No Country for Old Men

General Tullius,

After careful consideration, of your previous letter, where you so eloquently noted “Nords don’t read, they punch people”, I have decided to adopt your advice, after a fashion. This chapter contains a multitude of previously mentioned characters, and as such, I have decided to write in a short guide to handle this chapter. It will be better for the Nords.

• Attrebus Mede – Crown Prince, later Emperor of Cyrodiil

– Antigonus Mede – Half-Orc, Illegitimate son of Titus Mede I

• Kintyra Mede – Wife of Titus Mede I

• Andronicus Mede – Younger Brother of Titus Mede I

• Lady Annaig Hoinnart – Companion of Attrebus Mede

• Mistress Brara Morvayn – Lady of Raven Rock, High Ranking member of the Morrowind Armistice Party, Mistress of Titus Mede

• Lleril Morvayn – Son of Brara Morvayn, later ruler of Raven Rock

Penned by Sir Rivalen Mothril, Knight, East Empire Company.

After the year of Skydeath, the Emperor Titus Mede had continued his painstaking work in pacifying the Elder Council, especially, those Nibenese lordlings who were as yet devoted to the removal of the Colovian royal house. Additionally, he had made further military campaigns, the most notable one being waged in Hammerfell, against a resurgent Crown movement centered in the ancient traditionalist strongholds of Hegathe and Stros M’Kai. The rebellion of the Crowns was a long three years of desert warfare, culminating with Hegathe invested by land and sea by the navies of Wayrest, Balfiera and the full Royal Fleet of Daggerfall and by the Imperial Legions of Colovia and Sentinel. Despite this panoply of force, it took a whole year to subdue the indomitable Crowns in Hegathe.

The other campaigns of Titus Mede in this time were, by and large, acts of diplomacy and arbitration, with legions accompanying him to drive home the image and reality of his fearsome power. He twice acted as arbiter in inter-house disputes in Morrowind, and in Skyrim, he assisted in ensuring the smooth succession of Douglas’ daughter, Jarl Freya, as High Queen, against her rivals. It might be remembered that High King Douglas, the father of the queen elect, had been the ally of Titus Mede against Eddar Olin. It might also be remembered that Douglas, a second child, had been married to a Reachwoman, the still formidable family matriarch, former High Queen Cairine Mac Tir. The Queen Mother, was unwilling to allow any of her rivals, whether in Winterhold, Markarth or Windhelm, or even her own kin, upset the smooth succession of her beloved daughter, Freya.

However, shortly after the moot concluded, on his march home, Titus Mede was murdered by disgruntled and disenfranchised Imperial Legionnaires. It is believed that these soldiers were sponsored by parties headquartered in Markarth, led by several infuriated Imperial merchant families who had lost business to the East Empire Company affiliates allied with the Solitude royalty. Many also whispered, but could never prove, the involvement of the notable Silver Blood mining family, who were, in addition to their phenomenal affluence, rabidly anti-Reachman. However, the Silver-Blood family has always denied their involvement and that their business links with the guilty Imperial Merchants in question is “merely incidental”. That Titus Mede had put a half-breed High Queen on the throne of Skyrim was, according to the Silver Bloods, irrelevant to them, despite their prejudice. What was material was that the Emperor’s policies gave too much power to the East Empire Company for the Nibenese mining cartels of Markarth to abide. They ensured that Titus Mede was put down for good.

4E 54-55, FUNERAL GAMES

Thus, eleven years after the Year of Skydeath, Titus Mede I passed violently, in a spot of great historical irony, struck down by people of the very province which had first proclaimed him emperor, years ago at the Moot. He had reigned for thirty five years. He had conquered the princes of Eastern and Western Tamriel, made and unmade the Supreme Primates of the Chapel and crushed temporal and religious leaders beneath his almost inexorable advance. Only in Valenwood had he truly been checked. As an emperor, he had not been universally loved by the commonfolk, in the manner of Katariah, but he had been deeply respected for the energy with which he had ruled and the justice he restored to Cyrodiil and the Empire.

Mede was also worshipped by his soldiers. By the end of his life he had gained something of a godlike reputation among his legionnaires. Forester Honditar, who had spent many years on campaign with the “Old Wolf”, as the soldiers called Mede, said

The Old Wolf was the ideal legate at heart; he never expected any soldier to do what he could not. He followed that rule til his dying day. The men knew that where the Emperor was concerned, there were no false angles to play, or any Nibenese court hokum to deal with.

