Chapter 385 - The Battle Of Winterhold (2) : The Queen Of Winterhold

*Orga's Front*

The clans of the Nords spread across Skyrim like herds of mammoths, though their numbers and influence upon the land are far greater. Each clan, however, makes its mark in a different way. Some clans are known for their hunting skills, or their forestry, or their crafting. Some clans are large, others small. Some take a prominent role in government and others isolate themselves hidden. And then there are the dark clans, the clans no one deals with or even speaks of and those nine clans that gathered in the frozen land of Winterhold.

Combining their forces with the Thalmor, the force's number reached that of 15,000 fighters with many mages from all parties involved.

The morale was high just by looking at the sheer number. One day was more than enough to take down all of Winterhold in one wave. In the worst cases, Winterhold can muster up to 5,000 fighters and a lot of mages but none can hinder the horde that gathered.

That was what was being spread around by the upper echelons of the clans to motivate the fighters. None of that however mattered to the elected leader of the Dragon Hunt Alliance.

Yes, there is one and that was none other than the youngest girl among all of the clans' leaders, Orga the Young leader of the Stormfist Clan. She has a realistic view of things and took caution in every action she took, her clan was branded as evil for a thousand years and she was named after its founder so she felt the deep responsibility of leading her clan to triumph in good or bad. The Dragon Hunt Alliance was a chance to support her goal of gaining riches to her clan and making better contacts for the Stormfists even among the Dark Clans.

How the commander of the Alliance got appointed was a singularity. The newly discovered Ambassador of the Thalmor suggested a leader appointment right after her identity got blown away, the Nords looked at her with distrust and no one wanted to choose her as a leader. In fact, everyone voted for himself and the included Orga which put the situation to a stalemate. The surprise was Elnwen's vote which surprisingly came last and went for Orga's favor.

The Thalmor has the right to vote of course as the largest force in the Alliance and Elenwen was surprisingly cooperative with the Nords. Unlike the usual attitude of her kin, she was rather swift and managed the stubborn Nords easily.

That way, Orga became the leader.

Of course, everyone suspected her to be in cahoots with the Thalmor and that put on her mood but she had to do it anyway now that everyone was willing to listen to her yet that didn't mean she was going to ignore the Thalmor. Elenwen's action was clear. She wanted Orga to lead as the youngest leader and the most inexperienced one. Elenwen was clearly up to no good and wanted to use the Nords as the shock force for her mages to level everything to the ground afterward.

Orga wasn't a fool and caught on to that, the best response was to tread carefully.

She gathered all the scouts' reports and advanced on three fronts.

The Main Siege Front right to Neo Saarthal from the west consisted of 10,000 fighters and most of the mages. The Thalmor were tied to this front to not let them out of her sight. If Elenwen tried to disagree, she will appear as the manipulative she is.

The Raid Front which was a group of light raiders that of 3,000 fighters that would cross the mountain of the Shrine of Azura and descend on the Whispering Village of Dunmer plaguing and burning it so they can draw the forces of Winterhold out and kill them in waves.

The Reinforcing Front was the third front and the safest one made of 2,000 fighters. Orga made sure to put most of her clansmen in that front so the can be the fastest to enter the battle whenever there is victory and the fastest to escape whenever there is a problem. This group was centered in three places. One behind the Main Front, one on the Wayward Pass with the excuse of cutting reinforcement and the last near Fort Kastav to keep an eye on the Imperial Legion.

The plan was solid from all fronts and the march to Neo Saarthal began with first light. Orga personally was in front of the march as she wanted to witness Neo Saarthal defenses with her own eyes.

The leader of the defense was by all means expected, Alina Moonblade rather than Jonhild Firemane. Orga knew it when all the other leaders expected to see Jon on top of the wall.

'Something is not right.'

However, even Orga had to point out that something was out of her expectations. Alina Moonblade was known as a formidable strategist and the reports of her swift triumph over the Forsworn in the mini-battles during the fall of Jon Dare.

