Five weeks.

A month and a week have passed since this one first began keeping track of the wars seen through his scope.

Perhaps by now the rifle should feel heavier. Perhaps the paws should ache. Perhaps Khajiit should be looking longingly toward a quiet week, a warm fire and several sweet rolls.

Not yet.

If anything, this one is enjoying the battlefield more.

Because somewhere across these five weeks, something changed. The numbers stopped feeling like numbers.

A shot placed in the right battle can help hold a line. A few million damage thrown behind the right revolt can help turn it into something dangerous. Answering the right call at the right time can actually matter.

And Khajiit likes that feeling.

Week 5 brought another 25 battles and 14,746,364 damage, fought from West Africa to Hawaii, from the Horn of Africa to Europe.

Some were desperate defences. Some were revolts meant to break occupations.

Some were simply somewhere to shoot while this one waited for better orders.

And one involved this one apparently forgetting which side https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac83c was on.

We will discuss that later.

For now, the rifle remains warm, the notebook remains open, and this one has discovered no compelling reason to put either of them down.

WEEK 5 — AT A GLANCE

NORTH/WEST AFRICA

7,240,467 DAMAGE — 8 BATTLES

Once again, Africa dominated this one's scope.

And once again, much of the ammunition was pointed toward the same general objective:

Get https://app.warera.io/alliance/6a9250a52d7987e3b737be2e out of Africa.

The week began with resistance fighters in https://app.warera.io/battle/6a9ea22a0402c70c93f43c93

https://app.warera.io/country/6873d0ea1758b40e712b5f34 rising against https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac82f, another piece of the continuing effort to loosen https://app.warera.io/alliance/6a9250a52d7987e3b737be2e grip on African territory.

This one added 221,956 damage.

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac82f answered by attacking https://app.warera.io/country/6873d0ea1758b40e712b5f1c, and this time the response from the scope was considerably louder.

1,706,724 damage.

If https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac82f intended to continue expanding into Africa, there were clearly going to be people waiting for them.

Then https://app.warera.io/country/6873d0ea1758b40e712b5f79 revolted.

And this one likes https://app.warera.io/country/6873d0ea1758b40e712b5f79 revolts.

The first brought another 2,474,468 damage against https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac82fl as the effort continued to push https://app.warera.io/alliance/6a9250a52d7987e3b737be2e out of West Africa.

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7aa causing problems too.

When https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7aa attacked https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac84b, another 54,377 damage went toward defending against its African expansion.

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac82f attacked https://app.warera.io/country/6873d0ea1758b40e712b5f34 again.

Another 57,998 followed.

These were not the week's biggest contributions, but they were part of the same persistent effort: make expansion expensive, support resistance when possible, and keep pressure on the foreign powers trying to establish themselves across Africa.

Then came another https://app.warera.io/country/6873d0ea1758b40e712b5f79 revolt.

That was worth ammunition.

A lot of ammunition.

2,259,101 damage.

Later in the week, https://app.warera.io/country/6873d0ea1758b40e712b5f79 rose against https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac82f yet again, and another 462,557 damage went downrange.

The message across North and West Africa throughout Week 5 was remarkably consistent.

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac82f could take land.

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7aa could push deeper.

https://app.warera.io/alliance/6a9250a52d7987e3b737be2e could continue trying to establish itself on the continent.

But nobody promised that holding any of it would be comfortable.

There was one exception to all this determined resistance.

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac858 attacked https://app.warera.io/country/6873d0ea1758b40e712b5f1c, this one fired 3,286 damage, and then https://app.warera.io/country/6873d0ea1758b40e712b5f1c heroically announced that everyone should abandon the battle because there were more important places to be.

This one appreciates strategic clarity.

Sometimes defending Africa requires millions of damage.

Sometimes it requires knowing when to leave.

CENTRAL AFRICA

576,437 DAMAGE — 3 BATTLES

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7aa's ambitions were not confined to the western edge of the continent.

