Chapter 43 - The Follow-Up Trailer Absolutely Nobody Asked For That Spoils Everything

I'd like to say I snapped out of my shock, quickly recovered, and, like the natural leader people always assumed I was, I rallied the two apparent Dragonborns (so much for being the Last Dragonborn, I suppose), did leader-y stuff, and together we punched the gargantuan Dwarven Centurion into the next Age.

Unfortunately, there were too many witnesses present for me to even bother attempting to run with that lie, even if they were preoccupied either fleeing the city, strategically withdrawing to the ships, or suicidally charging and getting slaughtered by what I would later be informed was the Numidium of legend, the Brass Tower, the God of the Dwemer (even though he was mostly controlled by the Tribunal, and then Tiber Septim).

They also later told me it was destroyed in the Warp in the West, but that wasn't as much of an unexpected shock as I would have liked, considering what I also learnt during the battle.

Of course, I had absolutely no way of knowing any of this as I stared slack-jawed as the two of them slammed into it's chest, and with 2 Unrelenting Force Shouts and a loud clanging sound it was knocked into a nearby building, creating a dust cloud and an earthquake that leveled the buildings around the newly-formed crater, burying it under a pile of rubble. If I'd known that the automaton that had suddenly been plucked into existence had been a physical god, I'd have led the withdrawal back to the ships myself.

Instead, concerned and curious, I used an Aura Whisper Shout, electing to discern what I could while concealed and at a safe distance (rather than using a Clear Skies Shout, and giving unknowns a clear view of me). The result was unsettling: besides being overwhelmed by the number of elves fleeing the scene, the colossus under the ground and the one approaching the shoreline had auras so bright I almost flinched away from looking. They still didn't floor me as much as finding out that the two individuals had the same auras as dragons (but stronger, stronger than even Paarthurnax's), and were rapidly heading in my general direction from the dust cloud.

Fortunately, they didn't seem to bear any ill will towards me (surprising, both under the circumstances and given my usual luck), nor did they comment on me bracing myself. Unfortunately, I recognized them, and as I hoped they didn't bear any grudges for what I'd last done to them as I picked my jaw up from the floor, and conducted myself with what I'd like to believe was appropriate decorum and grace: "What in Oblivion are the two of you doing here? How are the two of you even here?"

The two chuckled, and I favoured the one I was more familiar with a dirty glare as I interrogated her: "And since when were you a member of the Blades?"

Mira gave me a smile (an actual smile, rather than the previous looks of relief, mocking, teasing, or smug superiority I'd come to expect from her in my admittedly few interactions), and for a moment I forgot I was in an active warzone dueling a literal god, before a familiar smug smirk crossed her features, and she mocked: "Being disturbed from my eternal rest was all worth it, just to see that look, young Dragonborn. You didn't seem to mind, when you trusted my missive this morning."

I stared at her, putting the pieces together slowly, and exclaimed: "You're "M"?! But Delphine and Esbern...?"

"The Blades are sworn to follow the Dragonborn... their code never specified which Dragonborn to follow. Admittedly, they took a fair bit of persuading..."

I simply stared, before deciding that, as little as that told me, I really didn't want to know. At most, I'd kick this problem to the next Emperor. Instead, I briefly considered my priorities, and asked: "Alright... how are you even alive, then? Last I saw you, years ago, it was in Sovngarde!"

A look of annoyance flashed across her features, and for a moment I wondered if I'd tread on a Destruction Rune. Fortunately for my continued well-being, her ire didn't seem to be directed at me, and she jerked a thumb at her companion, and spat out: "She resurrected me, pulled me out of my grave on Solstheim."

Finally, I turned to her companion, unable to ignore her ominous existence any longer. She definitely didn't look familiar, since she'd lost her wings and scales (and a few tons of weight), but I'd recognize her voice anywhere, and between the feral glint in her eye and the hungry grin on her face, I had to stop denying reality as she sneered: "My Dovahkiin. It is so good to see you again. It has been a while."

"Yeah, I haven't seen you since Sovngarde, either, Alduin." I said coolly, trying to confidently smooth over the awkwardness of the fact that I'd been the one to kill her, with assistance from her current companion. Her gaze never faltered for even a moment, though, and eventually I asked: "If you're here, does that mean..."

Her grin grew even wider as she caught my meaning, but there was a softness in her voice when she replied: "Mundus is in imminent danger, yes, but not from me. I have... other priorities, for now. Father Akatosh has sent me back to aid you."

