Marudil and the Silvenar spread out instantly for cover as the Thalmor shot their arrows. A trap! They'd been led straight into a trap! But how did the Dominion know to expect them? Who tipped them off? Questions rushed frantically through Marudil's head as he and the Silvenar did battle with their mortal enemies, dodging blows and doing their best to stay alive.
"Slay every last Silvenar!" Ondolemar instructed, "Spare no-one!"
One soldier rushed toward Marudil, swinging his sword for the wood elf's neck. Instantly Marudil deflected the blow with his tribal blade, and fought briefly with the soldier before stabbing the high elf's face with his sword. He looked around at the chaos unfolding around him; the Silvenar fought bravely, but their numbers were beginning to dwindle. Two of the Silvenar had fallen to the Thalmor, while only one of the Dominion's forces had fallen.
"Filthy rebels!" One of them proclaimed as he stabbed and killed a Silvenar warrior, "Your plight is hopeless! You are mere dogs, and we are your--"
The agent's insult was suddenly cut short, as one of Sevria's arrows took advantage of the still target and found its mark deep in his head. The agent fell dead to the ground, but the battle was seeming hopeless; Marudil fought as best he could, but the wounds he'd sustained from the Imga stung terribly; Elberoth fought bravely, but he was clearly getting tired; and the rest of the warriors of the tribe seemed to be tiring as well.
Now three more Thalmor units had perished, followed by two more of the Silvenar. Their numbers were evening out, but the tribe's morale was crippled by the battle. Now two more Silvenar had perished, taking two with them. This left Marudil and Elberoth alone, standing back-to-back to face the last three Thalmor units together.
"Heh... well... this is it, old friend. We may not live to see tomorrow." Elberoth said.
"Then, my friend... let us give these arrogant fools a battle to remember us by!" Marudil replied boldly.
With a fierce battle cry, Marudil and Elberoth charged toward the last of the Thalmor agents. Marudil swung his sword to confuse his enemy, before slashing at the unit's torso. Though the unit's armor did protect his body, the wound still staggered him. Marudil then went for an overhead blow, which the Thalmor unit parried with his own weapon. The unit pushed Marudil back and attempted to stab him, but the blow missed its mark and instead gave Marudil an opportunity to pierce through the elf's armor and slay him.
Elberoth, meanwhile, fought unarmed against the last two units, and managed to kill one of them by delivering a bone-shattering blow to the head. Now he was left with but one, but this unit was faster than the other; he managed to either avoid Elberoth's blows, or parry them with his mighty shield. Seeing a sudden opportunity, the unit delivered a harsh shield-bash to Elberoth's face, breaking his nose and disorienting him just long enough to give the agent a chance to impale his body upon his mighty elven blade. Elberoth fell to the ground, gasping for air as Marudil sank his dagger into the last of the Thalmor units. He looked every which way for any sign of Ondolemar, but the arrogant high elf had fled the scene.
"Ma... rudil..." Elberoth said weakly.
"Elberoth... stay with me, old friend. Stay with me!"
"I can't... -cough- I can't... stay... ... looks like... hah... this really is it..."
"Don't say that... there must be a potion in their storerooms or--"
"No... -cough- Please, old friend... I'm... I'm weary... I fought well... lived well... ... now I die well." Elberoth momentarily choked on his blood. "It was... an honor, to fight by your side... ... my chief..."
"As it was my honor to fight by your side... old friend..."
"May you live... -gasp- ... and prosper... and honor the memory of our great people... -cough- You, Sevria, and Rudinor... ... you... are the last of the Silvenar... you... take our legacy with you... -cough- Marudil..."
"Yes, my friend? What can I do?"
"My body... is broken... -cough- But my pain is great... kill... me... old friend..."
With great pain in his eyes, Marudil drew out his tribal blade and set it above Elberoth's heart. "I will never forget you, old friend... ... may you find peace and eternal rest in the world beyond." And with his final parting words, Marudil plunged his sword into Elberoth's heart. He rose to his feet somberly, and stood in reverence before the body of his fallen ally. But then, as the night fell to its darkest hour... a shape emerged from the Embassy. Marudil drew out his blade, and beheld the sight: it was Rudinor, clad in formal Thalmor robes and wielding an elven sword.
"You..." Marudil said in surprise.
"I warned you from the beginning, little brother. I told you that your actions would ruin everything, that you would only bring us misery and death! Why did you not listen? You have forced my hand!"
"Forced your... ... you... you're the one that told them?!"
Rudinor nodded. "I had no choice. If I'd let you go on your way with my people, guiding them in your insane plot to claim independence from the Aldmeri Dominion, they would have seen your misdeeds as an act of war!"
"Your people are dead! You killed them!"
"I did what needed to be done! For the good of Valenwood, I had to make that sacrifice! It would not even have been so great a loss if you hadn't returned from the forest!"
