ASOIAF: The Gray Host Chapter 2 - Conquest of the Greymoor Caverns and Unexpected Surprise (Patreon)

"We are the guardians of the Tartarus Pass, the Skycrown Gate, and Skycrown Citadel! No matter how many enemies come, we stand strong! No matter how strong they are, we kill them all! We are children of the Blood and Night; we guard the path to the Gray Host for centuries, and we will guard it till the End Times! We withstood the might of the Dremora Clans, the fire of the Valyrian Freehold, inexhaustible armies of the Golden Empire, and Dark Magics of the Sorcerers and Warlocks of the far east! We destroyed the monstrosities of the Shadow Lands, slayed the Dragonlords themselves, destroyed the Mindflayers of the Underdark, or the Red Wizards of Thay themselves. So, ready your blades, proud sons and daughters of Skycrown, and leave them no mercy! For the Vampire King! All Hail the Gray Host!"

- Sir Tiberius Kael, Templar Knight of the Order of the Ashen Blood Covenant, Count of the Skycrown Province, Defender of the Skycrown Gate

***

"Great Resurgence and its effect on Westeros

When the Great Resurgence of Magic started in the Thelos, the ones that underwent the most significant changes were the continents of Westeros and Essos. When it became clear that the old order was dead and the new had come, people started adjusting to it.

Wizards and Sorcerers started appearing in Westeros; the long-forgotten abilities like Greenseers, Wargs or Water Controllers were resurfacing one by one. Naturally, the changes were not only within the common people, but most significant were among the Nobility of the Seven Kingdoms.

Due to the return of Magic, people got stronger, faster, and more powerful. Many Noble Houses rose to greater heights, and even more were destroyed and forgotten by the passage of time.

Most notable of the period were House Stark of the North, who obtained the power branches of Ice Magic and Warg Magic. Then there were House Nymeros Martell, famed for their various Magical abilities related to the Sand and Earth, but most importantly for the Water Control ability as descendants from the ancient Rhoynish Water Mages.

Naturally, in a situation like this, it would be important to also tell something about the Greater Houses of Westeros that actually perished with the Great Upheaval of Magic.

Citadel tislef has adopted Magic into their Ranks, as the Magic was determined to be another kind of science that helped us to understand the Universe. At the same time, the Citadel Order also underwent huge internal changes, with the most notable being the abolition of the vow of celibacy to preserve the Mage Lineage.

From the exchanges with the Gray Host, Magic or the Arcane Arts could be divided into two big categories. The Major Arts and Specialized Arts. The Major Arts were the Seven Great Disciplines of Magic: Destruction, Restoration, Conjuration, Alteration, Illusion, Mysticism, and Thaumaturgy. While the Specialized Arts were many, for example, most of the native Magics of Westeros fell into the category of the Specialized Arts.

The overall effects of the Great Resurgence on Westeros varied. Certainly, several people managed to consolidate their power to a greater degree, and some fell. The start of the Great Resurgence was characteristic of the rise and fall of the Noble Houses and also of individuals.

Powerful Mages who could kill hundreds of men with a single spell wreaked havoc across most of Westeros, and many of them even rose to the position of Nobles. In Westeros, the Great Resurgence is also called the Great Age of Chaos, because it started a new wave of infighting and wars between the Nobles and factions across Westeros."

- From the book series Great Resurgence written by Archmaester Darius of Citadel, Year 755 BC

***

Blackreach, Blackreach: Greymoor Caverns, Passage to the Dark Moon Grotto, Military Outpost, Three Week Later

Several weeks have passed since the meeting of the Pale Council, and right now, the Pale Council is preparing to march into the Dark Moon Grotto, where the presence of the Falmers is strongest, and Vampire King is personally leading the charge into the Dwemer Ruins known as Scraps.

Rada was standing in front of the rows of heavily armored Legionaries from both the Death Dealer Legion and Battlemage Legion. Aside from them, there were also a few hundred of Gargoyles, Death Hounds, and other creatures that were utilized by the Vampires for the purpose of war.

Even Rada was wearing heavy armor that was very similar to that of the common soldiery, albeit it was more decorative, and there were more powerful enchantments on the armor itself.

The most powerful and essential Enchantment on the armor was the one that allowed its bearer to adapt constantly, so when he transformed into his Vampire Lord form, his armor would adapt to it and appear in his Vampire Lord form.

Accompanying him were the several parts of the Legion Zero and the whole Division of the Templar Knights, who were the strongest and most powerful Knights among the entire Gray Host. 

Rada was going to personally lead the cleaning operation in the Dark Moon Grotto as he would be then taking the elite core to the depths of the Dwemer Ruins and cleaning them in one go. 

Right now, they were coordinating with all of the outposts that were in the Dark Moon Grotto. In a few moments, something around twenty Gray Host's military outposts would start the coordinated offensive in the Dark Moon Grotto.

Serana was leading the charge into the Lightless Hollow together with his other mate, Dhaunayne Aundae, who was leading the Battlemages personally there together with two Magus Generals of the Battlemage Legion.

Meanwhile, Rada was, in the end, joined by Belain Nighthollow in his quest because his mates collectively felt that he needed to be accompanied by a powerful Mage, and Belain was one of the most powerful Mages in the entire Gray Host.

When it came to pure Magic skills, there were not many who could be her opponent in the aspect of the Arcane.

Even though some of the most powerful Dwemer Constructs were made to be resistant against various types of Magic, because the Dwemer wanted to become a bane of all Magic, for the lower types of the Dwemer Animunculi, she was a perfect opponent.

Not to mention, having someone who could control the battlefield with her Magic would be only helpful. Then again, in the Scraps where they were headed right now, htere was alos sizeable population of Flamers...

Like everywhere within the Blackreach.

"You should give the motivation speech before we march. It would do wonders for the morale."

Rada al-Saran wasn't really a fan of giving public speeches, and he would have rahter refrained from doing so, but now, he wasn't just the Leader of the Gray Host, but he was also the Vampire King, the King of the Host.

The successor of the Vampire King Styriche.

This was a huge change to his status.