Honditar further noted the interesting stories that Mede’s duels, assaults, leading of charges and other martial exploits generated.

Eventually, thousands of tales about the Old Wolf’s exploits that began to circulate the camp. I remember someone saying “We ought carve a monumental statue of the Emperor in the mountains near Bruma, except the Jeralls aren’t hard enough to do him justice.” They were good times, I shit you not.

Yet Titus Mede was also a tragic figure. Murdered by Nibeneans, the very people he had saved from the chaos of the Stormcrown Interregnum, he had done a great deal for his empire. Whilst he had personally conquered even more territory than Uriel Septim V and restored Imperial rule more widely than Cephorus I, it was the great tragedy of Titus Mede I to be measured not for his own achievements, and on his own merits, but against the standards set by those who came before him. It was an undeniable truth that he had failed to restore the Empire to the splendor of Tiber Septim, and thus, sadly his restoration was judged a failure by many historians. But that dream was beyond Titus Mede and indeed, beyond any of his successors. But to judge Titus Mede I and his renovatio imperii a failure, simply because he did not come to possess all territories that the Septims once possessed, is to be entirely negligent as a historian of Tamriel. It is the great credit of Lathenil of Sunhold, a historian who was for years by and large dismissed as a madman, to have recognized early on that “without Titus Mede there would not be an empire today”. He was laid to rest with splendor befitting a great Emperor.

The emperor lay in state for a week, in which his soldiers were afforded their chance to say their farewells. The royal funeral was resplendent with all available Colovian military finery and was lead by a grand parade lead by his veterans who delivered their hero to the Temple of the One. As is custom, the emperor’s eldest child gave the funeral oration, and many commented that it was a positive sign that the now more matured Attrebus Mede was moved to genuine tears. Others commented on the conspicuous absence of Attrebus’ elder brother, the illegitimate, but brilliant, Antigonus.

The Emperor Titus had left behind a not insubstantial family. He had had an illegitimate daughter, Valeria, who had married the count of Chorrol, Pyrrhus Valga. With an Orcish princess of the Jeralls, he had sired his renowned and martially capable son, Antigonus. With his wife, the Empress Kintyra Umbranox, he had sired Crown Prince Attrebus and two daughters, Theodora and Ferra. In a move calculated to shore up the credentials of the Imperial family, Theodora had married into the Ocato dynasty, marrying the noted mage Uriel Ocato, who was the second son of the late Potentate and a noted Archmage in the College of Whispers. Meanwhile, Ferra had wed another young and talented mage, the king of Daggerfall, Etienne (it came as no surprise that Etienne was soon subtly prodded to join the Synod). Soon, the latter of these two marital alliances was to prove extremely vital to the future of the dynasty. In addition to this, Emperor Titus’ brother Andronicus had wed the daughter of one of the most notable of the Bosmer chieftains of the Great Forest, the better to shore up his position as Viscount Royal of Skingrad. Additionally, Titus had taken Lleril, the talented son of his own longtime Dunmer mistress, Brara Morvayn, known at court by the Empress’ circle as “that Greyskin whore”, as his personal squire and had treated him, legally and socially, as his own stepson.

This was not an easy environment for the uninitiated to navigate. Before the death of Titus Mede I was made public, very likely before the emperor’s body arrived back in the Imperial City, Brara Morvayn and her son were riding pell-mell eastward to Blacklight, accompanied by the retainers they had gathered in their years in the Imperial City and carrying the gold their time in the Emperor’s Court had won them. This was not to be the last time the Morvayn name would arise in the history of the Eastern Provinces, but Brara Morvayn was wise enough to know that with the emperor dead, her own position and that of her son was gone and her influence would disintegrate. They were wise to leave so quickly, but it did cast them in poor light. However, since neither of the Morvayns had ever entertained any notion to take the crown, and Lady Morvayn’s influence rested entirely on the wellbeing of the emperor, their absolute lack of involvement in the emperor’s death was almost a certainty.

