The Firsthold Revolt Content . " You told me that if her brother won , she would be sister to the King of Wayrest , and Reman would want to keep her for the alliance . But her brother Helseth lost and has fled with his mother back to Morrowind , and still Reman has not left her to marry me . " Lady Gialene took a long , slow drag of the hookah and blew out dragon ' s breath , so the scent of blossoms perfumed her gilded chamber . " You make a very poor advisor , Kael . I might have spent my time romancing the king of Cloudrest or Alinor instead of the wretched royal husband of Queen Morgiah . " Kael knew better than to hurt his lady ' s vanity by the mere suggestion that the King of Firsthold might have come to love his Dunmer Queen . Instead he gave her a few minutes to pause and look from her balcony out over the high cliff palaces of the ancient capitol . The moons shone like crystal on the deep sapphire waters of the Abecean Sea . It was ever springtide here , and he could well understand why she would prefer a throne in this land than in Cloudrest or Alinor . Finally , he spoke : " The people are with you , my lady . They do not relish the idea of Reman ' s Dark Elf heirs ruling the kingdom when he is gone . " " I wonder , " she said calmly . " I wonder if as the King would not give up his Queen for want of alliances , whether she would give herself up out of fear . Of all the people of Firsthold , who most dislikes the Dunmer influence on the court ? " " Is this a trick question , my lady ? " asked Kael . " The Trebbite Monks , of course . Their credo has ever been for pure Altmer bloodlines on Summurset , and among the royal families most of all . But , my lady , they make very weak allies . " " I know , " said Gialene , taking up her hookah again thoughtfully , a smile creeping across her face . " Morgiah has seen to it that they have no power . She would have exterminated them altogether had Reman not stopped her for all the good they do for the country folk . What if they found themselves with a very powerful benefactress ? One with intimate knowledge of the court of Firsthold , the chief concubine of the King , and all the gold to buy weapons with that her father , the King of Skywatch , could supply ? " " Well - armed and with the support of the country people , they would be formidable , " nodded Kael . " But as your advisor , I must warn you : if you make yourself an active foe of Queen Morgiah , you must play to win . She has inherited much of her mother Queen Barenziah ' s intelligence and spirit of vengeance . " " She will not know I am her foe until it is too late , " shrugged Gialene . " Go to the Trebbite monastery and bring me Friar Lylim . We must strategize our plan of attack . " For two weeks , Reman was advised about growing resentment in the countryside from peasants who called Morgiah the " Black Queen , " but it was nothing that he had not heard before . His attention was on the pirates on a small island off the coast called Calluis Lar . They had been more brazen as late , attacking royal barges in organized raids . To deliver a crushing blow , he ordered the greatest part of his militia to invade the island - - an incursion he himself would lead . A few days after Reman left the capitol , the revolt of the Trebbite Monks exploded . The attacks were well - coordinated and without warning . The Chief of the Guards did not wait to be announced , bursting into Morgiah ' s bedchamber ahead of a flurry of maidservants . " My Queen , " he said . " It is a revolution . " By contrast , Gialene was not asleep when Kael came to deliver the news . She was seated by the window , smoking her hookah and looking at the fires far off in the hills . " Morgiah is with council , " he explained . " I am certain they are telling her that the Trebbite Monks are behind the uprising , and that the revolution will be at the city gates by morning . " " How large is the revolutionary army in contrast to the remaining royal militia ? " asked Gialene . " The odds are well in our favor , " said Kael . " Though not perhaps as much as we hoped . The country folk , it seems , like to complain about their queen , but stop short of insurrection . Primarily , the army is composed of the Monks themselves and a horde of mercenaries your father ' s gold bought . In a way of thinking , it is preferable this way - - they are more professional and organized that a common mob . Really , they are a true army , complete with a horn section . " " If that doesn ' t frighten the Black Queen into abdication , nothing will , " smiled Gialene , rising from her chair . " The poor dear must be beside herself with worry . I must fly to her side and enjoy it . " Gialene was disappointed when she saw Morgiah come out of the Council Chambers . Considering that she had been woken from a deep sleep with cries of revolution and had spent the last several hours in consultation with her meager general force , she looked beautiful . There was a sparkle of proud defiance in her bright red eyes . " My Queen , " Gialene cried , forcing real tears . " I came as soon as I heard ! Will we all be slaughtered ? " " A distinct possibility , " replied Morgiah simply . Gialene tried to read her , but the expressions of women , especially alien women , were a far greater challenge than those of Altmer men . " I hate myself for even thinking to propose this , " said Gialene . " But since the cause of their fury is you , perhaps if you were to give up the throne , they might disperse . Please understand , my queen , I am thinking only of the good of the kingdom and our own lives . " " I understand the spirit of your suggestion , " smiled Morgiah . " And I will take it under advisement . Believe me , I ' ve thought of it myself . But I don ' t think it will come to that . " " Have you a plan for defending us ? " asked Gialene , contorting her features to an expression she knew bespoke girlish hope . " The king left us several dozen of his royal battlemage s , " said Morgiah . " I think the mob believes we have nothing but palace guards and a few soldiers to protect us . When they get to the gates are greeted with a wave of fireball s , I find it highly likely that they will lose heart and retreat . " " But isn ' t there some protection they could be using against such an assault ? " asked Gialene in her best worried voice . " If they knew about it , naturally there is . But an unruly mob is unlikely to have mages skilled in the arts of Restoration , by which they could shield themselves from the spells , or Mysticism , by which they could reflect the spells back on my battlemages . That would be the worst scenario , but even if they were well - organized enough to have Mystics in their ranks - - and enough of them to reflect so many spells - - it just isn ' t done . No battlefield commander would advise such a defense during a siege unless he knew precisely was he was going to be meeting . And then , of course , once the trap is sprung " Morgiah winked . " It ' s too late for a countering spell . " " A most cunning solution , your highness , " said Gialene , honestly impressed . Morgiah excused herself to meet with her battlemages , and Gialene gave her an embrace . Kael was waiting in the palace garden for his lady . " Are there Mystics among the mercenaries ? " she asked quickly . " Several , in fact , " replied Kael , bewildered by her query . " Largely rejects from the Psijic Order , but they know enough to cast the regular spells of the school . " " You must sneak out the city gates and tell Friar Lylim to have them cast reflection spells on all the front line before they attack , " said Gialene . " That ' s most irregular battlefield strategy , " frowned Kael . " I know it is , fool , that ' s what Morgiah is counting on . There ' s a gang of battlemages who are going to be waiting on the battlements to greet our army with a barrage of fire balls . " " Battlemages ? I would have thought that King Reman would have brought them with him to fight the pirates . " " You would have thought that , " laughed Gialene . " But then we would be defeated . Now go ! " Friar Lylim agreed with Kael that it was a bizarre , unheard - of way to begin a battle , casting reflection spells on all one ' s troops . It went against every tradition , and as a Trebbite Monk , he valued tradition above every other virtue . There was little other choice , though , given the intelligence . He had few enough healers in the army as it were , and their energies could not be wasted casting resistance spells . At dawn ' s light , the rebel army was in sight of the gleaming spires of Firsthold . Friar Lylim gathered together every soldier who knew even the rudimentary secrets of Mysticism , who knew how to tap in to the elementary conundrums and knots of the energies of magicka . Though few were masters of the art , their combined force was powerful to behold . A great surge of entangling power washed over the army , crackling , hissing , and infusing all with their ghostly force . When they arrived at the gates , every soldier , even the least imaginative , knew that no spell would touch him for a long time . Friar Lylim watched his army batter into the gate with the great satisfaction of a commander who has counteracted an unthinkable attack with an outrageous defense . The smile quickly faded from his face . They were met at the battlements not by mages but by common archers of the palace guard . As the flaming arrows fell upon the siegers like a red rain , the healers ran in to help the wounded . Their healing spells reflected off the dying men , one after the other . Chaos ruled as the attackers suddenly found themselves defenseless and began a panicked , unorganized retreat . Friar Lylim himself considered briefly holding his ground before fleeing himself . Later , he would send furious notes to Lady Gialene and Kael , but they were returned . Even his best secret agents within the palace were unable to find their whereabouts . Neither had , as it turns out , much previous experience with torture , and they soon confessed their treachery to the King ' s satisfaction . Kael was executed , and Gialene was sent back with escort to her father ' s court of Skywatch . He has still to find a husband for her . Reman , by contrast , has elected not to take a new royal concubine . The common folk of Firsthold consider this break in palace protocol to be more of the sinister alien influence of the Black Queen , and grumble to all who will listen .