Traveling through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

I have drawn a grand blueprint for Moira. An unprecedentedly powerful tribe will rise in the Southern Reach. Her territory is vast, her resources are abundant, her people are numerous, and her army is invincible. Countless tribes will follow her, and countless city-states will submit to her. Her matriarch, the most respected Black Winged Witch Lady Moira, will be called the matriarch of the matriarchs, the king of kings, the favor of the Raven God, and the Whip of Talos. One day, she will be crowned in Markarth and become the queen of all the Reach. She, and those who followed her to establish unparalleled merits, will be the protagonists in the epic of the Reachmen and will be remembered and admired by future generations! And the starting point of her career, this simple forest hut, will become a holy place for the Reachmen. Countless children of the Reach who have gained freedom and dignity, with hearts full of gratitude and admiration, come here to pay homage, hoping to draw strength and wisdom from the queen's deeds.

I'm not just making empty promises, I've come up with a practical plan that shows Moira the way forward. Make an alliance with Lord Falkreath, overthrow the corrupt and tyrannical empire, and drive the evil and sinister Thalmor elves out of our homeland. Not all Nords are cruel Stormcloak scum. We live side by side on the same continent, and have been bathing in the sunshine given by the Raven God for thousands of years. We should establish an unbreakable alliance and fight against powerful enemies together.

There is no doubt that victory will belong to us! To every Reachman and every Nord!

Moira and Annis' eyes sparkled, and the three apprentices were so moved by the beautiful future I had described that they trembled slightly. The Reachmen have been seeking to establish an independent nation since the First Era, but their primitive tribal political system could not support a powerful kingdom. Even with a tenacious leader like Red Eagle, they still could not avoid the death of their own nation, and the entire nation eventually ended up being enslaved. Mednach briefly occupied Markarth, but also failed to win the support of other Reachmen tribes. History has proven countless times that the current strength of a single tribe cannot fight against powerful enemies, and the Reachmen need to find a new path.

In thousands of years, I am probably the first person who has shown the Reachmen a new path. The road is long and difficult, but the hope of success will inspire them to move forward. Moreover, they are not alone. As the plenipotentiary representative of Lord Falkreath, I have promised that Falkreath will accompany the Reachmen and help each other. And I have proved my promise. The Nords will send soldiers at preferential prices, teach agricultural knowledge for free, open market trade, and provide jobs. This series of goodwill hopes will be responded to by the Reachmen, such as: the chief of the Snake Cliff Ridge tribe accepted the baron appointment of Falkreath; promised that Sun Garden Fortress belongs to Falkreath and will be returned within three years; sent representatives to each other, maintained communication on internal and external affairs, maintained a consistent position, and both sides promised not to attack each other and each other's allies.

Moira didn't want to agree to any of them.

Accepting the baronial appointment meant admitting that she was a subordinate of Lord Falkreath. Maintaining a consistent position on internal and external affairs would seriously erode the power and prestige of the clan leader. If she agreed to these two terms, she might not be able to hold on to her position as clan leader. The Reachmen were known for their tough character. The Snake Cliff Ridge tribe had even had the precedent of the Heart of Thorns forming a gang to fight against the Blackwing Witch. Annis also spoke out in support of her sister, thinking that Moira's concerns were not unreasonable. As for returning the castle, how could it be possible to spit out something that had been eaten up? I said that Falkreath had already made many concessions. If the other party could not return with a positive attitude, then the previously agreed cooperation would have to be re-discussed. Those cooperations were the cornerstones of the tribe's future development. If one or two terms were to be cancelled, it would be enough to completely shatter the exciting visions I had drawn. Moira actually suggested that I go to bed early and go fishing the next morning. They would notify me after they had discussed the results.

What a joke!

"My Lord has not granted me the right to fish. My only mission is to reach a cooperation with the respected Black Wing Witch. If you are not sincere, we will not force you. Master Falkreath will seek support from other allies. A tribe of 300 people is enough to attract other people's interest. I will take my leave first and visit you again tomorrow morning. I hope we can get a satisfactory result for both parties."

Of course I won't give them enough time to discuss countermeasures calmly. They made concessions and offered advice before, and even drew a huge pie, just to eat it back later. Do you really think I am a spiritual Rich? I believe Moira can guess who I am talking about "others". Her old rival Esmerelda lives in Orphan Rock not far east of Helgen Town, and leads a powerful witch group. If we use the Snake Cliff Ridge tribe as bait to cooperate with her, then there will be no chance for Moira. The two crow hags have been fighting openly and secretly for more than ten years, but they can't accept the fact that they are being used as a tool.

So even though they acted as if they found it hard to accept, they still finalized all the terms of cooperation with me the next day.

