#Might of Akavir

[scalecallerpeak]

I haven't drawn a comic page fully since 2021 and I want to start up comics agin so needed to repractice drawing that along with a scene from mine and Vexi's plotting

Ft. Kaolen-Baei (@scalecallerpeak), Sulilia, Kail-Shirvak, Jakkushi and Inumizu (@tharayya)

[erika-xero]

REPOSTOBER, DAY 27: Moon and Star

A collection of drawings with my Nerevarine, Raelin. TW! this post has some TES-headcanons which might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but please, don’t judge a woman by her headcanons

After her mother died, Raelin became a street performer in the Imperial City. She was a young girl when she got captured by the imperial guards and thrown into the dungeon alongside with another dunmer, for a thing she didn't do. A day after she found herself on a ship sailing to Morrowind, even though she was born and raised in Cyrodiill and has never been to Vvardenfell.

She arrived to Seyda Neen and then the Morrowind storyline begins.

During the Morrowind storyline, she got infected by corprus. She was barely herself by the time she reached Tel Fyr. Divayth Fyr saved her life, and she got so fascinated with him, that it became an obsession. The girl was madly in love and at the same time she was repulsed by the fact that he cloned himself four times and married the clones, so she never approached him. Not only he had four clones of himself, he also managed to clone Raelin while she was recovering from corprus, using her cells. He kept that fact a secret, knowing that she would never forgive him.

Raelin receiving the Moon and Star from Azura in the Cavern of the Incarnate:

Raelin by the Red Mountain:

Raelin in Balmora:

During the Morrowind storyline, Raelin became a part of house Telvanni, though she still preferred using staff as a pole weapon and the theory of magic fascinated her a lot more than the spells she could use in battle. She planned going on an expedition to Akavir, but the Oblivion Crisis prolonged her stay in Morrowind for a few years. She finally managed to leave during the Red Year. Her ship was sailing in the sea when the catastrophe happened. She knew what happened from a vision she got: she helplessly watched the destruction of Vivec, Ald'ruhn and Balmora crumble into dust. Her ship got into a terrible storm and wrecked apart: none of the crewmembers and the expeditioners survived, but her. Corprus changed her body forever: she became a lot stronger, more agile than regular dunmer, immune to any decease, being able to recover a lot faster and survive such damage that would kill a regular person. She survived on an Island and it took her forever to get to Akavir, but eventually, she did. She lived in a tiny shack in the middle of nowhere, the years flew by. In horror, she realised that she never aged. Her body remained young, the terrible injuries she got during the shipwreck didn't leave a single scar on her body. She most likely coundn't have children anymore. She was scared and devastated, she lost everything she loved, she lost her land, her people, and she also felt like she've lost herself.

She still has visions. She dreamed of the past and of the nearest future, and the Tang Mo, who, at first, were disturbed by her presence on their land, started to see her as a shaman, a wise woman, even though she was significantly different from them. She eventually made friends among them. One night, she had a vision: a daedra appearing out of nowhere somewhere at the bog, in a form of a man. She went out to search from him and found him and saw that he is no daedra, but a white haired mer, covered in blood and mud. Here's a bunch of post-Morrowind concepts:

Champion of Cyrodiil/Hero of Kwatch post: here

And some Nerevarine/Champion stuff under cut:

[sylvienerevarine]

Sophrine Aulette's Skyrim Encyclopedia (Part 2)

ok i guess i'm not done with this series yet. it may take a while. i keep thinking of new jokes.

Part 1 is here.

--

Blades

If you’ve ever met a Blade, no you haven’t (that was a joke, because they’re secretive). The Blades were originally founded as a dragon-slaying organization, but eventually expanded into other areas like bodyguarding and espionage. They got their name from using swords, which generally have blades.

Some notable Blades include:

Caius Cosades, who according to my Nana Sylvie’s memoirs never wore a shirt and drank a lot of skooma

Baurus, a fellow from the end of the 3rd Era who impressively survived the entire Oblivion Crisis

My distant great-aunt Sacha Llervu, Martin Septim’s best friend, who had a knack for closing Oblivion Gates and committing petty crimes

Delphine Fitzhubert, who is sort of my friend, except she’s still cross with me for being polite to some dragons. She’ll come around eventually.

Draugr

A draugr is a person who was alive at some point, but is now an undead sort of thing with a terrible complexion. There are a few different stories about how draugr came to be–many of them worked for dragon priests and became undead so they could keep doing their old jobs forever, and apparently some on Solstheim were cursed because they ate other people. Nasty stuff. Unless you’re Bosmer, I guess.

The good news about draugr is that they’re not terribly bright, as is proven by the fact that they can’t solve the puzzles in Nordic ruins. If you know the voice-projecting Shout like I do, you can just call “Who wants free mead?” from somewhere else in the room, and then sneak by while they’re trying to find the free mead.

Palace of Kings

I’m not allowed in here anymore (see Stormcloaks).

Stormcloaks

The Stormcloaks are a political movement based out of Windhelm, and are led by Ulfric Stormcloak (which is how they got their name). They have some pretty good ideas (make Skyrim independent, stop religious persecution, annoy the Thalmor) and some very bad ones (being horrible to Dunmer and Argonians and anyone who isn’t a Nord, really).

