Not even halfway through Hircine’s maze and the fire enchantment on my silver spear ran out.

no don't save the mede tangent i already made popcorn

i just find it so...INTERESTING...that the medes are cousins to the vicis...in short what i think happened to the east empire company in the fourth era is as follows

the eruption of red mountain levels vvardenfell, causing untold loss of life and catastrophic harm to a once-thriving culture and ecology, but hey! new ebony deposits! the minute it's "safe" to do so, optimistic company surveyors start crawling all over the smoking crater of veloth like weevils

in the power vacuum left by the fall of the septim empire, cyrodiil falls into a series of nasty civil wars. the east empire company, which at this point has 1) made a killing by stripping an ailing country of its resources, and 2) accrued more money and manpower than the legion, puts a stop to this unprofitable unrest at home by backing titus mede i—who has familial ties to the company and should be amenable to company interests

???

profit

but the thalmor are a problem. by 4E 201 the empire's crumbling and the company's floundering, too. they've gutted morrowind, thrown much of their manpower into costly coups and wars, lost their factories in hammerfell, lost both land and monopolies on spice, sugar, and silk to alinor, and now the dominion's navy is interfering with their sea routes. the thalmor have them in a chokehold. vittoria vici's marriage was probably an attempt by the company to get an arm free of the failing mede empire, which was dragging them down with it, and to instead extend a friendly hand to the stormcloak rebellion (and, by extension, to the thalmor subtly encouraging it)

I do have many characters besides the ones I talk about, so here's a few of them at least, most don't have names but eventually will. and writing a bit about each of them turned out longer than I expected...

Sings-of-Dreams, the argonian... mage probably. worked many jobs in Windhelm, one day decided to swim over to Winterhold. she's not very developed but she does have a name courtesy of one deleted npc that was going to be servant of the Cruel-Seas

bosmer mercenary that worked for the Telvanni, at least during Morrowind and up to the Red Year. don't know if I'll keep her like this but it's the first idea I had for why a girl from Valenwood is in Morrowind. tangentially related to Merry as her uhh sister in law

prisoner from the intro of Oblivion... wanted to take revenge on Llether for failing them as a lawyer but it all turned out well and they dropped the amulet on him instead because they couldn't pawn it off. probably in the Thieves Guild, idk if they're involved further in the main quest, it would be cool if these two reunited

altmer-breton shipwright and family in Auridon. nothing much going on here besides that yet, I wanted to write in this setting

altmer sailor and assassin, I played a few Morrowind mods with him, thus the very interesting occupations. his name in game is Oleander, he's kind of a joke, he has very bad luck which makes him a good assassin by accident. may be related to the Auridon family, he's originally from Summerset, just stuck in Morrowind

dunmer-orsimer rogue, she's just a little rapscallion who I played the Camonna Tong mod with, and thus her story is incompatible with the other ocs but I can make it work. her name in game was Dushka. bit of a joke character too, she's way too strong for what her lore suggests, maybe she wields some sorta magical artifact

Nerevarine-Sheogorath and I must say, I was trying to figure out what to do with my least favorite main quests, and this idea was born... I know nothing about the character but their ultimate fate. maybe will be an argonian since I love them and want more ocs... interesting lore to explore wrt their soul's connection to the Hist?

Brand-Shei's family, Llether's family etc I haven't done much yet. I'd like to have more characters for each faction I find interesting, but that's for after I'm done with these. may add another Oblivion character that's more typically hero-like, maybe mages' guild idk

Hello, do u have any game recommendations for the steam winter sale? If not don’t worry. Have a nice day!

what a sweet question...my recommendations are going to suck so sorry ahead of time

dark souls remastered - $19.99 / dark souls 3 - $14.99 : you know what these are. i still think the remaster price is bullshit. that's a good price for 3 tho.

sekiro - $29.99 : this game took a long time to grow on me but man. it fucking rules.

fallout new vegas ultimate - $7.99 : the good bethesda game not made by bethesda. a steal for a game that i dropped a ton of time into over the years. for some reason it just kept pulling me back in! it's just kinda fun to explore, you know.

morrowind GOTY edition - $4.59 : god i love morrowind. uh, once i modded it to hell and back lol. the base game is not very playable. but once you fix all that shit my god its easily my favorite bethesda game. it has absolute faith in the player to fucking figure shit out and doesn't give you waypoints. instead you have to ask around and get directions! they have not and will never make a world this weird again. you ride around on giant insects and explore cities with bizarro architecture that's easy to get lost in. you meet living gods and dunmer who have gaping holes in their faces and empty skulls. the fauna are fucking dinosaurs. its so fucking good. AND everyone fucking HATES YOU LMFAO. EVERYONE. absolutely no one wants you to be the chosen one. its great.

oblivion GOTY edition deluxe - $5.99 : morrowind's much much dumber brother. hysterically bad at times. breaks in the funniest ways. install mods so it breaks more often. one time i walked into a village and everyone was t posing outside and slowly slid to the left through houses and barns and shit until they disappeared into a mountain. just wonderful.

dishonored definitive edition - $4.99 / dishonoured 2 deluxe bundle - $11.99 : extremely fun series where you get to teleport around and kill people. takes itself very seriously which makes it all the more charming lol. it feels good to play, you know.

opus magnum - $9.99 : i still havent finished this puzzle game because its hard but like. good hard. reminds me of the difficulty of 90s puzzle games that were geared toward adults.

two point hospital - $8.74 : this is just the base game bc the price for everything is completely out of pocket. this is a hospital sim game. run your hospital. hire your staff. build your rooms. try not to kill people. don't go bankrupt. good luck!

disco elysium - $17.99 : you know what this is.

girls like robots - $3.49 : a little puzzle game that scratches an itch ive been drastically trying to scratch. you can pick up and put down quickly. i like it

sunless sea - $6.45 : taking place in the world of the browser game "fallen london", you pilot a ship and manage your sanity, HP and food meters while out at sea. slowly reveal the map, find ways to make money by determining the best trade routes, and meddle in everyone's affairs. everyone's. the fellas at the salt lions will trade with you until the supply dries up and the fed-up postal workers have their own very insular culture that doesn't involve you and the polythreme causes all inanimate to become alive. all of them. pretty neat.

civ 6 anthology - $29.88 : ugghhhhhh 30 dollars?! in this economy?! damn you sid meiers and your stupid piecemeal dlc releases. you might as well get the full bundle bc the base game is unplayable. they shipped half a game. this pissed me off so much next time im pirating. good game tho.

pathologic 2 - $9.79 : maybe a little too close to reality right now but it is one of the best games ive ever played. feel free to play it on any difficulty option (this game is notorious for its perceived difficulty) but know that you're supposed to die and fail repeatedly. you cannot save them all. you won't save them all. maybe on the next playthrough, you can take what you've learned, try again.

planescape: torment - $5.99 : i played this ancient game this year and had an absolute blast with it lol. despite knowing nothing about the lore of the world, i managed to get sucked in to this really weird place the game dropped me in and quickly caught up on all the details.

sleeping dogs - $2.99 : neo-noir mystery set in hong kong. you play an undercover cop trying to infiltrate a gang so the game has you working both criminal stuff and police work at the same time. neat concept. funny on purpose at times. but my god the ending is disappointing lol. im telling you now to spare you the "that's it?!" feeling

saints row 4 game of the century edition - $4.99 : deeply stupid game. the johnny gat DLC is supposed to be terrible. the christmas one was a hoot. its mindless.

SOMA - $4.49 : philosophical horror game about consciousness. i dont know if there's a way to describe it without sounding pretentious. the way the player choices are utilized is the best way ive seen in a game so far since it reaches past the character youre playing to you, the player. highly recommend to play the mode where the monsters dont kill you. i fucking hate frictional games' gameplay. its wretched stuff. plus the monsters are pretty cool lol i liked looking at them

star wars knights of the old republic 1 & 2 - $3.49 : these games are worth exactly this much. the first one is one of the stupidest games ive ever played in my entire life and i dont think ive laughed so much. its like a b-movie in game form. its a riot, its just not good. the second one is made by obsidian and NEEDS!!! the patch!!!! to be a fully playable game. with the restored content its not half bad and the writing still drops into b-level territory delightfully.

are there any foods that are absolutely common and loved in one province, but unheard of, or considered disgusting, in another?

There are a few things I can think of! Without beating round the bush, here are a few off the top of my head.

Altmer

Most Altmeri food is pretty inoffensive, but many races are somewhat irked (or enamoured by) the fresh sea urchins that are a delicacy on Summerset. Simply crack one open carefully and scoop out the insides. I personally have never had a taste for it, but it definitely isn't as gross as some people make it out to be.

Argonians

Grubs and worms. Big or small, alive and wriggling or dead and crispy, many an adventurer has failed against this most standard of Argonian foods. Admittedly, shoving your hand into a bowl of live, spiced bloodworms and taking a bite is not the most appetising of ideas. Still, those who dare to overcome these wriggly critters usually have an okay time!

Bosmer

Jagga is fermented pig's milk, and is a highly prized drink among the Wood Elves. The smell and flavour are...an acquired taste to just about everyone who didn't grow up in Valenwood, but it fetches a pretty penny outside. It's best for drinking, but is also a key ingredient in many Bosmeri dishes.

Bretons

I don't understand why so many people groan and moan about eating snails, and the Bretons certainly pay them no mind. Whether served with garlic butter or sundried tomatoes and basil, snails are always a winner for starters. Better than squid, I always say!

Dunmer

Just about everything edible in Morrowind is bound to elicit dome sort of concerned reaction in outlander n'wahs (myself included). While I would like to point out that I've acquired a taste for most Dunmeri ingredients, many still find them weird, like kwama eggs. Yes, giant bug eggs may not seem like a tasty treat, but I promise it really is (especially when fried with scuttle and served with fried saltrice)!

Imperials

I'm not wholly sure what it is that puts people off of stuffed, fried dormice, but this most Cyrodiilic of dishes is a traditional delicacy isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Apparently it's appalling to some people to eat small, cute animals whole, but they clearly have never tried an Eidar-stuffed, honey-basted crispy dormouse before!

Khajiit

While I love Khajiiti food, I will never get the hang of their love for raw offal mixed with moon sugar and served atop rice. I am very selective of the offal I consume, and it is always cooked, making raw offal a nightmare where I had to struggle not to gag. It's definitely not a common thing across most of Tamriel, making raw offal one of the things that you'll never find outside of Elsweyr (probably for the best).

