The Razing of Sutch

A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EIGHTEENTH (KNOWN TO RECORD) DEMOLISHMENT OF SUTCH AT THE HANDS OF THE IMPERIAL LEGION

CIRCA 3E 316

WRITTEN BY: AUXILARY AQUARIUS LEO

The Imperial City is well-known for its prohibition on the worship of the vile Daedra of Oblivion, the evil demons that seek only to corrupt and destroy the minds, hearts, and souls of the common folk of the Empire. This prohibition has roots in doctrines stretching all the way back into ancient times, when the Alessian Order persecuted all who would dare venerate the dark gods that resided in the Outer Realms. For look at what their worship has done to the people of Tamriel! The Chimer were transformed into the Dunmer by their so-called ‘Good Daedra’, the Orcs live in misery because of their love for a Broken God, and the Ayleids downfall is attributed to the Lords of Misrule. They are not to be trusted at all costs.

But County Sutch had always been an enigma in Cyrodiil due to its tolerance of the foul Daedra worshippers. Originally constructed by Daedraphiles in the First Era, it soon became a city known for dark magicks before being destroyed for the first time by the Alessian Order when they learned of its villainy. Since then it has been rebuilt numberless times, its light always being vanquished and its citizens scattered to the wind by the Legion whenever whispers of demon worship have reached the Ruby Throne.

And as of today it stands no longer once more, never to be built again in this age! We of the Imperial Legion have seen to that.

The Imperial Legion first learned of the rising darkness of Sutch on the 3rd of Frostfall, when a wounded priestess made her way to Castle Kvatch in the night. After receiving healing for her injuries she revealed that a cult of Molag Bal’s servants had captured her for some cruel event in honor of the King of Rape, only for her to escape from their bounds and flee. General Aaus Mothril, an Altmer strategist of much praise, was immediately alarmed and sent a small group to investigate the city. Since 3E 36 (the last time Sutch had been destroyed) the city had declared that it would only follow the teachings of Shezarr, the Missing Brother of the Eight Divines. Aaus had long-suspected that the city’s reverence for Shezarr was simply a way for it to hide their much darker religious beliefs.

When the scouts did not return from their excursion into County Sutch Aaus summoned a force of fifty-men to travel on horseback with him to the city itself. Upon arriving on the 15th of Frostfall, the Legion grew terrified at the bizarre glyphs of Daedric lighting up the nighttime sky and the screams coming from inside the city. The troop broke their way through the main gates to find a nightmarish scene before them: groups of Daedra worshippers, conjurers, and necromancers were commanding their evil servants to murder the citizens who still adhered to the Imperial faith! The Legion soldiers immediately began to rescue as many innocents as they could, but the death toll was high. Out of all that escaped only thirteen of the original fifty and twenty civilians survived the massacre. General Aaus returned to Castle Kvatch with his head held down in defeat and humiliation, having lost Sutch completely. That day came to be known as the Night of Demons throughout all of Tamriel.

When news reached Emperor Uriel Septim VI of Sutch’s fall to the dark forces his royal highness went into a rage. He could not afford and would not allow Sutch County to break away from Cyrodiil. If such a thing happened the other counties might take the opportunity to declare their own independence from the Empire as well. Summoning General Aaus to White-Gold, he made him commander of the entire Third Legion as well as giving him authority over a force of thirty battlemages (who were led by Taven Trebates, who abandoned House Trebates’ rivalry with House Mothril for this just cause). After being given the blessing of the Dragon Blood and ordered not to fail, Aaus returned to County Sutch carrying the banner of the Eight Divines.

Instead of marching straight up to Sutch with all of his forces in a rather straightforward manner from Kvatch, Aaus conducted an anabasis by having half of his legionnaires arrive from the seas near Anvil and march out towards the city from the southeast. Although this tactic took long and it was already known that the infamous Fort Sutch Abbey (that has protected the city from bandits of Hammerfell for generations) would see them approaching almost instantly, Aaus explained the reasoning behind this maneuver was that by attacking unexpectedly from an expected position the Black Guard of Sutch would be unaware of the Battlemages attacking from the direction they were originally expecting. And unaware they were, for while the Black Guard and Fighters of Free Lance were attacking the Legion in the east the Battlemages led by Taven were weaving a terrible destruction spell in the west, while also fending off the Enchantresses of Clarity simultaneously. And when Aaus gave the word the spell began to dissolve the city in a matter of minutes, the buildings reduced to dust. The survivors of the city’s factions immediately began to flee when the saw their home being destroyed, but were either rounded up or killed by the legionnaires. The Prime Battlemage and the Commander had done the extraordinary – for they hadn’t just destroyed Sutch, but had wiped every trace of the city from existence! And with that act Uriel VI reclaimed Sutch County as his own.

The tactic used by Mothril, now dibbed the Aaus Gambit, has become an essential part of training for both aspiring legionnaires and battlemages. And so is recorded the last known rising of Sutch, but the Emperor has now instructed the Third Legion to build a new fort to maintain the peace of the Hammerfell-Cyrodiil border that will bear the Dark City’s name in its place. With us legionnaires controlling it the vile efforts of the Daedra worshippers should – and shall – never come forth again.