After the death of the Vampire King Styriche, there was no Vampire King in the Gray Host as the position was left empty. Instead, the leadership of the Gray Host was devolved into the position of Leader of the Gray Host and several Sub-Leaders of the Gray Host that were all over the place.

Only after the transmigration, Rada took up the mantle of the Vampire King. As someone who was a direct protege of the Styriche, there were not many people who objected to that decision, and those who were against were already killed by Rada.

In a certain sense, Rada al-Saran was the ideal and perfect person to become the next Vampire King after Styriche. And contrary to the canon, after his transmigration, he took up the title of the Vampire King for several reasons.

The symbolic ones and also the practical political ones.

"As you wish."

Rada said much to his great displeasure as he then stood in front of the troops and several hundred Gargoyles as they were standing in front of colossal dwemer gates that were leading to the Dark Moon Grotto.

"Sons and Daughters of the Gray Host. Today, you stand in front of the Dark Moon Grotto in a historic moment. The Gray Host is finally taking the great step to our glorious future and our destiny. For many years, the Greymoor Caverns were the home of the Host, yet they were not really under the control of the Gray Host. For the past several years, the Gray Host has undergone many changes and evolutions, and today is the day that we will be consolidating the power of the Host. Today, we march onto the hordes of Falmer that are inhabiting the Caverns, and our sole goal is our sacred duty. Extermination of all Flamers and monstrosities that were living in our lands."

Rada stated as he could feel the gazes of the troops on him. Most of these troops were Vampires and Werewolves, with occasionally some other types of Werebeasts. On top of that, there were also some mortals who were in the service of the Gray Host.

It was rather fascinating how far some Mages and Sorcerers went far to obtain acess to higher mysteries of Magic. Something that the Gray Host had in abundance, because they had countless pieces of lore on the advanced Magics and everything.

"With this moment, the Blackreach Crusade has officially started! Send out the Gargoyles."

Gargoyles were living statue creatures that had been created or animated by a wizard or vampire. They are a type of advanced stone golem, typically animated with Blood Magic.

Gargoyles have been utilized by many different civilizations on Tamriel, including Bretons, Direnni, Yokudans, Imperials, Ayleids, and Khajiit. They most commonly resemble misshapen humanoid beasts, with gray-green skin, gnarled tusked faces, horns, pointed ears, and bat-like wings.

Gargoyles were most commonly found in the company of vampires, and some powerful vampires possessed the ability to use Blood Magic to summon Gargoyles to fight for them, and they used them as their heavy muscle.

Gargoyles created by vampires sometimes appear more bat-like than their usual counterparts. They were also more dangerous because of the Blood Magic used in their creation.

Blood Magic is a dark and ancient form of Magic. It is most often used by vampires belonging to powerful Bloodlines, who can use it to drain life, reanimate the dead, telekinetically lift others from a distance, summon Gargoyles, and paralyze others. Blood Magic rituals are performed to complete feats of great power. 

Upon the command of the Vampire King of the Gray Host, the Legates of the Legions started commanding the Gargoyles to march through the Gates onto the Dark Moon Grotto. The Gargoyles were ones that were created by Lady Essenia, their Magic Resistance was out of this world, together with their Physical Resistance against weapon attacks.

They were also immune to any and all kinds of poisons and everything similar, which was a good thing, because these were the primary weapons of the Falmer and such. Falmer were peculiar creatures in Rada's humble opinion; what was worse, he still remembered the Snow Elves, as he had seen some surviving colonies of the Snow Elves that were living in Skyrim's deep mountains.

The Gargoyles would be leading the charge against the Flamer in the Dark Moon Grotto, and they would take most of the Falmer's attention. Straight away, the Legionaries and Battlemages would march onto the Falmers and the rest of the monstrosities in the Dark Moon Grotto.

It didn't take them long to hear the sounds of battle.

The Gargoyles started tearing through the ranks of Falmer like nothing.

The Falmer, also known as Snow Ghosts, bogles, riekr-kin, fish-people, and clatter-coats, are blind, corrupted descendants of the ancient Snow Elves that live deep beneath the surface of Skyrim.

They are roughly man-sized, but hunched over and "ugly", resembling creatures of goblin-kind more than their own Mer ancestors. They have no noses, only bat-like long slits for nostrils, attributed in some Nordic folklore to Ysgramor cutting their noses off to "tell them apart from other Elves". Their ears are distinctly pointed, their skin pallid, and their eyes lifeless and black.

Much as "High Elf" and "Wood Elf" are interchangeable terms for "Altmer" and "Bosmer" respectively, "Snow Elf" is really just another term for "Falmer". Though in the modern Tamriel, the term "Snow Elf" became a word for what they once were, and "Falmer" is being exclusively used for what they are right now.

The distinction between the two of them was something essentially in modern history.

The Snow Elves were a proud and prosperous race of mer who occupied a portion of modern-day Skyrim until they were displaced by the invading Nords. Many of the ancient Snow Elves were betrayed in a deal for asylum they struck with the Dwemer.

The Dwemer forced their wards to subsist only on toxic fungi, which twisted them into sightless slaves. It's the descendants of these slaves who many of the people of Tamriel have come to know as the Falmer, while their grand ancestors are remembered as Snow Elves.

Few know that an unknown number of Snow Elves rejected the Dwemer's deal and went into hiding, or that some of them survived, uncorrupted, into modern times. There were not many of them, but there were still some hidden enclaves in Skyrim's mountains or underneath the ground.

They lived in the underground fortresses that were accessible only to their own kind.

The Falmer were able to adapt to life underground, but have lost the sophistication the Snow Elves exhibited. For garments, they wore only rags and leather, but utilized and bred tamed chaurus, a poisonous, chitin-covered insect found in the deepest reaches of Skyrim, for many of their crafting needs.

They use the chitin of chaurus and shellbugs to craft armor, shields, and various weapons. They became reliant on the fungi that had blinded their race as a food source. They seem to cultivate and cook mushrooms, as well as fish in Skyrim's underground waterways.

They live in tents and huts; employ traps to guard their territory, keep chaurus and shellbugs as livestock, as well as smaller Frostbite Spiders, and utilize roughly-made weaponry and tools, some even demonstrate an aptitude for Magic. They are capable of fashioning Chaurus Chitin into weapons, armor, and magic staves, as well as huts and chests.