Nords

We Nords eat lots of questionable stuff admittedly, from pickled fish to frostbite spider legs. However, the ingredient that seems to confuse foreigners the most is probably rotten shark. Yes, that's right. While nobody really eats this "delicacy" aside from during special occasions, it is always a spot of fun to feed to unsuspecting tourists. Did I mention it smells like cat piss?

Orcs

While I personally adore echatere cheese, I know that the sentiment is not shared widely by others in Tamriel. Some have compared the smell to wet dog, and ignore its delightful texture and uniquely salty flavour. People don't know what they're missing!

Redguards

Once again with the bugs, this time it's the Redguards of Hegathe who consume silkworms stewed in curries or fried as snacks. When curried, the silkworms are soft and delicate, but are crunchy when fried and often dipped in a spicy sauce. As most of Tamriel considers silk to be a valuable resource, eating silkworms is seen as wasteful and gross by many.

Tamriel Rebuilt Literature: Almalexia Speaks to her Children

( Original text written by the developer Rats for Tamriel Rebuilt. Link here: https://www.tamriel-rebuilt.org/asset/almalexia-speaks-her-children )

[In the final days of the Second Era, Almalexia spoke to the people of Mournhold, to ease their worried minds after the signing of the Treaty of the Armistice.]

My Children, I have heard your murmurs. Concerns over the Treaty that Lord Vivec has signed with Septim, the Emperor of Men.

The news of Khalaan has also reached you and troubled you. You shall not deny it, for I know.

Even among my own priests there are voices of doubt and discord. Little scamps, whispering. Whispering that Lord Vivec may have made an error in his judgment. That the Tribunal have done wrong.

So be it then! I will play with you, my Children. I will entertain your whispers. You ask of us: why have you made peace with Cyrodiil? And in return I ask of you: who are you to question us?

I will remind you what you were, when the Prophet Veloth first led you to Morrowind, since you seem to have forgotten: superstitious savages, little better than the Guar and Shalk whose skins and shells you wore. The Daedra you turned to for aid tricked you easily. Your neighbors, the Men of Skyrim, took your land and killed you by the thousands and the Dwemer that you took for friends schemed behind your backs. Constantly, you were at war with each other and your life was misery.

This is how you were when we, the Tribunal, found you. But look at you now!

You live in Great Houses, Thrice-Sealed, where your hearths are warm and your walls are adorned with brilliant tapestries and trophies of your victories. This unforgiving land you have tamed: its fire no longer burns your skin and your caravans no longer lose their way in the ash storms. We have given you good Laws and good Traditions, and made you Councilors, Craftsmen and Learned Priests, you, who once were but witless Netchimen, Poachers and Hermit Doomsayers. Your Orphaned Sons I have raised and trained myself and now they serve as my Hands. You are clad in fine robes and jewelry and drink from goblets made of Glass and Godsblood, and the Beastfolk that used to terrify you are now slaves in your fields and in your mines.

I blessed you with the Long-Legged Velk, the sacred nectar of which you drink so eagerly, and I have protected you like a Mother.

Look what has become of the enemies who would do you harm while the Tribunal have watched over you! Go walk the shores of River Pryai and witness the bones of the Remanite Legions that Lord Vivec himself put there. And whose statue is that, in the Dorom Plaza, battling Mehrunes Dagon? Together with Lord Sotha Sil, I broke him and drove him back into the lowest pits of Oblivion. And what of Kamal, the Frost Demons of Akavir? I struck down upon them with all the Fury of the Stars and Lord Vivec washed away their taint with a tidal wave that reached the night sky. Perhaps one of you, my Children, could have done the same?

Or perhaps your deeds are greater still?

Where were you, tell me, when the Almsivi unified all of Resdayn and fought the treacherous House Dagoth? Who among you can say that they were there, at Red Mountain, when the vile race of Dwemer was eradicated from the face of the earth? Step forward! Let me hear how you held the Hortator in your arms as he succumbed to his wounds. Were you there with us when we laid the foundations of Morrowind? When the Inner Sea was created? Surely, you must have been, if you would dare to question us!

Witness, now, this damning silence!

Not one of you has stepped forward. Not one of you has staked a higher claim. It is because you all realize the truth: we are beyond mortal rivalry both in deed and in wisdom. Never have the Almsivi failed you. Claiming otherwise would be a Lie. And even as this new Third Era dawns, the Almsivi will unfailingly continue to protect and guide you. You all know this, deep down, in your hearts.

I have listened to your whispers and murmurs, such as they are. To a god, the voice of a mortal is like the buzzing of an insect. Easy to ignore. Or to swat aside and silence. But you are not insects, are you?

You are my Children, and I am your Mother. I am War and Mercy.

Out of love, I have chosen to hear you.

You will not disappoint us again.

[After this, Almalexia dismissed her Priests and retired to Her chambers accompanied by the Archcanon of Mournhold. She instructed him to have transcribed copies of Her Words distributed and read out loud in every town and hamlet in Morrowind. The Goddess Herself would not leave Mournhold again for many months, until She, together with Lords Vivec and Sotha Sil, made a Pilgrimage to the Red Mountain.]

PLAYING: Mega Man Legends

Ah yes, a wonderful PS1 classic. Exactly what I needed. Exactly what I always need.

I played through three Star Wars games back to back: Dark Forces 2, Mysteries of the Sith, and Jedi Outcast. What I hoped to get out of these games was strongly Star Wars themed action adventures that were pickup-and-play. They were that, for the most part. But the levels were overly long, the difficulty uneven, and the complete experiences were mostly...exhausting. So when choosing my next game, I felt like I needed something more “reliable”. Mega Man Legends might be just what I was looking for...

I played the game as a teen in the 90s. It blew me away. Not sure I had played a Mega Man game, but I knew of them as 2D run-n-gunners. So to see a 3D Mega Man, with voice acting, cut scenes, and a full-fledged story was surprising. And it wasn’t like every game at this time were of this caliber. Resident Evil 2. Metal Gear Solid, and Ocarina of Time hadn’t been released yet. This game was blazing new trails!

Now...that’s not to say it’s a complete original. Tomb Raider had already shown the world how 3D platforming shooters could work. And much of MGL is RPG-inspired. Still, there was decent anime voice acting, and cut scenes. The graphics were doing the best they cool for 1997 on the PS1, and the art-direction is still a delight now in 2021. But what really always blew me away was how the buster-canon could be customized. You bought add-ons that boosted specific stats: power, range, fire-rate, and energy (clip-size). You could customize the canon with certain combinations to fit your play style or the situation. I’m really disappointed more games haven’t ripped this off completely (looking at you Borderlands!).

What I really love about this game is the freedom. That’s what makes all great games to me, a sense of freedom to enjoy the world presented. And I love getting to explore and find secrets. Anyway, I’ve enjoyed this game in the past and I’ve restarted it many times, but I’ve never beaten it. That changes now. I’m committed.

The controls (playing on Duckstation) kinda suck. You move forward, back, and left-right with the D-Pad. To turn (rotate) you have to use the shoulder buttons. It’s a precursor to the now-standard two-stick shooter controls of all FPS’s. But at this time, it was a complicated concert of actions to get around. Luckily, the environments aren’t too crazy: usually just straight hallways and large, open spaces. But some challenges are only challenges because of the controls. This is made more annoying by the fact that you can’t shoot while moving.

Well...you can. But only when moving forward or sideways. Not while backwards or turning. I think this is fixed in MML2--but not sure.

There’s a Lock-on button to help with the shooting, but it can occasionally focus on the wrong target. But even without the lock-on, there’s a pretty helpful auto-aim for targets mostly in front of Mega Man.

The difficulty pacing of the game is...well it’s bad. But that’s because as much as the game likes to hold your hand with tutorials and gameplay explanation, they don’t do a great job ensuring you’re properly equipped. I remember playing a few times and finding the first “bosses” to be brutally difficult. You basically go from exploring a short beginner’s dungeon to fighting three boss fights back to back. And these are not easy-going boss fights. These are “hope you’ve mastered these awkward ass controls” boss fights.

But the problem, it seems, is that I just wasn’t prepared. I double-checked a shop before going into the fights and found I was able to upgrade my health points by about 3 notches. I bought a health flask, and upgraded it as well. And then I was able to buy buster parts to make my canon  more formidable. This time, each boss fight was...not easy--but not frustrating. I didn’t fail any of the objectives, and found I could take a few risks without fear of losing. So now I’ve made it a point to constantly visit shops and grind some Zenny for upgrades.

This is where the RPG-ness comes in. While you don’t earn XP and level up--money (zenny) can be used to purchase health, armor, and weapon upgrades. You can also find weapon upgrades in the “dungeons”. Not all combat happens in dungeons. Much of the fighting has been above ground, in forests and towns.

The dungeons are pretty simple. They’re basically on grid-layouts with hallways leading to a variety of open rooms. It would be super easy to randomly generate these kinds of levels. And while I get some Zelda vibes from the treasure chests, the dungeons lack any sort of creative puzzle solving or unique tools and obstacles.

Given that the story of this game is that “diggers” (treasure seekers, tomb raiders--whatever you wanna call em) are exploring underground dungones/vaults for riches, the game could have easily been about finding islands with dungeons and exploring them. I mean, this game could totally function as a Sea of Thieves, and be infinitely playable. But I’m not sure games as such were really in the minds of designers at the time. So instead they created something more linear and story-driven. Which totally works.

Speaking of story--it’s silly. Mega Man is a “Digger” that goes around looking for refractor power sources. It seems this is a post-apocalypse world where oceans have risen to engulf much of the mainland (climate change warning??). To have power, the new cities that have formed must scavenger power from subterranean labyrinths filled with hostile robots. But while the Diggers appear to be generally well-meaning, there are pirates who seek power for power’s sake.

There’s a legendary abundance of energy called the Mother Lode. Um...Ok. It’s supposedly underneath this specific city that Mega Man and friends just so happen to crash land at. So Pirates have begun attacking the city to claim it. One of them is a girl named Tron Bonne. While she works with her pirate family and their army of super cute lego-looking robots, she develops a crush on Mega Man after he saves her from a tiny dog. It’s kind of an interesting development as you see signs of the pirates and Tron before the invasion truly begins. 

Beyond that, there’s not a ton of plot development. It’s really more character driven. Not super complicated characters, but people trying to live their lives while pirates bomb the library (why the library??).

I’m hitting the point in the game I reached when I first played as a teen. That first time was the furthest I’d ever gotten. So once I’m past that, it’ll be all new territory. I can’t wait!

While playing this, though, I can’t get Elder Scrolls out of my mind. I’ve really wanted to play through Morrowind or Oblivion. That thought has made me wish MML was open world like ES.

