This revelation made all of the resistance leaders present pause as their minds processed the implications of it.
"You created this plan?" Elendey asked warily.
"I did indeed. The rough shape of it at least. Anyone who wasn't blind, deaf or dumb would understand the empire is crumbling under the weight of it's own corruption and decentralization of power. The emperor is an old man who has done his best with the flawed system he was given but it's simply not enough. The elder council and ruling powers of the empire are simply too corrupt. After that concordat was signed the cohesion of the people of the empire was lost almost entirely." I paused.
"Talos was the founder of the current empire, to deny him like this was no different than ripping out the heart of the empire and stomping on it. To a behemoth like the empire this is not immediately fatal but the end result is the same, dissolution. Until someone capable of uniting the people of Tamriel rises, we may be looking at another state similar to the war of three in the second era. I merely made the first move towards that outcome by creating the second of the three powers. Morrowwind, Hammerfell, Skyrim, a true united north." I said seriously.
"You forgot High rock." Nahir pointed out.
"No I didn't. Just like during the great war the Bretons are going to side with no one and sit on the fence until someone forces them to one side or another. At worst both sides will pay lip service to them to stroke the nobles egos without actually expecting anything from them." I said frankly.
"The original war of three banners was Skyrim, Morrowwind and Blackmarsh with the Ebonhart pact." Elendey pointed out.
"The political climate is vastly different from that time. For starters the Dunmer hadn't spat on the pact and enslaved the Argonians for generations back then. In the same vein the Redguard hadn't sacked Orsinium and the Bretons hadn't turned their noses up at everyone yet. The Aldmeri dominion is basically the same though, well minus the fact the Thalmor treat the Khajiit and Bosmer like lesser beings rather than allies. Naturally the exact composition of the three powers are going to be different as well." I said calmly.
"Sounds something shameful when you put it like that." Tolmen said rubbing the back of his head with a dark expression.
"It IS shameful. The Nords sat back while their old allies turned into that. The Redguard and Orcs clashed for dominance with no external enemies and the Bretons shunned everyone equally. As for the dominion? That was entire the fault of the Altmer royal family. No one can say that there were no signs of the Thalmor rising. The party didn't just show up out of nowhere. They were allowed to grow until they seized power and now it's everyone's problem." I said flatly.
Alontar and Elendey both winced at that brutally blunt way of stating it but didn't correct me.
There was nothing to correct.
Every single thing I had just said was a fact.
Even Tolmen who seemed proud of his people was quiet. Sure the Nords hadn't made anything worse but they didn't make it better either. They sat in Skyrim and watched it all happen passively. Nothing more than weak pleas to the houses of Morrowwind were made in favor of their old scaled ally race. That was it, platitudes and empty words were all the sons and daughters of Skyrim were willing to muster for their suffering old allies.-
"Alright, so in this predicted second three banners war I assume the last of the banners is whoever's left within the empire?" Nahir asked seriously.
"More or less. In the first war it was three factions who believed they all deserved to rule but didn't hold the seat of power in Cyrodiil. In this one it's a faction of conquerors trying to take over everything versus an empire trying to maintain itself and a third power that dislikes both of the other two." I said seriously.
"What about Blackmarsh?" Sadi asked with a frown.
"We'll eventually need to help the Dunmer with that problem but considering most of Morrowwind is plagued by ash storms from Red mountain at the moment that will be a far in the future issue. Until whatever is causing that clears up or is dealt with if it's what I think it is the lizard folk won't push further into Morrowwind." I say with a shrug.
"You have an idea of what it might be?" Elendey asked surprised and curious.
"It's not particularly hard to guess at. The Nerevarinne defeated Dagoth Ur and did something with the heart that cut off all connection to it. But what is not ever explained is what became of Dagoth Ur's stolen divine power. Everyone assumes it just returned to the heart but what if instead it was used by Ur's spirit to lay one last curse over the land?" I asked solemnly.
"You think the Sharmat is still alive?" Sadi asked with a deep frown that covered her disbelief covered face.
"Not exactly. I think it's possible his spirit is lingering by the power of the divine he stole from the heart. His power was at it's peak when he was struck down. A soul so infused with divine power, would it really just slip away quietly? I'm not so sure." I say honestly.
"It WOULD explain how unnatural the ash storms are. There's no recorded weather event that lasted so long besides something fueled by magic. If the soul of the Sharmat laid down a curse on the land using it's divine power it would fit." Elendey said reluctantly admitting the idea was feasible.