Moira will not accept the baronial appointment, but will publicly state her alliance position with Falkreath within the tribe. In official exchanges between the two sides, both men and women will use honorifics to show their equal status. Annis will serve as the representative of the Snake Cliff Tribe, and the representative of Falkreath will be determined by the Lords' Council. The two representatives are responsible for stating their positions to the other party, doing their best to maintain the relationship between the two parties, and maintaining information communication to avoid misjudgment. The affairs between the Snake Cliff Tribe and Falkreath need to be negotiated and resolved by both parties, and the solution will be established in the form of a memorandum of understanding as a basis for handling similar incidents in the future. Both parties can have their own positions on affairs with other lords, but they should inform each other in a timely manner. If the two parties disagree, they have the right to choose neutrality, which will not be regarded as a breach of the covenant.

The Snake Cliff Ridge tribe acknowledges Falkreath's ownership of the Sunny Garden Fortress and temporarily resides there on a lease basis for five years, with the first two years free, the third year renting 30,000 Septim, and the fourth and fifth years renting 100,000 Septim per year. Falkreath should assist the Snake Cliff Ridge tribe in retaking the serpentine defense position as soon as possible. If the tribe can return the fortress within two years, Falkreath will provide the Snake Cliff Ridge tribe with 50,000 Septim in cash or equivalent materials.

Other matters, such as the capture of fortresses, the opening of markets, etc., shall be as agreed upon by both parties.

Overall, Moira's reaction was within Danger's expectations. It might also be that she was not well prepared and was pushed too hard by me. She did not have time to carefully consider the terms of the agreement. The agreement was made in duplicate. I signed on behalf of Falkreath, and Moira signed her own name with her claws dipped in ink, and then plucked two feathers from her forearm and pasted them behind her two signatures. Those feathers obviously grew on her forearms, so the woman who sewed the feathers on her body that I saw at the beginning was definitely not a real crow hag.

Annis explained that when signing official documents, the feathers of the Black Winged Witch are considered part of her signature, indicating that the document has been witnessed by the Raven God and has sacred validity. Violating the oath will be rejected by the gods. Signatures without feathers are generally considered forged and not binding, so Black Winged Witches rarely sign their names, and the signature space for ordinary notices and letters is usually left blank.

It seems that the other party is still very serious. I am hesitating whether to go back and ask everyone in the Lord's Council to sign their names. I am just a noble of the lowest rank. Although I have the title of the Lord's Plenipotentiary, it is only a verbal authorization. To be honest, the alliance with the Rich people has completely exceeded my understanding in the game. Although everything seems to be going well at the moment, I have been worried that if something goes wrong in the future, I, the "plenipotentiary", will need to take responsibility.

Since the two sides have formed an alliance, the atmosphere is much more harmonious. Annis introduced his experience in Helgen Town to Moira, and I supplemented it from the side. Through our resettlement of the Reach refugees, our sincerity was confirmed from another aspect. The crow hag also asked a lot of things that she was interested in, such as the use of currency or the magic of the Nords, but she didn't mention Helgi's stay or departure. I guess she didn't think about how to settle this little girl, so she simply didn't mention it, and kept the same in the face of all changes.

Annis and I returned to Howling Bastion to report the alliance. Now it is the seat of the court of Falkreath. Tagel cleaned up the entire fortress, removed the sarcophagus on the fourth floor, and converted it into a council hall for large banquets or meetings. The third floor became the residence of the members of the Stoun family. Rigel used the excuse that she didn't like the dark environment of Howling Bastion after she was pregnant and didn't live with Sidgel. Tagel liked this daughter-in-law very much and obeyed her without forcing her. The second floor was the residence of Rhodes and the garrison. The first floor was the place where the lord handled general affairs and accepted audiences and petitions from his subjects.

Further contact with Moira will be handled by Annis and the envoys we selected. The attack plan for Sun Garden Fortress is Tager's business. My next mission is to go to Whiterun and persuade Balgruuf to form an alliance with us. But I am not in a hurry to leave now. Danger has already written the letter, but he thinks we should wait for about a week to let the news of the annihilation of the Imperial Legion ferment throughout Skyrim. So I can use this time to deal with personal affairs.

The reconstruction of Falkreath was carried out in an orderly manner under the leadership of Nanya, the chief steward. The first thing to be restarted was the lumberyard and various craftsmen's workshops, followed by the reconstruction of civilian houses, and then the Dead Man's Wine Inn and the Temple of Akai. Valga and his daughter and Runil have all returned to the town. In addition, Nanya also established an embassy next to the city hall for envoys from all over the world to live in, and Annis and Helgi's residence was arranged here. The old aunt repeatedly confirmed that I would support Helgi to take control of the tribe again in the future. Of course, I categorically stated that I would make the most favorable choice for the little girl. Looking at Annis's satisfied expression, I secretly complained: You know nothing about the art of language.

The nobles have been allocated land in the city, but Nanya has not organized anyone to build houses. The reason she gave was that time was short and materials were insufficient, making it difficult to build a building that was worthy of the owner's status. However, she also said that if someone couldn't wait, they could also pay for people, buy materials, and design and build by themselves, but no one has done so so far. My piece of land is also empty. Since there is nothing worth caring about here, I decided to go to the Blood Throne first and arrange the development of my territory.