Well, that didn't sound ominous in the least. But then again, as haughty and arrogant as Alduin was, she had a semblance of sense of honour; she wouldn't lie to me, if only because she never saw the need to hide her intentions. Deciding to take her words at face value for now (and make plans to fake my death and flee to Akavir as soon as this was all over), I finally sighed, look back to the massive pile of rubble, and wearily asked: "Is that why the two of you are here, working together? What is it, anyway?"

"Believe you me, Last Dragonborn, I still have no love for Alduin, but if Akatosh hadn't convinced me this was important (and I'd get something out of it), I'd have been the first to punch her heart out and shove it down her throat." Mira growled, venom lacing her tone, and I winced. Clearly, time had not mended their relationship in anyway.

Alduin's lip curled in response, and she sneered: "If Father Akatosh hadn't convinced me you were necessary, I'd never have resurrected you, Arch-Traitor, except to bury my teeth in your neck!"

Amusing as watching the two of them bicker was, the pile of rubble was beginning to ominously stir, and the one colossus from the ocean was coming ashore. I decided to keep them focused on the more pressing matters at hand: "Girls! Giant brass automaton, apparently so dangerous two Dragonborns had to be brought back from the dead? What can you tell me about it? Or the one that just came ashore?"

"Not much, honestly... that thing was after our time..." Mira admitted, having the grace to look sheepish, and Alduin cut in: "The Blades Agent named Esbern took some fragmentary archives from Cloud Ruler Temple before it was destroyed; while we personally don't know much, based on what were able to piece together... the beast we knocked into the island's mantle is a creation of the Dwemer called Numidium. Powered by the Heart of a God, it was sent forward in time when Time Broke as the One Who Became Talos ordered it to besiege Alinor, over 600 years ago."

"Numidium's last known activation was when it caused the Warp in the West, somewhere over 200 years ago, where it was reportedly destroyed." Mira added, glaring daggers at a proud-looking Alduin. I paled as the names rang warning bells in my head, and the legends I'd been told of the final decades of the Septim dynasty, and I clarified: "Sorry, did you say, it caused the Warp in the West? I mean, it's clearly powerful, but isn't it still just a really big and strong Dwarven automaton?"

Given the presence of the two Dragonborns in front of me, literally back from the dead, I decided not to bother commenting on the minor fact that it was supposed to have been destroyed; I wouldn't have been surprised if, somehow, the Nerevarine and Hero of Kvatch decided to also come back from whatever afterlife or abyss of time they were in, just to say hello (and prove that death literally held no meaning).

The two shared a look, possibly finding some common ground for the first time in seven millennia, before looking away and sighing in exasperation. I glared at the pair as Mira finally spoke: "Truly, Last Dragonborn... with your strength, sometimes I forget just how much you're lacking in knowledge, experience, and years..."

You're at least seven thousand years older than me! And you spent most of that either being thought by the dragons themselves, or in a library of literal infinite knowledge!

I resisted the urge to give my feelings a voice, as Alduin explained: "That's just a "Dwemer automaton", in the same way that I was just "a dragon", my Dovahkiin. It was created to serve as the Divine of an entire race; those hammers on it's arms? They are not just hammers; they are the temporally-soaked corporeal manifestations of the controlled cessation of causality, capable of permanently destabilizing the metaphysical properties of anything it comes into contact with, that take the form of hammers by choice."

I just stared at Alduin, before Mira translated: "They're hammers in the same way that the Kel are just scrolls; they don't just destroy objects they hit, but they Shatter Time around it, effectively wiping it from existence."

My eyes widened at the implication, but I found enough courage to joke: "Alright, so I can't just catch it's fist or punch it back?"

"Honestly... in these forms? With our strength, and our favour from Akatosh? We're not actually sure what would happen, but I wouldn't try it, Last Dragonborn."

"In my previous form, at the height of my power, I could have laughed off it's childish attempts at the manipulation of time, but in this form..."

"Any chance you could turn back into old Alduin for a few seconds?" I asked half-heartedly, and she shrugged, a disturbingly human expression for her, before replying: "You destroyed that form in Sovngarde. Besides, this form is supposed to be better suited for my new purpose... is it not to your liking?"

