Dragonborn Saga

Chapter 704: Truce

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A timeout was needed only 5 minutes into the negotiations and the negotiations haven't even started yet!

The Stormcloaks and the Imperials had to retreat to a corner in the chamber each and kept eyeing one another and the Dragonborn as well. It was chaos in their minds and little could they do to organize themselves after this.

On the Imperial side, Jarl Balgruuf the Greater was cornered by the other heads of the faction and was hammered with questions. How was it that Jon Dare is the Dragonborn? Haven't you witnessed the two men at the same time and appointed both of them Thanes? How many people know such a secret? How long were you aware of this matter? Why did you keep it from the Empire?

The answers to these questions were: I don't know, I have, only me from my side, and I've known since he returned. The last question caused Jarl Balgruuf to curse at whoever asked it and said that he is free to do whatever he wants and he is not just some Imperial lapdog.

As for the Stormcloak side, Jarl Korir of Winterhold was also cornered by the heads of the faction and was also hammered with all sorts of questions. How is it that Jon Dare is the Dragonborn? How long has it been that way? Was Winterhold rebuilt by the powers of the Dragonborn? And how can it be that nobody in Winterhold noticed?

The answers to these questions were: I don't know, since birth I guess, and Jon Dare didn't do any Dragonborn thing before getting exiled from Skyrim by High King Torygg. As for the last question, Jarl Korir stated that in regards to how no one noticed that Jon was a Dragonborn, nearly everyone in Winterhold had a public hunch that Jon Dare and the Dragonborn were always one and the same but nobody really talked about it. Just like how Jon separated between his identities as Jon Dare and Dragonborn, the people treated the two identities like so.

That last part was something to really think about. Jon Dare was always considered the Dragonborn in the hearts of the people of Winterhold and it was some sort of a public secret without any outsider being in on it, even without Jon Dare telling anybody he is the Dragonborn publicly. It's just something they all felt and never really discussed.

Now that the two sides were done with the Jarls they were questioning, their gazes fell upon Jon who was having an intense conversation with Master Arngeir.

"So, you've done it." Said Master Arngeir in a disappointed voice, "The men of violence are gathered here, in these halls whose very stones are dedicated to peace. I should not have agreed to host this council. The Greybeards have no business involving themselves in such matters."

Jon put on an awkward smile and spoke politely to Master Arngeir.

"Don't worry. I'll get them to talk peace."

"Peace? I doubt it." Master Arngeir shook his head, "They may put their weapons down for a moment, but only to gather strength for the next bloodletting. They are not yet tired of war. Far from it. Do you know the ancient Nord word for war? Season unending! So it has been proven."

"But this is the only way to get Balgruuf's help." Jon said with a tired face.

"Yes, yes. Which is why I allowed this... violation of all our traditions." Master Arngeir nodded then continued, "But regrets are pointless. Here we are. Let's return to the council table and let us see what wisdom we can find in this madness."

Jon didn't say anything back and returned to the southern seat where he used to sit. Right in front of him, he could see that Ambassador Elenwen hadn't moved from her place all the time with the Blades being suspiciously absent. Jon closed his eyes and spread his Magicka secretly to survey the place before discovering that Delphine and Esbern seemed to have used this chance to spy at the Greybeards' abode and look for something.

Jon sighed in his heart since he was warning Delphine not too long ago about acting stupid and she seemed to have stopped fearing him or something. Those Blades are as mindless as they come and their hatred towards Dragon, which is not even theirs, drove them to go against his commands.

"Nefertiti, go capture them and return them here. If they show resistance… kill Delphine." Jon spoke boldly before the shadow of the cat left his shadow.

Looking left and right, Jon saw the eyes that were staring at him. Definitely, he was currently the center of attention. In response, he held a tankard that was labeled with the DDTC insignia, which was filled with liquor, raised it once to the Stormcloaks then once to the Imperials, and drank it all before slamming in on the table and causing cracks to form where it was slammed.

"To Peace!" He said and sat down looking up with total arrogance.

It was another way for him to tell them to sit down… or else.

The factions didn't seem to be going to come right away but they started to return one by one. This time, the order of the seats has shifted quite wildly.

At first, Jon occupied two seats for himself but now since the one acting to be Jon Dare was Venus of Lust and was retracted, Jarl Lela Law-Giver of Riften was the one sitting next to Jon. While on the Imperial side, it seemed that the Imperials had pressured Jarl Balgruuf the Greater to switch seats with Jarl Bryling of Solitude. Those two ladies were the first to sit after Jon's invitation and right at the same time, the two turned to talk to him.

"Thane Jon." "Lord Jon."

Seeing that they were singing the same tone, Jarl Bryling and Jarl Lela barely looked at each other and didn't plan to go head-to-head despite being enemies. Their aim was Jon Dare and they wanted information for their faction.

"Ladies." Jon, on the other hand, seemed rather willing to entertain the two older women.