I once met Jarl Ulfric and pointed out some of these bad ideas to him, and he banned me from his palace. There’s gratitude for you.

Talos

You probably know about Talos from the park in Whiterun, where that fellow Heimskr is always shouting about what a good lad he was. There are two main theories about where Talos came from: either he was born in Atmora and moved to Skyrim as a young man to take Dragonborn lessons, or he was born in High Rock and did a lot of complicated political things. My grandparents favor the second explanation, since they’re very patriotic.

Wherever he came from, we know that Talos later went around conquering and uniting any piece of land he came across, and set up what we now know as the Third Empire. Somewhere along the way he changed his name to Tiber Septim, in order to match what the money was called.

Many people believe that after Talos died, he was promoted to a member of the Divines. Just in case any of the Thalmor are reading this, I’m legally required to state that this did not happen and humans can’t become gods, because we simply don’t have the intelligence for it. Unlike the average Thalmor officer.

The Throat of the World

The Throat of the World is the tallest mountain in Skyrim and by extension Tamriel. They might have higher mountains in places like Akavir or Atmora, but no one really bothers about those places. It’s unclear how the TotW got its name, since people’s throats aren’t typically very pointy or covered in snow. My guess is that someone from the Bards’ College thought it up. The only place on the Throat to get a bite to eat is High Hrothgar, the home of the Greybeards. While the monks don’t offer much in the way of conversation, they’re very kindly old men, and won’t shout at you for accidentally falling asleep in their library and drooling on their copy of Songs of the Return.

[aetherialfalmer]

Tsaescii of Akavir headcanons

They have a type of variety like the Khajiit, called Scalestock. (Bc Furstock is the Khajiit term) It often depended on the season/height of the sun that effected their appearance at birth. More human Tsaescii were adept at handling cold climates bc the suns warmth was mostly absent at their birth.

Their eye color varied but were mostly inhuman colors ranging from a vibrant brown, gold, red and jade greens.

Their Kiai is especially dangerous. Its a warcry with similar power to the Nord's shout. Their helmets were designed to allow the kiai to flow through a mouth opening.

For the more humanoid Tsaescii they would use warpaint patterns to look like scales or have snake like helms to compensate.

For a more scaled Tsaescii they would take breaks when "shedding" and would seek apothecaries for oils and salves to assist in the annoying process.

Most Tsaescii enjoy the heat, even the smooth skinned. It wasn't a surprise to see some meditate in the direct sunlight.

Most if not all can hiss but their mouth is only slightly open or nearly closed when doing it.

Their pupils are typically slit but it wasn't uncommon for a humanoid one to be born with regular pupils.

Certain scalestocks do have tails and they take great pride in them. Either accessorizing them or just taking good care of them. They hide their tails upon shedding and tend to emote with their tails if they have them.

Those without tails might wear a cloth around their belt to imitate one. They can get quite protective of it.

[the-ace-of-fools]

me being very normal about my tes ocs (lying) also a miraak wip i've been painting since september lol

for some reason the image descriptions i made aren't showing up on desktop (maybe that's how it's supposed to work? no idea, i've never done anything like this before) so here's a list of notes i have for each picture:

1) silvarin (on the left) and solinar (on the right) they're both dragonborn siblings (twins, actually) and both kinda racist (in different ways) when the story begins but what else is new with high elves. red/blue but flipped and red is for the magically inclined solinar/blue for the physically inclined silvarin. i like to think that their souls are two shards of a too-big piece of Akatosh and they broke apart when 'falling' on mundus. or smth.

2) that's silsol's parents. solinar gets his affinity for magic from their father and silvarin gets his physical prowess from their mother.

their father is (was, rather) a famous historian of akavir, of all things. also the reason why silvarin fights with a glaive (it was given to morananthe by faelaron as a courting gift). 3) that's iueleai (don't ask me to pronounce that. i don't know.) she's a snow elf and is a sister to silsol's great-great-great-…-great-grandma. silsol also both have facial features that are almost identical to hers (except for the color). this is the first sketch of hers that i did. she was supposed to be a dude but i changed my mind halfway through drawing her %) 4) so iueleai dies a looong time before silsol's story begins. the way in which she dies is having her heart ripped out (and then eaten) by miraak. i made up some lore because i wanted miraak to have some sort of backstory before he became a dragon priest. in essence -- to become a dragon priest you have to give up the thing/person most important to you. in miraak's case that turned out to be her. sorry girl better luck on your next incarnation :(

5) i've seen a lot of people's representations of a maskless miraak and after much debate with myself decided to make him a redhead for two reasons. the first is that he was either going to be that, or a blonde -- since he's basically a proto-nord. the second is that i suck at drawing blondes. some people also added cool things like entirely black eyes/etc but i think that spending a couple millenia in apocrypha and remaining exactly the same might be worse, actually. so there.

[trickstarbrave]

What does Evil Nerevar see in the Dragonborn that makes him believe it's Voryn?