With her longtime Dunmer rival gone from the Imperial City and Antigonus still with the army in southern Skyrim, it was chiefly thanks to the quick action of the Empress Kintyra, who bribed, cajoled, threatened and (recent widowhood notwithstanding) slept her way through the Elder Council, even as Titus Mede’s corpse was cooling, the Elder Council wasted no time in declaring Attrebus Mede their preferred heir. Though few might have considered an Emperor’s firstborn, adult, legitimate son truly rivaled in contention for the Imperial Throne, by any of the other players on the field, the Dowager Empress was not one to take chances.

At this point, it might be wise to examine the late Emperor’s son, Attrebus and how he had changed in the last eleven years. He was now thirty three and in the prime of his life. Older, wiser and more cautious than in his adventurous youth, while by both example and admission, a poor swordsman, Attrebus was reckoned by a great many to now have the makings of a decent emperor. With an easy but dignified smile, Attrebus did not eat or drink to excess, nor lose himself in pleasures, but having relinquished his previous role of knightly hero, he had allowed himself to enjoy the comforts of his station and had a rather small pot belly. He was also multilingual, and could converse and write in no less than thirteen languages and enjoyed literature from all provinces. He kept court with princes, scholars, housecarls and mages of all affiliations and had a retinue of considerably able individuals with him and was to prove himself an outstanding picker of leaders. His greatest enjoyment as Emperor was in fact to wander the streets of the Imperial City, and hear the words of the common people. According to Uriel Ocato,

The Emperor lacked his father’s martial character, but he was a man who really was singularly accessible to all. Treb was possessed of great energy for the work of listening and would never turn down a petitioner or reject ideas because they weren’t his own. He made you feel like he cared about your words.

As Uriel mentioned, Attrebus, or Treb as he preferred, was exceptional at listening to the words of his advisors. While he was exceptionally talented with gaining the trust and loyalty of people, for many years he had listened to three counselors most. First of these was the Lady Annaig Hoinnart, who he had met during the crisis of the Year of Skydeath. Annaig Hoinnart was an attractive woman who possessed a considerable political acumen and understanding of intrigue, as well as a talent for alchemy which had always served her well. The Dowager Empress was very much impressed by her son’s new cohort. While the two were expected by some political observers to marry, Lady Hoinnart was thoroughly against the idea, knowing as she did, that her low birth would gain Attrebus nothing and could possibly cost the prince much. Even when offered by the Emperor, she never took any title loftier than “Lady”. She thus took it upon herself to find a bride for the Crown Prince who would strengthen his cause.

The Lady Annaig’s choice fell upon Princess Lashana of Sentinel, who brought to Attrebus’ cause the great wealth and influence of the Kingdom of Sentinel, including great sway amongst much of the Forbear and Lhotunic constituent populations of Hammerfell. Lashana was also chosen for her beauty, her integrity, her martial abilities and her intelligence. While most would consider the Lady Annaig’s incorporation of another woman into the life of the Crown Prince a terrible risk to the well being of a prince’s mistress, Lady Hoinnart’s choice of the Princess Lashana proved wise. This bizarre ménage et trois actually strengthened Attrebus, instead of weakening him as might be expected. A large part of this may well be explained through the fact that Lady Annaig had no desire to sit upon, or see any child of hers, upon the throne; indeed, she abhorred the notion. Annaig’s words and actions always proved devoutly loyal to both Empress Lashana, to address her properly, and to the Empress’ children. Empress Lashana was the second of what some commentators would come to call Emperor Attrebus’ “Triumvirate of Queens”. The third was his mother, Dowager Empress Kintyra, a politically astute lady who was universally respected in the court.

With the talents of his mother, wife and mistress so great, it might seem easy to dismiss Attrebus Mede as merely a figurehead. But this is not a fair assessment at all. Attrebus Mede had a quiet strength, he was ill at ease to make outlandish displays of, largely due to regrets about his youthful exuberance. Attrebus was often compared in later histories to Magnus Septim, whom Mikavel Silver-Tongue noted had a quiet, supple cunning and was somewhat unfairly disregarded as a “yes man”. Quiet inner strength however, makes a poor impression when the succession to a great conqueror is at stake. The fact that the Crown Prince left so much to the formidable triumvirate of his mother, his wife and his mistress was one more thing that unmanned him in his older brother’s eyes. And even as the Dowager Empress made certain of the succession of her son, probably even before the death of Titus Mede, Antigonus Mede, who loathed and resented his half-brother, had been in preparation for his own bid for the throne.