Neo Saarthal had two walls, a lower front wall and higher back wall. The two walls are lined with a number of wooden bridges. The strategy of doubled walls is not that effective in a real fight even with its appearance. The back wall can't be used for a direct defense and would stand in the way of the front wall keeping it ill supplied. If it was effective then, by all means, many forts would be double walled.

Not just that, the defenders were clearly focusing on the back wall rather than the front wall. Once the attacker takes control of the front wall, they can use it to defend their forces while exhausting the defenders with long range magic and arrows.

'What is she thinking?' Orga wondered to herself and kept looking.

The fresh look by her eyes gave her more ideas of what Winterhold is capable of rather than the badly narrated reports of the scouts.

Neo Saarthal should be less than half a year old yet its defenses are heavy and the walls are all complete, this surely must have taken a lot of time and effort. The other thing was the tower that was mentioned in the reports, even though not complete, none could tell what this tower was for and what will it do.

The scouts couldn't notice things Orga just noticed and she started to get agitated. Surely the Thalmor didn't share everything with her considering that Elenwen made a recon on her own once.

Restless, Orga took action.

She rode forwards with two other clan heads to a distance safe from arrows and called for the defenders with their voices.

A response came and the gate was opened.

Two riders came out on flaming horses. One was Njord Firemane and the other was Olaf Moonblade. Two formidable fighters and the number two men of their clans.

Not long after, a flying beast landed on top of the wall and carried Alina Moonblade who joined the other two and headed towards the three leaders of the Dragon Hunt Alliance.

"Old Skap! You're still alive?" Olaf Moonblade cussed at the Skap the Old of the Nikkr Clan.

"Moonblade fuck! You coward fucks escaped your home like the coward shits you are. I swear on my sons' graves I'll end your line."

"All barks no bite, your sons got all killed like the dogs they are because their father is a fool it seems."

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

"Hold it!" Orga Stormfist stopped the raging Skap the Old.

She gazed at Alina and sneered.

"Hey, beautiful. You are that girl Alina, right?"

Alina looked down on Orga with cold eyes. Lokthur felt the disrespectful tone towards Alina and his glare made the horses restless.

"Orga Stormfist?"

"Aye!" Orga calmed her horse and spoke. "I heard you are rumored to be the most beautiful lass in the whole Skyrim. I can see why now."

Alina's face showed ridicule.

"Let me guess, the man you loved lost interest in you after he saw me once and you swore to skin my face?"

"What… Nah! Wait… is that the level of jealousy you get?"

"Most of the time."

"Poor you! Don't worry, beautiful. My interest in your face is nothing like that. Nice beast, by the way."

"He hates you."

"Hahaha! Tell you what, you turn sides now and I'll make you my woman. No one will ever touch you, I promise." Orga said with a dirty smile.

"Insolent fool!" Olaf Moonblade was about to unleash his gift on Orga.

"Uncle! Please." Alina spoke calming him down, she then turned to Orga with a faint seducing smile.

"Tempting…" She said, "But you are not my kind of gal."

Between Alina and Orga, one was a beauty that would drive men insane and the other was a rough tomboy.

"Haha! So there is a kind after all."

"Of course, I am really open minded unless when it comes to sharing and to be honest, the bunch of women around Jon is really annoying. I can accept another one or barely two but now there is a vampire girl… ehem, sorry for drifting. I would complain all day but let's agree that your severed head will have more time to listen."

"Hahaha! So be it. My offer still stands though." Orga was amused.

"Here's my offer then. Turn around… leave… run as far as I can't see you or I swear on everything name Sacred and Daedric that your clans will be wiped out to your youngest descendants."

The smell of blood in Alina's tone was clear. Every word she said meant a war declared on each of the nine clans. More to that, Lokthur majestic appearance was carrying strong frost energy with it.

More to that, Alina had a staff in her hands that aura was pure evil. The [Skull of Corruption] was handed down by Jon to Alina now that he has no use of it.

"Very well." Orga and her companions turned around to leave.

As Alina was about to return to, a voice called out.

"Wait!"