Regardless of sex or race, what makes Nerevar believe, without a doubt, that it's his Voryn.

I’m still awake but I gotta answer bc I’ve been thinking about it

I think evil Nerevar spiraled shortly after killing dagoth ur. In his mind he’s murdered Voryn a second time and is a failure who can’t even save the person he loved. Azura needed him to lead the Dunmer but Nerevar saw no point to it. The world may as well end. Or he may as well die to join him.

Azura did what she thought was a good thing: gave him visions of his reincarnation. Showed him the world isn’t hopeless as they’ll be reborn as the last dragonborn and slay dragons. That’s kinda why he headed to akavir at first—he thought that’s where dragons were, is Voryn there?? But then he goes back when it’s confirmed no. When dragons return to Tamriel

Though his sanity has still been slipping ngl. The 200 some odd years have not been kind to him. Especially after the corprus nightmares from dagoth ur. Nerevar becomes more than a little paranoid too as there are more and more political attacks on his life following the red year, as people saw it as punishment from the tribunal for Nerevar’s violence towards them. To them, he hurt and chased away their gods, and left them forsaken. A false hero wearing the name of a saint that doesn’t belong to him. A monster who has destroyed their home on his blasphemous mission. A man rumored to have killed the tribunal himself, to those who are willing to believe the worst (most deny that their gods are dead, instead believing they vanished and left them). This left him with a loss of identity, doubting himself further, feeling gaslit and hopeless but pushing through because at some point Voryn will be back. He saw in his visions. Azura promised. He’s seen their face and knows their power. It’s all going to be worth it for Voryn.

To help with managing the people she blessed him to take on his old Chimer appearance and give out blessings of the three, which helped establish the old religion. But there were cracks in the foundation. He made finding Voryn again his kind of life’s mission and goal. The thing that made it all worth while. He never considered the possibility this would be a new person with their own thoughts and feelings who may not remember, want to remember, or even feel the same way as him. (Though the choice will be whether or not you believe your dragonborn is the reincarnation or if Azura was telling some lies to keep him sane in hopes he’d help stop alduin)

Because Nerevar had his identity stripped from himself and rationalized it all away, he believes the same to Voryn’s reincarnation and that it’ll be okay in the end. In his mind Voryn has been just as lost and in pain as him, looking for comfort and answers. Looking for a proper home that Nerevar owes him after all the suffering he put Voryn through in their first life. And at its core it’s not born out of malice.

But it is still toxic. Because he isn’t truly thinking about what the dragonborn might want or need and instead about comforting himself. To keep himself together he’s given up part of his sanity to instead obsess over Voryn and worked himself up into “what if I lose him again? What if he dies? I need to keep him locked up and safe. I can’t lose him again. I can’t bear the thought of seeing him dead again and having to find him all over again. I can’t do this without him”

Sorry if I rambled. Tl;dr: Azura showed him visions of the dragonborn to keep him going and he got more than a little obsessive about it. The funny thing about reincarnations though is not all of them are the same as how Nerevar experienced it having his previous identity stripped from him and was forced to be Nerevar again. Even if the dragonborn is Voryn’s reincarnation that doesn’t mean they wanna just adopt his identity, memories, and play house with Nerevar to keep him happy. And that’s the part he doesn’t get.

[theropoda]

i tried to find that fuckin tes gunpowder post i made but since tumblr is made out of toothpicks and spit i couldn't but anyways i wanted to add onto it that it'd be fun if gunpowder came from akavir, that its only existence on tamriel would be of written observations of it in some dusty old book from That One Time Tamriel Invaded Akavir, with no one having any clue how it works or how to recreate it, but then i realized that might be feeding into the "dump all cool east asian stuff onto this specific continent" thing the canon already has going on that i don't like, considering gunpowder was, at least afaik invented and spread by china.

regardless i still think it'd be fun to come from Another Continent that the people of tamriel have limited contact with and so to them it's kinda a mystery. pyandonea maybe? or from the ancient civilizations of tamriel, its illustrations and methods of creation and usage only remaining in tattered undecipherable bits... dwemer is an easy answer but maybe also like the sload idk

i just think itd be really funny if you pulled up to a fortress in like cyrodiil and someone launched a little fucking rocket at you.

[skyrim-said-that]

2920 vol. I-III reports

-

Vol. I - Morning Star

The first book describes a collection of moments that occurred throughout the month of Morning Star. The majority of these moments depict political plans being made in the ongoing war, with some conversations relating to personal affairs and relations of these political figures. The year begins with Vivec and Almalexia discussing the ongoing war and her prophetic dream of its ending, with the realization that they need Sotha Sil if they are to win the war. In her cell, the Empress Tavia and her bodyguard are also plotting to achieve a similar goal, the death of the imperial emperor.

The emperor himself attends a celebration of South Winds prayer, and while there he discusses tactics with the Akavari Potentate Versidue-Shaie while watching a sporting battle. Finally, the mistress of a duke in Mournhold contemplates how he will receive the news of her pregnancy, revealing a glimpse of the personal lives of some of the political figures involved in the war.