And what do we know about the other player on the chessboard in this rapidly unfolding game of thrones?

Antigonus Mede was quite unlike his brother. A born soldier, clearly of Orcish Blood, Antigonus had greenish-copper skin, small tusks an aquiline nose considered handsome by Orsimer standards and waist length black hair which he kept in tight braids. He was seven and a half feet tall, barrel-chested and imposing enough to dominate a room, even without his armor, a set of Imperial Dragon Armor gifted to him by his father, when Titus Mede I had knighted his eldest son into the Order of the Imperial Dragon- a lavish knighting ceremony in the Temple of the One, which the Dowager Empress had bitterly resented. He had inherited his father’s bright green eyes, which were penetrating and withering enough that few could hold his gaze for long. Camp whispers spoke that Antigonus’ voice could silence any crowd. Additionally, Antigonus was much older than his brother, having been sixteen at the Battle of the Darkwater when he first fought for his father. But at 51, having remained in spectacular physical shape, even as Attrebus had allowed himself to become comfortable in his royal role, Antigonus looked no older than he did at thirty.

Very importantly, Antigonus, for many legionnaires and naval servicemen, represented everything Attrebus was not, even could not be to them. Austere and a martial where Attrebus was courtly and chivalrous, Antigonus was worshipped by the Imperial Army and Navy, who he had commanded with great regularity. Often, Antigonus had taken the place of Titus Mede in the frontline when the Emperor had reached his later years. No legionnaire or marine had forgotten that it was Antigonus, not Attrebus, who had salvaged the campaign in Valenwood by crushing an Aldmeri fleet and allowing the Imperial Army to withdraw successfully to Anvil. Being of Colovian and Orcish ancestry, Antigonus’ soldiers were wont to suggest that the late Emperor’s son had been born to the legion. It was not a suggestion Antigonus ever troubled to deny.

However, he had disadvantages. The first was of course, his Orcish heritage, which evinced purely racist opposition from many corners, but nowhere was this more evident than in High Rock, where he was to find his fiercest opposition. What Breton could ever conceive of bowing to one of the pigfolk, let alone conceive of one seated on the Ruby Throne? The second, less obvious, but more serious, was that by and large, the provinces of the Empire, and the rest of Tamriel, did not want to see a martinet on the Ruby Throne. The milder and light handed Attrebus Mede was what provincial lords almost entirely preferred. It is no surprise that outside of Skyrim, where his martial abilities awed one and all into reluctant acceptance, and Colovia, where the “Green Prince” had ruled Anvil since his father had conquered Cyrodiil, and amongst other Orcs, nobody cared greatly for the Imperial claims of Antigonus.

OPENING MOVES

Emperor Attrebus had begun his reign relatively well. He largely retained the advisors his father had employed and made no drastic changes to the policies that had been in place on the death of Titus Mede I. The largest upset in the transition was the Emperor’s appointment of several new lowborn generals of Lhotunic origin who had come with his wife from Sentinel, to High Command in the Imperial Legion. This upset a number of the current generals, some of whom had been serving Titus Mede since the start of his career. But of greater note to the court and Elder Council were the rapid disappearance of the Morvayns and the presence of Antigonus Mede in Skyrim, along with the legions that had been with the late Emperor while he sojourned to the Moot. Antigonus had not returned to the Imperial Province with the body, and was at that time, making his way northward, to Markarth, with the stated intention of rooting out the parties responsible for the murder of his father. While this was a war unsanctioned by command of either Emperor or Elder Council, the Emperor advised that to recall Antigonus, or summon him for an explanation, would merely exacerbate the already delicate situation. Attrebus felt the best course was to merely observe.

Not all involved, however, shared such a firm grasp on what was wise or practical. Lyonel, a Breton nobleman in service to Northpoint’s Personte dynasty, who had, through the favor of Princess Ferra Mede, now Queen of Daggerfall, gained a seat on the Elder Council, decided to remove the threat of Antigonus before the soldier many Bretons now called the “Pigface Prince” could become a danger to Attrebus’ rule. By all accounts and certainly in light of Attrebus Mede’s nature, we should accept that Lord Lyonel unilaterally contacted the Wayrest Dark Brotherhood and took out a contract on Antigonus Mede.

