As for the Reach, it prospered well under the House of Madanach's leadership, and during the Second War with the Dominion, even expanded. As the Dominion conquered High Rock, the Breton refugees fled into the Reach, and where some would have seen a social problem, Queen Eola saw an opportunity and enlisted a certain Lord Protector who knew a thing or two about insurgency warfare and camp organisation. Six months later and the Dominion found itself beset by a well-funded, well-organised resistance movement called the Forsworn who struck out of nowhere, were apparently immune to performances of the Black Sacrament, and used strange dark magic even the Dominion didn't know about. High Rock was soon reclaimed and turned from a collection of independent city-states into a united kingdom with its capital at Markarth and Queen Eola as its leader. The United Bretonic Kingdom of High Rock and the Reach soon allied with Skyrim and retook Cyrodiil back from its elven occupiers, and Valenwood soon followed, thanks in no small part to Queen Eola's agents making common cause with certain native Bosmer leaders. The Dominion crumbled after that, revolution in Alinor led by a certain Naarie and her husband Haldyn bringing the Thalmor down from within. Three years after all the dust settled, Liriel was finally able to go home, taking Ancalime, Sabrinda, Caradach and Madanach with her and finally getting to see her brother again. As she'd long thought, Haldyn and Madanach got on just fine, although finding out her brother and his wife had been secretly leading the resistance all this time was unexpected.
After that, Tamriel lived in peace for a long time to come, and the Reach in particular flourished, its rulers being the best behaved dynasty Tamriel had ever seen, possibly something to do with a certain vampire Lord Protector dropping in at random intervals to ensure all was well. Aside from the Intervention of 435 when King Cicero II turned out to have Queen Eola's appetites but not the wit to hide them like she had and ended up being stabbed in his own throne by Lord Protector Madanach for everyone's good, and the Regency of 525 when Madanach IV died tragically young, leaving a five year old daughter Princess Liriel and his widow, Queen Idgrod Black-Briar. Idgrod ruled as regent for five years, five long and painful years in which funding for the Slan Gwasanaeth was gutted, the Reach's wealth went more to fuelling her party lifestyle than actually running the country, and Black-Briar Meaderies was invited in to run the Reach's mines in return for a large cut of the profits. The last straw came when Liriel uncovered evidence Idgrod's lover and steward Arnwulf was also taking his pleasure with her ten year old namesake, at which point Madanach finally snapped. Arnwulf and Idgrod disappeared mysteriously one night and Markarth woke to find King Regent Madanach and his steward Liriel cheerfully burning the Black-Briar contracts, reinstating funding for the Slan Gwasanaeth, telling various Nord overseers to go to the Void and howling with laughter when threatened with the Black Sacrament. Fifteen years of peaceful rule followed, during which time Princess Liriel flourished and when Regent Madanach stepped down in her favour, she went on to rule for sixty years and was remembered as one of the Reach's kindest, fairest and most loved rulers.
All things end in time, and Liriel grew old and died, her body letting her down in a fight she'd once have won with her eyes closed. Shortly after, Matriarch Sissel reversed the Lord Protector's vampirism, and a mere three years later, Madanach Saorseach, father of a nation, passed into the Void, mourned by half a continent who'd grown up on King in Rags and Dragonborn stories. But King Argis III of the United Bretonic Kingdom wasted no time raising a memorial to them in Markarth outside Understone Keep, including hyper-realistic holographic portraits of the Dragonborn and Liberator.
So it was two Altmer found themselves staring at the memorial stone, and if one was half-blood rather than full-blood, and the other was dressed in Shrouded Armour with a spectral jester dancing in the background, no one commented.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
Re: Thicker Than Blood 15.10
Date: 2014-03-21 12:05 pm (UTC)After that, Tamriel lived in peace for a long time to come, and the Reach in particular flourished, its rulers being the best behaved dynasty Tamriel had ever seen, possibly something to do with a certain vampire Lord Protector dropping in at random intervals to ensure all was well. Aside from the Intervention of 435 when King Cicero II turned out to have Queen Eola's appetites but not the wit to hide them like she had and ended up being stabbed in his own throne by Lord Protector Madanach for everyone's good, and the Regency of 525 when Madanach IV died tragically young, leaving a five year old daughter Princess Liriel and his widow, Queen Idgrod Black-Briar. Idgrod ruled as regent for five years, five long and painful years in which funding for the Slan Gwasanaeth was gutted, the Reach's wealth went more to fuelling her party lifestyle than actually running the country, and Black-Briar Meaderies was invited in to run the Reach's mines in return for a large cut of the profits. The last straw came when Liriel uncovered evidence Idgrod's lover and steward Arnwulf was also taking his pleasure with her ten year old namesake, at which point Madanach finally snapped. Arnwulf and Idgrod disappeared mysteriously one night and Markarth woke to find King Regent Madanach and his steward Liriel cheerfully burning the Black-Briar contracts, reinstating funding for the Slan Gwasanaeth, telling various Nord overseers to go to the Void and howling with laughter when threatened with the Black Sacrament. Fifteen years of peaceful rule followed, during which time Princess Liriel flourished and when Regent Madanach stepped down in her favour, she went on to rule for sixty years and was remembered as one of the Reach's kindest, fairest and most loved rulers.
All things end in time, and Liriel grew old and died, her body letting her down in a fight she'd once have won with her eyes closed. Shortly after, Matriarch Sissel reversed the Lord Protector's vampirism, and a mere three years later, Madanach Saorseach, father of a nation, passed into the Void, mourned by half a continent who'd grown up on King in Rags and Dragonborn stories. But King Argis III of the United Bretonic Kingdom wasted no time raising a memorial to them in Markarth outside Understone Keep, including hyper-realistic holographic portraits of the Dragonborn and Liberator.
So it was two Altmer found themselves staring at the memorial stone, and if one was half-blood rather than full-blood, and the other was dressed in Shrouded Armour with a spectral jester dancing in the background, no one commented.