Chapter 715: The World Knows
Chapter 715: The World Knows
Guess who just turned 28! Should I be worried?
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A new sun rose upon Skyrim, warmth spread through the lands and the citizens of the holds were running towards the city plazas and the town squares across all the Nordic settlements of Skyrim.
In this blessed Fredas (Friday), a rumor started to spread all across the land. More than a rumor, it was a piece of news that was spread from every major court in Skyrim.
It started like this, the Empire and the Stormcloaks decided to switch holds as a gesture of peace. The Empire gave Falkreath to the Stormcloaks and the Stormcloaks gave the Pale to the Empire. This meant that the two sides were preparing for peace and establishing a truce or a ceasefire at the very least.
Who was in the middle of all that? Well, of course, it was none other than Jon Dare, the Thane of… well, Everywhere!
It was more confusing than ever. No rumor spread without Jon’s name stuck to it, for some reason. The nature of the rumors itself was even stranger for those who work in the palaces and the castles of the main holds were the ones spreading it without any restraint from their lords.
First, Jon Dare was the one who “convinced” the Empire and the Stormcloak to choose peace since he is the one who holds an ancient artifact from the time of Ysgramor’s Dynasty that chooses Skyrim’s Kings, the Jagged Crown from the stories and legends.
Second, Jon Dare was appointed by all the Jarls of Skyrim as a Thane in every hold including Eastmarch. This meant that not only was he given complete free reign to establish his business wherever he wanted, it was also a precedent that had never happened before in history. This kind of honor granted him not only the normal honor of a Thane but also the new title of Grand Thane.
The Thane of Winterhold has evolved into the Grand Thane of Skyrim.
But why is that? Why would all the Jarls suddenly flock around Jon Dare this badly?
The answer was in the third and most important piece of news; Jon Dare is the Dragonborn.
Each hold had its own reaction to this piece of news. They all had their relationships with Jon Dare, whether for the good or the bad, and some even held some feelings of rivalry with him but it was soon to be changed overnight.
In Winterhold, home of Jon Dare, the atmosphere was calmer than ever save for a few people who went to celebrate in the morning for such a piece of news. On the earlier night, House Dare repelled an attack by some strong vampires that threatened the land and burned the entire shanty town outside the city of Saarthal. Still, the restoration process was already starting and the company has paid compensation and insurance money to the owner of the damaged properties. The fact that Jon Dare is the Dragonborn was already a public secret since Jon Dare was more popular than the Dragonborn anyway in that part of Skyrim. Jon being the Dragonborn is just another plus to the Saga of Jon Dare.
In Riften, the place that claims to be Jon’s origin, the city was already in a bit of turmoil with the Thieves’ Guild coming back to power and regaining a quick foothold in the city. Jarl Lela Law-giver returned from the summit just this morning and decided to be swift and prosecute the criminals of the Guild. Before she could do that, however, she was met with a businessman who claimed to be an associate with the Dare Company and promised her to cooperate with cleaning Riften’s streets from the lowlife criminals and the thugs of the alleys. This so-called associate was none other than Brynjolf in disguise and his aim was to transform the Thieves’ Guild per Jon’s instructions to its new form of organized crime establishment that operates above ground rather than through the nasty holes of the Ratway.
In Dawnstar, the transition from the Stormcloak to the Empire’s side was met with rough resistance as some Stormcloak soldiers refused to leave their posts. Jarl Brina Merilis ordered the rebels to be taken down with the least possible lethal force and were offered either exile or imprisonment. If they were to choose exile, they would be forbidden to ever step into the Pale for the rest of their lives while the imprisonment option included serving in the mines until they get pardoned.
In Falkreath, it wasn’t much different from the Dawnstar but the resistance moved outside to the woods and hid from the Stormcloak prosecution. There was not much resistance after that and Jarl Dengeir assumed his position with the blessing of most of the locals due to his popularity.
In Whiterun, the fact that Jon Dare is the Dragonborn was announced from Jorrvaskr rather than the court of Dragonsreach. The Companions seemed to have received news earlier than the rest of the city and spread with the beats of drums and the shouts of warriors. It wasn’t until the afternoon that the Jarl of Dragonsreach confirmed the rumors to some of the key figures in the city. Jon Battle-Born and Olfina Grey-Mane, the associate of the Dare Company in the city of Whiterun also confirmed this news to those who came knocking at their door.
In Windhelm, the city was in greater turmoil than ever since it is the main camp of the Stormcloaks. Signing a truce for the Dragonborn to deal with the Dragon Crisis was thought to be a temporary solution but knowing that the Dragonborn is Jon Dare meant that this situation will be extremely volatile. Still, Jarl Ulfric made the claim that the safety of the armies from the Dragon Attacks is the utmost priority since there was not a sure kill method against the Dragons other than the Dragonborn. This quilled the troubles of the public momentarily and bought him enough time to prepare for the next stage of the war.
In Solitude, Jarl Bryling was praised for establishing the truce, however, when the Jagged Crown came to the discussion, the proud citizens of Solitude were in complete uproar that it wasn’t seized by the Empire or Jarl Bryling. Solitude has enjoyed the strong position of being the capital of Skyrim with past known rivalries with both Windhelm and Winterhold. After the destruction of Winterhold, one of Skyrim’s old capitals, in the Great Collapse, the rivals were reduced by one but Windhelm remained a commercial and a political rival nonetheless. With both the War against the Jarl of Windhelm, who wants to make himself High King, and the debt from the holder of the Jagged Crown, Jon Dare, the position Solitude enjoyed was endangered immensely. Still, these worries were pushed by the Empire’s side and Jon was considered a Hero of Solitude with the Siege of Solitude fresh in memory.