"We have known each other for a short time, my Lord. I feel it would have been very fortunate for me to meet you where you grew up at Honorhall but destiny got its way." Jarl Lela spoke.

"Destiny always gets its way." Jon replied, "But thanks to your wise rule, Jarl Lela, I've grown up in a safe and prosperous environment."

Awkward!

Jarl Lela's face went dark while Jarl Bryling turned away to fake her sudden burst of laughter into a cough. Riften isn't a child-friendly environment by all means and Jon was just nasty enough to rub it all over Lela's face.

While being a little bit inappropriate, Jarl Bryling decided to hold her laughter and support the cause.

"I've heard the stories about your parents, Thane Jon." Jarl Bryling spoke, "Once you were prophesied that you will bear Three Elder Scrolls, it was quite the predicament, especially where you were born."

"You seem to have done quite the research." Jon confirmed what Bryling said.

"It was really inspiring how much they sacrificed to get you back to Skyrim and hide you in Riften. Their wisdom was immense and can't be refuted now when one looks at how things turned out."

"Indeed." Jon nodded.

Bryling's statement regained Jarl Lela some composure and the two pressed further on.

"So…" Jarl Bryling cleared her voice, "I remember you were being called a Taboo Child by the clans that were enemies to the Firemane clan."

"A Thalmor slanderous lie!" Jarl Lela took the chance to put her opinion on the matter, "They have always insulted everything Nord. They called Skyrim's young Dragonborn such heresy."

Jarl Lela didn't even stop there and kept staring fiercely at Elenwen of the Dominion all the way across the room.

"So, you were always the Dragonborn?" Jarl Bryling asked as she finally stopped beating around the bush.

"I only awakened as one last year but yes, you can say I've always been one." Jon replied.

"How splendid!" Jarl Lela leaned closer, "That makes you the Fourth Dragonborn after Saint Alessia, Reman Cyrodiil, and Talos Stormcrown."

Lela was obviously insinuating that Jon has a claimant over the Imperial Throne.

"Indeed I am." Jon buffed his chest up and acted haughty and proud.

"Thane Jon, I think what Jarl Lela was trying to say is that you are equal to them in honor." Jarl Bryling tried to dissuade Jon from listening to Lela.

"Of course not." Jarl Lela denied what Bryling said, "Well… maybe Talos has become Divine and Conquered all Tamriel but he wasn't known to slay Dragons… neither Reman nor Alessia."

As the two ladies seemed to have started this conversation as allies, they started bickering not long after.

"Women." Jon exclaimed and chuckled before taking a long loud sip of his mead.

He is having fun, that's for sure.

He has the power, the manpower, the money, the support, the public opinion, and even the blessings of the Divines at his back. Can he be swayed easily by anything?

Jarl Lela was one of the few influential people who never had direct dealings with Jon Dare. She has heard of his actions just like all the nobles of Skyrim but wasn't really involved with him since Riften was out of Jon's influence until Maven was chased out.

Now that she was thrown by Ulfric to test the waters with Jon, she was a victim of Jon's mockery and trolling. She thought she would be so smart if she waved the idea of taking over the Empire at him but she was the least unaware person of how incompetent she is.

On the other hand, Jarl Bryling, who was never a Jarl candidate in the game, was made Jarl by Jon's efforts and was very well aware of how deep Jon can go with his schemes. Today's affairs happened when Jon wanted to lead them by the nose and he showed how he simply can do so.

"The Empire is interested in your agenda, Thane Jon." At that moment, Thane Bryling decided to go straight with Jon.

"So?" He asked.

"Throw us a bone." She said with complete humility while hinting with her eyes at General Tullius, "What is it you're after?"

Jarl Lela looked at Jon and waited for the answer as well. Jon put his tankard back and cleared his throat.

"I'll be clear. My goals aren't completely selfish this time around. Mother Skyrim and her children are suffering as it is and now you've got all the evil in the world crawling out of Oblivion to drag us to it. There is a Civil War, a Dragon Crisis, and even a Vampire Crisis. Try to figure out which order we need to solve these problems first."

Jon laid out the situation to the two ladies who seemed tired of thinking about this once again.

It is indeed a problem. Riften is now a home for Vampire Hunters and no one can ignore the presence of the pesky Vampire attacks at the city gates and the guards that keep disappearing every night. As for the Dragons, Solitude had an all-out battle against the Dragon Cult and Dragonborn Jon Dare was their Champion and recent Thane.

But can the Civil War really wait?

No, it can't.

Cyrodiil won't let go of Skyrim, its vessel nation, especially with no Emperor on the Ruby Throne. The lawmakers of the Empire and the Elder Council are all in total support of this war against the rebels. The Emperor's death in Skyrim was seen as a large incident in all parts of the Empire. It demoralized the Legion quite greatly but since when was the death of a single man something that would stop a war of such scale where hundred and thousands of men die every day?

