Mundus Remanada, or The Life of Reman Cyrodiil, CH. IV-VI
A note pinned to the front of the leather-bound folio reads: [Further translation of the “Mundus Remanada” reveals a fantastical record of the relighting of the Dragonfires and subsequent apparent apotheosis of Reman Cyrodiil, as well as a record of his provincial military conquests. This appears to be the first and only record, however biased, of the formation of the Second Empire, province by province. Clearly the unprecedented nature of earlier chapters continues here. Expect the final chapters soon. ~A.]
###Chapter 4: The Dragonfires Return
So it was that the summer of his thirteenth year saw assembled before the Ruby Throne a great host of all the kings and queens of the Cyrodiils.1 Each crowned monarch had laid their sword at the foot of the throne, then took bent knee before the boy-king, who sat naked upon the throne save for paint, as was the custom of the Niben, and a crown of crows upon his jeweled brow.2 For hours they remained, the only movement coming from his Midwife-Wives, who sought to love him even now, which much unnerved some among the court.^3
And at their eighth shared climax, as the sun reached its zenith, and the heat made steam of the sweat and caused lesser men to fall dead, the Ruby of Kings did erupt once more in balefire,4 and the Dragon of Heaven did appear before them, encircling the throne, eating his lower half in symbol, and spake to each person in their heart,5 saying: “Thus do I crown him King of all the lands of Men, which he has always been, for Reman was conceived of the imperial earth, Mundus Remanada, and by his sacred measure he shall be as it should be: of an immortal fire that binds heaven to the mundane, Light made Man, and Order, fed ever by the seed of first stasis, anon Anu. And his wives will share forever in the blessing of Beauty if this should be so, their fair aspect frozen eternal, youth-radiant unto the ending of days. Aad semblio aurbex, aad semblio ae ehlnokhan, ae na-sen-ae-mantella, dracochrysalisanu.”6 These last words burned with fire, and indeed, after the King of Time faded from sight, no Colovian could look upon Reman without seeing a dragon.7
After a time, Reman stirred, scattering crows and beckoning his court to follow him unto the temple.8 There the assembled kings and queens beheld Reman approach the Dragonfire Brazier, the Chim-El Adabal still aflame.9 There he spake, saying “This brazier, font of the sacred Flame, which reaches deep into the Heart of Nirn, I fill you now with blood that is fire.”10 And he did open his vein with the king of Che-Di-Al’s sword (the highest honor), and let flow his godsblood into the brazier.11 Then he spoke again, saying: “By rights of my sacred inception and the sovereignty of my brow, by the intercession of my sainted mother, I, Reman Cyrodiil, invoke the Aka-Tosh and kindle these Dragonfires once more!”12 Then did a light shine forth from the Ruby of Kings, reaching out and engulfing the blood and then the brazier in flames.13 As the fire rose up, the spirit of the Aleshut appeared in the flames before them, and spoke words that only Reman could hear before being consumed.14 Thus did the Dragonfires return to man, and no king or queen could deny it.15 Though the monarchs would spread word of the Dragonfires’ return far and wide, many would never speak of the King of Time’s appearance, blaming heat and delirium for their vision.16 In their hearts they denied his divinity, but their eyes could not deny his sovereignty.17
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###Chapter 5: The Men-of-Sci
And in the rebirth of the Dragonfires did the Aleshut speak to Reman, to give a final aide to her people.1 Of the men of the east she spoke, the ‘Viri men-of-Sci, who would come seeking conquest and his godsblood.2 To halt them he would give them himself, and through him let them conquer all the world.3 Thus did Reman form the greatest Legion since the days of Hestra, so that when the sails of the men-of-Sci were spotted he would be ready.4 And when the time came one year later, he was ready, and he marched his army north with all the strength Cyrodiil could bring.5 At the Pale Pass the armies met in a short and bloody clash, a probing skirmish more than a battle.6 Reman and his Wives led the charge, and in the battle Reman unleashed his full draconic fury.7 The men-of-Sci quaked and marveled at his Voice and his might, as the Aleshut said they would, and soon after the first wave of eastern men was cut down their commanders sent no others.8
Soon after, the general of the invading army, called Orochi-Syf, did come forward from the Pass, bearing his sheathed, proffered katana in his left hand and the white flag of surrender held high in his right.9 He was brought to Reman, who accepted the sword-surrender and the allegiance of the men-of-Sci, who claimed to have been seeking his godsblood all along, just as the Aleshut had said.10 Though Reman saw fit to take many prisoners, these were soon freed, and the men-of-Sci given an honored place in the Niben11. Thus were the Legions of Cyrodiil made stronger than ever before, and with the blades of his new Dragonguard, led by the wise and cunning Syf, Reman looked to the Provinces, declaring them his by right and decree of the Dragon, and the men-of-Sci agreed.12
