The Year 2920 , Vol . 2 Content . 14 Morning Star The Imperial City , Cyrodiil The chimes proclaiming South Wind ' s Prayer echoed through the wide boulevards and gardens of the Imperial City , calling all to their temples . The Emperor Reman III always attended a service at the Temple of the One , while his on and heir Prince Juilek found it more political to attend a service at a different temple for each religious holiday . This year , it was at the cathedral Benevolence of Mara . The Benevolence ' s services were mercifully short , but it was not until well after noon that the Emperor was able to return to the palace . By then , the arena combatants were impatiently waiting for the start of the ceremony . The crowd was far less restless , as the Potentate Versidue - Shaie had arranged for a demonstration from a troupe of Khajiiti acrobats . " Your religion is so much more convenient than mine , " said the Emperor to his Potentate by way of an apology , " What is the first game ! " " A one - on - one battle between two able warriors , " said the Potentate , his scaly skin catching the sun as he rose . " Armed befitting their culture . " " Sounds good , " said the Emperor and clapped his hands , " Let the sport commence ! " As soon as he saw the two warriors enter the arena to the roar of the crowd , Emperor Reman III remembered that he agreed to this several months before and forgotten about it . One combatant was the Potentate ' s son , Savirien - Chorak , a glistening ivory - yellow eel , gripping his katana and wakizashi with his thin , deceptively weak looking arms . The other was the Emperor ' s son , Prince Juilek , in ebony armor with a savage Orcish helm , shield and longsword at his side . " This will be fascinating to watch , " hissed the Potentate , a wide grin across his narrow face . " I don ' t know if I ' ve even seen a Cyrodiil fight an Akaviri like this . Usually it ' s army against army . At last we can settle which philosophy is better - - to create armor to combat swords as your people do , or to create swords to combat armor as mine do . " No one in the crowd , aside from a few scattered Akaviri counselors and the Potentate himself , wanted Savirien - Chorak to win , but there was a collective intake of breath at the sight of his graceful movements . His swords seemed to be a part of him , a tail coming from his arms to match the one behind him . It was a trick of counterbalance , allowing the young serpent man to roll up into a circle and spin into the center of the ring in offensive position . The Prince had to pld forward the less impressive traditional way . As they sprang at each other , the crowd bellowed with delight . The Akaviri was like a moon in orbit around the Prince , effortlessly springing over his shoulder at attempt to blow from behind , but the Prince whirled around quickly to block with his shield . His counterstrike met only air as his foe fell flat to the ground and slithered between his legs , tripping him . The Prince fell to the ground with a resounding crash . Metal and air melted together as Savirien - Chorak rained strike after strike upon the Prince , who blocked every one with his shield . " We don ' t have shields in our culture , " murmured Versidue - Shaie to the Emperor . " It seems strange to my boy , I imagine . In our country , if you don ' t want to get hit , you move out of the way . " When Savirien - Chorak was rearing back to begin another series of blinding attacks , the Prince kicked at his tail , sending him falling back momentarily . In an instant , he had rebounded , but the Prince was also back on his feet . The two circled one another , until the snake man spun forward , katana extended . The Prince saw his foe ' s plan , and blocked the katana with his longsword and wakizashi with his shield . Its short punching blade impaled itself in the metal , and Savirien - Chorak was thrown off balance . The Prince ' s longblade slashed across the Akaviri ' s chest and the sudden , intense pain caused him to drop both his weapons . In a moment , it was over . Savirien - Chorak was prostate in the dust with the Prince ' s longsword at his throat . " The game ' s over ! " shouted the Emperor , barely heard over the applause from the stadium . The Prince grinned and helped Savirien - Chorak up and over to a healer . The Emperor clapped his Potentate on the back , feeling relieved . He had not realized when he fight had begun how little chance he had given his son at victory . " He will make a fine warrior , " said Versidue - Shaie . " And a great emperor . " " Just remember , " laughed the Emperor , " You Akaviri have a lot of showy moves , but if just one of our strikes comes through , it ' s all over for you . " " Oh , I ' ll remember that , " nodded the Potentate . Reman thought about that comment for the rest of the games , and had trouble fully enjoying himself . Could the Potentate be another enemy , just as the Empress had turned out to be ! The matter would bear watching .