The two parties looked at the one who called, a white horse ran on the snow and stood between the two parties with a robed person on it. From the voice, it was a woman and from the appearance, it was a High Elf.

"You… from where did you get that Gryphon?" The woman asked with a restless voice.

Lokthur, whose height is above two horses, felt the greedy gaze of the woman and screeched at her.

"Easy, boy." Alina calmed it with a couple of words and didn't even bother to reply. She just led her party to Neo Saarthal.

"Human! When I speak to you, you fucking answer!" The High Elf lady didn't take being ignored well. A highly dense Magicka overflowed and assaulted Alina while completely avoiding Lokthur.

Alina was sensitive to all manners of Magicka and felt the changes right away. She turned around with her eyes gleaming red and turning into slits.

Two pure forces of Magicka clashed. One was white and quite dense, proud and arrogant while the other was like flooding river that would obliterate everything.

As Alina's Magicka met the Elf's, it was not to be called a clash rather than a complete overwhelm. Alina's eye powers were custom-made to obliterate souls and Magicka was nothing but a thin energy coming from the soul. The Elf woman was already on her knees.

How?

Alina's eye powers are a wild shotgun. Wherever they aimed, the do the job. The mere glance of Alina killed the white horse ridden by the Elf Woman causing its skin to be cut open and sink in a pool of its own blood. The woman was much stronger and endured a second, two, three but her soul was being ravaged and her body was getting affected by the second. Put the effect aside, the feeling was indescribable. A wave of agony, pain, dread, every damn feeling that one escape from, every negativity and worry, every fear and nightmare, all at the same time.

The woman barely held for a little while as a loud scream echoed far and wide.

Alina wasn't holding back anything.

Before the situation escalates further, three High Elves popped out of nowhere two with tower shields and one mage. The mage covered the elf woman with her own body as if to sacrifice herself for her and the two elf soldiers attempted to block the magic.

Alina stopped her eye powers with a haughty smile but not until the two elf soldiers exploded in their blood as well.

She looked at the Elf Mage with satisfaction.

"I presume you are Ambassador Elenwen."

The mage stood from the unconscious elf woman and looked at Alina with caution.

"... And you are the rumored Lady of Winterhold."

"Charmed."

The situation was sensitive and Elenwen seemed restless. Seeing the fallen elf woman behind her was something she would have never imagined. That woman who intruded on the last minute negotiation was an Arch Wizard that just arrived from Alinor and she was Elenwen's old master, an elf whose age was beyond 500 years.

The High Elves didn't hear about that Gryphon from the reports as Lokthur is a lazy one who loves to sleep in the snow all day and only come to play when Alina calls. The High Elves were shocked senseless and questioned how can a symbol of their homeland appear on the other side of the world. More to that, the Gryphon was a Snow Capped Gryphon, the rarest of the rare, a sacred breed that lives above the clouds of Cloudrest City.

The High Elf woman jumped on a horse hell-bent on taking that Gryphon right here right now.

The other High Elf Arch Wizards didn't stop her, she was basically going to bully a child. In truth, there were ten Arch Wizards other than Elenwen herself and they were all in a confident mood to bring down the force in Winterhold in less than a day. Now, as Alina showed enough power to put down an Arch Wizard, the rest felt the threat.

'Such power! This girl is dangerous.'

'We can't let such an enemy live! Absolutely!'

'A Nord with such power! Are the heavens teasing us?'

'Too stupid to showcase their trump card from the get-go.'

'We kill her first.'

Telepathic whispers were exchanged between the Arch Wizards ten miles away from Neo Saarthal all with Alina at their aim.

She, who was far away, looked back at each and every one of them. She could only wait for the fight to start just to see those insolent fools suffer.

"Elf, I'll give you the same offer." Alina spoke to Elenwen. "Take all those lowlives you brought and I will consider not damning every Thalmor I come across to Oblivion."

Elenwen's face stiffened, she barely kept her cool after hearing the word 'lowlives' being said about her people. She put on a fake smile and nodded.

"A generous offer from the Queen of Winterhold, yet I say you bite more than you can chew."

"Will see about that."