Hello. This is a recent work I did for The Elder Scrolls Debates facebook page. I hope you enjoy it.
The Birth Of the Dragon Rangers
The Dragon Rangers, Reach Rangers or just Rangers were formed by The Dragonborn in the year 203 of the 4th era and served well into the 5th era as Elite units in the Dragon Empire.
Origin
When the Dragonborn left Skyrim for the island of Solstheim in 202 4e, Skyrim was pretty stable as a province, the bandits where mostly wiped out and the dragon and vampire attacks were few and far between.
However the Forsworn, a group of Breton Rebels in The Reach where still a threat.
When The Dragonborn returned eight months later they had grown in strength and had become a real threat to most of The Reach.
While the Imperial Legion was making some progress combating them it was not enough and The Reach capital Markarth was under siege.
In response The Dragonborn summoned fifty of the strongest Warriors, Archers and Mages and began a missions to defend the roads and towns from Forsworn attack.
As their victories and fame grew, more warriors joined the ranks and soon they numbered over one-hundred members.
At this point The Dragonborn with advice from his two lieutenants, Inigo The Brave and Eric the Slayer, applied the group for recognition as a guild in Skyrim.
High Queen at the time Elisif the Fair granted the request simply out of the knowledge of what The Dragonborn had already done for Skyrim. The legion also readily recognized the group as well as they needed all the help they could get in the conflict with the Forsworn.
However the High Elf Thalmor condemned the group for its allowance of former Stormcloak warriors. Despite the protest, The Reach Rangers where formed on the sixth of Rain's Head, 203 4e.
History
Reach Conflict (203-204) 4e.
With the support of the government and local leaders The Dragonborn began a campaign against the Forsworn from the his new headquarters in Rorikstead a settlement on the Whiterun and Reach boarder.
The first major battle between the two factions was at Serpent's Bluff Redoubt. While the Forsworn had a slight numbers advantage, the archery skill of the Rangers combined with the Dragonborn's voice kept them at bay for much of the battle.
The defeat of one of the largest cells of Forsworn caused the citizens of the Reach to hope again, maybe the Forsworn could be stopped.
The Forsworn where quick to respond however and the two parties met again at Dragon's Bridge. This time the Imperial Legion was also present.
The Forsworn where hoping to either take the village as it would cut off Imperial reinforcements at least for a time, and if that failed, to destroy the bridge if at all possible.
The battle was another victory for the Rangers and Imperials but the Rangers lost their first member, a Redguard Archer who fell to her death after the Forsworn attempted to destroy the bridge knocking her off balance.
The Bridge survived but like any unit, the first loss is always the hardest to take.
More Rangers would fall over the course of the next four months as the two factions used new tactics against one another.
The Rangers may take a camp but the Forsworn would massacre a caravan.
The Imperial Legion got their hands dirty too. They retook Fort Sungard in the Southern Reach and killed the last Forsworn allied Hagravens cutting all remaining Forsworn from their increased powers over magic the hagravens had given them.
This was the turning point, as the largest group of Rangers at that time (three-hundred and forty) took the Forsworn stronghold Lost Valley Redoubt in a intense three day battle.
On the 19th of Morning Star in 204 4e, less than a year after its founding, the Reach Rangers had earned a three to one victory ratio over the Forsworn and their Archers were becoming well known as some of the greatest in the Empire.
On the cloudy morning of 22nd of Morning Star. The Rangers and their Imperial counterparts waited for the single to begin the attack on the last Forsworn stronghold, Harmugstahl
At 8:13am The Dragonborn used his voice, knocking over the guards at the gate and the battle began.
The forsworn where able to hold at first but were unable to put a proper defense on the walls due to the skill of the Ranger archers. After four days battling for the fort and the underground tunnels below, the last resistance was wiped out.
Outcome and expansion
One-hundred and seventy-two rangers were killed during the war but their numbers had swelled to over a thousand with only the Dragonborn knowing the full number. It was clear that Rorikstead was no longer able to support such numbers so they moved their operations to the city of Whiterun which sat at the center of Skyrim but keeping a outpost at Rorikstead for use as a operations base.
With the move also came a new title presented by High Queen Elisif herself,
The Rangers of Skyrim
Their new role was to act as a police force and could conduct operations in all nine holds as long as General Tullius, head of the legion in Skyrim, was informed. This lead to a strong relationship between to two organizations which would prove important in the years to come.