At this time, Antigonus was besieging Markarth with his remaining soldiers, five thousand men. Interestingly, despite the Dark Brotherhood’s involvement, Antigonus, perhaps by virtue of the Morag Tong infiltrators he had kept in his employ since fighting in Morrowind with his father’s army, or the alleged underworld dealings of the Silver Blood Clan, Antigonus was successfully apprised of the arrival of a substantial party from the sanctuary in Wayrest, who had come for his head. Despite the adage that the Dark Brotherhood could not be stopped, Antigonus did slay his assailants, which considering his own prowess, is no surprise.

But repercussions of Lord Lyonel’s folly were greater than had been anticipated. Because for Antigonus, there was now no doubt in his mind that the Emperor or his partisans had tried to kill him in order to secure Attrebus’ rule. Had Attrebus been his father, the notion of a preemptive murder to remove an obstacle might have been feasible. But such actions were not ever in Attrebus’ character, and his record shows, at any rate, that he was no killer. And it put Antigonus into a fury. At this point, the Silver Blood family emerged from Markarth under flag of truce, offering to bankroll the formation of an army for Antigonus to claim the throne and the heads of those merchants responsible for the murder of the Emperor, should he choose to depart Markarth and publicly acknowledge that the Silver Bloods had nothing to do with the death of Titus Mede.

This declaration of Silver Blood noninvolvement has led some commentators of Skyrim history to speculate that Antigonus himself was at least partially responsible for the death of his father. However, since Antigonus had never displayed any animosity toward Titus Mede and since Antigonus made no attempt on the lives of his Imperial rivals, outside of the armed revolt he was imminently to instigate, the death of his father would serve only to potentially weaken the position of the Count of Anvil. Antigonus’ animosity, it seems, was reserved for his brother, and his nature and his record show that Antigonus’ preferred method of dealing with threats was with his own blade.

And this was how he resolved to deal with his own claim to the throne. Antigonus proudly proclaimed that it was with the sword, not Draconic or any other kind of blood, that he would win the Ruby Throne. In a moment of laconic wit, Antigonus was heard to remark that

“A good sword trumps good blood any day. Just as well, since, to anyone regarded as civilized, an Orc has goatpiss for blood anyway”.

Predictably, he was met by deafening cheers as his legionnaires declared him Emperor as the year 4E 55 began.

4E 55, THE GREAT HEATHEN LEGION

So it passed that by Sun’s Dawn 4E 55, Antigonus had conveniently been presented with the parties responsible for Titus Mede’s murder, whom he promptly crucified. Shortly after this, he had broken off his siege of Markarth, accompanied by a legion chiefly comprised of Orcish legionnaires, bolstered by Nord mercenaries, warlike Nord mountain clans, and by the many Orcs who came down from their mountain fastnesses to join Antigonus. Resultant of the many Orcish warriors who joined the legions under the command of Antigonus, the movement soon came to be known as “The Green Horde” or simply “The Great Heathen Legion”. The Black Horse Courier made great note of the savage army moving southward; this is ironic considering Antigonus, raised in his father’s military camps, was even more culturally Colovian than his brother, brought up an Imperial Prince.

The response by Attrebus was piecemeal, though considering the popularity Antigonus enjoyed with a great portion of the Imperial Legion, it is difficult to see how Attrebus could have brought the necessary force required any quicker than he did. Firstly, Attrebus sent a legion to block Antigonus at the Pale Pass. Promptly however, Antigonus won this legion over to his side before even reaching the pass, and Antigonus chivalrously sent the elderly general Takar back to the Imperial City, when the general’s own troops handed him over to the mighty warrior prince. The general was sent with a message demanding the surrender of the throne and the Imperial City to the legions heading south, in return for which Antigonus would allow general amnesty, safe passage to his foes, and would formally recognize Attrebus and his wife, Empress Lashana, as King and Queen of Sentinel and Imperial assurance of their children’s succession. Attrebus, unsurprisingly, rejected the offer.