I raised my eye at the way her tone changed imperceptibly (behind her, Mira snorted), but I couldn't read the intent behind her words. I was definitely missing a key detail, but for now the mountain of rubble was starting to become uncomfortably lively, and the weird colossus was almost reaching the walls of Alinor. I gave her a brief once-over (was being drop-dead gorgeous just one of the perks for female Dragonborns?), and honestly answered: "Yes, yes, it's very much to my liking. Now, what can you tell me about the colossus from the north? And did Numidium have any weaknesses we can exploit?"

"The Blades have no records on the one from the North, but it looks like someone was trying to build their own Numidium." Mira noted, and even as I blanched at the thought of fighting a second Numidium, I found myself completely and utterly unsurprised at her observation. If I had to absolutely guess, I'd say it was probably one of the Elf races that had been behind this, if only because they would have been the only ones who'd lived long enough to actually know of Numidium in living memory, rather than legend. I highly doubted the Wood Elves had anywhere near the technological prowess to create a Numidium (the lack of any wood or trees was a dead giveaway). The Dark Elves probably could have, if what I'd seen on their backwater frontier colony of Raven Rock was anything to go by (then again, I supposed that calling it a backwater wasn't exactly accurate anymore; with the ebony mines and thawing of relations between the Empire and Morrowind, Solstheim was now a booming port of call and trading hub. Even Frea and the Skaal sold furs to outsiders...), but if that was so it raised the question of where it had been when the Argonians razed Mournhold. It could have been an Thalmor superweapon, but if so, where had been for the past few years the Thalmor had been getting their asses kicked?

Well, whatever it's origins, the fact seemed to be it was clearly hostile to, and more importantly focused on, the Numidium trying to pick itself up from under a few dozen tons of former building. Whether it was here to help us or help Alinor, the smartest thing for us to do was stay out of it's way and let the two physical gods fight amongst themselves, and I told as much to Mira and Alduin, who agreed.

"Numidium's only weakness, if I had to guess, would be the Heart, but exploiting that weakness is much easier said than done." Alduin assessed, after thinking about it, and I found myself quietly agreeing. The Heart, whatever that was, wasn't exactly visible or exposed, and it wasn't like I could punch out the heart of a brass giant over a hundred times my size. With a sigh, I thought about Lydia, Serana, Jordis, Mjoll, Frea, Aela, Elisif, Ria, Njada... actually, I really didn't have the time to spare too many thoughts, so I left it there, and readied myself. Surprisingly, Mira and Alduin followed my lead, although I saw Alduin withdraw something suspiciously familiar-looking. I didn't think she'd betray me during the battle, though, and more pressingly the mound of rubble was beginning to rise, the debris shifting and falling away, so I put it out of mind for the time being, electing instead to leap to higher ground, and watch as the other Numidium walked through the unmanned walls with a roar, just as the first Numidium finally burst free of its rocky confines, hatred emitting from its eyes as it looked first towards us, then towards the new challenger.

The two charged each other, each step causing the earth to rumble, and the titanic shockwave produced as they locked arms rocked the ships anchored twenty miles out, to say nothing of how it flattened the few buildings still standing in their immediate vicinity. The three of us weathered it with little effort, the enhanced strength of our draconic mantle more than sufficient. Remaining perched, we continued to observe, and it quickly became clear that, as unbelievably beyond our strength the second one was, it was still but a copy of the original Numidium, a poor imitation of Dwemer engineering beyond even its makers knowledge. The Brass God roared triumphantly as it began overpowering its decaying clone, determined to put the uppity usurper in its place, overthrowing the false idol before it.

We never gave it the chance, and with three simultaneous powerful leaps our vantage point shattered into dust as we impacted its head and shoulders in unison. Before it could recover, we further staggered it by kicking off of it, before loosing three enhanced Unrelenting Force Shouts at it's head. It didn't just topple over; it was like clothes-lining a rabid bear charging at full speed. Mira and Alduin caught me mid-flight, and I braced myself as they nodded at me.

The wind whipped past me as the pair launched me with their enhanced strength like a cannonball, and as I twisted my back to the right, and reared my right arm, I took a deep breath. Then I Whirlwind Sprinted forward, further increasing my velocity, and suddenly I was mere inches from Numidium's head. I had a split second to savour the look of surprise in its left eye, before I twisted my right shoulder forward, throwing the mother of all haymakers at its eye.

My eardrums almost burst as it roared in pain, and the weakened earth beneath it shattered. It managed to let loose one more defiant roar before falling into the pool of magma below it. I didn't let my guard down for a second, turning my attention instead to the other golem.