Life will find the way...

The Falmer were a dangerous bunch, even though they were highly primitive and their society was filled with nothing aside from rocks, filth and primitive Magic. Even though the Falmers were just a bunch of primitives, there was no denying that they were dangerous.

Even for the Vampires and Werebeasts of the Gray Host with all of their power.

For that reason, they sent the Gargoyles as the first, as they would take the attention of all the Falmer that were camping near the enormous Dwarven gates, as thousands of them were already congregating around the Gargoyles and attacking them with everything they had.

In the split of a moment, once Rada decided that the Gargoyles had already taken more than enough attention from the Falmer, the troopers of the Gray Host started flooding through the gates.

Rada observed the success of the Gray Host, asd the Legionaries and Battlemages started pressing further and further beyond the gates to the Dark Moon Grotto and were already working on creating a perimeter.

"We should get going..."

Rada stated as he closed the visor on his helmet, and followed the troops of the Death Dealer Legion and Battlemage Legion into the Dark Moon Grotto together with Belain in the escort of several Templar Knights of the Order of the Ashen Blood Covenant.

When they crossed through the enormous metal gates to the Dark Moon Grotto, the entire place was one huge hell. The entire underground cavern was turned into a huge battlefield, with the Gargoyles taking most of the hits from the Falmer that were throwing anything that they had at the hulking creatures. 

Rada strode together with Belain through the battlefield under the protection of the Holy Templar Knights as they were heading toward the Scraps. The ancient Dwemer Factory was now lying in ruins, though a lot of its areas were still operational.

Including the Dwemer Animunculi that were still appearing like the day when the Dwarven disappeared from the Nirn.

Rada and Belain would be dealing with the Animunculi within the Scraps, mainly Rada, as he was the most powerful Vampire in the entire Gray Host, or rather, he was overall the most powerful person in the entirety of the Gray Host.

"Your Majesty, the resistance in front of us is fierce, and according to General Grundwulf, there are at least fifteen thousand Falmers holed up in the tunnels, and some of them are even mutated... they are much bigger and stronger than the average Falmer. General is right now preparing to break the blockade together with General Magus Nisaazda."

Grundwulf was a member of the Dragonguard of Emperor Reman III.

He was contemporary with the notorious Chevalier Renald, and the two grew to become great friends.

Early on in Grundwulf's recruitment into the Dragonguard, Renald approached the Greybeards of High Hrothgar as he wished for himself and those of his order to be taught the secrets of thu'um to help with their efforts, but this was largely refused, save one member, the newly recruited Nord Grundwulf.

After being enrolled and trained by the hermits, Grundwulf proved apt and was able to learn the Voice. He departed from High Hrothgar to return to his order, inspired by the glory of slaying Dragons alongside his Emperor.

He chose not to share the secrets of the thu'um with his fellow Dragonguard. After Reman III was slain by the Morag Tong in 1E 2920, Grundwulf felt great regret for not dying to protect his liege.

After this event, the Dragonguard disbanded in disgrace, but certain members of the order, such as Renald and Grundwulf, felt their failure too great to rectify in one lifetime. To endure for centuries beyond, Grundwulf became a Vampire.

In 2E 582, Grundwulf became entangled with a Khajiit Vampire order known as the Hollowfang Clan that had the ambition to hunt Dragons on Rada's orders so the Gray Host could obtain acess to the Dragon's Blood. 

And it paid off, because with the help of the Grundwulf, they managed to strike down a Dragon.

The Dragon was Sahrotnax, who was actually a long-time enemy of the Dragonguard and knew both Renald and Grundwulf personally as the order had many unsuccessful parleys with the beast.

The Gray Host kept the Dragon captured as they were periodically draining the Dragon's Blood, and even right now, they had stored hundreds upon hundreds of liters of the Dragon's Blood. 

Only the Pure-Blooded Vampires and Vampire Lords were allowed to drink the Dragon Blood.

The blood of dragons was extremely potent and rich in Magic. For the Vampires, it not only quenched their thirst for a very long time, but it also increased their power by a considerable degree.

The Gray Host had a lot of Dragon Blood stored right now, but their storage was definitive, as they didn't have captured Dragons at all... which was certainly problematic, as they would once run out of the Dragon's Blood.

But fortunately enough...

For that problem, they had Valyria.

Even if the Dragons of Valyria were different from those of the Nirn, as they were probably not born from Akatosh's grace, they were still Dragons. Beings of Might and Magic, so hopefully in the future they would be able to capture some of the Valyrian Dragons and breed them on their own.

If the Valyrians with little to no previous Magic Heritage could achieve such a feat, then Rada thought that the Gray Host would be able to accomplish the same thing.

"Sir Kael. Inform General that we will continue to the battlefield and I will personally break the blockade."

Rada stated with a tone of finality, leaving no room for further argument. With Rada's power, he would be able to break through the blockade of Falmers, no matter their numbers, as his power was already out of the charts.

He was someone who had fused with the Dark Heart and obtained the Vampire Bloodline Source from Molag Bal.

The power that was at his command was no less, if not greater, than that of the Living Gods like the Tribunal of Dunmer. The only reason he refrained from doing so was because they were underground, and at the same time, he was saving his power for the survivors left by the Dwemer.

With Rada's Blood Magic, with a single Drain Spell, he could end the lives of thousands of Falmer with no effort.

This was something that not many within the Gray Host could achieve, probably only Lady Essenia, Belain, Serana, and Dhaunayne could achieve something similar, but on a much lower scale.

Lady Essenia was understandable, because she was an ancient vampire sorceress...

Meanwhile, his three mates received some part of the power from him, which elevated them to the Vampire Elder state. Basically, all three of them were as strong as Pure-Blooded Vampires that lived for two thousand years or more.

Under the protection of Sir Tiberius Kael, who was one of the Captains of the Templar Knights of Order of the Ashen Blood Covenant, as they soon enough arrived at the battlefield. The Dark Moon Grotto was an enormous underground area, and every single time that Rada saw it, he was rather fascinated by it.