By this time, and indeed probably even as Takar had been feasting at Antigonus’ table, a further two legions, mostly Nibenese, were sent to fortify the pass, this time with some success. Massive fortifications still in existence today were erected across the road in the Pale Pass, and the way seemed blocked for Antigonus. However, General Vendicci, commanding the Nibenese Legions, was surprised by the timely intervention of Orcish Warriors from the Stronghold of Jerall View, who marched to make a sneak attack from the southern end of the passage, on the Imperial Legions. The attack threw the defenders into disarray and ultimately allowed Antigonus to break through into Cyrodiil, with the majority of the defeated legionnaires joining him.

By the time Antigonus forced the Pale Pass, Cyrodiil was in uproar. The entirety of the fleet and the majority of the legions in Cyrodiil were, somewhat predictably, abandoning Attrebus for Antigonus. In the Imperial City, years of pent-up animosity erupted into savage street riots between Bretons and Orcs. Merchants reported fanciful tales of Green Lightning raging across the sky over the Gold Coast, the site of one of Malacath’s most important Shrines in Cyrodiil. In Bravil and the roads just outside, Orc enforcers in employ of the Orum family seized Breton traders, and crucified them, resulting in grisly totems proclaiming the rule of Antigonus.

Confident of his ultimate victory now, the Green Prince had no need to rush, and had slowed to a more leisurely pace. The Empress Lashana herself, who had taken a hand in suppressing street violence, decided that the best course for Attrebus’ court was to withdraw to the west. It was Empress Lashana who had decided to personally take command of the remaining forces loyal to Attrebus – formed of mostly Redguard legionnaires, with some Bretons and those Imperials who did not choose to side with Antigonus – and whom of the royal family, had the most military experience. The Dowager Empress was stridently against this, unwilling to fathom the possibility of abandoning the throne and palace she had occupied since Titus Mede had won it in 4E 19, and unwilling to countenance behavior unbecoming of Imperial Royalty. But it was the Lady Annaig Hoinnart that managed to convince the august Dowager Empress that

“…Against our brother Antigonus, mighty in the field, the silken glove of the Empire’s diplomacy must be worn atop its legion’s mailed fist. And we would hardly be the first of the Mede Dynasty to leave the Imperial City to win it.”

By this time, along with the entire Imperial Fleet in Cyrodiil, the cities of Anvil, Kvatch, the Caro Dynasty of Leyawiin and naturally, the Orums of Bravil, had declared for Antigonus. Only Bruma, ruled by Adrian Carvain, a childhood companion of Emperor Attrebus’, and Cheydinhal, where Commander Ilver Indarys of Knights of the Thorn had taken the young Treb as a squire, had decided in favor of the Emperor. Chorrol and Skingrad were both decidedly and determinedly neutral, the Valga Counts of Chorrol being some of the Mede’s earliest supporters, merely announcing their intention to side with whichever Mede sat the Ruby Throne.

Skingrad, one of the wealthiest cities in Cyrodiil, was however, another story. It was now ruled by the Viscount Royal, Andronicus Mede, the younger brother of late Emperor Titus. Skingrad had been Titus Mede’s first conquest, and where he had first declared himself king and descendent of Rislav Larich. Andronicus, who had been entitled to the rank of ‘king’ by his brother, was now thrust into the role of the dynastic mediator. Lady Annaig now approached old Andronicus and appealed to him to intercede in the conflict to prevent the dissolution of the Imperial House. It was a great gamble; Antigonus could take his uncle hostage and seize the moral authority of his father’s legacy of conquest.

Andronicus, who was in fact, fond of both his nephews, who enjoyed his comfortable life in Skingrad and was dedicated to the preservation of what he and his brother had built, readily agreed to attempt to bring the conflict to as quick an end as had begun. He rode north from his city, dressed in all the finery that Skingrad’s kings had worn since before the time of Rislav Larich, bearing the Double Moon heraldry of his realm and the banner of the Brotherhood of the Wolf that his brother had borne on his war of conquest for the throne. This was a potent moral symbol, and though Andronicus rode north with only a thousand warriors, certainly not enough to defeat the now massive army behind Antigonus, he was gambling on his nephew to adhere to the warrior’s honor that had made him a legend in the Imperial Legion.