However not all where happy with The Rangers. Ambassador Elenwen of the Aldmeri Dominion and the leader of the Thalmor operating in Skyrim demanded that The Rangers be disbanded and all the members who where former stormcloak warriors be turned over to them.
Elisif denied Elenwen's request stating that she had no evidence on which members of the Rangers where former stormcloaks, and pointed out the ambassador's hatred for the Dragonborn.
Encounters with the Thalmor
For the next year the Rangers and the Thalmor didn't interact much if at all.
That changed when a young boy who was wanted by the Thalmor was granted asylum by the Ranger's garrison in Rorikstead commanded by a close friend of the Dragonborn, Erik The Slayer.
On the 11th of Mid Year 205 4e. Two Thalmor Justiciars accompanied by thirty soldiers entered Rorikstead and demanded the boy be handed to them. Erik and his twenty-four Rangers responded that they had sent word to Whiterun and a Legion officer would be arriving shortly to take the boy, and that he was an Imperial citizen and would be not be handed over to them.
The head Justiciar angered by this statement ordered five men to enter the inn the Ranger were defending and take the boy by force. As they got near Erik warned them not to come any closer or he would be forced to defend the inn under law. The Elves didn't heed the warning and Erik ordered bows drawn, the twelve archers obeyed and put their sights on the approaching elves. Erik one last time pleaded with the Thalmor leader to stop. The Justiciar responded with an order to attack! In seconds a tense situation turned in to and all out brawl for control of the inn. The Rangers held their own and after a few minutes the Justiciars called a retreat.
After the dust settled thirteen Thalmor lay dead along with five Rangers.
While this encounter only made the tensions higher, the final straw was a month later on the 9th of Sun's height.
Match for the Fire
After a battle with a bandit clan two rangers where left at a farm while the rest of the Rangers in the group pursued the remaining enemies. however that night Thalmor soldiers raided the farm accusing the family of Talos worship. When they found the wounded Rangers they killed them along with the rest of the family.
The Dragonborn angered by this action called Ambassador Elenwen, The Legion, The High Queen and the Traders Union to Solitude, the Capital of Skyrim.
At the meeting the Dragonborn accused the Thalmor of killing the two Rangers out of hatred and demanded that they compensate the families of those killed.
Elenwen refused and in turn demanded Erik the commander of the Rorikstead Garrison be handed over. In repayment for what she called a unprovoked attack.
After an hour of debate, General Tullius and the legion had sided with The Dragonborn and the Skyrim trading Union not wanting to lose their best client sided with Elenwen.
High Queen Elisif let both sides down saying that the situation was out of her hands and that they'd need to bring it to the Minister and current leader of the Empire as the last Emperor had been killed in 202 4e.
Tullius pointed out that Minister Hannibal Ottus was a puppet of the Aldmeri Dominion and Thalmor and would never help them, but he had no choice. The next day The Dragonborn and Tullius left Solitude for the Imperial City.
Betrayal
When the two arrived they were met by city watch who told them they were under arrest. When asked why they were not given an answer.
Noticing Thalmor coming up the road behind them and armed guards joining the ones in front The Dragonborn shouted, blinding all around and then dragged Tullius into the bushes.
The two would spend two months getting back and would learn that in order to keep the peace the Empire had not only sided with the Thalmor but had also given Skyrim and all souls within its boarder to the Dominion.
The Dominion-Skyrim War
When Tullius and The Dragonborn arrived in skyrim the situation was not good.
High Queen Elisif had been killed for Talos worship and Solitude, Markarth and Morthal had either fallen or submitted to Dominion control.
The Dragonborn regrouped with his rangers in Whiterun while Tullius went north to Dawnstar with the few legion troops that hadn't died defending Solitude.
The Dragonborn's Influence
With only the Rangers and a handful of city guard The Dragonborn knew that Whiterun would fall if attacked so he sent messengers to all the remaining holds and groups for help. Much to peoples surprise many people of all races and creeds came to Whiterun's aid. Guards and citizens from holds that had been lost, mages from Winterhold, Members of the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild as spies and assassins, members of the dawnguard and most surprising remnants of the Stormcloak rebellion.
Now numbering Six-teen thousand Whiterun was the largest hold out in Skyrim from the Dominion.
Battle of Whiterun and Aftermath
On the 30th of Frostfall, the two-hundred and ninety-first birthday of Uriel Septim VII the Rangers took part in the Second Battle of Whiterun. while the elves met limited success they lost more than forty percent of their troops and had to withdraw after two days of fighting.