Rada planned to name Grundwulf as the Hierarch of the Order of the Ashen Blood Covenant instead of being General of the 1st Legion, because he felt that he would be more suitable to lead the Order of the Ashen Blood Covenant instead of one of the Legions of Death Dealers.

He looked at the Legionaries of the Death Dealer Legion, who were holding the ground, while the Battlemages were casting spells and bombarding the positions of Falmer with their Magic.

Due to the military doctrines that were implemented by Rada after his transformation, the Generals of the Legion were advancing rather slowly, but keeping it safe. The military doctrine that was implemented was a very complex one and prioritized the lives of their troops as much as the results that should be achieved.

They were advancing slowly because even though they had much better equipment and training, there were too many Falmer, and it seemed that the wretched creatures were somehow prepared for them.

Especially in terms of poisons and traps, the Falmer were rather thorough, and they also enlisted the help of Hags and other accursed creatures. Rada knew that with enough time, the forcres of the Gray Host would be able to break through the blockade of Flamers with enough time.

But they didn't have the "enough time" and he wanted to have it done as soon as possible, especially considering the news from the Lighthless Hollow. 

Like in the Dark Moon Grotto, the Falmers, Hags, and other creatures were putting up rather stiff resistance with some really nasty mutated Falmers. But fortunately enough, General Faolchu in his Werewolf Behemoth Alpha Transformation stormed the battlefield together with a few other Behemoths and Vampire Lords and broke the blockade with brute force.

Though there was also pretty important information, that the tribes in the Lightless Hollow were not that coordinated compared to the Dark Moon Grotto. It seemed that within the Dark Moon Grotto, the Falmers were being unified by some leading chief, and there was a great degree of coordination between them.

Which was something highly unusual, because the Falmers were typically too primitive for something akin to planning and using advanced strategies, but in the Dark Moon Grotto, there were signs of such behavior.

This only strengthened Rada's determination to destroy the Falmers in the entire Blackreach because if they really started developing intellignece, they could pose a serious headache for the Gray Host.

They were home in the Blackreach, were sneaky and cunning.

Rada knew that they were nothing in front of the power that the Gray Host commanded.

But at the same time, that didn't mean that they couldn't cause problems for the Gray Host within the Blackreach. 

And this was completely unacceptable as the Blackreach was supposed to be the homeland of the Gray Host. Their most core territory and true home, there was no place for any kind of threat or problems stemming from the Blackreach.

The Blood Magic was something that came naturally to the Vampires. 

Especially to the Pure-Blooded ones and the Vampire Lords.

For Rada, who managed to merge with the Dark Heart, it was like his second nature as he outstretched his right hand, and a small crimson colored Magic Circle appeared in front of his hand and started expanding.

What Rada was casting was a massive Drain Life Spell that would claim the lives of everything targeted by the Spell and drain their very own Life Force from their bodies.

What was best on this Spell, once a Vampire reached very high mastery over the Drain Lifeforce Spell, they could use this Spell, not only to heal themselves or recover their Magicka Reserves, but also to obtain some permanent benefits from the ordeal.

In the split of a moment, crimson energy burst out of the enormous Magic Circle that shot through the entire battlefield, carefully targeting only the Falmers and Hags on the side of the Falmers, while everyone else was spared of the effects.

This demonstrated not only the overhelming power of Rada, but also his absolute control over his Magic that he had showcased right now. In the split of a moment, one Falmer after another, started falling down to Rada's Magic, as their very own Life was being siphoned out of them at a staggering pace.

Every signal bit of the Lifeforce was then again absorbed by Rada, who noticed that his Magicka Reserves increased by some degree and his physical body got a tad stronger, but not that much in either case.

Unfortunately, the Magicka of the Falmers was already tainted and wasn't really that pure in the first place. So the benefit from the Falmer Magicka wasn't really that significant in the great scheme of things.

After Rada obliterated the first wave of the Falmer, the Legions of the Gray Host advnaced steadily into the tunnels of the Dark Moon Grotto with Rada, Bellain and their entourage of the Templar Knights headed directly for the Scraps Faciltity.

Once the initial wave of the Falmers was obliterated from existence, the other Falmer panicked as they didn't know what to do at the moment. This was rather shock for them, beucase jsut as they were about to hit their bitter enemeis, oen of them obliterated their strongest warriors and Mages.

This was a huge hit for the Falmer as their ranks started cracking and falling apart. 

Even before, there was little to no discipline, but now, after several hundred of them were turned into mummies in mere seconds with a single Spell, even the remnants of the order were not working anymore.

Some Falmer Chieftains started taking things into their own hands and just escaped from the battlefield, going to hide in the deepest parts of the Blackreach in the hopes that the Gray Host wouldn't find them or just leave them alone.

Obviously, this wasn't happening as the troops of the Death Dealer Legion's 1st Legion charged ferociously into the combat.

Vampires blinked through the battleworn as they appeared amid the Falmer and struck at their most vital places, while the Werebeasts started transforming into monstrous forms of Werewolves and Werebears that, in their armored form, were like warmachines on the battlefield.

In the end, the Falmer were in no shape or condition to fight against vastly more powerful and superior forces of the Gray Host that were tearing through them with little to no resistance.

General Grundwulf, as one of the most powerful Vampires in the entire Gray Host, was like an unstoppable War God Incarnate on the battlefield. In his enormous transformed Vampire Lord form, he strode through the battlefield, holding two enormous greatswords that cleaved everything in his path.

Nobody who crossed his path lasted more than one blow with him.

Aside from the few people within the Gray Host, Grundwulf was one of the most powerful individuals in the entire organization due to the fact that he had drunk the Dragon Blood for a very long time and consumed a significant amount of it.

Not to mention, he was wielding two Akavari Dai-Katanas with utmost precision and power.

Right now, General Grundwulf also needs to send part of the soldiers to secure the Dark Moon Grotto Great Lift. The lifts were basically huge elevators that were buld by the Dwemer and they were connecting the surface world with the underground world.

In the past, every single fortress was for its own, but after several centuries, most fortresses were destroyed in the passage of time, and above the ground, they were, on the other hand, torn down by the Nords or Dunmer.

For various reasons.

When the Blackreach was moved to this new world.