In Morthal, Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone stood in front of her Longhouse and announced the news herself. Little did the people of Morthal care about the outside world but this was a fair point since they have suffered many dragon attacks and it was nice to know that the Dragonborn who saved them was actually Jon Dare.
In Markarth, Jon Dare was famously known for the largest incident in the Reach after the Markarth Incident with Ulfric Stormcloak and the Reachmen. The war of Forsworn-Jon Dare was a recorded war between one man and a force of natives where Oblivion was let loose by the vengeful Jon Dare and the Forsworn were wiped out from the Reach for the time being. With a few sights of them returning to the edge of civilization, the Forsworn were still nailless, toothless, and broken. They don’t even seem as much of a threat as before and that was thanks to Jon Dare, the Dragonborn who fights for Skyrim and her people.
As for the reaction of the forces outside Skyrim, there were two forces to consider; the Empire of Cyrodiil and the Aldmeri Dominion. While the real governing bodies of these forces haven’t been notified of the update yet, the representatives of these forces were major parts of the peace talks this time and it was said that Jon has even let his enemies, the Thalmor, stay in the talk, just to make them the insult target whenever the Nordic Lords get agitated with each other.
The Empire had its own trouble as of late with the passing of Emperor Titus Mede II in Skyrim at the hand of a Dark Brotherhood Assassin. It was a wonder how the Stormcloaks weren’t accused of this but associating someone with the Dark Brotherhood without no basis or evidence is a taboo. Moreover, Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak sent an envoy with words of respect at the funeral of the Emperor and said that despite the hard feelings he possesses against the late Emperor, the departed shouldn’t be insulted and for him to rest in peace. This was a smooth move from Ulfric’s side that held his slate clean against the Elder Council.
The Thalmor embassy of the Aldmeri Dominion hasn’t made any comments regarding the news of Jon Dare being the Dragonborn. With their known animosity with Jon Dare and the fact that they are still at odds and would aim their weapons at each other whenever the chance rises, the Thalmor kept a low profile for the time being and didn’t participate in any political actions. It seemed that they were waiting for advice from the main Thalmor Government from Summerset Isles on how to deal with this rather than doing anything rash at the moment. Now as the World knows who the Dragonborn is, the Dragonborn himself was sleeping peacefully with his women all in a single large bed after he seemed to have consumed them all in a night of raving and drinking.
As irresponsible as it may seem, Jon was mentally preparing for the coming shit storm he was about to step into and despite his hedonistic night, he woke up early in the morning and sat on the balcony of his tower while meditating and contemplating his last fight against the Nightmarshal.
————<Status>————
• Name: Jon Dare (Jonhild Firemane)
• Title: The Dragonborn, Grand Thane of Skyrim, The Boss
• Race: Human (Nord)
• Age: 21
• Level: 97 (Peak Thunder Heart Formation)
• Class: Arch-Wizard Master-Warrior
• Craft: Grandmaster Binary Enchanter
• Bloodline: Firemane (Fireborn/Titanborn)
• Birth Sign: The Serpent (eating: The Shadow)
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——<Warrior Skills>——
– Blade: 98 (Master)
– Blunt: 74 (Expert)
– Polearm: 89 (Master)
– Shield: 50 (Adept)
– Heavy Armor: 91 (Master)
– Martial Arts: 98 (Master)
– Smithing: 56 (Adept)
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———<Thief Skills>———
– Marksman: 80 (Expert)
– Unarmed: 79 (Expert)
– Acrobatics: 78 (Expert)
– Stealth: 78 (Expert)
– Light Armor: 59 (Adept)
– Speechcraft: 91 (Master)
– Alchemy: 42 (Expert)
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———<Mage Skills>———
– Mysticism: +99 (Legendary)
– Destruction: +99 (Legendary)
– Conjuration: +99 (Legendary)
– Restoration: +99 (Legendary)
– Alteration: +99 (Legendary)
– Illusion: +99 (Legendary)
– Enchanting: +99 (Legendary)
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“It seems that I have hit a wall, huh?” Jon wondered, “A mortal wall!”
Is this what it’s like to be at the top? Jon saw that his magic skills have capped according to the Game’s Logic but he himself knew very damn well that there is a realm beyond where he is and the potential for knowledge and skill is basically endless.
If this is the last of what his system can fathom, then he will walk past it at some point soon. There’s always heaven beyond heaven and skies above the sky.
So, what to do from this point onward?
The only room for improvement he can have is to garner knowledge and experience since skill is no longer a viable option. For experience, he has a lot of foes to fight and for knowledge, he has the Oghma Infinium to read.
But there is still something important he had in his pocket during the Summit at High Hrothgar and he thought too much about it all the way here.
The Amulet of the Elder Council. He acquired it as a down payment for assassinating the Emperor but the power this thing can give him is immense.
Cyrodiil is currently walking on eggshells and no heir apparent in House Mede was announced yet. The Elder Council may announce a period of an interregnum or a regent would take over the power in the White-Gold Tower but Jon had a plan in mind for that.
Last year, he was purchasing a lot of land between Bruma and Cheydinhall through many proxies and shell companies to the point where he can move a large part of his investments into Cyrodiil.
Being a landlord of this scale, what can it possibly gain him with the help of the Elder Council Amulet?
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