Comments

While I feel like I’m missing a lot of context for these snippets of their lives, I am sort of getting the picture of everyone’s thoughts and plans for the war they are in.

I do appreciate that it’s not like a history book, a lot of it is just conversations between characters, and a few of the ongoing plot lines are interesting to me, like the Duke and Turala, Empresses Tavia and her bodyguard, and the completion of the Akavari and Cyrodill warriors.

Go off Empress Tavia I hope that ends up working

I definitely get the same bad vibes about the akavari guy that the emperor does, the guy literally talks like scar from the lion king.

Something tells me that things are about to go very badly for Turala. Getting more bad vibes.

-

Vol. II - Sun’s Dawn

Over the course of Sun's Dawn, the summary recounts six distinct events that took place on six different days, each highlighting the perspectives and deeds of various notable figures. These figures include Sotha Sil, the Emperor and his mistress Rijja, the pregnant former mistress of a Duke from the house Indoral, Queen Hasaama and her husband King Dro'Zel. The book concludes with the arrival of Molag Bal, the Daedric Prince of Domination.

Comments

The author is very descriptive, I can clearly picture the serene tree by the bay where Soltha Sil teaches the new initiates, the respect he commands of his students is described just by his mannerisms. And then he told his students it was a ball of vomit. Which is kinda funny. Why are teachers like this, its giving college professor who messes with their students daily.

4 Suns Dawn threw me off bc that is a really long conversation to have mid foreplay like damn. What is going on why are you discussing politics right now? 

I feel really sad for Turala, clearly she misjudged the duke and misplaced her trust in him. I'm rooting for her.

King Dro'Zel is relatable i also get mad when sad stories make me feel emotions, tho it seems like he might be taking it a little far.

God dammit. What are u doing here moldy balls.

Welcome back my girl Almalexia

-

Vol. III - First Seed

During the five documented days of First Seed, a battle was fought between Vivec's forces and the Imperial Legion. Prior to the battle, Vivec's spy within the Legion provided crucial information, allowing Vivec to set a successful trap for the Imperials. Meanwhile, Emperor Reman III and Akavir Potentate Versidue-Shaie planned their strategy, with the Emperor deciding not to lead his men into battle. As a result of Vivec's trap, the Imperials suffered a crushing defeat, with half of their forces trapped and unable to fight, and the other half swept away into a wall of spears. In a letter to her sister, Rijja writes that her lover, the Emperor, is hunting for the spy within the Legion, and is so desperate to find the spy he suspects her.

Comments

We seem not that concerned that the emperor's son got poisoned. Also, what is an emperor without a little racism? Also, I do not trust Versidue Shaie. And I forgot this is technically a history book about the end of an 80-year-long war and I was like damn this is heavy lmao. 

Good for Cassyr Whitley 

Why is Vivec applying toddler nap logic to his soldiers? Like I get that you didnt want them to party but you could have just told them not to party you are the boss

Holy shit the imperial army just got fuckkkkeddd Vivec was good at this. Like in all seriousness hes clearly a better tactician than Miramor and that of the emperor. 

Not Rijja telling her sister her lover thinks she's a Morrowind spy and her life there is miserable at the moment and her sister still being jealous.

Also a big thank you to Liber Somnia for his audiobooks on youtube of this series, total life saver!

[aladaylessecondblog]

Day 3 nanowrimo chapter out

Summary:

Sadrith muses on her dream, situates the mask, and meets Marcurio at the Retching Netch. A nasty surprise comes while she's there.

For a minute or two after waking, that strange sense of security remained, despite a pain in Sadrith's chest that lingered until after she had been awake several more minutes. That happened with the Alduin dreams, so it wasn't ENTIRELY unexpected, but still...it never stopped being unnerving.

Deep breath.

I've been through a lot in the last couple of days, that's all. The undead at Ashfall Tear...and then finding that Erden's note in the chest. Reading that was creepy. Then actually going there, and...I don't think it would've affected me like this if I weren't a Dunmer, if I hadn't been fed a steady diet of fear on--him. I'm fine.

Yes. Fine.

The Tribunal had fallen more than a hundred years before she was born, and their masks she could look on without feeling much of anything. Her mother had said the Tribunal were wicked thieves who had cast aside their oaths to (and murdered) Indoril Nerevar, and disobeyed the will of Lady Azura to use the profane tools of Kagrenac. To obtain the power they used to rule over all Morrowind. They were thieves, but not something to outright fear.

Their masks had been tucked away into a chest with those belonging to the dragon priests, and that had been that. Nothing to be afraid of or look back on, really.

But the mask of Dagoth Ur--

--if she shut her eyes she could still see the expression on her mother's face as the woman spoke of the demon himself. How he ensnared those who wished the Empire cast out of Morrowind. How he promised vengeance and power, but gave only death and despair. His divine disease had been the end of many an unwary soul, and no one had ever survived a case unscathed. Until the Nerevarine had come, released the Heart from its prison, and saved all Morrowind.

Some hero, she thought ruefully, Dagoth Ur's mask in one hand as she lifted the lid of what had become the mask chest. Cast down the false gods, sure, they had it coming. But what did he do about Baar Dau? The Red Year? Nothing!