***

The Scraps Facility, as it was called nowadays, was located a good distance from the Greymoor Castle and the entrance to the Dark Moon Grotto. For a normal human without Magic, even on horseback, it would take at least two weeks to cross the distance.

Even though the Scraps were rather close to the entrance to the area of the Greymoor Castle, it was still an enormous distance, which was only testament to how ridiculously large the Blackreach was. 

Rada, as someone who had transmigrated, realized rather quickly that Nirn was at least ten times the size of Earth. The world was just ridiculously huge, though; the people didn't have much of a problem crossing such enormous distances.

Because everything in Nirn was steeped in Magicka, which made the people much stronger and powerful, which allowed them to traverse vast distances with relative ease that would be impossible for the humans of Earth.

The same could be applied to the animals and beasts living in the Nirn.

So it didn't take a long time for the group of around one hundred people to arrive at the Scraps Facility. Which Rada made a mental note would need a new name, once it was conquered by the Gray Host.

Calling one of the remaining Dwemer Animunculi Factories "Scraps" sounded really stupid and cheap. Though that was for the future, as right now they had more pressing problems...

"At least a thousand of them..."

Rada heard Sir Kael mutter as he looked at the Scraps Facility and noticed the overhelming numbers of Falmers and Charuses that were roaming the outer perimeters of the entire facility.

It seemed that the place had become one of the lairs for these disgusting creatures, judging by the number of Charus Eggs that were all around the area. And then, this wasn't counting the real danger of the Dwemer Animunculi that were inside.

It seemed that despite the numerous attempts, Falmer and other creatures didn't manage to breach through the gates and reach the inner area of the facility, where the factories that were producing automatons were located and where other important things were taking place, like mining resources.

This was both good and bad.

The good thing was that, at least, it seemed that the inside was mostly intact. It was highly possible because there wasn't anyone who would destroy it. The bad thing was that, because it was intact, it meant that all Dwemer Animunculi and defenses were also intact, and there was one hell of a fight waiting for them.

"My Lord, if you would allow, I have a plan on how we can deal with both the Falmer population and also bring down the Dwemer Animunculi at least by some amount."

Hearing what Tiberius Kael stated made Rada raise his eyebrows as he motioned for the Shield-Captain of the Templar Knights to continue.

"We have a Dwemer Control Cube from the Scraps in our hands. I can send in a few scouts under invisibility and open the gates between the inner area and the outer area. The Dwemer Constrcuts would for sure flood out of the inner area and start attacking the Flamer and perhaps they wold annihilate all of them together with the Charuses and Hags. We can then just come and destroy the Constructs that would be damaged, or at least some of their numbers would be down."

Everybody who heard Shield-Captain Kael's plan pondered over it for some time and in the end, it received a green light for the execution.

Rada was still somewhat cautious, and even when the attack started with the intent of capturing the entirety of the Blackreach, every commanding officer received a strict order to prioritize the lives of their subordinates.

"Then execute the plan. We would wait here."

As Rada gave the seal of approval, Sir Tiberius Kael excused himself as he went to carry out the orders of his King and relay them to the scouts. The Templar Knights of the Ashen Blood Covenant were made to be as much as versatile as possible.

They needed to act as fighters on the frontline, assassins in the shadows, Mages wielding powerful Spells, or scouts for the reconnaissance of the territory. Practically, they needed to fit any role that was deemed necessary for them to fulfill their goal, which was to protect the Vampire King, Greymoor Castle, and members of the Pale Council.

For that, the Templars of the Ashen Blood Covenant were training with the various branches of the Military of Gray Host to be the best of the best.

"Even if we succeed in this plan, the fight would still be very hard. I seriously doubt that Falmer and Chauruses would be able to destroy a large amount of the Dwemer Animunculi."

One of his Vampire Brides, Belain, stated that she was constantly scanning the entire area with her Magic. As the most powerful Mage in their group, the entire scanning aspect of the things fell to Belain.

Her only responsibility was to constantly cast screening spells right now, to see if there were any powerful Magic users in the vicinity. Perhaps some of the Falmer Shamans and Mages that managed to reach a whole new level of power, or some of the Hags that lived in the deep underground.

Hags or Hagravens were creatures of corruption and decay that appear as a horrific cross between an old woman and a bird. They were once witches, but have undergone a Forbidden Magic Ritual, trading in their humanity for access to powerful Magic, and the transformations they undergo infuse their entire beings with some element of that power.

Hagravens consume people alive, and especially love eating fresh eyeballs as they were essentially cannibals. Few creatures match the cunning, depravity, and repulsiveness of the hagravens. They will take through savagery what they cannot win through guile. They are usually extremely hostile to outsiders, but they retain the ability to communicate and were equally dangerous up close or when casting spells from afar.

They possess the ability to turn into a murder of crows and attack their foes from a hundred directions at once. The transformation to Hagraven is reversible, though it is unknown if it can be undone without divine intervention. 

In canon, the Gray Host worked closely together with the Hagravens, but Rada put an end to it, because he despised those creatures, and those who survived his initial onslaught fled to the various Falmer settlements across the Blackreach.

From where they were plotting their revenge against the Gray Host.

"As long as they bring down the number of Spiders and Spheres, then I would say it would be a success... obviously they won't be able to bring down the Dwemer Centurions or anything equally advanced, but as long as the numbers are down a bit, it would be a win."

Rada answered as he knew that despite their numbers, the Falmers didn't really pose a threat to the enormous bulking mass of metal and steam in front of Dwemer Constructs, especially the bigger and more advanced ones.

But against Spiders and Spheres?

They could bring solid numbers down.

And that was his aim all along.

"I wonder how many of the more advanced ones it would have... from what we could gather, I don't think that this facility was advanced enough to produce Dynastors, Collosi, Excavators, or anything related to the Aetherium."

Belain as one of the seats on the Pale Council had acess to any and all documents of the Place Council and based on what the Gray Host gathered on the Scraps Faciltiy, it was relatively normal faciltiy dedicated to the production of Spiders, Spheres, Steam Conductors and some minor areas to the Centurions, Ballistae, Sentries and other minor constrcuts.

