A valid point, it had to be said, and the necromancer activity had turned out to be quite genuine in the end, but nevertheless there was a point to be made here. Especially since Tullius had started getting reports of wilder tales of the gods sweeping Elisif up into the heavens afterwards and anointing her with a Divine mission to sweep out corruption and gifting her with a golden sword of fire to do it with. Said sword was at Elisif's side right now, actually glowing, and the young Jarl looked apologetic but not actually remorseful.
“Yes, yes, Elisif, I agree you need to maintain order in your Hold, I accept that,” Tullius sighed. “And yes, in this case, I agree you needed troops to help you, this Malkoran sounded like a dangerous man. But Lady Elisif, you can't just start commandeering troops when you feel like it. There's forms to complete, a process to follow...”
“And in the mean time, my people die?” Elisif snapped. “Look General, I'm very sorry for the short notice, but I needed those troops and...”
“They're Legion soldiers!” Tullius snapped back. “You are not part of the Legion!”
“No, I'm the bloody Jarl!” Elisif shouted, getting up. “And I'm going to be High Queen and you'd do well to remember that, General!”
“When Ulfric and his rebellion have been put down, yes!” Tullius hit back. “Not before! And whose troops are you relying on to do that for you, Elisif? Are you capable of raising your own army to fight Ulfric?”
Elisif said nothing, glaring at him, mouth set in a thin line as she folded her arms. When she finally did speak, her voice was cold and authoritative in a way he really wasn't used to hearing from her.
“The way I hear it, General, ever since I found out I was Dragonborn, half your army is composed of recruits who joined because they're ready to give their lives for a Dragonborn Queen who's clearly been picked by the gods themselves in their eyes. Maybe the Legion swears its loyalty to the Emperor, but there's an awful lot of Nords in that Legion who'd follow me to Oblivion and back. Don't you ever forget that, General.”
How could he? These days it seemed every other recruit was a wide-eyed Nord there to avenge the true High Queen, the Chosen of Akatosh. On the one hand, the extra recruits were good to have, as was the public relations victory – winning the hearts and minds of Skyrim's people would be key to this war and having their High Queen turn out to be this Dragonborn was proving useful. On the other hand, ever since she'd got back from her trip to these Greybeards she'd been... different. Less biddable. Unpredictable. Out of control. Liable to upset all Tullius' carefully laid plans. This could have the potential to make life very very difficult for them all.
“No, Elisif, I quite understand, many Nords want you as Queen, and I do appreciate that, I really do,” Tullius sighed. “But if Ulfric had attacked and half our troops had been off with you down some cave or other, the city could have been in trouble, couldn't it?”
Elisif did look away then, conceding that point at least. “Yes, General,” she sighed. “I suppose you're right.”
“Good,” said Tullius, not entirely convinced there weren't going to be any other incidents but he supposed this was the best he was going to get. “Don't get me wrong, Jarl, I absolutely agree that you need to keep order in your Hold, and I don't even think what you did was so wrong in itself. Only we have a war to fight and I need those soldiers. So next time you need to go on some crusade, you talk to me first and I'll see what we've got available. Is that agreeable to you, Jarl Elisif?”
“Yes, General,” Elisif said softly, lowering her eyes. Tullius nodded, deciding this conversation was finished and took his leave.
Re: The Wolf Queen Awakens 7.6
“Yes, yes, Elisif, I agree you need to maintain order in your Hold, I accept that,” Tullius sighed. “And yes, in this case, I agree you needed troops to help you, this Malkoran sounded like a dangerous man. But Lady Elisif, you can't just start commandeering troops when you feel like it. There's forms to complete, a process to follow...”
“And in the mean time, my people die?” Elisif snapped. “Look General, I'm very sorry for the short notice, but I needed those troops and...”
“They're Legion soldiers!” Tullius snapped back. “You are not part of the Legion!”
“No, I'm the bloody Jarl!” Elisif shouted, getting up. “And I'm going to be High Queen and you'd do well to remember that, General!”
“When Ulfric and his rebellion have been put down, yes!” Tullius hit back. “Not before! And whose troops are you relying on to do that for you, Elisif? Are you capable of raising your own army to fight Ulfric?”
Elisif said nothing, glaring at him, mouth set in a thin line as she folded her arms. When she finally did speak, her voice was cold and authoritative in a way he really wasn't used to hearing from her.
“The way I hear it, General, ever since I found out I was Dragonborn, half your army is composed of recruits who joined because they're ready to give their lives for a Dragonborn Queen who's clearly been picked by the gods themselves in their eyes. Maybe the Legion swears its loyalty to the Emperor, but there's an awful lot of Nords in that Legion who'd follow me to Oblivion and back. Don't you ever forget that, General.”
How could he? These days it seemed every other recruit was a wide-eyed Nord there to avenge the true High Queen, the Chosen of Akatosh. On the one hand, the extra recruits were good to have, as was the public relations victory – winning the hearts and minds of Skyrim's people would be key to this war and having their High Queen turn out to be this Dragonborn was proving useful. On the other hand, ever since she'd got back from her trip to these Greybeards she'd been... different. Less biddable. Unpredictable. Out of control. Liable to upset all Tullius' carefully laid plans. This could have the potential to make life very very difficult for them all.
“No, Elisif, I quite understand, many Nords want you as Queen, and I do appreciate that, I really do,” Tullius sighed. “But if Ulfric had attacked and half our troops had been off with you down some cave or other, the city could have been in trouble, couldn't it?”
Elisif did look away then, conceding that point at least. “Yes, General,” she sighed. “I suppose you're right.”
“Good,” said Tullius, not entirely convinced there weren't going to be any other incidents but he supposed this was the best he was going to get. “Don't get me wrong, Jarl, I absolutely agree that you need to keep order in your Hold, and I don't even think what you did was so wrong in itself. Only we have a war to fight and I need those soldiers. So next time you need to go on some crusade, you talk to me first and I'll see what we've got available. Is that agreeable to you, Jarl Elisif?”
“Yes, General,” Elisif said softly, lowering her eyes. Tullius nodded, deciding this conversation was finished and took his leave.