Chapter 375 - The Battle Of The Hollow City

*2 Days until the Battle of Winterhold*

"Sir Cadwell, what is going on here?"

"Oh, good to see you Krilon, my dear. You see, now that we have helped you gather your items, it is your turn to help us. Don't worry, the objective is too simple I might say. We are also helping you help us, you don't need to do much actually."

"Hold up a second, I get it that I am supposed to help you as repayment for guiding me around the place but can I get an explanation please?"

"Hm? Nothing much to explain, really. As you can see, I've gathered the men and we are ready to march behind you. I am sure this time we will make it."

Jon looked at the so-called gathered men that were lined around the Cadwell's Shelter and felt a strange urge to smack his forehead. Numberwise, the Soul Shriven were not impressive in any way possible.

"What do you want me to do with that soul shriven militia, Cadwell?"

"Well, you see. It's an event we do here every year really, nothing new. We gather every time the best numbers we can muster then go on a small campaign. It usually ends up in failure thought."

"Hey, Xikil. Do you know what he is talking about?" Jon lost patience on Sir Cadwell.

"It's nothing important, those rebelling slaves gather every year to raid on the old Hollow City. Something about retrieving it in the name of Meridia." Xikil said.

"Wait!" Jon turned to Sir Cadwell, "You want me to go with those undisciplined untrained and obviously unequipped militia of yours to attack and conquer the Hollow City?"

"Well, it's not a matter that needs a military genius, really. You see, this is a militia of Soul Shriven… you don't get it yet? It is an immortal army. They will fight until they die and fight again." Sir Cadwell said.

Jon looked at Sir Cadwell the ancient mad knight and narrowed his eyes.

"How long?" Jon asked.

"Huh?"

"How long have you been doing this? Gathering Soul Shriven and raiding the Hollow City every year. Since when?"

Jon's question seems to have hit a nerve on Sir Cadwell and the other Soul Shriven around. They seemed not really responsive when the thought came to mind. The one who answered was Xikil.

"Haha! Those idiot slaves have been doing it for many years, even before I spawn for the first time. Something about Meridia abandoning them a long time ago and their Hollow City falling to us."

Jon heard Xikil and frowned.

"Meridia abandoned the Hollow City? This is a bit strange! Can't you Sir Cadwell still open portals? Isn't that the power bestowed upon you by the Daedric Prince Meridia?" Jon asked.

"... Indeed it is the case but... The Hollow City was abandoned not long after the Planemeld. Only some curious folk kept the water running for a time but the Daedra started harassing the visitors. Year after year, no mortal sat foot in the city especially after the Heroes disappeared. It was only us Soul Shriven but none was faithful to Lady Meridia other than me. All they wanted and all they still want his either salvation or freedom but this is Coldharbour and the matter of eternal servitude is quite the theme here. You know the drill."

"I see." Jon nodded.

After the disappearance of the Soulless One and the appearance of Tiber Septim, none was really in the mood for sticking around Coldharbour and as the Septim Wars were the next major event after the Planemeld.

"And what happened to the Light of Meridia?" Jon asked.

The Light of Meridia was a powerful crystal associated with the Lady of Infinite Energies, Meridia. It was used to destroy the Planer Vortex, the artifact that was melding Tamriel with Coldharbour. The Light of Meridia was later used as a mean of Teleportation by the Soulless One to roam Tamriel with the blessing of Meridia and the assistance of Sir Cadwell.

To Jon's question about the crystal, Sir Cadwell seemed down. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a small pouch.

"This is all what I have."

In the pouch, there was a handful of crystal fragments that radiated a strong light and pure energy. Jon took back a few steps while Serana and Xikil retreated to the other end of the Shelter.

'Strong!'

Jon could only gasp in his mind in front of true power. As a mage whose pride was handling Energies, this one was something profoundly amazing. It was as if the power of a nuclear reactor can be carried in one hand. This was some fragments of the real thing.

"Where... Where is the full crystal?" Jon asked.

The [Light of Meridia] is not some handful of fragments. The size of the full crystal is as large as an adult's forearm.

"It is in the Hollow City's Chapel of Light. I brought it back here once no one needed it so it can be put to preserve the city but we got attacked and the full crystal was shattered by a traitor who was promised to regain his soul and be sent back to Nirn. I managed to grab this handful of fragments and used it to open a portal, been using it ever since. I always asked Lady Meridia for aid but... it is vexing to say but I think we are abandoned."

Jon felt the bitterness in Sir Cadwell's story. Meridia may be the Lady of Light but is also the Glister Witch. The obscure Daedric Prince who helped the people of Nirn in the Planemeld yet turned on them with the return of Umaril the Unfeathered and ravaged the Temples of the Divines, the Daedric Prince who despises the Undead yet gets her followers to be mindless extensions of her will.

Jon could understand.