Though there was also an entire mining area within the Scraps with a complete processing plant for the ores and metals that were mined. Which meant that once conquered, the Gray Host would get their hands on the fully automated, top-tier smithy with everything, from start to end.

Only ten minutes after Rada issued the orders to Sir Tiberius Kael, everyone could hear and see disturbances happening in the Scraps Facility's outer area because the gates that led to the inner area of the facility finally opened. 

The outer area of the facility didn't contain anything crucial and because of that, even when it was operated by the Dwemer, there were just a few sentries, primarily a few Spheres, Dwemer Sentries and Centurions...

But those were already long ago lost to the passage of time.

Soon enough, once the gates opened, a literal flood of Dwemer Spiders and Dwemer Spheres started bursting out of the inner area of the manufacturing facility as they all charged toward the Falmer and Chauruses.

Farmers who just realized that they were being attacked, reacted rather fast and started clashing with the advancing hordes of metal and steam, but the disparity between the two forces was evident.

Rada and the other Vampires due to their superior eyesight could see it almsot clearly that the Flamers were on the loosing end of the fight very soon.

In front of several Dwemer Centurions that appeared among the ranks of hundreds of Dwemer Spheres and Dwemer Spiders, the poor mutated Snow Elves were like defenseless lambs waiting for the slaughter.

The Dwemer Spheres bolted through the battlefield, as they were armed with automatic crossbows that were installed on their left hand, and in their right hand, they had installed a blade that was cleaving everything apart.

Meanwhile, the Dwemer Centurions marched through the battlefield and killed everything in their path that moved. Rada marvelled at the power that was displayed by the Dwemer Animunculi, as their intelligence wasn't something that could be classified as low or dumb.

Certainly, their rationale process of the Dwemer Constructs could be on the same level as a small child or something like that. They were intelligent enough to recognize their enemies and allies... 

The Dwemer installed a certain degree of artificial intelligence within their constructs so they could fulfill their purpose much more efficiently. Obviously, the Dwemer Construct were very fast in identifying all Falmer and enemies that were in the area of the Facility, and they were massacring them at staggering speed.

"There is rather too much of them... this shouldn't be possible unless..."

Belain suddenly stopped in her tracks as she realized the reason behind the sudden surge in the number of Dwemer Automatons in the Scraps Facility. At first glance, it seemed that there were indeed too many of them.

Initially, the Gray Host had some idea about the numbers of the Dwemer Automatons in the entire Blackreach... but the numbers in this place were becoming rather too much, and it seemed to be exceeding even the expectations of the entire Blackreach.

"Unless the factory is fully operational and they are continuing mining operations, right? But what could start something like that... but the chances of a hyper-intelligent Construct activating the facility are very low..."

According to what was known about the Dwemer, they managed to construct a few hyper-intelligent Animunculi, but apparently, not even a single one of them was supposed to be within the area even close to the Greymoor Caverns. 

A few of them should be in the first lands that were inhabited by the Dwemer within the Vvardenfell. 

Vvardenfell, also called the Black Isle, is a large island located inside the bay-like Inner Sea, and is surrounded by mainland Morrowind with the exception of its northern coast, which meets the Sea of Ghosts. The island is dominated by the great volcano, Red Mountain. The island itself is named after the original Dwemeri name of Red Mountain, literally translating to "City of the Strong Shield".

It was known that a few Sentient Hyper-Intelligent Dwemer Constructs existed in the Vvardenfell, but that was it. Aside from that, no known location of similar constructs was known, and Rada couldn't remember anything special about the Scraps from the canon of the Elder Scrolls.

"We need to be careful..."

If they really had there Sentient Hyper-Intelligent Dwemer Construct, then it would be total pain in ass to deal with. Rada knew that they were made with the Aetherium technolgoy, meaning they were incredibly powerful...

These constructs were the pinnacle of the Dwemer Technology, second only to the Numidium. Even though it was tempting... the possibility of getting his hands on such state-of-the-art technology, but in the end, he would have preferred it not to be here.

Rada knew that one of the Sentient Hyper-Intelligent Dwemer Constructs would be powerful enough to match him in single combat and that he would need to fight against it with all of his power.

Which would inevitably result in the casualties among the Templar Knights of the Ashen Blood Covenant.

"We should go... Animunculi are already done with the Falmers and Chauruses..."

The Vampire King stated as he looked at the battlefield in front of them, as they soon departed from the place where they were observing the fight in front of the facility, as they went to conquer it.

***

Scraps Facility

Deep within the facility of the Dwemer, the entire place was humming with life. The machinery that wasn't working for several centuries was now in pristine condition and working to the maximum, as it was dedicated to the production of the new Animunculi.

In the various parts of the area, the Dwemer Spiders were mining the ores from the deep mines of the facility and bringing them back to the smithy for processing as the ancient, humongous Dwemer machines broke down everything and refined it into the ingots.

Practically every single moment, something was produced by the production line, as the factory was constructing new Dwemer Spheres, Dwemer Spiders, and other constructs, including even Dwemer Centurions and even humanoid-like Architons.

And in the middle of the smelting area where the raw ores were being melted by the Dwemer Constructs and remade into the ingots, a lone figure of a single living being in the facility was observing everything.

She was a beautfukl femela specimen with a long, fiery red hair cascades over her shoulders in flowing locks, contrasting dramatically with her pale skin and vivid green, glowing eyes—one of which is partially covered by a tribal-like dark marking that continues down her face and chest, hinting at arcane power or a divine connection.

She wore a majestic, ornamental headdress of silver-blue metal, shaped with pointed, crown-like horns and adorned with intricate designs, further emphasizing her regal and mystical status. Her elongated, elven ears protruded proudly from beneath her hair, indicating her Mer ancestry.

Her attire was regal and battle-ready, a dark robe or dress layered with decorative armor. The shoulder pauldrons are especially elaborate, golden, wing-like structures inlaid with gems and geometric patterns. Black and gold tones dominated her outfit, with a high waist sash and a blue, quilted girdle that adds texture and dimension.

Mysterious runic tattoos and markings adorned her arms and chest, reinforcing the idea that she was a powerful Mage and Sorceress on her own.