I have a bunch of like. Cryptid footage of morrowind draugr on my phone now from trying to send a video of their movement.

Aftershock

Early in the fourth era, the Nerevarine’s children eke out a living with an ashlander clan on Solstheim. Unfortunately for them, Red Mountain has not yet breathed her last.

First Seed, 4E 26, Solstheim

Red Mountain smoldered in the distance. The pebbled shores were half drowned in ash, rippled from the tide. A ghost of the Ashlands - of a home Azuraansi could see only when she closed her eyes.

Now one of the remnants of its people were clustered on the shore. Her clan - her father’s clan, small even when Vvardenfell was whole. Little was said of her father, and Raansi always wondered if her mother had warned the others off of speaking of him.

She stared at the horizon, and wondered where in the great world her mother now was. The moment Raansi and her brother came of age the Nerevarine had left Solstheim’s shores once more to see what could be saved in Red Mountain’s wake. A burden her children could never understand, but was writ plain enough to witness.

Raansi shook her head and returned to her work. She and several of the clanswomen sat on the larger stones at the shore mending fishing nets and tarring the outside of their boats. The celebration of Azura, her namesake, was fast approaching and the needs of the upcoming feast would require every net available. As the women worked the entirety of the clan’s children ran up and down the shore, skipping flat rocks over the water and playing hide and seek around barnacle ridden boulders - allowing their mothers a much needed reprieve. Their laughter echoed in the spring air. Raansi looked up from the net she was weaving to watch their play, and smiled to remember when she and Tandreth were the same age. They’d done the same at Blacklight’s docks, though the air was choked with smoke. Solstheim’s air was clean and crisp - if cold enough to bite at her lungs.

It was a bittersweet memory, for the time she and her brother had been on such playful terms had long passed. Now Tandreth bartered with the Skaal and House Dunmer and returned angrier each time - now he’d jumped at the chance to hunt, to escape the yurts and find an outlet for his fury. He worried Raansi. Once upon a time she’d thought he could be Ashkhan - his skill with the bow was second to none - but as time wore on and their mother’s absence grew longer his heart grew further from his people.

Raansi’s only grew closer. Apprenticed to the clan’s wise woman, after the Red Year she was one of very few who still possessed the knowledge of the Ashlands. Within her she helped carry the ember of her people, and ensured it stayed lit. However much her brother seemed to want to escape, Raansi was content with the rest of her life continuing on much as it did that day - tending to humble tasks ensuring her people would thrive. 

Fate had another plan.

She saw the explosion before she heard it - the steady trail of smoke pouring out of Red Mountain’s ruin was pushed aside by a shockwave, and the ensuing boom was strong enough to be felt in her chest even miles away. The air was filled with the screams of the children, running back to Raansi and the other women in fear. Soon their worried murmurs joined the children’s cries, and Raansi’s blood ran cold.

There was no time to get to higher ground - what little there was. Her mind’s eye flashed to the main camp - to the wise woman and her tent, to her brother, to her precious belongings - and then she saw the water peeling away from the shore.

She had to move quickly.

“Draw a circle in the ash. Big enough to surround us.” she commanded the other women, and several began to etch a line around them in the ash with shaking fingers. Others shepherded the children into the circle’s center while Raansi dug out several bowls along the circle’s edge. A warding spell, rooted in the ash - she’d only recently learned it and had no idea if it could shield them from the might of the sea, but she had to try. Next to them she scrawled the necessary words as quickly as she could.

“Azura save us.” One of the women whispered, and it spurred several into prayer. Some of the children joined them, the ritual chanting calming them.

“We need blood.” Raansi looked up from where she knelt with ash covered hands and gestured at the divots in the ash. Quickly the women who had blades on them let the metal bite into their palms, spilling crimson into the ash. 

They were offering bowls, and Raansi’s would be the last.

“Ash of our ancestors, save your children.” she murmured, moving to the center of the circle just as the crest of the incoming water became visible. Women cried out as she made the last of the bowls in the ash - she didn’t even feel the pain of her blade as she spilled her blood in offering. The blood of Nerevar, for whatever it meant. Raansi stood and clasped her amulet in her bloodied hand, crimson against starsteel carved into the shape of the moon. It was the twin of her brother’s, a star, and Raansi had possessed it since she was born. It made a grim sort of sense, she supposed, that she would hold it as she died.

“Azura.” she whispered, a last plea if the wards she placed failed them in the face of such power. “My life is yours. Take it, if it will save my people.”

The roar of incoming water grew louder and louder, drowning out the cries of those surrounding her. As it hit the shore Raansi thought of her mother.

It crashed with deafening force, the ground beneath her feet quaking. Raansi heard gasps around her, and thought it was the last breath of the women whose children she’d delivered, who had mended her clothes and laughed with her, who had taught her how to make a meal out of anything. The water hit the line that had been drawn into the sand. All sound of the world cut out, and she thought it was the end.

Yet the moment the water had touched the ward it was as if the blood came alive - rising to meet the water. It formed a shimmering red dome above them and the sea crashed around it, all the power of the ocean unable to overwhelm their offering. Beyond Raansi could see only murky water. The others were silent with awe or terror as the sea washed over them, and she thought of the now-dead Tribunal, who had saved Morrowind from a similar fate. The Tribunal, who had paid for their power with her ancestor’s life.

Raansi wondered what price she would have to pay.

She lost track of how much time had passed before the water level began to lower, but as it did so too did the shield protecting them - ebbing away as the Sea of Ghosts left Solstheim’s stones. When at last the water had returned to whence it had came it was as if a spell had been broken - now some of the women and children wept, while others gathered up their charges and took off running to the main camp.

Raansi followed. It was as if the world around her had been wiped clean - the nets and boats were long gone, the ash stolen from the shore with only the patch that had protected her remaining. Still she clung to her amulet as she sprinted across the rock, kelp hanging from what few trees had withstood the onslaught.

She wasn’t the first to make it to camp. As she neared she could hear the sound of weeping, and she knew what in her heart she had known the moment Red Mountain had gasped another death rattle.

It was gone. All of it. Even the paths between the tents were erased, years of foot traffic gone in a heartbeat. Raansi felt faint on realizing that with them countless ashlanders had lost their lives. In a daze she stumbled through the site, as bare as it’d been when they first landed on Solstheim’s shores - and when she reached a boulder that had sat outside of the wise woman’s yurt with nothing near it she collapsed to her knees.

The cruelty of it gripped her. Her people had been persecuted in Vvardenfell for so long, driven nearly to extinction - by Azura’s grace they had survived the Red Year to struggle on Solstheim’s shores, only for it all to be destroyed by an echo of what had nearly ended her world.

Now Raansi beheld the death of all she knew, and realized that what little knowledge she kept - what desperately little she had - was all that was.

She buried her face in her hands and wept. 

By sunset she and the other survivors had gathered what few things could be salvaged and constructed a shelter. Raansi drained her magicka reserves keeping them warm, for the makeshift yurt they’d managed had canvas walls soaked with seawater. They huddled together, women, children, and what supplies had been buried for safekeeping. Counting heads had given her a grim statistic - out of a clan of more than fifty, twenty remained - fifteen of which were children who were either orphaned or had lost fathers.

They’d cried all the tears they could muster by nightfall, and all but Raansi had collapsed into exhausted slumber. She sat outside the ramshackle yurt and watched the moon rise, trying desperately to take solace that at least the children had survived. Still, her eyes stung as the stars made themselves known in the sky, the loss of her brother settling over her. They were moon and star, pledged to Azura from birth - two halves that together could do anything. Years of schemes and pranks, of discovery and play, of childhood fights and hopes and dreams, knowledge of the other that only siblings could possess…

She squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t mourn yet - not when the wind from the Sea of Ghosts was biting cold and she had the survival of the others to ensure. Raansi didn’t know nearly enough to be a wise woman, but she was the closest thing they had - by dawn they would start on their way to the nearest Skaal camp (if it, too, hadn’t been lost to the sea) and consider their next steps. With food and shelter, they could mourn their dead.

What would she tell her mother? That everything she had fought so hard to preserve was gone in a freak accident? That her only son, spitting image of the father lost to them, was dead with it?

He’d been so angry the last time their mother departed. He’d shouted at her to stay, told her that whatever was left of Vvardenfell cared little for her, that she’d done enough - and still the Nerevarine had departed, tears freezing on her lashes.

Was that the last memory her mother was to have?

Raansi’s would be his smile - a promise he’d find her a snow leopard to tame, a joke that a Skaal shaman’s son would be her perfect match. Only he knew how to exacerbate her and make her smile at the same time, only he dared when the others offered her too much respect, and now…

Gravel crunched nearby. Raansi raised her head from where it had dropped between her knees, and saw a shadowy silhouette stumbling dazed through the camp. A humanoid outline - by its gait she thought it was a zombie, shambling toward the yurt and the campfire within. She hastily scrambled to her feet and gathered the dregs of her magicka to summon an orb of light in her hands, sending it through the darkness toward the figure.

The light illuminated Tandreth, so frost laden he looked as if he’d crawled out of the sea. He was shivering violently and clearly hypothermic, but he was alive.

Raansi cried out and ran to him, throwing her arms around his shoulders in the tightest hug she’d ever given.

“Is it a dream?” Tandreth murmured. “The sea took them all, I thought it took you, I thought of what I’d tell mother-”

“We need to get you somewhere warm.” Raansi took his hands into hers and gasped at the touch - they were as ice, his fingers clearly frostbitten. The pinky of his left hand was blackened, and she swallowed to think of how her vain brother would deal with its loss. “We have a fire and some furs in the yurt.”

Tandreth stumbled, and Raansi had to loop his arm over her shoulders and support him the few meters to the yurt. Their entry woke some of the women, whose eyes shone with hesitant hope at the sight of Tandreth. Some had husbands in his hunting party.

Raansi could only shake her head. Her brother was all that survived of the clan’s men.

It was the first time she’d dealt with loss of such magnitude.

It would be the first of three.

A price had to be paid.

The Echmer Of Yneslea

Yneslea is a large Archipelago in the Padomaic Sea, east even of Morrowind, in between Tamriel and Akavir. It, along with the other islands of the Padomaic Sea, were conquered by Emperor Uriel V in his failed conquest of Akavir. Where the Emperor met a race unseen by the people of Tamriel since the Battle Of Red Mountain. 

The Echmer were created by the Eastward Dwemer, the Noraken Clan, as a servant force, eventually inheriting the great brass cities of their masters after the Battle Of Red Mountain. 