As it stood, Andronicus’ gamble paid off to an extent. As he traveled north to meet his nephew near Bruma, he was un-accosted by the soldiers of Antigonus, who at any rate, deeply respected the moral authority of Andronicus of Skingrad, who, like Antigonus, was one of the few remaining veterans of the wars of Titus Mede. The old king was unbowed by time and age, and still cut an impressive figure. He beseeched Antigonus to lay down his arms and make peace with his brother, who, Andronicus assured Antigonus, had not attempted the murder of the Orcish Prince. He reminded Antigonus of his moral obligation as both a Mede and as an Orc of the Legion, advising Antigonus that a prince would do what was best for the Empire, not pursue vendettas to satisfy fraternal resentment or pursue power at the expense of the realm.

Despite the eloquence and moral authority of the old king, Andronicus was not to sway his nephew, of whom he was nonetheless quite proud. Antigonus was winning the struggle, he had already lost men in his struggle for the throne, and he knew it. How could he simply walk away from what he had started? Despite his rebellion, the prince did not lack for the honor of a true warrior; he was raised a Knight of Colovia and thanks to a lifetime of contempt from the pathetic powdered nobles of the Imperial Court privately mocking him for his dual crimes of race and bastardy, the prince was always conscious of his Orcish heritage. Both these factors of his upbringing meant that Antigonus had the utmost resolution to see to the end the struggle he had started. Antigonus let his uncle go, gave him gifts and bade him repeat his message for Attrebus:

“…Retire and live happily and luxuriously in Sentinel, enjoy your wife and mistress, and leave the Ruby Throne and Cyrodiil to the Emperor. Refuse and die…”

Andronicus rode to the capital to discuss his meeting with the Imperial Family, for whom he had reluctantly met with Antigonus. As before, he arrived in state as a King of Skingrad. Yet he arrived to find a city garrisoned and prepared for a siege. But even as he processed across the bridge to be received in state, he released a number of “invalids” of his forces in Weye and in Aleswell, and even as Andronicus palavered and took counsel with his other nephew and discussed the situation with the Imperial family and their partisans, advising the Emperor Attrebus that Antigonus would shortly be upon him, these alleged “invalids” entered the capital as traders or as refugees fleeing before the “Green Horde” of the ‘Green Prince’. They subtly took control of the Imperial Watch. When Antigonus appeared north of the city in preparation to invest it, the Imperial Watch announced that Antigonus and his ‘Green Horde’ would be allowed to enter the city peacefully. However, even as Antigonus processed through a city far more subdued than was usual for the coronation of an emperor, toward the palace, he found his only his uncle waiting for him, standing beside the very throne Andronicus had once helped to place Titus Mede upon. Despite this ostensible betrayal of his ruling emperor, Andronicus took no high position and no financial reward for delivering the city; it seems he merely wished, sincerely so, to see the Imperial City avoid further bloodshed.

When asked where the Emperor Attrebus was, old king Andronicus pleaded that

“…he was an old man whose memory had eluded him…”

CHAPTER CONCLUSION

Thus began the reign of the warrior whom history would remember as the “Green Emperor”. With his own brother having fled, very likely along with the Imperial Regalia, Antigonus Mede was deprived of the Red Dragon Crown for his own coronation as Emperor. So he simply had himself acclaimed by his soldiers, as Titus Mede had been at Sancre Tor, when he had claimed the title of High Regent of the Colovian Estates. The High Primate solemnly laid the Iron Crown of Colovia on the head of Antigonus in a quiet ceremony, more resembling a military camp prayer service to Stendarr, held in the Temple of the One and attended mostly by soldiers; fleet captains, legion generals and Nord and Orcish chiefs. Few nobles were present to attend the coronation and offer their fealty and it is unlikely Antigonus cared overmuch. No grand ball or party attended this coronation; the only celebration held was the festivities in the military camps of his men which surrounded the Imperial City, including a raucous affair in the encampment in the square outside the Temple of the One.

Yet Antigonus was not the savage Breton historians have made him out to be. He knew the Iron Crown was no impenetrable shield. While he was a mighty warrior, a cunning general and a naval commander of peerless caliber, he knew that martial skill in this instance would not avail him. He was wise enough to know that even the thickest armor would not protect him from a blade he could not see. Likewise, he knew that the silver tongue of his brother and his queens, secreted away from his sight, was deadlier than any fleet or army. He would, assuredly, be back.