She was the one who activated the facility, and with her extensive knowledge of the Dwemer Technology, she was able to make some adjustments and repairs to the manufacturing plant so it could start going full on.

If not for the fact, that she had awoken only some two weeks ago, she wouldn't be pressed into the state of disarray. Not to mention, she lacked the control cube for the security measures, so she couldn't open the gates leading to the outside of the facility.

Though... considering the place where she was, maybe it was better this way, because she was aware that outside were most probably hordes and hordes of Falmers and other monstrosities that were dwelling within the Blackreach.

What was worse...

She was feeling highly weakened compared to the time before.

As if...

A part of her power was irreversibly lost.

Fortunately enough, during her rather long life, she had learned a lot about the Dwemer Technology and understood its inner workings very well, to start repairing the damaged machines and parts of the facility to its pristine condition.

It took her several days to repair the central console that was used for access to most of the facility. Unforutnly for her, there were still some parts that couldn't be repaired due to their overwhelming damage, so they would need to rebuild from scratch.

One of them was the Security Control Console, which was destroyed, and on top of that, she even lacked the Control Cube that wasn't in the inner area of the facility, so for the time being, she was technically imprisoned in this place.

Not like it was a big problem, because at least she was in control of the Dwemer Animunculi and could command them to her wishes. She was already steadily building up their numbers and repairing the facility.

The Dwemer Spiders and Dwemer Constructors worked without any rest as they just did what was ordered of them.

Just as she was about to check on the Processing Plant, which was basically recycling the metals and things, breaking them down and creating metal scraps that would be then melted into the new ingots, she noticed that the gates separating the inner area and outer area of the facility were opening.

Which could only mean that somebody opened them from the outside, and that it was highly possible that there would be a fight.

She immediately ordered the Dwemer Automatons to rush to the gates, as she commanded hundreds of Dwemer Spheres and Dwemer Spiders, the battle models of the Spiders that could use Destruction Magic that was engraved in them for the attacks.

If the gates have been opened by someone from the outside, it meant that she would be confronting either the invaders, Flamer, or both of the subjects. She knew that this facility was located within the Blackreach, most probably in the Greymoor Caverns, which were at least partially ruled by the Gray Host.

To the place where she lived, only rumors were brought, that the Gray Host was the Army of the Vampires and Werebeasts, though there was also a good number of mortals in their ranks, and the organization was led by an extremely powerful Pure-Blooded Vampire by the name of Rada al-Saran.

Who was also one of the Yokudan Sword Singers.

The last thing that she heard about it was the rumors that he made God of Schemes bleed by the Meridia's Light.

Nevertheless, the Gray Host was a long way from their homeland, though now it seemed that she was in their territory after she activated the teleportation array that brought her to this place.

***

When Rada got closer to the Scraps Facility, he suddenly got a weird feeling because he could sense life in that place. Not only he, but also several other Vampires could sense life, albeit on a much lower scale than he.

Due to the Dark Heart that he had fused with, his Vampiric Racial Abilities were unmatched, and the Life Force that he was sensing from the Scraps was oddly familiar. As they approached the facility's vicinity, to the point where they had already been noticed by the Dwemer Animunculi, he began sensing a Magicka signature.

"Halt!"

Rada commanded as several hundred Vampire and Werebeasts stopped in their tracks at the same time. This presence that he was feeling was very similar to the three people that Rada had met in the past, sometime after his transmigration.

And even the old Rada was very familiar with this feeling.

With this Life Force.

With this Magicka.

With this scent.

"I know that you are watching me, woman... come out. This doesn't need to be a fight, and you are also in no condition to fight against us right here and right now."

Rada stepped forward as he shouted in the direction of the Dwemer Ruins, because he knew exactly who they were dealing with, and now, it all made sense how the damaged Dwemer Animunculi Factory got operational again and started spamming Automatons. 

"We don't have all day for this. Five minutes, Ayem."

Not many recognized the name Ayem, but Belain did, and she almost fainted from the sheer shock when the realization hit her.

Like a thunder from the clear sky.

And soon enough, a gorgeous woman radiating subtlety of overwhelming Magical power emerged from the ruins of the Dwemer. Even though the name Ayem was unfamiliar even to most of the present, everyone recognized her and knew who she was.

Almalexia.

Also known as Almalexia the Lover, Almalexia the Warden, and Ayem, she was one of the three God-Kings who constituted the Tribunal, or Almsivi, along with Vivec and Sotha Sil. She was very popular among the Dunmer, who called her "Healing Mother", "Lady of Mercy", "Mother Morrowind", and "Sacred Lady".

She was known as the source of compassion, sympathy, and forgiveness, the protector of the poor and weak, and the patron of teachers and healers. She resided in the temple city of Mournhold within the city of Almalexia, the capital of Morrowind, and was closely associated with House Indoril.

Almalexia was also the most personable of the Tribunal and was well known for walking among her people. As a mortal, she was the wife of Lord Indoril Nerevar, First Councilor of Resdayn.

As a "Living God", she was most often associated with the Stars, Constellations, and Magic.

She also had other titles that included Face-Snaked Queen of the Three in One and Most Blessed Lady Almalexia. 

"It's breaking... doesn't it? You must have figured out... we are not in the Nirn and the ritual has been broken."

As Almalexia emerged from the ruins, Rada said plainly as the woman just nodded.

The Tribunal were not Gods in the truest sense.

Originally, the counselors to Nerevar, the Tribunal, came to power among the Dunmer following her husband's death at the Battle of Red Mountain circa 1E 700. Before his death, they swore oaths to Nerevar upon Azura that they would never use the Tools of Kagrenac on the Heart of Lorkhan in order to steal its divine essence for themselves.

A few years later, Almalexia and her fellow Tribunes broke that oath to become living gods. This led to the transformation of the Chimer into the Dunmer, and the Tribunal became their immortal protectors, leaders, and Gods.

Yet, they were just borrowing powers from the Tools of Kagrenac to have the Divine Status, and they were basically much weaker than Lesser Gods, but still stronger than Demigods.

What was important for them was that, once the connection to the Tools of Kagrenac was severed, they would lose their Divine Status, as it wasn't real. Only something that stemmed from the rituals and artifacts with which they were maintaining a permanent connection.