Today the Echmer have abandoned the Steam of the Dwemer in exchange of Gala, a product of the remains of the Earthbones not unlike fossil fuels. The Echmer are a studious and private people, open to outsiders but eager to keep their traditions to themselves. They have a great love of order and hierarchy, though not so much as to keep them from spontaneity. And while observing the Aedra and Daedra care little for the distinction between them, separating them instead into the Dead-Gods, Birth-Gods, Keeping-Gods, Wraith-Gods, and Effigy-Gods, all born of P’hanoikhei. They also practice Ancestor Worship, headed by a living god not unlike the Tribunal, who was once a mortal Echmer, a traveller goddess named Hrahndeyl.

The Echmeri food and arts are distinct from Tamriel, eating dishes composed of fruits, fish, and small insects, and exporting a product similar to Ice Cream into Tamriel. Their arts are composed not of plays but of large scale puppet shows, creating and controlling elaborate puppets to enact plays ranging from Histories to Religious content to Comedies, with puppets ranging in size from simple hand puppets and dolls to elaborate contraptions to size of mammoths.

“ you can't just sit back and accept a destiny of death ” Says Nova, leaning her forearms against the side of the ship; many would find the endless expanse of waves disquieting, but to Nova it was just another horizon to explore. The journey to Morrowind was a long one, but good company always seemed to add wind to the sails. “ i believe that the future holds infinite hope for all of us ”

       𝚒 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎, they nearly say aloud, though fall silent if only because there was no use in reasoning against optimism with this woman. they’d begun to learn to keep quiet regarding their more sour thoughts, finding themselves unwanting of any potential chiding or disdain. it was easier to be withdrawn, that much they knew well. so they were silent as nova spoke, trying to take their words to heart and at least partially failing. the future held something– whether it was hope was a different story.

the sound of the waves filled the brief silence between them, the gentle sound of a quill against a loved journal’s pages overlapped by the sea. they were drawing again, and paused just as they finished a stroke of hair caught in the wind. vane looked up, their eyes half-lidded and squinting against the breeze and sunlight. 

       “ would you consider fate something positive.. or negative, nova?.. ”

tri - crescendo’s  game  ,  eternal sonata    /    open!

Reasons to side with The Stormcloaks

So I made a post on why I believe The Imperials is the right choice in The Skyrim Civil War. An anon requested I do some suggestions for why The Stormcloaks are right. To be fair. I believe that both The Imperials and Stormcloaks are right and wrong in their own way. I just think it’s smarter to side with the Imperials. With that out of the way, let’s start with the pros and cons of the Stormcloaks

Pros

The Stormcloaks are right to rebel. When The Great War ended and The White-Gold Concordat was signed and The Empire and The Aldmeri Dominion made peace. Not only was the worship of Talos banned, The Blades were disbanded, the cession by the Empire of a large portion of southern Hammerfell to the Aldmeri Dominion and the right for the Thalmor to move throughout the Empire after the Empire didn't enforce the White-Gold Concordat, to hunt down both worshipers of Talos. So not only was the worship of Talos banned. But The Blades who guarded The Emperors for generations were forcefully disbanded, The Empire allowed The Thalmor to take a limited control over a portion of Hammerfell, showing Hammerfell how weak the Empire became and causing resentment to the Empire and The Thalmor Justiciars kidnaps and rounds up anyone who dares to worship Talos in secret or openly. When you allow the very force that you were fighting  in The Great war to kidnap innocent civilians in the dead of night from their own homes and for them to be tortured for their right to worship, you have shown Skyrim that you have failed her. The Stormcloaks are right to rebel

When The Empire made peace with The Aldmeri Dominion, the province of Hammerfell had to withdraw/be kicked out of The Empire and continue fighting on it’s own. The Thalmor has not managed to achieve their goals in Hammerfell, and the resistance is very much alive and well there. If they can do it, so can Skyrim.

Ralof is the first friend the Dragonborn makes regardless of what race you choose if you choose to go with him. 

Yes The Stormcloaks and mostly the population of Windhelm are racist. But it’s not as black and white as it may seem. The Gray Quarter. The assumption is that Ulfric forces The Dunmer to live in The Gray Quarter.  But with some research you would realize this to be quite untrue. The Dunmer are not forced to live anywhere. The live in nanny for the Cruel-Seas, and the owner of the Hlaalu farm do not. If Ulfric truly wanted to segregate them why do two Dunmer not live there? Consider this, the Dunmer probably moved to Windhelm right after the eruption of the Red Mountain or the Argonian invasion. Both of which happened before Ulfric was Jarl. So they must've lived in the Gray Quarter before Ulfric was in power. For whatever reason it must've fallen apart and became what it is today. You might be thinking, "Why doesn't Ulfric fix it?" He's in the middle of a war, it's a rebellion fighting an Empire, it's not going to be easy. Another reason is if they did ruin it on their own, it's not Ulfric's responsibility to fix it. If they destroyed it on their own, why would the Jarl have to spend tax payers dollers to fix something that's not even city property? The next is the Argonians, I actually don't think they are completely forbidden from entering the city. It's never said they can't go in at all? It's just said they can't live in it. Maybe they can't live in it because their is no room. Do you know four empty houses in Windhelm they could move into? Also, Shahvee bought an amulet of Zenithar. Where would she have gotten that from? Inside the city perhaps? Finallly, the Khajiit Caravans aren't allowed in any cities, Stormcloak or Imperial. So you can't just blame the Stormcloaks for that. Brunwulf Free-Winter says Ulfric only helps Nords who are in trouble as opposed to the other races. You can get a bounty form Jorleif to kill a giant that is attacking travelers. Which shows that Ulfric did do something for the non-Nords (I assume travelers are people foriegn to Skyrim). Also, even if he did do this he fails to consider something. That their are obviously more Nords in Skyrim then the other races. Meaning if a Nord village gets attacked a lot of innocent people will be hurt or die. While if a couple of Dunmer or Argonians are wondering around Skyrim less people would be hurt or killed. It's a needs of the many outweight the needs of the few sort of mentality.  

There has not been a true High King Of Skyrim for several generations. Generally when the High King Of Skyrim dies, The Emperor picks somebody to be his pawn King Of Skyrim in order to ensure that the people of the province is under Imperial control. In other words, The High King is sure to be somebody who foremost looks after the interest of The Emperor instead of the interests of his own people.

The Markarth Incident is a pro-Stormcloak argument. The book written in the game was propaganda. The Markarth incident was started by the Empire, not Ulfric. They were the ones who promised free worship to the Nord militia led by Ulfric due to being desperate. Ulfric did not do this because he was asked by the Thalmor, or as a plot to start the civil war. He simply wanted Nords to be able to freely worship and not hide like daedra worshippers. Igmund himself. They made the deal, Ulfric did his part of the deal, and then when the elves find out about it, what did the Empire do? They went through this short checklist. Is the province in question Cyrodiil? (Y/N) Since it's not. they threw Ulfric under the bus and reneged on the deal that THEY themselves made. So the Markarth incident was actually another pro-Stormcloak argument showing how exactly the Empire treats any province that isnt Cyrodiil (sacrificial lambs).And, the funny thing is, the entire reason the Forsworn Uprising even happened is because, yet again in Igmund's(A Empire supporter) own words : "When the Aldmeri Dominion invaded the Imperial City, the Legion all but turned a blind eye to the other provinces. Many of the disgruntled natives of the Reach used the opportunity to depose the Empire, and founded what they called an independent kingdom. It was little more than a chaotic uprising, but the Reach was removed from Imperial authority for two years before we reclaimed it." So from the start until the end, everything was the Empire's fault yet again.

A unified Skyrim with all its fierce warriors will be a match for the Dominion. And with a probable alliance between Skyrim and the weak but still standing province of Hammerfell, The Aldmeri Dominion will have a real fight on their hands. The other provinces(Cyrodiil and High Rock) will have to either stand by and watch the war, or join this new “Alliance Of Tamriel” against The Dominion. Since everyone more or less knows that the war between Mer and Men could and will start any day now, these provinces will probably have to join in pretty soon in order to in longterm protect/save themselves. Cyrodiil will have to go back to being a kingdom when Skyrim becomes independent, since High Rock probably doesn’t want to be part of a two province only empire.

With The Stormcloaks in charge of Skyrim, the disbanded and scattered Blades now have a safehaven where they once again can gather and regrow, protected by the people and armies of Skyrim from The Thalmor who have been hunting them for decades within the very borders of The Empire.  The Blades might play a big part in uniting the various armies against The Aldmeri Dominion.

You might be thinking that Skyrim and the Stormcloaks aren’t strong enough to fight The Thalmor, well no. First of all, the Nords have been fighting Elves for years. Why would the Dominion be any different? Most would say, “the whole Empire couldn’t beat them, how would only the Nords do it?”. Actually, though the Empire was wounded, the Dominion was also very weakened. Their main general was killed and every soldier in Cyordiil. That was one of the largest armies ever assmbled in Elven history. And since Elves reproduce slower, they would probably have a much harder time recovering. Hammerfell alone was able to beat them, and they were just as hurt as Cyordiil from the Great War, they also had a civil war between the Crowns and the Forbears before that. So Hammerfell was not in a good position and yet they still beat the Dominion. Why can’t Skyrim? Also, they could make an alliance with Hammerfell and the two of them could work together. Also, the Stormcloaks offered High Rock an allaince, they didn’t instantly reject them which shows that they might be thinking about it. These three nations would put up one hell of a fight for the Dominion.

Despite what the dossier of Ulfric said. Ulfric is not an agent of The Thalmor. The reason the Thalmor would consider him an asset is because he might help start a war in Skyrim. That's what the Thalmor want, a long drawn bloody war. They actually say in the Dossier "A Stormcloak victory is to be avoided". If the war is ended quickly the Thalmor won't get the benefit because little lives and resources will have been lost.

