats were roasted by magical lightning bolts.
The Dominion's troops flowed into the Grey Quarter from the docks, slaughtering everything in their path, be it Nord, Argonian, or their Dunmer cousins. While pockets of city guard held chokepoints for a valuable few moments, many civilians fled the city, along with those Stormcloak troops wise enough to see the threat. Ulfric and a handful of officers and personal guard fled north through passages in the Palace of Kings, to find supposed safety in Winterhold and recooperate. Soon after he escaped, the north half of the city was taken, and the Dominion's army stormed south through the market and central districts.
Any remaining troops either fled south over the bridge or were slaughtered. Shortly after the Palace of Kings fell, a second wave of Dominion ships landed on the south bank of the White River, burned the surrounding farms, and took the bridge and it's gatehouses. With the Sack of Windhelm complete, the Thalmor raised their flags over the burned, beaten city. Battalions of golden-armored elves and cats began to march southwards, taking settlements and forts along the road to Whiterun. Cavalry swept over the countryside, cutting down groups of refugees in cold blood.
You, however, have somehow survived the Sack of Windhelm. Taking refuge in the woods of the Velothi Foothills may not have been the bravest thing to do, but at least you're alive. And with that fact alone, you can fight another day. The foothills are dotted with small groups of refugees such as yourself, trying to survive. The largest of these groups is just south of Narzulbur, an orc settlement in the Velothi Foothills southeast of Windhelm. These survivors have decided that with such strong ties to the Stormcloaks, none of them can risk fleeing south to Imperial-held Riften. Going east to Morrowind is also unlikely, as the only pass in Eastmarch is tightly controlled by the Thalmor now.
The only option lies in going north, to Winterhold. But it won't be an easy journey. The Dominion controls Eastmarch now, and are sure to be searching for survivors of the Sacking. The road ahead leads through dangerous foothills, Dominion-held roads, and the frozen wasteland lying between the White River and Winterhold itself. But the worst part, is crossing the White River. The mouth of it is your only option, and there's only a small chance that even that isn't Dominion controlled.
The trek ahead will be long and full of hardships, but such is always the case with the refugee's path...