Yet...

Here.

In different Realms of Existence within Aurbis.

Far from the Nirn.

Almalexia's power was regressing to where she was previously before she became the Living God of the Tribunal.

"We meet again, Rada... it seems that you got much stronger."

Once she looked at Rada, she knew that his schemes against the God of Schemes and alliance with Deadric Prince Meridia and Dragon God of Time had paid off. He indeed successfully managed to merge with the Dark Heart and steal the Source of Vampirism from Molag Bal.

Becoming the new Primogenitor of the Vampires.

Not only that...

He fundamentally changed the Vampire Race from Undead to something vastly different.

They were alive... in a certain twisted sense.

'From death, they would be reborn through the blood to a new life.'

"Yes... but the same thing couldn't be said about you... When we met the last time, I told you that those accursed things are not worth the trouble."

Rada muttered as he looked at Almalexia, who now gave orders for the Dwemer Automatons to return to their stations. Both Rada and Almalexia knew each other very well... intimately well, one could say.

In the end...

She was also one of the people who helped him devise the initial plot against the God of Brutality.

"Yes, you did... but the Tools were the only way to keep our people safe once we were cursed."

Almalexia said as she remembered the words of Vivec, the Warrior Poet.

'And then, in that moment, all Chimer were changed into Dunmer, and our skins turned ashen and our eyes into fire. Of course, we only knew at that time that this had happened to us, but Azura said "This is not my act, but your act. You have chosen your fate, and the fate of your people, and all the Dunmer shall share your fate, from now to the end of time. You think yourselves gods, but you are blind, and all is darkness." And Azura left us alone, in darkness, and we were all afraid, but we put on brave faces, and went forth from Red Mountain to build the new world of our dreams.'

"How did you appear here?"

Rada asked, as it had been several months since the entire section of Blackreach was teleported by Akatosh to this world, and yet Almalexia woke up just recently. He was sure of it because if she were awake during the act, then she would have long ago broken through the ruins.

Her knowledge of the Dwemer Technology was only second to Sotha Sil, who built the Clockwork City. It was no wonder that she was able to repair large parts of the facility so it could operate at 100% once again.

Though...

Now that she was here, it opened doors to entirely new possibilities.

"I was in newly discovered Dwemer Ruins under the Vvardenfell. Sotha Sil suspected that the ruins were one of the research sites for the Dwemer to experiment with the Numidium, so I went there personally. Unfortunately, something went wrong, and I activated traps that teleported me to this place. Then, not long after, I just fell unconscious, most probably from the loss of Godhood, and woke only a few weeks ago."

Her story sounded rather plausible and Rada believed it. He knew that she wouldn't really lie... from the Tribunal, she was the most relatable one. Almalexia always showed a significant amount of compassion and sympathy for her people, and was known as a protector of the poor and weak.

"Well... it seems that you have a rather good deal of misfortune..."

Even though Rada phrased it like that, he wasn't really sure.

He knew from the canon events that Almalexia would meet a rather cruel fate.

In 2E 882, Dagoth Ur awoke beneath Red Mountain. The former Lord High Councilor of House Dagoth had been thought dead, but through unknown means, he had actually forged his own connection to the Heart of Lorkhan, drawing Divine Power from it just like the Tribunal did, and was merely sleeping.

When the Tribunal realized they could not defeat Dagoth Ur, they built the Great Ghostfence to contain him around 3E 417. This seemed to work, until Almalexia and Sotha Sil were attacked during a campaign and lost two of the Tools of Kagrenac, Sunder and Keening.

Though Vivec rescued his fellow Tribunes, the Tools were lost, and both the real impact of their loss and what it signified proved crippling. 

Almalexia had changed. Those few who still saw her noticed that she had begun to act more like a warrior queen than the Lady of Mercy. Those closest to her knew that she had turned into a wholly different person, one who was obsessed with maintaining her image at the expense of everything else.

In lieu of Divinity, Almalexia exploited her knowledge of ancient and powerful relics to inflict terrible punishments on her people for what she perceived as their lack of faith, such as by using Dwemeri machinery to cover her capital city in ash storms. But in her madness, she concocted a new goal: to become the one true god of the Dunmer, uniting all of her people under one faith and authority - and destroying any who interfered.

In the end, she was killed by Nerevarine and was remembered as the Mad Goddess for centuries to come.

Rada hoped that this time, due to this "unfortunate" event, she wouldn't meet such a bad ending.

"Well then... I should probably inform you that the good news is that we are still in the Aurbis. The bad news, though..."

He stopped suddenly as he noticed that she was looking at him intently for some reason and knew that his next words would most probably shatter her expectations of returning back home.

"What is the bad news, Rada? Are we on the outskirts of the Aurbis?... or do you want to imply that this is all part of the design?"

Rada looked weirdly at her as he gave her a slow nod.

Two times.

Once for every question that she asked.

"That's... rather disheartening..."

He could see how her expression had visibly dropped upon hearing that, because she understood very well what the "design" meant and that she was rather lucky to be here. It seemed, that in Nirn, her fate wouldn't be really that good.

If she appeared here, then it only meant that something had changed. 

Almalexia had a certain degree of Prophetic Abilities.

"So, what do you plan to do now? Would you care to return with me to the Gray Host?"

Rada asked as he was rather glad that this situation didn't evolve into a full-out fight, and even another acquaintance from the Nirn had appeared in this new world. However, Almalexia was one of the last people that he would have expected to appear in this world.

Seeing that she didn't really have anything else to do or where to go, she just nodded.

At least in the Gray Host, she could get some food and a nice dwelling.

Everything was better than sleeping in the Dwemer Ruins, though.

If Rada could convince Almalexia to join the Gray Host, it would be for the best. Her expertise in Magic, Alchemy, and especially in the Dwemer Technology would be invaluable for their plans.

With her help, they would be able to completely reverse-engineer the entire Dwemer Technology and completely incorporate it into their own forces.

"Can we go already? For the past few days, I haven't eaten and slept on stones..."

Since she lost her Divine Status, as her connection to the Tools was severed, some more mortal needs were once again showing.

Like the need for food.

"Excellent. Then let's go, My Lady Goddess."