The Nerevarine claimed to love the province, yet--yet after defeating Dagoth Ur, and Almalexia, he had set sail for Akavir, never to return. The lands he claimed to love were a fading memory of what they had been because he had refused to stay and lead to betterment what remained. It would have been easy, so easy, and yet when he was most needed he was not there.

"I wouldn't have done that. I would have saved them. I would have torn that stupid Baar Dau down to rubble with my bare hands if I'd had to." Wasn't that what heroes did? What good was victory over one's enemies if the place was a barren wasteland afterwards? She felt the slight sting as she considered her own situation with the civil war...but...

But the fact still remained. With the heart gone, Morrowind had practically gone to Oblivion.

Sadrith took a deep breath. There wasn't really enough room for the mask in the trunk...not without breaking the damned thing.

...would never have abandoned our people...

"I'd see it too frequently here anyway," she muttered to herself. As she walked about the back room, thinking. She didn't want to look at the damned thing every day, but she didn't want to put it someplace she'd forget and later end up scaring herself on finding it once more.

She ended up putting it on one of the mannequins, close to the one she had set up with the Crusader's relics.

It would be easy enough to avoid that empty gaze, and perhaps if any thieves broke in, sight of it might be enough to frighten them. So long as they were Dunmer, anyway. Better to take every advantage one could get, right?

...sovereign, immutable...

It was a strange thing to see the mask there, atop the wooden body wrapped in Telvanni robes. If it were taller, it was almost be...right.

Sadrith shook her head, and made herself look the mask directly in the face.

"You're dead," she said quietly, "But I still know more of you than I do of the Tribunal...the Ashlanders still tell stories about you, even now."

It was much more than the Tribunal still got. Certainly they were considered saints, but they were severely reduced from what they had been before. But Dagoth Ur? HIM they spoke of still in hushed tones, as if fearing that he would overhear them. He had lost none of his presence in the culture of their--the Dunmer people's minds. Though he was gone, his shadow remained, and it engulfed the Tribunal's remnants.

As it had when he still lived.

She turned away, and headed up the stairs.

...cursed false gods...

-----------------------------------------

"Marcurio!"

The moment she made it down the stairs in the Retching Netch, Sadrith spotted the mercenary at the bar. With a grin she moved on over to take the seat beside him.

"Sadrith," he lifted his bottle, "Good to see you again. I'd heard you moved up here."

She ordered a bowl of horker stew and a bottle of Sadri's sujamma, and then made her reply. "And you, what brings you here?"

"Oh, you know me," Marcurio smirked. After staying quiet for a few seconds he went on, "No, but really, Riften's gotten a bit boring...not like I wanted for jobs, but it gets tiresome escorting the wealthy around."

"As opposed to escorting me around?" she asked. "Surely walking the paths and zapping bandits and big cats is preferable to being dragged into musty caves full of undead and dwemer ruins full of traps?"

"You don't really need escorting so much as you need back watching...and who's to say I don't like the danger?" he gave a laugh and took a long swig from his bottle. "Sure, I bellyache about it, but we both knew that was just my fun. The fact that you share the things you find means you pay well beyond the gold you hand over."

"So are you here to ask for a job? You'd really rather pay for the trip here on the off chance I might have work for you?"

"You always have work. And even if you don't, I'm sure someone here does."

Her food arrived. Marcurio ordered some of the same, and for the next fifteen minutes both were silent.

"Anything interesting since the last time I saw you?" he asked. "Doesn't look like there's much going on here. What draw does it have for you?"

"There's people here and the worst thing they do is call me outlander," Sadrith replied. "They're friendlier than the nords by a long shot...and I was given a free house by the councilor for preventing his assassination."

"Ah, there it is," Marcurio laughed. "Of course, you might give it up tomorrow if the urge took you. You're unstable...no, impulsive, more like. No, but really, are you getting into anything here?"

"Well, Glover's been asking me to fetch some stalhrim. There was a smith of some kind from that village on the east side of Solstheim...and some Thalmor at the place he was telling me they were...the point is the Thalmor are where I'm thinking the stalhrim will be. I was trying to take care of that, but uh...got mildly distracted with a..." She leaned closer, and whispered, "...Tribunal adjacent issue."

"Eh?" he asked, "Well, you've been poking around in some strange places. And tell me, what did you get out of it? More than a few cuts and bruises, I hope."

"A very good sword," Sadrith replied, "And some...very interesting masks."

"Good, more for you to carry around like a beast of burden," he laughed. "And don't get upset, we both know you carry around far more than is healthy."

"These're like the dragon priest ones...creepy enough in the face I don't want to see them every time I open my bag. And especially the fourth one. Gods above, I'd huck it into the ocean if I wasn't scared it would wash up somewhere and start problems."

"Can't believe I'm hearing this, honestly." He chuckled over his now-empty bottle. "The mighty dragonborn, who I've seen rushing into trap laden dwemer ruins, shouting draugr infested burial cairns, and the realm of daedric prince Hermaeus Mora, is frightened of some piddly little artifact?"