If The Dragonborn aids The Stormcloaks. We have a likely chance of the story of Tiber Septim being paralleled with The Last Dragonborn. Right hand man to the High King Of Skyrim. Master Of The Voice eventually becoming Emperor. In Morrowind The Nerevarine unites the five houses of Morrowind and the Ashlanders, brings an end to The Tribunal, stops Dagoth Ur thus completing the Nerevarine Prophecy, completes the Bloodmoon Prophecy(in which he fucking fights The Daderic Prince Hircine!), kills the god Almalexia, gains the corpus disease and becomes immortal and goes on a expedition to Akavir. In Oblivion The Hero Of Kvatch/Champion Of Cyrodiil finds the heir to the Emperor, helps Martin Septim become Emperor, shuts down the Oblivion gates stopping the Dadera horde, Martin Septim sacrifices himself and becomes the avatar of Akatosh to stop Mehrunes Dagon and ends the Oblivion Crisis. The Hero Of Kvatch becomes The Champion Of Cyrodiil  and is known and celebrated throughout Cyrodiil for what we did to stop the Oblivion Crisis. then finds the relics of the crusader, becomes the divine crusader and defeats Umaril the Unfeathered. And lastly The Hero Of Kvatch goes to The Shivering Isles, does the bidding of Sheogorath, ends The Greymarch, stops Jyggalag and becomes the new Sheogorath. As for Skyrim, The Last Dragonborn fulfills the prophecy as Dragonborn and stops Alduin from ending the world, stops Harkon from plunging the world in eternal darkness and travels to Solstheim to stop Miraak, The First Dragonborn. I feel that Miraak is the true climax of the story. The First Dragonborn fighting The Last Dragonborn. Fight to the death between Dragonborns. That for me is basically the ultimate culmination of the game.  But I find it dissatisfying because it just doesn’t feel like anywhere near the level to The Shivering Isles or Tribunal. We don’t become a Daedric Prince or immortal. If anything I feel a new story DLC should be given where The Last Dragonborn becomes the new Emperor of Tamriel. Not High King, Emperor. Tidus Mede II is dead, we know nothing of heirs of The Meade Dynasty and it shouldn’t be unthinkable to assume that the Last Dragonborn can’t become The Emperor. Talos was Dragonborn and it was the Dragonblood that made the Septim Dynasty and a dragonborn who made Tamriel united. Skyrim was on the verge of seceding like Hammerfell did, most likely The Imperial side won canonically(which is for the best, Ulfric did exactly what The Thalmor wanted to divide and conquer so the Empire can fall easy in the next war) as for The Blades, the next duty of The Blades would be to guide The Dragonborn on the path of becoming Emperor because what else are they meant to do? What else can they do? Alduin is dead and it is the duty of The Blades to guide The Dragonborn and to protect The Emperor. The Dragonborn as Emperor can make the Empire stronger reunite Tamriel and unite a strong Tamriel against The Thalmor. Here’s why with The Dragonborn The Stormcloaks has a chance at stopping The Thalmor. Dragons. Depending if you choose to kill or spare Paarthurnax. You either gain Paarthurnax as an ally who spreads the way of the voice to the other Dovah or The Dragons recognize your Thu’um as the strongest and Alduin’s lordship is passed on to you.  Either way after Miraak’s defeat, The Last Dragonborrn becomes the most powerful being in all of Tamriel. He is the Harbinger Of The Companions, so The Companions can aid The Stormcloaks with their most strongest warriors, The Dragonborn restores The Bllades to their former glory. Guildmaster of The Thieve’s Guild, so Thieves can steal powerful artifacts that benefit The Thalmor, Archmage Of The College Of Winterhold, while Nords do not trust Mages, they will trust their Archmage and The Mages’ power of the arcane can rival that of the High Elves. Listener Of The Dark Brotherhood. As The Listener The Dark Brotherhood, he can arrange the deaths of important and high up Thalmor in power. He is the new Lord of the Volkihar Clan(let’s face it, absolutely no one chose to side with the Dawnguard) The Dragonborn is Champion to the Daedra. And with The Dragonborn being in service to  Hermaeus Mora, we have a chance to obtain Thalmor knowledge for our Daedric Prince of knowledge. Skyrim’s leadership needs to change. The current leadership of Skyrim needs to be destroyed. And that’s because Jarl Balgruuf can’t even maintain his own hold. It’s a crumbling piece of ruins, even before the dragons came back. Whiterun was a shadow of it’s former self. It used to be this massive trade hub, under Balgruuf, it’s garbage. Riften is a den of corruption and Jarl Lalia who has a carriage ready in case Riften falls to Imperials. It’s fitting that at least Riften’s leader survives but leaves it’s people to the mercy of Maven Black-Briar or the dragons. Each Jarl in Skyrim is equally incompetent. If Skyrim becomes independent, they will all be incompetent together meaning the province will fall that much faster. The only potential that Skyrim has to endure for a good period of time is get better leadership. The Thalmor do not want to conquer  men. The Thalmor want to deactivate the towers, destroy the race of men and remake Nirn so that they can be gods again. And it is our duty to stop this. With the Civil War over, Aludin, Harkon and Miraak defeated, what is there for the Dragonborn to do? Become Emperor and bring an end to The Thalmor. In almost ever Elder Scrolls games, the guild questlines are canon, so The Dragonborn kills Emperor Titus Mede II. The Dragonborn would lead the Stormcloaks to victory and The Dragonborn declares himself the new Dragonborn Emperor of the true Empire of Tamriel. He began a war with the old Empire of Tamriel and conquered it. Let’s say The Dragonborn walks into the Elder Council chambers and declares he killed Titus Mede II and declares himself Emperor. And pretty much everyone is calling for the Dragonborn’s death. But guess what the Dragonborn does next? BEND WILL! The Dragonborn uses the Bend Will shout on the Elder Council and the Elder Council declares you the Emperor of Tamriel. Now not only do we get a new Dragonborn Emperor, but we also have an army of dragons to join us. Paarthurnax could be convinced to join and lead the dragons on the path to the way of the voice to fight for The Dragonborn or if you do kill Paarthurnax, you gain Alduin’s lordship and the dragons will follow you. So you have an army of dragons and Paarthurnax as your ally. Where Tiber Septim had his personal dragon Nafaalilargus, The Dragonborn has Odahving. So with the combined might of  The Last Dragonborn, Dragons, the guilds and the Stormcloaks, The Thalmor will be stopped and The Summerset Isles will  be burned to ashes.  

Cons

Ulfric is power hungry and his bigoted nature and making Skyrim independent and isolationists will be a disaster. Ulfric does not care about Nords or Skyrim, all Ulfric cares about is Ulfric. and in his Thalmor Dossier, it is said that the war benefits the Thalmor, dragging it on bleeds the empire, divide and conquer.

The Stormcloak Jarls are either just dicks or generally incompetent. Skald is so dumb and arrogant to believe that Dragons have returned because of the Talos ban.  Laila-Law Giver is so blind to the corruption and crime that Maven is behind it all and she turns a blind eye to it. The Silverbloods gain power in Markarth. The bastards who jailed us for asking questions become Jarl. They are responsible for the majority of deaths in the city and used the Forsworn as slaves. Korir is blinded by his hatred of the mages to see they weren’t responsible for the great collapse. Vignar may be an asshole but he is willing to fight for Whiterun. As far as I’m concerned, the only Stormcloak Jarls worth keeping in power are  Sorli, and  Dengeir

The mistreatment of non-Nords in Windhelm is bad enough(not even Imperial smith in Whiterun is allowed to do anything in a Stormcloak Whiterun), but for all the holds, that will just bite Ulfric on his ass.

A free and independent Skyrim sounds good on paper but not so convincing in practice. It would only last so long before some spin-off of the Empire got pissed at the Stormcloaks. Probably people who aren’t Nords who are sick of being treated as second-rate crap, so there’d likely be yet another Civil War that would further destabalize the northern province.

The fight between High King Torygg was not Traditional Nordic Duel, it was not the old way. Yes Ulfric did challenge Torygg to the old way. But The Voice was not a just and fair combat. The Greybeards forbid the use of the voice in combat and it is not The Nords’ way.  Given what Torygg tells the player in Sovrnguard, he did have a chance to defend himself.    "When Ulfric Stormcloak, with savage Shout, sent me here, my sole regret was fair Elisif, left forlorn and weeping."   "I faced him fearlessly - my fate inescapable, yet my honor is unstained - can Ulfric say the same?" Now, with dialogue from Sybille Stentor, We can start to see the Duel/Murder of High King Torygg was unnecessary, and Ulfric was more into taking the throne than succeeding from the Empire. She states that Torygg, if asked by Ulfric, Torygg may have stood up against the Empire. Skyrim could have seceded peacefully, like Hammerfell did long ago. Instead, with the killing of Torygg, war sparked. The civil war began.

Skyrim seceding from the Empire would be bad. From Sybille Stentor you ask about Torygg and said he respected Ulfric and that why he killed him is because Ulfric needed a symbol and if Ulfric asked him to declare Skyrim’s independece he might have done so. But Torygg knew that would be a bad idea. Why didn't Torygg ever declare independence? "Because the Dominion is a sleeping beast that Skyrim cannot slay alone. Because many Nords are part of the Imperial army even now. Because the food and resources we get from the Empire are important to our people. Because even if we can't openly worship him, Talos the god was once Tiber Septim the man, and this is his Empire. And Torygg wasn't ready to let it fall apart."

A Stormcloak victory is pretty bad.  Skyrim will no longer be part of the Empire. You now have a weak Empire and a weak Stormcloak rebellion. The Thalmor/Aldmeri Diminion will war with them, defeating the weakened Empire with ease. Though, unlike the Empire, the Stormcloaks have more of a chance to make allies, the Thalmor is large enough to defeat the singe-Provence rebellion. 

18th of First Seed, 2E 582

No matter how long one spends thinking in circles about it, one returns to one inevitable conclusion. One is not a Khajiit. One has family beyond these borders, and a life of one’s own. One cannot remain here in Elsweyr with Aiq-Dra and her Clan. When the Clan leaves this valley, one will be leaving Elsweyr behind, and returning to the children in Skyrim.

If Qau-Dar chooses to follow one, then one cannot be held responsible for that. To both Aiq-Dra and Qau-Dar himself, one has spoken of how one would consider any debt repaid, and offered to absolve Qau-Dar of any further need he may feel to pledge himself unto one. Should he choose to do otherwise, tis his decision, and one could not be said to have failed to have given ample opportunity to allow him his freedom.

One does not delude oneself that it will be hard to leave this Clan behind. Much as in one’s past, the Khajiit have proven themselves to be welcoming and warm. One will look back in fondness at Ko’Ahni’s fussiness and maternal nature, at S’Fair’s ready smile, at Min’Daro’s slow smiles and almost girlish delight in her work. The memory of Mao-Do taking such evident pride in her grandchildren, and the camaraderie of the hunters, will be things one will recall fondly. In turn, one does not delude oneself as to what one’s decision will mean for Qau-Dar, and with that, one cannot escape a heavy burden upon the heart.