Almost ten-thousand died in the battle but rather then lick their wounds The Rangers and their allies went on the attack retaking Riverwood and Fort Greymoor in the first day after the battle.
Similar success was seen in the north as Tullius drove the small Dominion force from Dawnstar.
Retaking Skyrim
The two victories sparked rebellion in the captured holds and while the dominion got most under control Falkreath was able to break free with Ranger support.
The Rangers where busy as 205 4e turned into 206 4e. Along with their allies in the Dark brotherhood they launched attacks on Dominion commanders in the field and thieves guild raids made supplies rare near the frontlines.
On the 12th of Morning Star the ranger garrison in The Rift under Inigo the Brave stopped an army from Cyrodiil that was trying to attack from the rear during winter, it was destroyed when units of Dawnguard attacked them on their flank from the mountains.
Truly the Dragonborn was using his skill in non-conventional warfare to great effect.
To the North General Tullius with Rangers as his Vanguard and both Imperial and Stormcloak troops as his main force took Morthal on the 3rd of Sun's Dawn and began raiding the area around Solitude.
Dominion Abandonment
At this point with so many troops dying in a land so far away the dominion called off all reinforcements to Skyrim leaving Ambassador Elenwen and her remaining army to the mercy of the locals.
However she was not going to fall without killing as many humans as she could. On the 10th of Sun's Dawn, all non-elven citizens in Solitude were killed and their bodies burnt. In a rage she sent an army of ten-thousand to Markarth to do the same, leaving only a thousand troops in Solitude.
In a night for the record books, General Tullius moved his army to the road north of Dragon's Bridge and engaged the Dominion in a desperate defense. The Dominion was fought to a standstill on the road but the town of Dragon's Bridge was mostly destroyed during the battle. Now was the time to finish the Dominion and Thalmor in Skyrim.
Planning the attack on Solitude
The Dragonborn and Tullius met in the remains of Dragon's Bridge on the 15th of Sun's Dawn. The plan was for Ranger units to enter the East Empire Company Dock after Dark and enter the sewers. From there they would wait for a frontal attack to begin and draw the guards away. with most of the Dominion and elite Thalmor troops outside the walls the Rangers would enter the city from below the streets and along with the Dragonborn, storm the Blues Palace. With the Elven forces distracted a second wave of Rangers will enter the city by a secret entrance through the catacombs.
The Battle of Solitude
After a standoff, on the 23rd of Sun's Dawn the Rangers began phase one with almost a thousand rangers divided into two groups took their places in the sewers and catacombs. The group in the sewers was under the Dragonborn's command and was tasked with taking the Blue Palace. The group in the catacombs were under Inigo the Brave and were tasked with taking Castle Dour, the Markets and opening the front gate. A third group under Erik the Slayer was to attack with Tullius's army from the main road and was to take the docks.
At sunrise the battle began. Just as planned the high elf forces moved to engage Tullius and the ranger groups emerged from their hiding places.
Elenwen however had a surprise herself and had rigged many of the houses to explode on her signal. Her trap kill a third of the rangers in the city but they pushed on, opening the gates and flooding the city with the people of Skyrim.
Endgame
The Battle between Elenwen and the Dragonborn is one of legend. After the Blue Palace fell Elenwen attacked the Dragonborn and when her magic and The Dragonborn's voice clashed it was said that the light was so bright that you could see it from Whiterun. In the end though, Elenwen was reduced to ash and The Dragonborn was victorious.
The Dragon Empire
As agreed upon before the battle, Skyrim was now the heartland of the new Dragon Empire and declared independence. Jarl Balgruuf was voted in as the new High King of Skyrim later that year and General Tullius and became military commander over the new nation. The Dragonborn selected Windhelm as his new capital as per tradition. With the Rangers and newly reformed Blades as his Elite troops and bodyguards.
In late 206 4e The Dragon born declared war of the now weak Empire with the Rangers as the Vanguard. In less than a month the White gold tower fell and on the 2nd of Evening Star, The Dragonborn, ruler of man, tore the White-Gold Treaty up, restoring Talos, and ended the 4th era.
Conclusion
The Ranger's role in history is one that will not be forgotten. What started as just a small guild turned into an elite unit rivaling the Blades, and while their numbers never went over three-thousand they could match and army of ten times its size.
===========================================
I hope you've enjoyed this little story. I'm happy I'm finished it myself. I've rewritten it three times since I started last fall.
-Sir James-
Comments