When https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7aa attacked https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af15fa, the concern was straightforward: allowing further expansion would bring Portuguese influence deeper into Africa.

This one contributed 129,773 damage to the defence.

https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af15fa later took the fight in the opposite direction, attacking https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7aa

That offensive received another 407,851 damage.

Between the fighting in West Africa and Central Africa, https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7aa was becoming a recurring shape through the scope.

The final Central African appearance was considerably less dramatic.

The https://app.warera.io/country/6873d0ea1758b40e712b5f2e attacked https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac874.

There were no major battles elsewhere.

There were no particularly exciting orders from above.

This one had ammunition. Sudan happened to be available.

38,813 damage.

Sometimes geopolitical analysis is complicated.

Sometimes Khajiit simply looks at the map and asks:

"Where can this one shoot?"

EAST AFRICA

1,849,921 DAMAGE — 3 BATTLES

The Horn of Africa became another serious front during Week 5.

https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af15bd resistance rose against https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af160f, attempting to remove https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af160f from the region.

This one contributed 387,257 damage to the revolt.

Then https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af15d3 attacked https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af15bd.

This time the objective was less about alliance lines and more about economics. https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af15d3 was looking for additional territory to improve its production bonus.

https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af15bd's land suddenly had considerable value.

So did defending it.

1,230,608 damage considerable.

The week ended with https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af15bd going back onto the offensive against https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af160f.

If resistance was not enough to remove https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af160f from the Horn, perhaps an attack would finish the job.

Another 232,056 damage followed.

West Africa may have received most of this one's ammunition during Week 5, but the Horn increasingly looks like somewhere worth keeping the scope pointed.

INDIAN OCEAN ISLANDS

258,454 DAMAGE — 2 BATTLES

Not every revolt is improved by enthusiasm.

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac79a attempted to revolt in https://app.warera.io/region/696a81f5882256e1db118206.

Unfortunately, a French political party launched the revolt too early, ruining plans that had already been made around the island.

The battle was promptly abandoned.

This one contributed 26,653 damage before putting the rifle away.

There is probably a lesson here about communication.

This one will leave https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac79a to determine what it is.

The more meaningful island fight came from our pirate friends in https://app.warera.io/country/696a81da63e2489f47e5a28e, who revolted against https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af15d3.

This one contributed 231,801 damage to the Mauritian revolt.

What followed was perhaps more interesting than the battle itself.

An uneasy non-aggression emerged between the parties, while https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af15d3 also released https://app.warera.io/region/696a81f5882256e1db118206 back to https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac79a.

So the island front ended Week 5 considerably quieter than it began.

Whether it stays that way is another question entirely.

THE AMERICAS

4,460,387 DAMAGE — 4 BATTLES

The second-largest share of this one's Week 5 damage went across the Atlantic.

And it began with https://app.warera.io/region/6813b7069403bc4170a5d7e9.

The https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7e5 resistance rose against https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac83c, attempting to reclaim the islands.

The alliance politics surrounding this battle had changed dramatically.

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac83c had previously fought alongside https://app.warera.io/alliance/6a95cd6c19dc1b1a87504d5e. Since then, https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac83c was removed from https://app.warera.io/alliance/6a95cd6c19dc1b1a87504d5e and joined https://app.warera.io/alliance/6a2981ad131983aa8445864d.

Yesterday's ally was now on the opposite side of the scope.

Apparently this one understood that perfectly well during https://app.warera.io/region/6813b7069403bc4170a5d7e9.

2,991,199 damage.

The largest single contribution of Week 5.

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7aa then appeared again.

Because apparently expanding through Africa was insufficient.

The https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7e5 fought https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7aa in an attempt to stop Portuguese expansion into the Americas as well.

This one contributed another 362,880 damage.

Then https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac83c attacked the https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7e5 mainland.

And this is where things became complicated.

This one saw https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac83c.

Some sleepy part of this one's Khajiit brain apparently remembered:

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac83c = ally.

The rifle fired.