Somehow, I managed to find it in me to be surprised as I found a Dark Elf woman standing upon its head, signalling at me (answering the question of who it belonged to, at least). I didn't recognize her, but she seemed friendly enough, and more importantly was controlling a second Numidium, so I decided to hear her out before she tried to kill me. Mira and Alduin joined me as I landed on its head, but before I could ask who she was, she began: "Morrowind fights for the Last Dragonborn! Or should I call you the "Dovah King", as the Thalmor do? No matter, but heed me! Anumidium has yet to be defeated; he will rise once again!"

A roar echoed from the pool of magma below me, underscoring her point, and I sighed in a complete lack of surprise. Of course it wouldn't be so easy. I nodded at her to continue, and she pointed to Alduin, and proclaimed: "You have it. The Elder Scroll. World-Eater, use it once more!"

I turned around to stare in disbelief as Alduin gripped the Elder Scroll that had once banished her, and she had the grace to look mildly sheepish as she defended herself: "Father Akatosh warned me he was beyond even our strength."

A brass arm burst out of the pit, sending magma flying, and as it attempted to grip the lip of the crater, find some leverage to begin pulling itself out, the second Numidium, "Akulakhan", placed us unto the ground, before moving to intercept it, reaching into the pit, keeping its head submerged beneath the magma. I decided not to argue, but instead to listen to the seemingly-omniscient Dunmer, and ordered: "Use the Scroll, Alduin! Now!"

Alduin grinned, and she rolled the familiar Scroll down as she proclaimed: "Hold, Numidium on the Wing! Sister Hawk, grant us your sacred breath to make this contract heard! Begone, Brass Tower! By words with older bones than your own we break your perch on this age and send you out! You are banished! Numidium, we shout you out from all our endings unto the last!"

A massive transparent spherical hole in Mundus ripped itself open around the two golems at the onset of her words, before closing in on them. With an audible, ominous, crackling noise, the sphere and the two Numidiums disappeared, and Alduin triumphantly declared: "You are banished!"

I spared a glance at the Dunmer, who didn't seem too hung up by the loss of her Numidium, before staring at the ruined city, the pit of magma, and the conspicuous absence of the two Numidiums. Eventually, because somebody had to break the sudden silence that fell across the city, I said: "You did it... it worked, Alduin. But..."

Alduin understood what I meant, and for some reason she grasped my arm, and answered: "Yes. They will return, as I did. And we'll be ready for them."

Mira gripped my other arm, glaring at Alduin, and chided me: "You've been sloppy again, Last Dragonborn! Clearly, you need a lot more training!"

That got me riled up, breaking me out of the shock of the two Dragonborns clinging to me like pubescent Nords (or leeches; the difference was minimal, as was the grip on my arm, and the way my blood was being involuntarily sent elsewhere), and I broke free, before turning around, and countering: "Hey! I tried Shouting for you when I thought you were in Sovngarde! I didn't know either of you were even alive! How long have you two even been alive, in the first place! And you still haven't told me how you ended up with the Blades, or that Elder Scroll! Or how you lowered the barrier! And you, Alduin! I'd like to hear more about what your new priorities are! And you, Dunmer! Stop smirking and laughing back there! Who are you, anyway-"

Unfortunately, my tirade was cut short by the beating of hundreds of wings, and as I looked away I found Odahviing and Paarthurnax landing in front of us. More concerningly, though, was the dozens of dragons circling around us. Before I could question the two dragons, though, Lydia, Jordis, and Mjoll leapt off of the two dragons' necks, running towards me. I was almost knocked to the ground as the trio jumped me, hugging me, expressing joy and pleasure at my continued existence. I awkwardly returned the affection as the trio behind me stared at us, and loudly cleared my throat, returning them to reality.

The three newcomers stared at Mira, Alduin, and the Dunmer, who in turn stared at each other, and returned the stares with equal intensity. I gulped as the warm atmosphere around me disappeared, suddenly replaced by an oppressive chill, and when Lydia finally broke the silence, the cold in her voice made me think I was back at the top of the Throat of the World, stark naked, in the middle of a blizzard.

"My Emperor... Marius... who are these?"

When I wanted her to use my name more often, I hadn't meant it like this!

Unfortunately, before I could find my voice, Mira spoke up: "My name is Mira... I've seen you before, briefly, on Solstheim."