On the other hand, The Dragons haven't been seen outside Skyrim yet since their goal is to cause more lives to be lost in this war for Alduin to feed on.

These are two imminent reasons why any of the three problems can't be put before the other.

In the end, the two ladies took what Jon said to their respective faction members, and all returned to the table once again.

"Stopping the War to deal with the Dragons!" Ulfric immediately started talking, "Why would one go before the other? Tell us, Dragonborn."

"Alright." Jon stood up and seemed more serious than ever, "I have been preparing Winterhold to be a shelter for the People from the War and the Dragons, I have succeeded to do so. I put all my efforts to make this silly war of yours ten times harder to keep it going, I have succeeded to do so."

Jon's words were very infuriating since he admitted what he was doing all along. He is the real reason why all the war provisions are extremely expensive and it made Ulfric seem fuming as he heard that.

"But that success was temporary." Jon kept going, "Y'all motherfuckers really want to kill each other so bad you'd start throwing rocks if your quivers go empty."

"Well said, lad." Agreeing with Jon, Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone of Morthal spoke up, which made Jon turn and do a nod bow to her with his head.

"To answer Jarl Ulfric's question, the reason why the War and the Dragon raids can't coexist is something I have explained to Jarl Balgruuf the Greater when I visited him a few days ago. There is a particular Dragon we are going after and it has to be in Whiterun… to be exact, the City of Whiterun."

As Jon said that, the room got noisy all of a sudden and the people started talking. Some felt anxious and some said that Jon is talking nonsense.

"Silence!" Master Arngeir simply spoke and his voice was strong enough to suppress everyone else in the room, "Dragonborn, Jarl Balgruuf, can you two explain what you have agreed on?"

Jarl Balgruuf stood up.

"Thane Jon visited me a week ago with a plan so insane it would make the Mad God cry." Jarl Balgruuf spoke in vexation, "According to the tales of old. One-Eyed Olaf has captured his foe, the Dragon Numinex, in the castle of Dragonsreach which was built to be a Dragon trap."

"That's true?" Ulfric asked, "Hasn't he slain the Dragon on Mount Anthor?"

"It's One-Eyed Olaf, he could have slain it in his dreams for all we know but we have the skull of the beast mounted above my throne as a witness. We also have the Dragon Trap mounted to this day and it is functioning." Jarl Balgruuf explained.

"And why would you want to trap a Dragon in a castle?" General Tullius directed his question to Jon, "As far as we are aware, you have been witnessed slaying nine different dragons just fine."

"What I want is a captured living Dragon. If I can have one, I can get to the Leader of the Dragons." Jon said before elaborating to Tullius, "The Black Dragon from Helgen."

Jon's last sentence caused two notable men in the room to shiver for just a moment. Those were Ulfric and Tullius, the two men who were there when Alduin showed himself to the world. They even looked at each other for a moment there before getting their shit together.

"That Dragon, you claimed it is Alduin… from the stories?" Jarl Ulfric asked.

"Yes." Jon nodded.

"And the stories about it?" Jarl Igmund asked from the back.

"That he once shortened the lives of Nords to six years? That is the reason why Nords can't live as long as Elves?" Jon asked with a sky smile.

Jarl Igmund nodded, fearful about the answer.

The other Jarls scoffed at him for being superstitious and an obvious laugh came from Elenwen's direction, who showed clear scorn towards the Nordic "stories".

"All true." Jon replied.

His words caused the hearts of all those who scoffed at Jarl Igmund's question to sink. The look in their eyes was that of real fear.

"As much as I hate it, I've brought two dragon experts with me here to confirm my words. They are ex-Blades as most of you are aware of their barbaric Akaviri heritage." Jon added as he pointed at Delphine and Esbern.

While pointing them out, Jon made it clear in his tone that he sees those ex-Blades with a bit of contempt.

After a moment of thinking, General Tullius spoke.

"So in other words, you need us to stop the war so that Jarl Balgruuf agrees to let you use his castle to catch a dragon without worrying about anyone trying to take over his land while he is busy trapping the beast?"

"Precisely!" Jon nodded.

"Then he shouldn't worry from our side." The General said, "Whiterun is Imperial territory and we protect our assets and agents. If manpower you need, we are ready to assist Whiterun even with their Dragon folly. What you need to do is to convince the Stormcloaks."

While adding pressure to the words "assets" and "agents", Jarl Balgruuf turned his head away and seemed awfully dissatisfied.

"Jarl Ulfric." Jon turned.

"The Dragons are a real threat to Skyrim at this rate. Even more of a threat if Thane Jon Dare sees them as such." Jarl Ulfric said, "While our causes may differ as Jarl and Thane, I will honor your call as Dragonborn and accept the truce. Still, the traditions must be upheld."

The traditions, here they come.

These are not just some Nordic traditions either, these are Tamrielic war traditions.

"Fine." Jon clasped his hands as he was very eager for this part, "Let's begin the exchange!"

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