Rihad, Hammerfell, Two weeks later Rain. It fell in torrents as the Second Rihad Archer Division stood on the city walls, watching the first cohort of the Imperial Legion form lines and bear their square shields towards the wall. I stood with the archers, the young girl to my right and Cyrus somewhere down the line. I recalled images of Markarth as I stood by Ulfric on the wall when he addressed General Tullius. Now, I was Ulfric; I was in charge and I was responsible for these people's lives as they gave the, for their city and took the lives of the Empire for hatred of them. As the cohorts of the Legion formed up into a phalanx formation, a young black-haired head emerged from the small canopy of trees which separated the city from the Brena River, and from Cyrodiil. Tullius. "Birtag Snow-Shod!" He called, eyeing me from his perch beside the phalanx. I screwed my eyes shut and looked back at him. "That's Borleif of Windhelm!" I yelled, allowing my hatred to take over. "You! I remember you from Markarth and from Solitude. It was you who started the Stormcloak rebellion with that heretic Jarl of yours and now you've murdered a senator? Very extreme for someone who used to serve the Empire and her people." I clenched my fist. "Hammerfell stands with us, Tullius. You won't take us this time." I drew my sword and raised it as the archers took aim at the phalanx. Tullius strolled back to the canopy and gave a sarcastic smile. "Have it your way, then." He whistled and the phalanx moved forward as arrows whacked into the shields. I saw Cyrus jump from the wall and onto a ladder, and I followed suit to assist in the defence of the gate. The shields pounded against the threshold as ladders were placed against the walls. They'd outsmarted us. Imperials poured over the turrets and I flew back up the ladder to stem the flow of Imperials. A mace was thrust towards me and I made a full turn on my heel and stabbed forward at the weak point in the armour, piercing his heart. The man dropped as I successfully escaped the deadly attack. I surveyed the scene and saw that the Imperials had already breached the gate and were pouring over the walls. The first line of defence was broken and I had to bark an order. "Fall back! Fall ba-" I was cut off and winded as a strong shoulder battered me in the back and I tumbled down the side of the roof of the house opposite. I thumped to the ground and groaned loudly, and suddenly jerked out of the way as my sword clattered down beside me. My fingers clasped around the handle as I glimpsed the Rihad soldiers retreating against the overwhelming Imperial force. I pushed myself up but lost my footing and crashed down again. A large figure loomed at the end of the alleyway created by the house and the wall, and I pressed my head down in defeat. This was where I died. Leo saw her husband in the alley, dark and soaking. She saw the brute as he raised his axe to end his life. She leapt from the wall and slid down the tiles, landing in a crouch between the two men, just as the axe began to swing. She cried out and outstretched her arms, channelling her Magicka into a spell which halted time. A blue haze settled upon the earth as the axeman's face was contorted into a harrowing snarl. She thought for a moment, and took the axe from his bulky hands, turned it around, stepped away and snapped her fingers to break the spell. The axe hilt came down hard on her husband's back and she quickly drew her sword to kill the unaware brute, slitting his throat. A sharp pain shot up my spine and I groaned, but the axe hadn't buried into me, nor had it seriously injured me. The man had hit me with the hilt of the axe and he now lay dead, Leo standing over me. "What happened?" I grunted as she hauled me to my feet. "I stopped time and saved your ass, actually." She facetiously replied. "Urgh, you could have taken the axe out of his hands, you know?" I felt my back where the hilt made contact. Leo smiled evilly. "I know." She swayed a little and fell, I caught her. "Are you alright? Can you continue?" I asked her as her eyes came back to Nirn. "Yes, yes! I'm fine!" She escaped my grip and ran out of the alley. "Come on! They're holding the plaza!" She jogged away and I painfully followed. The soaked buildings zipped by as we sprinted, and I saw the back of the Legion's second cohort as soon as I saw the plaza. It was taking a beating, but not nearly enough for Rihad's army to stand a chance. It was time to even the odds. I jumped and spun, leaving a deep gash across a man's back. The one next to him whirled in shock and Leo spilled his warm blood across the wet cobbles. A group of crimson-clad Imperials turned around, too many for us to take on alone. They circled us as a significantly weakened phalanx formation still pushed on the city's militia. Leo and I stood back to back as we and the encircling force rotated in different directions, ready to end our lives. "Plan?" She whispered. I sighed deeply. "Fight." I took a reverent tone as I saw my death approaching quickly. I raised my sword and took a deep breath, and my eyes flitted around as arrows lodged into the throats and hearts of all of the men, simultaneously. I jumped out of my skin and looked to the rooftops where Jiub stood, surrounded by black-clad, hooded and masked individuals holding equally black bows. "Jiub!" I yelled up to him. "Where did you come from?" "Sir, the New Brotherhood is at your service!" He called back, and gestured for his archers to make their way back across the roofs, to the gate. Leo and I exchanged a glance, before turning our attention to the Redguard army, which was still badly outnumbered and being pushed past the statue honouring Merric-at-Aswala, the ancient leader of the Fighter's Guild, and towards the first line of barracks. We charged forward, I took the left side and started hacking away at unaware soldiers while Leo spread fire among the people to the right. Their ranks thinned swiftly and the disheartened Rihad detachment suddenly found a burst of confidence at the sight of us, and fought faster, harder. The broken Imperial force eventually turned heel and retreated, sprinting down the wide street as Jiub's New Brotherhood picked them off one by one. Astrid and Cyrus stepped from the crowd of rejoicing Redguard soldiers. "My friends!" Cyrus cried ecstatically. "We are victorious! The day is won!" "I highly doubt that, Cyrus." I explained. "A Legion is far larger than that, they'll have more but I can't say how many." "Borleif." Astrid acknowledged me. "Astrid." I nodded to her. "The men built a wall?" Leo inquired. Sure enough, on the streets each side of the barracks was a tall wooden wall. "They have." Cyrus confirmed, his tone lowering as he realised we weren't done. "I'll send for the rest of our forces." A loud, low pitched horn cut through the humid air and silenced the celebrations. My heart beat faster and suddenly, panic spread through the remainder of the militia. Last was the footsteps. The rhythmic, heavy, clunky footsteps that thundered over the land and mowed down the canopy of trees as hundreds upon hundreds of heavily armed and armoured Imperial troops made their headway towards the gate, followed by around a thousand standard legionnaires and backed by hundreds more archers and sharpshooters. "Shit... Fall back! Fall back behind the wall!" I barked towards the hysterical and ragged band of soldiers, who pushed and shoved between themselves but got no closer to completing their orders. "Are you fucking deaf? I said behind the wall, now!" This order seemed to get through to them this time as they hastily filed behind the towers. I turned back towards Cyrus. "I need you to send for every possible fighter we have on our side, the King's included. You two, with me." We joined the rest of the army behind the barricade. ****************************************************************************************************************
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