Recognition flashed across Lydia's eyes, the coldness turning into confusion, and she replied: "The woman Marius brought out of Apocrypha! But... you died! I saw Marius bury you!"

"I was brought back for a higher purpose." Mira coolly said, but I saw Lydia slowly piece things together, before finally jumping to a conclusion: "Wait... that form... you're clearly Dragonborn... Mira... Solstheim... Apocrypha... you're Miraak?!"

I saw Mira wince at Lydia's accurate accusation, but to her credit she didn't miss a beat: "I was, yes... the Last Dragonborn saved me, from both Hermaeus Mora and myself."

"My Emperor, get away from her! She's clearly dangerous!" Lydia tried to drag me away. Fortunately, Mjoll and Jordis were still too confused to aid her, and Mira tried to defend herself: "That was then, I won't deny it. But I aided the Last Dragonborn in Sovngarde, in defeating Alduin! And stop laughing back there, bitch! Help me out here!"

Lydia turned from Mira, who had clearly and irreversibly fallen under the "threat" category, and instead looked to the laughing Alduin, trying to assess her. Meanwhile, I'd quietly slipped out of her grasp, and had begun inching away, but Jordis and Mjoll caught me and stopped me. Lydia asked: "And you, I don't recognize you... but you're also clearly Dragonborn, and with Mira. I'll give you one chance to explain yourself; who are you, and what do you want with my Emperor?"

Alduin didn't get a chance to answer, though, as Paathurnax interjected (I'd honestly forgotten about him): "Alduin briinah. You have returned... Father Akatosh has always favoured you. Have you come to challenge the Dovahkiin, to try and restore your rule?"

Ah, so that explained the dragons around me; clearly, they'd sensed Alduin and Mira, and come to see what would happen... this really didn't look good! I knew enough about the dragons to know their allegiance merely lay with the strongest, but more importantly I'd completely overlooked what the former ruler's return might mean for the current ruler (me). My hand dropped to my sword immediately, and I tensed myself as Alduin barked out a chuckle and approached me, whilst the trio's eyes were wide as saucers at the mention of the World-Eater's name. To their credit, though, they did also draw their weapons, ready to protect me.

To everyone's surprise, though, she stopped before me, and instead knelt, proclaiming: "My Dovahkiin has proven his lordship over me in Sovngarde. I submit, acknowledge him as my thuri, and pledge myself to him, in heart, mind, body, and soul."

Deciding not to look a gift dragon in the mouth, I forced myself to relax, and quickly said before my companions could protest: "Uh, thanks, I accept your pledge, Alduin. You fought well too."

The skies were filled with fire as the dragons around us roared in approval. Paarthurnax, though, ominously chuckled as Alduim got up: "Very brave, Last Dragonborn... there have been none in any of the ages whom she would have acknowledged, let alone one who would accept her as mate too. May Father Akatosh and Mother Mara bless your union."

"Wait, mate? Union?! What are you-" My questions were cut off by Alduin jumping me, pinning me to the ground, and suddenly licking my face. Strangled cries rose up around me, though I was too stunned to see who made such undignified noises from my undignified position, and she whispered: "I may have submitted to you as my mate, but I think you of all people know that I won't let you go unchallenged, my Dovahkiin."

Fortunately, I was spared from having to respond as Alduin was sent flying back by an iridescent fist. Unfortunately, she was merely replaced by Mira, who leaned over me, kissed me on the lips and declared: "Who said he'd be your mate?! The Last Dragonborn is my student, the debt incurred between us far greater than your mere submission."

A glass greatsword flew between us, dangerously close to our faces, and as she snarled and jumped back, I found myself staring at a red-faced Mjoll, who exclaimed: "Who in Oblivion are the two of you, to suddenly come out of nowhere and claim him!"

Lydia, though also surprised by Mjoll's outburst, rallied behind her: "We've known him the longest, been with him the longest! The two of you have tried to kill him multiple times!"

"I acknowledge your claims on him as concubines, but do you truly think you have the strength to stand by his side?"

I got up to my feet as Jordis helped me up, wisely staying out of the fight. I appreciated her lack of judgement, though the appreciation waned somewhat when she whispered: "Emperor Marius... you're going to have to tell Elisif and I all about how you won their hearts later on, alright?"