One will be glad to return to normality, of course, and to return to the children. Human children change so quickly. One may already have missed Gwemba’s sudden growth spurt, or missed her first infatuation, or any dozen of successes with the bow. Birk may now have already begun to show hair on his chin, or have undergone a growth spurt himself, or earned his first black eye. One has forced oneself not to consider such things, to not give much thought to that which one left behind in pursuit of this fool’s journey, yet now with one’s thoughts facing home, one cannot help but feel a certain urgency.

Lovillon tells one that ships yet leave for the port of Solitude from the ports of Valenwood - be they legitimate trading vessels or more clandestine voyages in the dark, he failed to say, yet his suggestion to travel by sea has merit. The situation in Cyrodil can only be degenerating by the day; after the affair with the Telvanni on our way south, one finds oneself keen to avoid a similarly eventful return north.

Should our path to the coast happen to lead us through certain towns and villages, or through the grand city of Elden Root itself, it will be only sensible. Besides. One has twice now been loosed into the world in pursuit of the Dunmer’s fool follies, being dragged into Morrowind and Elsweyr both in the process. One hardly believes one would be begrudging wishing to return to familiar climes oneself.

There is, one admits, risk to travelling through Valenwood. Elden Root is the heart of power for the Aldmeri Dominion, in name if nothing else. Where one goes, one suspects Qau-Dar will follow; where Qau-Dar goes, the Dunmer and his entourage will inevitably follow. If one believed one could, one would dissuade Fayrl from travelling with us any further. Alas, one imagines one would have more success walking upon the face of Magnus. For whatever it is worth, one also remains aware that one agreed to see the Dunmer both to and from Elsweyr in safety; by one’s honour, one remains bound to keep him alive until our return to Whiterun.

His quest has failed, of course. There will be no rift between the Khajiit and the Dominion. His words, twisted as they have been, are misunderstood. One sees no political threat in his presence in Valenwood; rather, one must consider how he might use what he sees in the future, or how the people of the Green will react to a Dunemr presence.

All things that will have to be discussed with Fayrl in person, distasteful as the prospect is. One has rather enjoyed his absence of late, what with his self imposed exile of sorts. Alas, he is required to know what will follow, and to be given the chance to make his own way home. Should he choose to travel into Valenwood, he requires warning, if only to minimise the efforts one will have to exert undoing his mistakes. To that end, one has sent R’Fazir, the young hunter who has previously gained carnal knowledge of the Dunmer, to find Fayrl and bring him to one. The hunter has a far better chance of convincing Fayrl to return than one does - he has more tools at his disposal than one, after all.

Refusal to Bow: 1 -Arrival

The ship drifted in silently bar for gentle waves splashing her hull. Not a breeze to be felt as gulls cried overhead, the vessel propelled by magic and as if, like a peacock, trying to demonstrate their power the ship’s sails were fully unfurled. Brilliant white with a golden eagle resplendent upon them, the very symbol of the Aldmeri Dominion was not about to be tucked away even in this land. It was a small act of defiance but once that could hardly do them harm. What more harm could be wrought upon them, after all that had happened?

The magnificent ship gradually came to a halt at the docks of the Imperial City. As her ropes were thrown to secure her to the pontoon, the Altmer that had been standing alone at on the bow was at long last disturbed when he failed to acknowledge they were departing the security of the wooden ship.

“Lord Llærythia, we must go. The General does not like to be kept waiting.”

The Altmeri noble, whose face has previously been one of controlled calmness, hiding his worry, transformed into a thunderstorm as his features hardened. “No. He does not,” he replied shortly, his voice a low growl as he turned stiffly about to face the Justiciar who seemed to shrink before the angered ambassador.

“Well, we had better start walking, hadn’t we?” Llaerythia enquired after a moment’s pause to which the Justiciar gave a meek, hurried nod.

In truth, all the Altmer aboard this ship were far more than nervous. Terrified was a more appropriate term, only last year had they been subject to a most horrific and unforgiving massacre because they had refused to join the Empire at first.

Septim, being the greedy monster he was, had favoured violence over a quiet discussion. Such was the way of Man, violence ingrained into their being.

And now here he was, about to meet this mass-murderer, not on a battlefield but in his new home. It was all rather surreal and to be perfectly honest he felt sick.

Despite the sun warming the crisp early spring air with barely a cloud polluting the sky, the atmosphere was bleak. It was only now that the Altmeri noble fully took in the proud city as it sprawled about its island, glaring a blinding white in the morning sun, with its unmistakable centrepiece climbing incredibly high.

Gleaming a brilliant white, the White-Gold Tower was as steadfast as ever, hardly about to topple even after all the fighting it had witnessed. It seemed a cruel joke - that Septim would choose such a structure for his home, as if he was not satisfied with humiliating the living Mer, he now chose to desecrate the relics of a long-extinct race of Mer. Then again, given how he loathed the races of Mer, was he even truly aware of who built this tower?

Llaerythia believed the general did, as much as the Mer hated to admit it, the man was incredibly clever, well-read and in general very analytical. It was why he had been so successful, he had not allowed his arrogance to override common sense. If anything he had been very clever in how he had gone about ‘conquering’ the Mer and Betmeri lands, targeting Morrowind first to claim that horrific weapon. Llærythia shuddered slightly as anger erupted within him, he had witnessed the power of that thing only a few months ago. Alinor had stood not a chance, their powerful defences had counted for nought against the Dwemer creation. As thousands of innocents had lain broken in pools of their blood. Some Altmer had simply vanished, evaporated would be the best way to describe it. And all he had been able to do was watch helpless, paralysed before surrendering if only to quell the screams and prevent Septim’s genocidal march.

It was only now, with the ship docked and about to disembark that the sense of foreboding that had been weaving about him for the past two weeks or so came to a head. How could he walk down that ramp and into the city of the sworn enemy of the Mer? How could he treat someone to courtesy and civility when this person had so much blood on his hands he could take a bath of blood daily for the rest of his life, and still have enough left over to serve at least two more generations?

Surely anyone with morals, anyone with compassion would feel tremendous guilt over slaughtering in such a great number and without a care for chivalry? As much as Llærythia wanted to believe that Septim would recognise his errors, the Mer knew better.

Closing his eyes to still himself, he inhaled deeply before opening his eyes to walk with careful step across the ship, down the ramp and onto the pontoon, everything bobbing gently. Now at ground-level, a light breeze caressed him, ruffling his various robes as the ends of his golden hair took flight to wrap about his waist.

Pulling at his robes to straighten them, one hand idly went to his head to pull back his hair that was otherwise secured under a simple gold and silver eagle wing circlet. Twisting some strands about his fingers he felt them come loose; in his anxious state he was starting to pull his hair out. Tutting and sighing to himself, Llærythia withdrew his hand to raise his head and saw much to his surprise that there was literally no one here. Well aside from the various crew and the other Thalmor who had accompanied him, there was no one bar a few humans running about, ensuring the ship was secured and tending to other ships.

Surely Septim knew they were coming? Had they got the right day? Llærythia briefly checked with a nearby deckhand to confirm that yes, they had arrived on the allotted date and bang-on the arrival time. Frowning, Llærythia mused over what to do. Normally he would send someone on ahead to find out exactly what was going on, but he could not take such a gamble this time. Septim had told them to wait to be led into the city by a guard, and as much as Ll would have liked to, he could run the risk of further angering Septim. Ll refused to endanger to life of an innocent or further damage the already tattered remnants of the relationship between the newly born powerful Empire and a floundering Dominion.

***

And so they waited, waited until the sun was at its peak in the sky by which time the various Altmer had resigned to perching on crates. Others had taken to watching the shoals of fish or the occasional seal swim about the docks as they pondered if they had been forgotten. Which would hardly be surprising - Septim loathed Mer with a passion. As to highlight this contempt, he had them dock at the furthest end of the docks, forcing them to walk further if they ever wished to access their ship again.

Llærythia could not let his annoyance show, despite the Altmer of lower ranks already voicing their displeasure at the situation. Yes it wasn’t fair, but complaining would no doubt make things worse. Such was that snivelling coward, Septim would use any sign of discontentment against anyone. He could easily have any of them punished to an exaggerated extreme for even bad-mouthing his occupation of the Ayleid City he had most disrespectfully dubbed ‘The Imperial City’. How he wished to infect all the lands with his ideals and ‘culture’. Already he was succeeding, his crusade of renaming every single land to his liking was showing through.

Already he was a surging mass of dread, now to be topped by resentment. As much as Llærythia was hoping Septim would allow Alinor to keep its name, Llærythia knew better and knew that today they would find out what disgusting name he had designated for the beautiful islands of the Altmer.

Having taken a seat upon a crate, Llærythia had been making some notes in a journal as he jotted down his first impressions of the Imperial City. As much as he hated to be here, he might as well record his visit here. It was all part of history, was it not? In any case, by making any notes on the Imperial City it could help future generations, should, gods forbid, another war break out.

With the sun blazing down upon them, the Thalmor had migrated to the shadow of the ship, moving all the trunks and crates under it so they may sit somewhere cooler. The guards for one thing, were sweating, many wishing they could rip off their full suits of armour and just dive into the sea. As it was, they had taken to splashing cool sea water on their faces. Llærythia counted himself lucky, his formal attire whilst of several layers was fortunately of silk, therefore being extremely lightweight and breathable. Additionally his rank and status meant he wore white, blue, green, gold and silver and not the gold and black of lower ranks.

The steady steps of armoured feet heralded the arrival of a lone Imperial captain. Immediately, the Altmer stood up, straightening clothes and trying to look as proper as possible. More to retain their image and not be a source of easy jokes, than out of respect for the human.

Llærythia’s cool gaze ran over the lone human, arching an eyebrow a tad. Was this it? First they had been made to wait several hours and when their ‘escort’ finally arrived it was a lone human. Was Septim so arrogant he had sent a single captain to fetch the Thalmor delegation? Did Septim actually get enjoyment out of insulting those he had so grievously wrong? Llærythia would hardly be surprised were this the case.

Disgust overshot dread as Llærythia saw that Septim was not even going to bother to meet them. Did that man think himself so untouchable and great that he had no time to be civil and offer a formal welcome to ‘his’ city?! The man had more than enough troops, clearly he thought so little of his new guests that he had the audacity to not only refuse to grace them with his presence, but he considered a single lowly captain enough.

Fists clenching within his robes, Llærythia was met with the disinterested almost cocky gaze of the Imperial. Clearly this human thought this was not worth his time, and probably wished for the gathering of Mer to just fall into the sea.

“You are to come with me,” the captain drawled without so much as a glance at them, turning on his heel to start walking away when Llærythia took a step forwards, frown creasing his brow. He had thought to perhaps ask the man to wait but already he knew he would not. It was becoming clear just how they were going to be treated here - second-class citizens at best.

