A Hope in The Starry Heart(CYOA Part 4)

The Ruby Thrown sits empty once more. Emperor Titus Mede II is dead, and Cyrodiil is in crisis. You are Constantine Milan IV, esteemed member of the Elder Council, and the burden of guiding the Empire to greatness falls on your shoulders.

You grew up in the ashen wastelands of Morrowind, where the wind was hot and the ground was filled with alien creatures you could barely understand. It was difficult adjusting to inhospitable conditions, but in time you adapted.

You used to wonder why your father brought you to that death land at such a young age, but looking back it may have been because he wanted to cultivate a resolve in you that set you apart from everyone else. It worked.

War Story

You were only 21 when the Great War began, but you were old enough to fight. You enlisted against you father’s wishes, for reasons even you question now that you are older. The Imperial Army was happy to accept more warm bodies, but fortunately they did not throw you out there without any training.

At bootcamp, you trained to be:

[ ] A Warrior- You never were much good with magic, but you could handle a blade reasonably well. They trained you in the art of battle as much as was feasible and sent you to the frontlines.

[ ] A Mage: Ever since you were young, you’ve had a fairly decent talent with magic. That only grew as you got older, but it was unrefined. The combat mages fixed that to the best of their ability by teaching you some rudimentary magical combat skills. You mostly learned how to conserve your magicka and use the right spell at the right time, but you did pick up a few new spells.

[ ] A Scout: You’ve always had sharp eyes and deft hands. They saw the potential in those talents and showed you the subtle power of the bow and arrow. Combined with your natural inclination to be sneaky, they saw you as the perfect scout. As quickly as they could, they sent you to scout out the Thalmor positions.

But whatever training they gave you could never have prepared you for the reality. Watching the golden skinned elves gut your friends took something out of you, but it made you stronger in the end. Your fighting skills went from the tiny bit they could give you in camp to the powerful abilities of an experienced soldier. You quickly became one of the better legates in your legion. Soon you were promoted.

You valiantly and skillfully led your soldiers against the Thalmor onslaught, but it seemed futile. Nothing hurt you the way being ordered to leave the Imperial City to the Thalmor did. But you were a soldier, and you did as you were ordered. You gained some satisfaction from hanging Lord Naarfin's body from the White Gold Tower, but it wasn't enough to satisfy your hatred for the Thalmor.

The ceasefire was declared, and the White-Gold Concordant followed shortly after. There seemed to be a depressing sense of emptiness in the city the day it was signed.

But that was then. This is now. With Titus Mede II dead, the only thing holding the Empire together is the Elder Council, and someone is going to use the opportunity for a power play. You need to make sure this doesn’t end in another Interregnum. Briefly, you consider your options.

You could try to consolidate similarly concerned individuals on the Council to try and block any coup attempt, but that runs the risk of not having enough votes. There isn’t enough time to thoroughly check the dispositions of your fellow Councilors.

Alternatively, you could not worry about the politics and instead concern yourself with maintaining your power block in the inevitable anarchy soon to follow. It would mean devoting more resources to communicating with your allies instead of other Councilors, but your allies would be thankful for the warning.

Or you could try for a coup yourself. You know a few Councilors who wouldn't mind seeing you as Potentate, or perhaps even Emperor.

Decisions, decisions...

[ ] Focus on preventing a coup.

[ ] Prepare yourself and your allies for another Interregnum.

[ ] Begin laying the foundation for a coup of your own.