"It's not just some piddly artifact," Sadrith replied with an edge in her voice. She saw Marcurio's expression shift, and in a softer tone she added, "It's...a Dunmer thing. It'd be like if...let's see here, what would...some artifact of Mehrunes Dagon's from the Oblivion Crisis turned up for you."

"Oh, really. Did you happen to find any...profane tools?"

She stiffened, without knowing why.

"Read that in a book somewhere once," Marcurio went on, "When I had a little too much time on my hands and a few too many books at my disposal. The tools of that...Kagrenac dwarf."

"I've found those too, but there's nothing left in 'em," Sadrith replied quickly and then lowered her tone once again, "Finding the war masks that the 'blessed three' used was one thing. It was more so the mask of their ENEMY that is causing me concern."

"Oh, now this I've got to see," Marcurio replied. "If you don't mind, that is. I've seen a fair few incredible things in my time thanks to you, but the novelty doesn't wear off."

"You probably--you really shouldn't want to see it."

"I think you need to relax. Maybe we should get you another bottle of sujamma before you hand me my money and we go out after those Thalmor."

"Can I count on you to keep your mouth shut about it? I'm trying to stay out of the war."

"The war'll find you regardless," Marcurio replied, "Hell, it was on its way to--"

"What was that I heard about another bottle?" Sadri interrupted them, and raised one.

"I'll get this one, but after that, you're on your own." she spoke up, and reached down to the bag at her side to pull out her smaller bag of gold.

She lifted the flap, put in her hand, touched solid metal...

...and then rust...

She tensed up, and brought her bag into her lap. "Hard to reach in and dig around, with everything I've got in it," she reasoned.

Again the flap of the bag was lifted, but this time she was looking down into it, and saw exactly what she was afraid she would see.

The three branching parts of the mask, and the empty third eye staring at her.

What? ...how...how did it get in here, I don't remember...

After some false digging around she found the gold bag and paid for the bottle. The bag was tucked back in, and the mask covered up.

But there was no tucking out of sight the chill running down her spine.

[ventianendarus]

Made a ChatGPT elder scrolls game.

So basically i asked a series of questions, as one does, and it ended with this:

"Elder Scrolls: Chronicles of Akavir" invites players to explore the enigmatic continent of Akavir, a land shrouded in mystery and rich with diverse cultures. Set centuries before the events of previous Elder Scrolls games, this open-world RPG offers a unique and immersive experience within the uncharted realms of Akavir.

**Key Features:**

1. **Four Distinct Regions:** Traverse the lush rainforests of Tang Mo, the frozen wastelands of Kamal, the ornate palaces of Tsaesci, and the volcanic landscapes of Ka Po' Tun. Each region presents its own challenges, quests, and cultural complexities.

2. **Cultural Factions:** Align with Akavir's four main nations, forging alliances and shaping the course of history. Immerse yourself in the intricate politics, beliefs, and rivalries of the Snake-Folk, Monkey Isles, Frost Warriors, and Tiger-Dragons.

3. **Martial Arts Combat:** Engage in fluid combat inspired by Akaviri martial arts, mastering agile maneuvers, weapon styles, and martial techniques. Timing and strategy are key to overcoming formidable opponents.

4. **Ancient Dragons:** Encounter powerful dragons that roam the skies and lands of Akavir. Form bonds with them, engage in epic battles, and uncover the mysteries of their presence on the continent.

5. **Divine Conflict:** Navigate a conflict between the Snake-Folk of Tsaesci and Akatosh, the dragon god of time. Shape the outcome of this clash of beliefs and face divine consequences based on your choices.

6. **Sea Exploration:** Command your own ship and navigate treacherous waters, battling sea monsters and pirates. Discover hidden coves, underwater ruins, and exotic marine life.

7. **Artifact Retrieval:** Embark on quests to retrieve sacred artifacts, each with unique powers tied to Akavir's history and lore. These artifacts hold the keys to unraveling the continent's mysteries.

8. **Dynamic Weather and Seasons:** Experience Akavir's diverse climate with changing seasons, from snowstorms to tropical rain. Adapt your strategies and gear to survive the ever-changing environment.

When players start their journey in "Elder Scrolls: Chronicles of Akavir," they will step into a vibrant and immersive world full of discovery and challenges. Here's a glimpse of what gameplay might be like for newcomers:

1. **Character Creation:** Players will begin by creating their character, choosing their race, appearance, and initial abilities. They might select from various Akaviri races, each offering unique strengths and cultural traits.

2. **Starting Location:** Players will find themselves in a starting location that represents the chosen race or faction. This area will serve as a tutorial and introduction to the game mechanics, controls, and basic interactions.

3. **Introduction to Mechanics:** Through guided quests and interactive tutorials, players will learn the fundamentals of movement, combat, crafting, and interaction with NPCs. They'll gain proficiency in Akavir's martial arts combat style, which emphasizes agility, timing, and strategy.

4. **Exploration:** As players venture beyond the starting area, they'll encounter the vast and diverse landscapes of Akavir. The open world will beckon them to explore ancient ruins, lush forests, frozen wastelands, and bustling cities.