As much as he hated it, Llærythia knew he was going to have to cooperate without question or refusal lest he wished to receive the horrific consequences. Following the human with hurried footsteps (Ll could have sworn the man was walking fast on purpose just to have fully armour Mer struggle to keep up in an embarrassing rabble).

Almost as soon as he had started did the captain stop and without looking over his shoulder, examined his fingernails. “And you can stop with that magic, the Emperor does not wish for it be practiced so openly.”

Llærythia’s eyes widened considerably, mouth thinning at the sheer audacity of this mere human. How dare he order him about like this?! Llærythia was a noble, this human was still a commoner despite his military status. It would appear that the recent bruising of the Altmer to the bone a dozen times over had given the traces of Man a dramatic increase in confidence.

Llærythia could only look over his shoulder, sorrow written across his features as the crestfallen delegation allowed the various objects they had been using telekinesis on drop to the floor. Hopelessness filled the atmosphere as the Altmer bent over to shoulder the heavy items, some having to be shared. Of course Septim had denied them Thalmor any aid in this regard, knowing full well not just of how humiliating this was, but how physically weak Altmer are.

Wishing he shoulder at least one of the trunks, but knowing this is what Septim wanted, Llærythia resumed walking with his head high as possible.

“May I ask where the General is?” The Altmeri noble was struggling to keep up with the captain who appeared to be trying to break out in a run, probably on purpose just to further unsettle the Altmer.

A snort and a shake of the head. “The Emperor is currently preoccupied. He will see you tomorrow.”

At that Llærythia stopped once more, this time in shock. Tomorrow? But… Septim had informed the Dominion that he would meet them on the day of their arrival! How could he make such a change and not even bother to inform them beforehand?!

“May I ask why I was not informed of this ahead of time?” Even though Llærythia could not see the Imperial’s face, the Mer was certain the man was smirking and Llærythia considered just how much he would like to slap such a smile off this upstart’s face. Would like to, but such violence was above him. Far better to stick with the Altmeri way of carefully-chosen words and the barbs contained within them.

“Something changed last-minute, I do not know the details.” Llærythiaknew this to be a lie, it was not like the human bothered to hide such a fact such was his tone. Septim had clearly just decided not to show, wishing to further humiliate and anger the Altmer. Wanting to demonstrate his new-found power, as if to show just how he could push others around and get away with it. In short: he was messing the Thalmor about purely because he could. Purely to remind them of the way he had beaten them into submission mere months ago.

And now he was calling himself ‘Emperor’, Llærythia felt quite sick but could do no more. In silence, the Altmeri ambassador and his retinue followed the Imperial from the docks and into city proper. They hardly felt like guests, prisoners being allowed to roam on a leash was more an apt description. A once-proud race torn down from their civilised throne to be forced to wander amidst a mire of putrid violence and primitiveness.

***

As a ship from Alinor was docking another individual was arriving, the difference being he was several days late, not that he cared or even understood really. ‘Lateness’, ‘time’, all an illusion created by Auri-El to enslave and entrap the creation of Seth. The brilliant gold of the eagle emblasoned on the ship’s sails was so extravagantly ridiculous, so bright that Aikozeruuthix could only stare and tilted his head at its flamboyance. He knew the Altmer to be over the top in some respects, he just had not realised that they painted their sails with eagles so gold it was like they were trying to sear your eyeballs.

As the Saxhleel questioned the subtlety of the Altmer whilst pondering how any substance could be that gold, he guided his pterosaur down. Right now both he and his mount were shrouded in a power spell of invisibility. The Argonian pterosaur was incredibly useful, able to cover vast distances in a fraction of the time it would take to walk them. However if old Skooma-Brain ever got so much as a whiff of them, then that monster would be salivating after them.

Landing in a clearing amoungst the exootic foliage, Aikozeruuthix dismounted with a single leap. Patting the giant reptile on the neck he gave a whistle and click, indicating the pterosaur could return home. When the Saxhleel needed to follow suit he would send for a pterosaur.

Wind buffeted him as the spectacular creature became airborne once more to turn eastwards and soar home. Longing filled the Sap Speaker as he watched the pterosaur disappear beyond the trees, if only he could have gone with him. Septim was nothing more than a nuisance, a crying overgrown baby who thought himself a god. Who thought he had the right to rule over all. ‘Guiding the less fortunate’ was what he called it. Pah! He just wished to control!

And now once more he had been asked for to discuss some new laws (as well as Aikozeruuthix’s involvement with certain ‘illegal practices’), especially now that Alinor had submitted to Septim’s rule.

At first Aikozeruuthix had been surprised that Alinor had given in so quickly and easily, he had been expecting them to resist far longer. That was until he had heard just how Septim had subdued Alinor. Genocide. Whilst Aikozeruuthix had no particular love for the stuck-up race of elves, he had even less love for someone who thought it perfectly acceptable to use an abomination of immense power against a people who stood no chance. More to the point it showed Septim’s desire for unification and peace to be but a thin lie - why else had he cooperated with Resdayn in such a way but to get it to cough up such a weapon? Furthermore it just showed how disgusting the Dunmer were - willing to appease Septim as long as they got special treatment.

Now in an even fouler mood at such thought, Aikozeruuthix stomped off through the trees to join the road. Clawed feet hitting the stones, the Sap Speaker was dressed in nothing more than some decorative gold and jewel bands about his arms and tail. He bore one weapon - a small wooden sword strapped to his back lined with obsidian teeth. Giving no acknowledgement to those who passed him and thankful that at least the sun was out otherwise the air would have been considerably colder,, Aikozeruuthix grumbled to himself in Jel. He had once again been dragged away from his mate and children to deal with Skooma-Brain’s childish screaming.

By now the guards were familiar with the rather plain-looking Saxhleel, and they knew better than to halt him. Allowing the reptilian person to pass, he stalked up the streets before stopping to look up and groaning. Of course Septim had once more demolished some of the old Merish buildings to build new houses on. Houses of an inferior quality, Aikozeruuthix noted. The once-brilliant white houses that had illuminated the streets were gone, replaced by dull brown and black structures.

Given he was still struggling to understand the fast-spoken tones of the locals, Aikozeruuthix opted for the local option of climbing a building. Walking over to a house, he scuttled up it side with incredible speed and skill, but to a Saxhleel climbing is pretty much instinctive.

Crawling onto the rooftop, Aikozeruuthix was greeted by a cooling sea breeze he was anything but grateful for. The tang of salt in the air combined with the scent of tropical fruit to create an aroma not unlike the scent of Argonia’s coast. Surveying his surrounding he soon saw the path he would have to take to reach the White-Gold Tower.

As he was committing this route to memory, a distinctive gravelly voice heralded him from below. Swaying his head from side-to-side, shoulders hunching as he drew in a sharp breath, he glanced down to see, sure enough about six Dunmer looking up at him. Five were guards whilst the one in the centre was dressed in the ‘fine’ robes of a Great House noble. Whilst the Altmeri ship’s sails had been embarrassingly ostentatious, the Dunmer ambassador dressed in robes so dull Aikozeruuthix almost got a headache from how depressing the colour choice was. Apparently the Dunmer did not know how to have fun at all, even in their clothes.

The noble in question was Athaynam Orithi of House Hlaalu, Aikoruuthix had no clue which Great House was worse - Hlaalu, Telvanni or Dres. They were all pretty self-serving vain disgusting Houses, but Hlaalu was practically licking Septim’s boots clean.

“Athaynam...how pleasant of you to grace me with your presence,” Aikoruuthix called down, the derision clear in his voice where it was vacant from his face.

“Indeed. You are several days late!” How one person could sound so smug was beyond Aikoruuthix, and that expression… How the Saxhleel wished he could rip off that grey-skin’s face.

“And I do not understand the concept of ‘time’. Now why don’t you leave me alone?”

“Now, now, I simply cannot do that. What would the Emperor say, if I just walked off and left you alone on a rooftop?”

“I’m guessing he would scream and throw a table through the window?”

“You really should not mock the Emperor so openly here, especially here.”

“Well… Perhaps the other races shouldn’t, but you appear to forget he cannot hurt me like the others. If he does… Well, I don’t think he fancies waking up to a Shadowscale on his chest.”

“Are you threatening the Emperor?” Amusingly the Dunmer’s voice had grown slightly high-pitched.

“And are you defending him?” At that Athaynam immediately shut up, looking at the ground automatically in embarrassment and taking a moment to consider his words again before returning his shrewd gaze to the Saxhleel with folded arms.

“The Emperor may not be able to harm you like the ambassadors here, but he can certainly make things more difficult for you. Afterall, didn’t you loose some land to the Blackwood Area recently?” A growl erupted in Aikoruuthix’s throat, ah yes, Septim was under the impression he could just take land and divvy it up! What could he not understand - land belonged to no one! Especially the Land of The Hist!

Knowing full well that this slimey individual would rat him out to Tiber Septim about Aikoruuthix roaming the rooftops (and he would probably throw in a lie or two about the Saxhleel stealing some food), if for no other reason that to gain Septim’s favour further. Aikoruuthix relented, wishing to evade a squabbling-match with this childish Dunmer, lowering himself back down the side of the house before jumping the last ten feet or so. Standing up, he already towered over the Dunmer who on closer inspection was looking at the Saxhleel like there was disease-ridden wretch grovelling about on the floor.

“There. I hope you are satisfied. Now why don’t you run back along to your precious Emperor?”

With smugness practically seeping from his robes, Athaynam nodded and with a sickly-sweet tone, spoke, “You would do well to make your way to the White-Gold Tower as quickly as possible. We don’t want to keep the Emperor waiting now do we?”

With that the party of Dunmer turned on their heels, heading in the direction of the White-Gold Tower, their noses turned to the sky. Aikoruuthix watched them go with narrowed eyes, a growl brewing in his throat. Well that bastard could sing sweetly to Septim as much as he wanted, Aikoruuthix was not about to bend to such suggestions. In fact he was rather hungry and instead turned to start making his way down to the docks. He was not about to pay for something he could obtain with ease, he just had to hope that the Imperials would not start whining about ‘a giant lizard fishing in the docks’.

apotheosis, CHIM, and other jibberish from the journal of archmage mauvieux

... which is what Mankar Camoran posits happens to souls once they enter into the dreaming-sleeve; there are a few similarities between Camoran’s work and Vivec’s, perhaps the most important being the presence of the phrase, “AE GHARTOK PADHOME [CHIM] AE ALTADOON,” which roughly translates to ‘I am the hand of Padomay, CHIM is my weapon,” or, “CHIM is the weapon in the hand of Padomay” (Aldmeris is a very fluid language, and many words have multiple meanings depending on the context: AE is ‘I’, ‘I am’, and ‘the’) , in Vivec’s sixteenth sermon, and the phrase, “DAGON ALTADOON CHIM GHARTOK” - “Dagon weapon CHIM hand”, perhaps Dagon’s hand wields the weapon CHIM? - or maybe the four keys? Dagon, Novitiate; Altadoon, Questing Knight; CHIM, Chaplain; Ghartok, Master? He says to ‘come slowly, and bring four keys’ ... are these the four keys? How do they lead me to the Dawn?

