Lore:Those Who Stood at Chalman Keep

Book Information
Writer	Mike Breault
Seen In:	Elder Scrolls Online

Those Who Stood at Chalman Keep

Song of a three-way battle at Chalman Keep

---

Gather 'round, proud warriors all,
Silent now and standing tall.
Bow your heads to those who sleep,
Beneath the ground of Chalman Keep.

The flames of war seared the land,
Crushing all with brutal hand.
Dominion soldiers sought the throne,
Chalman, undaunted, stood alone.

Hooves thundered o'er the sward,
Death neared for all, swift and hard.
Defenders stood upon Chalman's wall,
Warriors brave, Covenant heroes all.

Forward came the Dominion hordes,
With arcane spells and gleaming swords.
Walls shook to siege engines' roars,
Rams thundered upon keep doors.

The outer doors fell to the invaders' barrage,
Into the courtyard Elves and Khajiit charged.
The inner door too gave when assaulted,
O'er bodies and rubble the attackers vaulted.

The defenders made their might felt,
Spells flared forth, death was dealt.
Fury rained upon invaders' heads,
'til Khajiit and Elves all were dead.

No time to rest, no time to heal,
Doors and breaches they must seal.
All was repaired, the damage undone,
As another deadly assault was begun.

Once again, fierce battle was fought,
Death was granted where it was sought.
Entropy rose inside the keep,
Swept over all, piled the bodies deep.

Again the bloody tide receded,
Dominion foes once more defeated.
Orc and Redguard and Breton remained,
Proud survivors of Chalman Keep again.

Dominion warriors attacked once more,
In numbers far greater than ever before.
They battered aside weary defenders,
Stopped only in the innermost chambers.

Into the apse the heroes were hounded,
Dominion victory cries loudly sounded.
Then chaos erupted as the Pact swept in,
Seeing their enemies' forces worn thin.

Caught between fierce anvil and hammer,
Elf and Khajiit died in brave manner.
Only Pact and Covenant soon remained,
Then the defenders cleared the field again.

A breath, a pause, a brief respite,
The Covenant cause now truly desperate.
A final assault the Dominion did mount,
A massive wave, too many to count.

Determined to conquer, refusing to desist,
The Dominion force impossible to resist.
The defenders resolved to fight to the last,
No blow was wasted, no spell shoddily cast.

One by one the gallant warriors fell,
Breton, Redguard, and Orc died well.
Their lives given up for Chalman Keep,
They rest forever in honored sleep.

The Dominion banner rose over the hall,
A Dominion Emperor then ruled over all.
Peace came to Chalman, damage repaired,
Attackers dispersed, to other sites they fared.

That emperor is gone, his reign long past.
What remains of this day, what of it lasts?
Just the display of courage, in that final stand,
Of those who stood, and died, at Chalman.