5. **Quests and NPCs:** Players will meet diverse NPCs who offer quests, each contributing to the overarching narrative of the game. These quests will introduce players to the cultures, factions, and conflicts of Akavir, allowing them to immerse themselves in the continent's history.

6. **Resource Gathering and Crafting:** Players will gather resources from the environment, such as plants, minerals, and wildlife, which can be used for crafting weapons, armor, and consumables. Crafting mechanics will be introduced gradually, allowing players to enhance their gear and adapt to their playstyle.

7. **Dragon Encounters:** While dragons might be present on Akavir, their initial encounters may be rare and formidable. Players may stumble upon dragon lairs or engage in scripted events, emphasizing the majestic and dangerous nature of these creatures.

8. **Alliance Building:** As players progress, they'll have the opportunity to align with one of Akavir's main nations or factions. These alliances will shape their path through the continent, leading to unique quests, rewards, and interactions.

9. **Skills and Abilities:** Players will earn experience points and develop their character's skills, improving their martial arts techniques, magic, and other abilities. Skill development will enable them to face tougher challenges and enemies.

10. **Dynamic Choices:** From early on, players' choices will impact their relationships with NPCs, factions, and the overarching story. The consequences of decisions will create a personalized experience and influence the outcomes of events.

Based on Skyrim's mechanics and without magic usage, you could create engaging battle mechanics in "Elder Scrolls: Chronicles of Akavir" that emphasize martial arts combat and strategic gameplay. Here's an outline of how the battle mechanics could work:

1. **Basic Attacks:** Players can perform light and heavy attacks using melee weapons, each with its own animations and damage output. Timing and combinations of attacks will be important for effective combat.

2. **Blocking and Parrying:** Players can block incoming attacks using a shield or weapon, reducing damage taken. Well-timed blocks can trigger a parry, creating an opening for a counterattack.

3. **Dodging and Evasion:** Players can perform evasive rolls or sidesteps to avoid enemy attacks. Timely evasions can create opportunities to strike back while enemies are vulnerable.

4. **Stamina Management:** Attacks, dodges, and special moves consume stamina. Players need to manage their stamina to avoid exhaustion, as running out of stamina leaves them vulnerable.

5. **Powerful Techniques:** Players can execute powerful techniques unique to their chosen weapon style. These techniques require careful timing and precision to unleash devastating attacks.

6. **Weapon Styles:** Different weapon types offer distinct combat styles. One-handed weapons allow for faster strikes and parrying, while two-handed weapons deliver heavier blows and crowd control.

7. **Martial Arts Combos:** Introduce combo mechanics inspired by Akaviri martial arts. Players can chain light and heavy attacks to perform intricate combos, dealing higher damage or triggering special effects.

8. **Dragon Abilities:** If the presence of dragons is central to the game, players could acquire special dragon-related abilities after forming bonds with dragons. These abilities might provide temporary boosts, ranged attacks, or unique combat tactics.

9. **Enemy Varieties:** Design enemies with different attack patterns, strengths, and weaknesses. Some enemies might require specific tactics to defeat, encouraging players to adapt their strategies.

10. **Finisher Moves:** Implement cinematic finisher moves that players can execute when enemies are low on health. These moves could offer satisfying visuals and extra loot rewards.

11. **AI Behavior:** Enemies could exhibit diverse behaviors, such as coordinated attacks, flanking, and retreating. Boss battles might incorporate multi-stage encounters with unique mechanics.

12. **Progression and Skill Trees:** As players defeat enemies and complete quests, they earn experience points that can be used to unlock and enhance combat skills within skill trees. Skill upgrades could offer improved techniques, increased damage, or additional combat options.

The early gameplay experience will focus on gradual learning, exploration, and introducing players to the world of Akavir. It will lay the foundation for the grand adventure ahead, where players will uncover ancient mysteries, engage in epic battles, and shape the destiny of the continent.

By focusing on responsive combat mechanics, emphasizing strategy and mastery, and introducing unique weapon styles and techniques, you can create an engaging and satisfying martial arts combat system for players in "Elder Scrolls: Chronicles of Akavir."

Embark on a grand adventure in "Elder Scrolls: Chronicles of Akavir," where exploration, alliances, and combat will shape the uncharted history of this captivating continent. Uncover secrets, forge destinies, and leave your mark on a land untouched by previous Elder Scrolls tales.

i mean, i nerfed the whole dragon taming thing with no magic but…

and, no reason for any Dragonborn shenanigans right?

[scalecallerpeak]

what do you think the pantheon for each akaviri races are like? Any daedric princes that might be included? And also do you think there could be a deity worshipped there but remains unknown in Tamriel? Love ur posts btw!

I haven't really thought about Daedra in Akavir yet but I imagine that daedric worship isn't as stigmatised there (ofc depending on the prince).

I definitely think there are likely gods we don't know of since ESO gave us some gods we've never heard of but could just be akaviri names for known gods.