Fortunately, the mistake amounted to only about 8,600 damage, before someone, somewhere, reminded this one of one rather important detail.

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac83c had been kicked from https://app.warera.io/alliance/6a95cd6c19dc1b1a87504d5e.

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac83c was now in https://app.warera.io/alliance/6a2981ad131983aa8445864d.

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac83c was, in fact, the target.

Ah.

The scope moved to the correct side.

So no, this one did not accidentally provide /country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac83c with a million damage worth of assistance.

Just two slightly embarrassing bullets.

Five weeks of war reporting has taught this one many valuable lessons.

Week 5 added another:

Check alliance membership before pulling trigger.

The Americas finished with a https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac886 resistance against https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac899, another https://app.warera.io/alliance/6a9250a52d7987e3b737be2e member.

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac899's growing position among the islands threatened to create an economic stronghold there, making the revolt another piece of the broader struggle against https://app.warera.io/alliance/6a9250a52d7987e3b737be2e expansion.

This one added 56,217 damage.

Different continent.

Same alliance.

Same rifle.

EUROPE

357,127 DAMAGE — 3 BATTLES

Europe was quieter through this one's scope.

That did not mean the rifle remained completely silent.

When there were no major priority battles elsewhere, the call came to provide some assistance to the European front.

https://app.warera.io/battle/6aa5591f4ca1222c7f1c2c31 received 93,748 damage.

https://app.warera.io/battle/6aa66881af702ab8b3857109 received another 260,759.

Neither battle represented the centre of https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af1612's war effort that week.

But that is part of what this one has increasingly enjoyed about these battles.

Not every contribution needs to decide a continent.

Sometimes allies simply need another rifle.

This one has one.

There was also https://app.warera.io/battle/6aa676411f646e7dc4fb055f.

This one fired approximately one meaningful shot.

2,620 damage.

Then the call came to move elsewhere.

This one did not argue.

The scope moved.

FIVE WEEKS THROUGH THE SCOPE

Week 5 ends with another 14,746,364 damage across 25 battles.

More importantly, it ends with this one still wanting another week.

Five weeks ago, From This One's Scope began as a way to record where this one had fought.

A battle here. A revolt there.

A few million damage scattered across a map that never seems to remain the same for very long.

But after a month and a week, the battles feel different.

This one has started to understand where his rifle can matter.

Nearly three million damage behind a Hawaiian revolt is not merely a number on a ranking.

Two million damage thrown into https://app.warera.io/country/6873d0ea1758b40e712b5f79 while resistance fighters try to sever https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac82f's supply through West Africa feels like helping an operation achieve something.

A million damage defending https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af15bd feels like holding a line.

Even the smaller battles matter when they answer a call, support an ally or force an invader to spend more resources holding land they thought was already theirs.

Perhaps that is why there is no desire for a recovery week yet.

This one is not tired of the battles.

This one is loving them.

There is something satisfying about opening the map, seeing where the fight matters, chambering another round and knowing that somewhere on the other end of the scope, Khajiit's contribution might actually change what happens.

Africa once again received most of that attention.

Across North, West, Central and East Africa, this one dealt 9,666,825 damage — 65.55% of everything fired during Week 5.

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d546e731854c7ac82f and https://app.warera.io/alliance/6a9250a52d7987e3b737be2e remained under pressure in West Africa.

https://app.warera.io/country/6813b6d446e731854c7ac7aa continued trying to expand across Africa.

https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af160f faced attempts to remove it from the Horn.

https://app.warera.io/country/683ddd2c24b5a2e114af15d3 discovered that production bonuses sometimes come with bullets attached.

And beyond Africa, alliances continued shifting quickly enough that this one managed to send two shots in the wrong direction before remembering that yesterday's ally had become today's target.

The map changes. Orders change. Alliances change.Targets definitely change.

But after five weeks, two things remain remarkably consistent.

The notebook is still open.

And the rifle is still warm.

Until next week.

— https://app.warera.io/user/68e538c09c4aafa6f1a0bd5c