Clearly, I wasn't off the hook with her yet, either! Desperately, my eyes began searching for a way out of this, before falling upon the Dunmer. Seizing the chance to try and defuse tensions and distract my companions before they tried to kill one another, I turned to the Dark Elf, and loudly asked: "By the way, you never mentioned who you were? Who are you, to serve as a representative of the Dunmer of Morrowind?"

Unfortunately, it turned out I lit a fuse under a barrel of gunpowder.

"I am the Nerevarine, young Dragonborn. Azura has told me much about the Bearer of the Star; our fates have been intertwined since you took her Star. It was She who told me the exact moment you would need my assistance. Join me, join with me, and I can show you a great many things..."

As the stunned silence turned into loud bickering, and a second battle threatened to break out, I gave a forlorn look to the pit of magma, and Odahviing and Paarthurnax gave me sympathetic looks. Somehow, I found that I'd rather go a few dozen more rounds with both Numidiums simultaneously, without any assistance, than deal with this.

At least Numidium would have made it quick.

Author's Note: And so, the shitty harem adventure continues. With this, though, we're finally done with this story. Definitely and definitively. Seriously, this time I swear. No more updates on this story here. I only wrote this to celebrate the story's true second birthday, the day I started writing it; I honestly didn't expect to publish it.

Yes, I know that, canonically, Numidium is actually just a giant, rather than a scaled up Dwemer Centurion Master; it has actual hands, with fingers and palms and stuff, rather than hammerfists. But hammerfists are cooler, most readers are probably only familiar with Dwemer Centurion Masters rather than the deep lore of Morrowind and Daggerfall, and most importantly it's motherfucking Numidium. It is only bound to the physical as a Tower to serve as a pillar that upholds reality; I'd like to think it's physical form is a form it takes out of mere choice, rather than by the design of the Dwemer.

Also, to be honest, I really have no idea what would happen if Mr Physical God with Hands of Time Breaking hit Mr Favoured Son of the God of Time, but I do genuinely believe that, if Marius's size and strength were scaled up to the same proportions as Numidium, Marius would probably win. Numidium, like Alduin, was born a physical god; their only strategy and experience is overwhelming foes. Six hundred and fifty years or so of fighting magical defenses would not have prepared it for a foe who's used to fighting enemies with overwhelming strength. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to make Marius a giant (not to mention biology and the square cube law), so that idea was shelved.

As for why Anumidium was able to overpower Akulakhan? Ehhh... rule of drama, but most importantly, Anumidium was designed to defend the Dwemer from the Dunmer when they were the Chimer, and ascend the entirety of the Dwemer. Akulakhan was designed by copying Anumidium, poorly, by the False God Dagoth Ur, to spread Blight, infect the world, and connect it in a hivemind under his rule. Also, the Heart of Lorkhan was damaged, for lack of a better word, by Kagrenac's tools, and imperfectly repaired by the Nerevarine in Akavir; Akulakhan does not have the ability to draw out its full power as Anumidium had. Anumidium senses the Heart of Lorkhan, its original Heart, inside Akulakhan, though, and desperately wants to be reunited. And lastly, Anumidium has spent approximately 600 years in battle with the Second Aldmeri Dominion (yes, Second, it hails from before the Third Era; the Third Aldmeri Dominion that the Dragonborn faces only came into power after the Oblivion Crisis). Yes, its experiences are limited thanks to its overwhelming strength, but its still more than Akulakhan.

Why were the dragons conveniently not present during the battle, but close enough to show up after? Easy; Alinor has magical defences capable of keeping Numidium in check for centuries, which only failed because Numidium presumably triggered a Schrodinger's Numidium situation where, in the main timeline, all of said magical defences failed to activate (their activation being the split in the timeline brought about by the Dragon Break) and sealing Alinor's fate within an hour. A dragon is strong, yes, but individually they're definitely not Numidium's equal, and most importantly, dragons don't know shit about wards. Paarthurnax or Odahviing with a Master-level Ward might be able to fly over Alinor, and Alduin definitely could have just laughed them off at her full power, but most dragons would be little more than oversized flying targets. Hence, Marius kept them at a safe distance from Alinor, using them instead to aid the Navy in maintaining a blockade of Alinor.

And yeah, I made the Nerevarine a girl, because why the fuck not. This is the true payoff for being the Bearer of Azura's Star! Well, joke's aside, I couldn't throw the Nerevarine into the story and not make a callback. There's gotta be a law for it, or something.