"So... What is the plan? Retake the Hollow City, retrieve the other Fragments of the Light of Meridia and reactivate the city's protection mechanism?" Jon asked.

"Couldn't put it any better myself. You, sir, are an enigma." Sir Cadwell returned to his cheerfulness right away.

"The thing is... What's in it for me?" Jon said. "I help you get the city back and get what? It seems like you are planning on using all the parts of the Light of Meridia to power up the city."

"Oh dear... You are as perceptive as a cat." Sir Cadwell's smile turned cold.

"Thank you." Jon liked the compliment right away.

"Here is the thing. The Light of Meridia was formerly five smaller Beacons that were used to transport the Hollow City to Coldharbour long time ago. We won't be able to restore the Full Crystal without Lady Meridia's interference but we can put the five Beacons back together."

"Five Beacons? Wait! Like the Beacon of Meridia that caused my speakers to get destroyed every time it goes 'A NEW HANDS TOUCHES THE BEACON...'? Five? Holy cow!"

[A/n: a reference to Meridia's Quest in Skyrim. One be like, tone it down hoe!]

"I get that you are enthusiastic about the quest but let's not rush it. We still need to prepare a plan for retaking the city." Sir Cadwell took out a map.

"Remind me again, how long have you been doing this retaking the city scenario?"

"Around 900 years, give or take. Why you're asking?"

"900... Damn! Fine, what is in the city?"

"Dremora, lots of them. We may find an elite or two."

"You don't know?"

"Well, we haven't made it beyond the city walls for the last 500 years so yes. We do not know what's in there. But cheer up, the Daedra always underestimate us and don't seriously defend."

Jon was speechless. They didn't make it past the walls for the past 500 years and the Daedra is not seriously defending?

Jon took a quick look around the Soul Shriven Sir Cadwell gathered and shook his head.

"I can sneeze and defeat all of them."

The number reached a few hundred but in his eyes, they are no better than a band of a few hundred meat shields. He wouldn't rely on that.

Jon walked out of the Cadwell's Shelter and headed north to sit on a high rock. There, he could see the Hollow City covered in a thick cloud of gloom. From what he could guess, this gloom was some sort of Dark Magic that can keep the Light Energy of the fragments of the Light of Meridia in check. The Dark Magic is also known as the Daedric Magic and the Anti-Magic, an obscure type of Magic that is very lethal against Magicka users like himself, Nurina is an expert in the field.

Jon conjured some lesser Daedric creatures that can fly like a Winged Twilight and some Hawk Familiars and ordered them to fly over the Hollow City to do recon from above but the black fog erased the binding effect Jon put on those creatures and canceled the summon.

"Troublesome." Jon narrowed his eyes.

"The Soul Shriven aren't happy with you looking down on them." A voice came from behind Jon.

He turned back to see Serana.

"Without even saying, doing the same damn foolishness over and over again for 900 years with the same result only proves my point."

"I wasn't disagreeing with you though." Serana jumped up beside Jon. "Tricky one! You only have two days to return to Nirn, can we take a city without an army in two days?"

"Hehehe!" Jon laughed and didn't say anything for a while before speaking once again. "You know… I keep a small army nearby just in case any emergency city invasion situation popped up."

Serana looked at Jon was narrowed eyes and smiled before breaking into laughter.

"What? You don't believe me?"

"And where do you keep that army?" She asked.

"Let me introduce you to [Wrath]." Jon clapped his hands and the giant bone samurai holding a large katana appeared behind him.

Serana looked at the undead that appeared behind Jon with wide eyes.

"Impressive, is that a Bone Colossus?"

"I used the same technique to construct it but it is a crossover between a Skeleton Undead and a Golem. It has a core and all. Now watch this."

Jon pointed his finger towards [Warth] and a dense stream of Magicka flowed to the conjuring mechanism inside it. Wraithmen warriors and Bonemen archers started appearing in large numbers around. Approximately 500.

'Damn, I got better at this!'

Jon can summon 500 undead and make [Wrath] sustain them on its own. This was all due to his sudden increase of strength while he was captured.

"And now we have an army." He said.

Serana looked around with wide eyes and looked at Jon again.

"What kind of monster are you? Even I can't sustain that much."

"It is all about control and management, giving the undead creature some freedom to act is better than completely dominating it. Binding techniques can be very consuming and limit your chance of having more minions but loosening things will ensure you the numbers. You can also make a special undead creature like [Wrath] have a certain effect on the binding."

"This a bit revolutionary."

"It is the house's technique. My adoptive mother is obsessed with Necromancy."

Jon stood up and gave a hand to Serana.

"Let's tell Cadwell that we are ready to march on the Hollow City."

***

The 926th Annual Battle of the Hollow City.

About 500 Undead and 800 Soul Shriven marched towards the Hollow City. The Soul Shriven attacked from the west and the Undead from the south.