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###Chapter 6: The Imperial Provinces
The conquest of the Provinces began not with war but with submission.1 The High King of Skyrim, urged by his council, who had heard of the massacre of ‘Kreath and sought no repeat of it, travelled to Cyrod to submit his sword to Reman.2 Thus was Skyrim the first Province admitted to the Second Empire.3 Next came High Rock, which offered some resistance, most from the ancient seat of Daggerfall, but fell in a number of months to the army of the Cyrodiil.4 Of these new conquests he formed an even greater Legion, which he turned upon the western deserts of Hammerfell with great ferocity.5 No conquest saw greater losses on both sides than this one.6 But Reman, in his glory, honored their traditions even as he spilled their blood in the sand, and not a single Redguard soldier was left to rot.7 Reman was well-respected for his reverence, and respected the Redguards in turn for their strength and military cunning.8 But they too were unable to resist the might of his Voice, and after only 2 years of war the kings of Hammerfell were on bent knee before him.9 Now Reman did rule all the lands of men, and looked next unto the ancient lands of the elves.10
The Valed Wood of the Tree Elves fought the Legion just as much as the elves themselves, but the men-of-Sci were accustomed to such terrain, and did much for Reman’s conquests therein.11 The men-of-Sci were experts in the art of poison, and aided greatly in the creation of antidotes for the venomous arrows of the mer.12 The society of the Tree Elves had been much weakened by clanwars and plague, and the Treethanes and the Camoran King were readily prepared to acquiesce in exchange for remaining in power, even at the cost of taxation and an Imperial presence in the Wood.13 Reman wisely respected the Wood Elves’ Green Pact, and let alone their sacred plants as often as he may.14 To the west, the king of Anequina and the queen of Pellitine, each having watched the expansion of the Cyrodiil for years and wishing to prevent war, swore fealty to him in a great ceremony at the border of the three Provinces, and, like Skyrim, never experienced Imperial occupation.^15
For years the island elves of the Summersets had also watched the Cyrodiil grow in might, and stories of his deeds, both divine and worldly, had reached the ears of their rulers.16 A great Council of Kinlords was called, and there the rulers of Alinor and Shimmerene, of Skywatch and Firsthold and Dusk, all met to discuss the future of their islands.17 Few thought the King, no longer a boy, would dare or risk an assault on their ancient islands, but the fate of the Valed Wood made them fearful.18 The rulers ordered their already great navy be expanded, and prepared to stand against the Cyrodiil as long as they could.19 Never had their ancient lands fallen, and as yet the Cyrodiil’s naval strength was untested, thusly the elves were confident of their superiority.20 But they were haughty as elves are when considering men, and did not count on the naval expertise of High Rock and Hammerfell, as well as the strong sailors of the Niben and even the pirate-lords of Colovia, all eager to see the fabled isles of the south.21 They also suspected he would offer them negotiation before declaring war, honorably, as he had all other nations, and counted on this warning.22 They were wrong, for wise Reman understood the mer, and knew they would never acquiesce.23
Reman and each of his Wives captained a ship to spearhead the assault on Auridon.24 They chose a three-pronged attack, striking the harbours of Vulk, Skywatch and Castle Rilis at the same time.25 They approached at night, ships moving silently through the waves due to the muffles of the Nibenese sea-witches.26 Soon each harbour was besieged, soldiers and mer cutting each other down into the sea.27 The great Legionnaire Battlemages wreaked havoc on the elven ships and their unsuspecting sailors, and some say that even a great dragon flew in to incinerate the enemies of man.28 Before the sun rose, the Summersets had lost over half their navy, and Reman only 3 ships.29 When the scion of House Rilis was cut down in the failed defense of Rilis Harbour, the Kinlord was broken, and the Council of Kinlords bent in turn.30 Thus did Summerset swear fealty to the Cyrodiil, offering a vast annual tribute to avoid large-scale Imperial expansion, which the Syf did urge Reman to accept, and he did.31 And so all the lands of Tamriel, save the Ashmeri east, did owe allegiance to the unto him.^32