"So was Elberoth right? Did you send me to die there, in the wilderness?"
Rudinor glared. "Yes... yes, Marudil, that was my exact intention! Both you and Sevria have threatened the safety of our great nation with your mad ravings about 'independence' and 'freedom'!"
"Sevria...?!"
"If you had killed her in the wilds, the Imga would have seen to your execution without interruption. The Silvenar would live on, as loyal subjects to the Aldmeri Dominion... the future of Tamriel!"
"You knew about her... and you sent me to kill her, only for me to die myself... ... what has become of you, big brother? What madness clouds your mind?"
"Madness?! You are the one that brought madness to our people! And henceforth it falls to me to execute you for your misdeeds -- and after you, Sevria will fall as well, and I shall carry forth the legacy of the Silvenar myself!"
Rudinor swung his sword toward Marudil's head. The blow was promptly deflected by Marudil's tribal blade, which followed up with an attempted blow to Rudinor's shoulder. Again the blow was deflected. Marudil swung a blow toward Rudinor's legs, which was parried and gave Rudinor an opening to slash across Marudil's back. As adrenaline pumped through Marudil's veins, he spun around and slashed madly at Rudinor, deliberately confusing him long enough to deliver a crushing punch to Rudinor's face.
"Why, brother?! You've sold your very soul to them!" Marudil growled.
"I had no other choice!" Rudinor argued, "It was either submission, or death!"
The sound of Rudinor's metal blade matching blows with Marudil's bone-built sword rang loudly across the empty grounds of the Embassy, as each dealt wounds to the other. As the battle raged onward, Rudinor's blade knocked an especially large torch to the ground, setting the surrounding bodies ablaze in a bright spectacle of flames and smoke. Still their duel raged amid the violent flickering of the fire, as if to emphasize the warrior passion within their hearts as both fought for their lives. Finally, with a lucky swing, Rudinor disarmed Marudil and kicked him to the ground, pointing his blade toward his younger brother's throat.
"You are beaten, little brother! You have forced my hand and now you must pay with your life!"
The moment was hopeless. Marudil had been beaten in combat, and it seemed all was lost.
"Brother... come to your senses...!"
"I am in touch with my senses, little brother... but this is how it must end! You do not see what I do -- what horrors may follow in your footsteps!"
"... I'm so sorry, brother..."
Suddenly and without warning, Marudil grabbed a stray arrow from the ground and plunged it into Rudinor's thigh before knocking him to the ground. Picking up his tribal sword, Marudil raised the blade over his head and struck Rudinor's throat, delivering a mortal wound. Marudil removed the sword, and Rudinor staggered to the ground just beside Elberoth's body.
"... You've become truly lost." Marudil said simply, sparing his brother the courtesy of a swift death. Rudinor lay on the ground, choking on his own blood as he finally closed his eyes and, seemingly weeping over having to do battle with his little brother, passed away in silence...
Marudil brought Rudinor's body back to the city of Silvenar, where he built a funeral pyre for his brother and set it alight. As he stood stoic and silent before the flames, Sevria approached quietly from behind.
"I am sorry I could not be of more use..." She said in a sad and shaky voice, "Everything happened so fast, I--"
"You did all you could. That's what matters." Marudil replied.
"... So he is dead, then..."
"Yes..."
"As with the rest of the Silvenar... ... we failed... ... I failed them..."
"Do not carry the burden of their loss on your shoulders."
"I'm the one that brought you back to Valenwood! If I had just left well enough alone--"
Marudil turned around to face her. "You had no way of knowing what would happen. You did what you felt was right, do you understand?"
"..." Sevria nodded somberly. "Yes... ... ..." She and Marudil faced Rudinor's pyre. "So what will we do now?"
"Now?"
"Our people are dead, Marudil... we are the last of the Silvenar. We carry their culture... their history... their teachings... and their legacy. But what of us? Where will we go from here?"
"I do not know... ... ... all I can say is that we must be prepared to face whatever comes our way. And most importantly..." He turned his head to look at her directly. "We must never delude ourselves into thinking that we must face this journey alone."
"We stick together, then?"
"When fate brings change our way... when battle is joined and all seems lost... then we will rely on each other. We must rely on each other."
Sevria sighed. "I can no longer stay here in Valenwood... the pain is too great."
"Then come with me to the north... come with me to Skyrim."
"You are returning there? Is that where..."
"Yes, Sevria... it's where she is. She and I still have unfinished business to settle... and Skyrim is a land of opportunity; you may yet find new meaning in its frozen reaches."
"I would hope so... and regardless, I'm greatly fascinated by the white man's kingdom. I should like to learn more about their culture and ways of life."
"Follow me, then... a new day is dawning, Sevria." Marudil said as he walked them to a traveling carriage, "And come what may... the great spirit of the Silvenar shall live on."