I remember Vara asking me about CHIM before, after he came home from Vvardenfell. I told him it was some sort of ... realization, or some constant, underlying knowledge locked away in one’s subconscious. He honestly probably knows far more about it than I, considering he actually spoke to Vivec and Dagoth Ur and Almalexia, mortals who became gods via the Walking Ways.

The Walking Ways themselves are interesting. Am I to walk them to find the Dawn? Achieving godhood only to submit myself into service of a god seems ... unlikely, to say the least. Still, perhaps it is best to list them, in hopes that it may ignite understanding: here are the formulas to reach heaven by violence, as prescribed by Vivec.

The Towers, as used by the mer of old; the Psijic Endeavor, which led the prophet Veloth to Morrowind; Numidium, the anti-creation; Enantomorph, as like the number eleven, as Mannimarco attempted and failed (seeing as he is dead by my own hand); CHIM, the realization; and, a ... transforming bug. Apparently.

It is filled with jargon and words that boggle me. I have poured over Vivec’s sermons since my youth; the nature of divinity has always fascinated me, to Vara’s discomfort, but they’re elusive, like trying to catch a cloud and nail it to the ground. Understanding shifts and moves and flows like the sea, and I do not see how I can follow the Path of Dawn unless the answer is so blatantly obvious that I had not even considered a nuanced individual like Camoran to use ...

Oh, by all the gods that be, I’m a moron. The answer is written as plain as the day, the first letter of every paragraph in the Commentaries.

‘GREEN EMPEROR WAY WHERE TOWER MEETS MIDDAY SUN’. What I fool I am! Here I am, thinking of gods. What a grand and intoxicating innocence I possess at times.

It’s about an hour ‘til Midday, and Green Emperor Way is but a short walk from the University ...

Spinner plays FFXIV Stormblood

Finished FFXIV 4.0 MSQ over the weekend (DRK to 70, WHM to 77), hoo boy. I know I've got the 4.x patches to go but I did wind up liking Stormblood more than I thought. Spoilers ahoy!

Highlights:

- started the SB questline right about the same time as everyone else started ShB *sobs* It did mean I landed in the midst of some good FATE-grinding parties, however, at little as that matters

- I liked the Baelsar’s Wall but those last twin bosses can go die in a fire

- couldn’t get really sad over Papalymo because he barely contributed anything to the story except to snark at Yda. I like him better in DFFOO, where he is an excellent black mage. So, like, the exact opposite of my feelings regarding Thancred.

- Shinryu, Omega, and Cid all disappeared for the majority of the Stormblood questline and tbh it suffered for their absences. At least Estinien, of all people, was tracking the first two down.

- thankfully the WHM quests were all in the first zone I got access to and I already had it at 70 so I just zipped through them

----- me: *fails repeatedly at WHM lvl 70 quest*

----- me: *returns w/gear 10 lvls higher* Time for my vengeance.

----- (Yes, I know I should always keep my gear up to date and to be fair I always keep it at the appropriate level or better when other people are involved. This, however, was single-player duty and my lack of better gear didn’t matter since I didn’t even have the lvl 61 dungeon unlocked yet.)

- never cared at all for Zenos. Nope. Not at all. He and his golf club bag of swords can go fall off Shinryu's platforms. (I also had 0% trouble w/his solo fights on DRK? Maybe it was the new flat damage reduction baked into all tanks, idk, or maybe it was having Aug Shire/at lvl gear for each instance. I kept my health up just fine and had to be wiped out via his insta-kill move for the duty to end. But honestly it felt like good DRK job fantasy, taking on this insurmountable foe and clawing my way past death to defend my fallen comrades.) Also my character literally viewed him as a troubled teen taking out his issues on everyone around him via murder and wasn't impressed w/him in the least. But anyway.

- I came to tolerate Lyse but that's it. Hot-blooded people who rush off and act w/o thinking irritate me greatly IRL and it's no different in virtual life. Plus, she's almost literally an anime version of me who traded book smarts for punching ability. Even her name is a mere one letter from mine. It's kinda weird. She’s my mirror universe self. Ugh.

- it’s really disappointing Square Enix gives me so few options in killing myself. Let me jump off cliffs to my messy death already, dang it. Skyrim let me do it within the first 2 minutes of ever playing, haha.

- the sharks fly. the bears fly. the goobues fly. why not.

- ah, yes, gyuki. Skyrim prepared me for unreasonably bloodthirsty walruses. And for the unreasonably powerful and murderous mammoths.

- I liked M'naago, wished she had been the lead instead

- genuinely loved Gosetsu (Conrad who?) and was upset at his 'death'. I'm at once glad he survived and annoyed at another death fake-out. *Drak voice* Kill more! Kill 'em all!

- Hien is an adorable badass and I wish to adopt him and take him home with me. Doma 4 lyfe

---- me: *interiorly grumbles every time I hear the words ‘Ala Mhigo’

---- also me: *cheers for Doma & the Steppes*

- I just... really don’t understand why Highlanders live in a desert nation and have geographic and cultural neighbors based off of India and yet they have Old English/OHG names. Why???

- also why is Lyse blindingly white (and Minfilia, for that matter) in stark contrast to other Highlanders???

---- me: So, Lyse, if you’re from Gyr Abania then why are you white?

---- Alphinaud: Oh my god, Spinner, you can’t just ask someone why they’re white.

- once again, I'm probably the only person who loved the WHM quests (all SB job quests seem to return to their 1 - 30 [or 30 - 50?] roots and I don't mind). Did lots of screaming over DRK 60 - 70. I saved them all up and did them right away when I hit 70; they flow much better w/no interruptions

- explored/quested/ground FATE's on DRK but ran new dungeons on WHM as that's my comfort job. Failed twice on the mechanics of Bardam's Mettle 2nd boss but no wipes so we're good. So many overconfident gunbreaker tanks, though. T__T *I* did a better job tanking/killing a pack of like 12 mobs as WHM in Sirensong Sea than one bunbreaker, smh.

- I found Magnai to be entirely too amusing. I also want his moves on WAR. 

- somehow missed Shisui entirely? Still haven't got all aether currents in the Ruby Sea RIP me

------ (2 month later addendum: finally unlocked it and got my aether currents. Now, to never return to that area ever again.)

- no underwater mobs is so disappointing. Let me throw fireballs and Holys and swing a greatsword underwater already. Let me tell you, nothing is as exciting as going diving in Morrowind with only a 22% chance to successfully cast Waterbreathing and this Kojin blessing is such an OP cheat.

- enjoying my Grani mount tbh. I have no idea if it's lore-relevant for ShB; I just saw the name lifted straight from Norse myth and was like, "Want." It's more of a horse-shaped reptile, however, with 'paws' that become increasingly creepy the more you stare at them. I wonder if it eats meat like the thestrals in HP.

- shooting minigames? Okay. Platforming minigames? AW HECK NO I THOUGHT I WAS DONE W/THIS WHEN I LEFT LEGO GAMES TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME PLATFORMING IS MY GREATEST ENEMY

- I was derping around in Kugane and accidentally started doing the tower jumping puzzle. As soon as I figured out what I was doing I had to run away immediately to save my sanity.

- throwing on tank stance and rushing in to save someone from a mob or a FATE is still as heady a feeling as ever (except when they then run off and leave you to die, like, no why please). Or raising people out in the wild. I particularly love that cyclops boss FATE near Whitebrim bc I can go stand on the edges as a powerful WHM and raise people 10x as the bodies keep hitting the floor. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s still so great.

- I do enjoy the Morrowind feel of walking through a new zone and taking in the scenery but I'd like it more if all the wildlife wasn't super powerful and aggro'ing on me every 10 ft. It feels less like an ecosystem and more like generic monster land when there are no longer any non-aggressive mobs like there were in ARR. The Gyr Abanian landscapes are slowly growing on me, however.

- me, flying through Porta Praetoria/Lochs: Those wooden bonfires must be awfully expensive, if wood is as scarce in Gyr Abania as I think....

- loved the Azim Steppe - atmosphere, music, lore, everything. Waiting for someone to call me out on this bc I just really love Xaela (and may make a male Xaela alt one day).

- had minor moral qualms over fighting in the Naadam for the Mol bc I wanted to claim victory for the Orl

- I do really like those moments in Heavensward and Stormblood when the game recreates the epic moments from the trailers (the WoL walking through the soldiers to fight the dragon; the WoL and Lyse sparring, etc.). 

- I was singing, “I don’t care, I don’t care,” to the tune of Let It Go during the Ala Mhigo cutscenes but the resistance singing their anthem really got to me nevertheless. Many voices united and uplifted and song always hits me hard emotionally.

- my character still looking at Zenos with 0% thirst (negative amounts of thirst, tbh) like, “Who is this sassy lost child?”

- then again my character is like 31 yrs old here with a backstory summed up as ‘angry single mom goes to check on friend, ends up killing a god and getting recruited to save the world’

- Pipin is best Lalafell; I will defend him with my life but he has Tizona now and doesn't need me. The absolute shortest guy around is calling the shots in this military campaign and I love it. At least his dad gave him a box to stand on so he could see over the table during the important strategic military discussions.

- the siege of Ala Mhigo taught us that thaumaturges/black mages are the living equivalent of heavy artillery, nice nice nice

- got lucky and had a competent crew in DF to fight Shinryu

- tbh my character would probably kick Asahi’s dad while he was down and cave in his ribs, just finishing him off. It’s no wonder Asahi turned out as bad as he did, with parents as horrifically self-centered as THAT.

- I humbly submit ‘Higwit’ as a fan-name for that elezen following Asahi around - an acronym for ‘Hien Is Great - Who Is That?!’ based on an old LOTR fan meme. Who else here remembers Figwit before he became Lindir?

- I liked the Tsukuyomi fight but I can’t remember anything specific about it now, not even the mechs. 

- I did spend a lot of time screenshotting Hien because he is an awesome bro and I would endure Ala Mhigo all over again for him