Leading the Soul Shriven on the west was the ancient knight in rags and kitchenware armor, Sir Cadwell of Codswallop. His forces acted as shock troops that would draw the attention of the Daedra in the Hollow City due to the immortality privilege of the Soul Shriven.

The southern front was under the command of Thane Jonhild Firemane who acted under the name of Krilon.

Jon was acting as the strategist and the mastermind behind the day. He was not an expert in open field battles but give him dark areas and twisted methods and he will ensure a crazy victory.

The whole purpose of the first hour of the attack was to lure the Daedra garrisoned in the Hollow City out and expose their leader. The Soul Shriven are the yearly enemy those Daedra face so they were quite relaxed in front of the enemy that barely had any pieces of equipment.

Jon's Undead where the ace in the hold and the ones who joined that battle later on. Jon would love to use the hit and run tactics if he had enough space but he had to do with what he has right now.

The fight broke out on the western front and the Soul Shriven rebels were out for blood. They used wooden blanks to block the attacks from the daedra on the city walls and large trunks to act as hand rams. The gate of the Hollow City was not budging due to its sturdy materials and so the attack on the west was doomed to fail. Sir Cadwell gave the command to retreat in two directions. The first towards the west away in the Shrouded Plains and later the other half retreated to the south towards Jon's troops.

The Daedra saw the prey run way too early and couldn't bear the hunt to end so soon, the city gates opened and a great number of Dremora flooded out towards the nearest group of Soul Shriven, the one retreating to the south.

Jon watched everything through the eyes of Nefertiti and gave the order for his troops to form a formation. The Soul Shriven troops of Sir Cadwell arrived and bypassed Jon's troops that were hidden around the area. The southern area was a swampy place of Azure Plasm puddles, the Soul Shriven were unarmored and could run unhindered but when pursuers arrived, their mobility dropped down drastically.

It was time for ambush.

Jon's undead blended in the surroundings very well due to their color and took the opportunity to attack right away. The Bonemen climbed onto the high ground available and the Wraithmen formed mini formations and made multiple blockades to hinder the Daedra.

A chaotic fight broke out in the swampy area south and the retreating Soul Shriven started acting once again. The ones who attacked past Jon returned to block the road and the ones who retreated earlier blocked the road from behind the pursuers and were watching for any reinforcement.

The Sin of Wrath, Odokuro, roamed the battlefield as the proxy commander of Jon and kept the troops organized. It also was assassinating any powerful Daedra that tried to cause a ruckus and sabotage the plan.

Jon didn't move a finger from the start as he was just sitting and recovering on his Cold-Flame Atronach Horse, he was waiting for the strongest Daedric creature in the Hollow City to come out, none knew what that was, unfortunately.

As the greater number of the Daedra was thinned on a rapid pace, Jon knew it is time and allowed a few Daedra to retreat back to the western main gate of the Hollow City, now that the Daedra were disadvantaged, it was time for their boss to come out.

Jon took out his sword and rode to the small gate to the southeast that led to the inner plaza and his undead followed. He waited for a while until he felt the Magicka inside the Hollow City being disturbed. This meant that the enemy is reacting.

Without giving it much thought, Jon used Telekinesis and carried multiple Undead Creatures in one go then threw them inside the Hollow City over the wall, the ones that managed to land started to cause ruckus inside the city while the ones that broke while landing started to explode with [Corpse Explosion] creating massive casualties among the Daedra inside.

Jon's action caused both his enemies and allies to feel shivers in their spines, throwing the undead like that was surely a new method that was completely unheard of in siege battles.

The last patch of undead scaled the walls with [Wrath] and took over the southern gatehouse opening it for Jon and the Soul Shriven. The battle inside the inner plaza broke out in a nasty fashion as Jon used all sorts of underhanded methods to control the flow of battle for the first five minutes but that was all there is to it. It was about time for the Daedric Boss of the Hollow City to show itself and it did.

A gigantic shadow covered the battlefield in the central plaza and an insane pressure was felt. Everyone regardless of the faction looked up to see the late participant in the battle.

"Who dares to challenge the wrath Balzar?"

The large figure landed as it roared in the invaders of its domain.

It was a quadrupedal creature with a humongous body and two large black wings, its head was dreadfully evil with pairs of large horns growing on each side of its head. Its black skin, its blue eyes and its scary appearance gave out its identity right away. Those who were acting brave just now were on the brink of shitting their pants either Soul Shriven or Daedra, even Jon had a large "Oh Shit!" floating above his head.

The Daedric Titan that appeared made the battle completely freeze with nothing but its sheer presence.

Still, something made the situation take a rather gigantic wrong turn. The 'D' word was spoken by the titan.

A powerful Chain Lightning spell broke from the crown and assaulted the gigantic Daedric Titan's face.

"Who Dares you ask? It is I, you Daddy!"