However I think in Akavir things arn't as simple as Aedra/Daedra, as the Kamal themselves came from the Magna Ge (headcanon: That when the Magna Ge left Nirn some of the magic of the holes they made landed on the snows of Kamal creating the Kamali hence why they're called 'demons').Spiritual worship tends to be more of the main focus of Kamal. They believe in the Kamasil which if a Kamal doesn't go to rest peacefully they're going to come back as an angry snow spirit called a Kamasil. Thus a religious practice in kamal is called O-Te Kamasil which is a priest who deals with these angry spirits.

This belief is unique to the Kamal. But they do take on some Tsaesci beliefs (Tsaesci are sort of the Akavir version of imperials and by that I mean they stick their noses in everyone's business thus everyones got their religion) But the main gods in the Tsaesci religion are: Z'en, Aka, Alduin, Myn, Zisa, Nyfa and Ilni. Ironically despite being called Dragon Land, Z'en is the most profound god in the akaviri religion. And it is common to curse: 'By Z'en!' 'For Z'en's sake' etc.

In akaviri art work due to the mixed views of dragons, these gods are sometimes depicted as dragons and sometimes mortal races. In Tsaesci dragons art hunted, in Ka Po'tun Dragons are worshipped, in Kamal they generally keep away from dragons (due to their belief of spirits coming back and they don't want a spirit dragon), and Tang Mo also generally avoid them.

Tsaesci gods are also known to have demi-aedra or lesser aedra offspring such as Shinoginxhi and Xhinadorasai who are the children of Zisa + Ilni and Myn + Nyfa respectively. This can also be seen with dragons being the lesser aedra of Aka.

Other gods that are extremely important to the Tsaesci are Lorkan and Satakal. The Tsaesci believe they gained their serpentine forms as the last gift from Lorkan while he died (slain by Aka). They also believe that Satakal is the child of Lorkan and represents a side Tsaesci like to hide (the hungry serpent). This is why the vampiric strain that effects Tsaesci in particular (Note: in my headcanons Tsaesci aren't actually vampiric that's a misconception made by people from tamriel due to the importance of blood magic in their culture.) is called the Satakal strain. So along with Z'en you could say Lorkan is their most important god as they call their snake from their 'Lorkan Blessed skin'.

[silent-moons-camp]

I have... More.

the moons disappeared once and nobody knows why

the dwarves aren't actually dwarves. they aren't short.

retcons are canonically real via the concept of dragon breaks

said dragon breaks (where time is broken) is fixed by a bunch of invisible female dragons

the player character of oblivion canonically became sheogorath, daedric prince of madness through a concept called mantling

the player character of Morrowind decided to just fuck off to akavir, another continent that basically nobody knows anything about

one of the big time emperors of tamriel was apparently conceived by a guy fucking a hill and dying after (yes i am not joking)

said big time emperor spoke with the voice of a Real Man as a fucking toddler

there was an "adjacent place" before Mundus (the mortal world TES takes place in) called Lyg that was ruled by a bunch of sea creatures called dreugh (pronounced "dreg")

a thief stole a literal tattoo off an empress' neck

dragons are immortal and outside of time. their battles are actually just heated debates and if one dragon "kills" another they absorb all their Knowledge

there's a super important mountain in Morrowind that grew from the heart of a dead god (same god whose corpse turned into the moons)

those stars that are holes made by spirits that the OP mentioned? yeah the sun is one of them and the reason why magic exists in the elder scrolls series is because of these holes and the sun

achieving Nirvana as the previous reblogger mentioned is called CHIM. it's the realization that you are but a figment of the godhead's dream. If you have enough ego and believe yourself to still be real enough, you will achieve CHIM, which is the equivalent of lucid dreaming. if the reality of it is too much, you will literally cease to exist. this is called zero summing. and some think that's what happened to the dwemer/dwarves

every single Creation myth has some truth to it. myth makes reality in the elder scrolls

said crusader hero slaughtered a bunch of khajiit because he thought they were elves (and they might actually be of elven descent but we don't know for certain)

Vivec's spear Muatra is his literal dick and he fucked a daedric prince with it

the reason why khajiit have so many different variations (as OP mentioned) is because they change based on the moons phases under which they are born. the real reason is that their models and appearances changed DRASTICALLY between every single game since the very first one, arena

blah blah Bethesda bad anyway

my favorite thing about Elder Scrolls is how goddamn fuckin weird it is

like on surface it's just some dnd game but like even a cursory glance shows tis fucking insane like:

The moons is the corpse of a god

the stars are actually holes in reality when alot of primordial spirits hated that mortals were becoming a thing and fucked off

The demon lord of forbidden knowledge/resident Cthulhu stand-in might also be the beta version of the entire fucking universe made sentient when it wasn't chosen to be the used reality

there are cat ppl that take the form of furrys, lions, or regular cats, so you can have a cursing Pirate legend whose an alcoholic & wanted in 5 countries but is also a like basic tabby cat

the wood elves are so pro-nature they're cannibals and also they murder vegetarians

Vampires came from the Lord of Rape doing well ya know

Werewolves came to exist bc the lord of hunt got bored and is a furry

sex is treated like a fucking ip copyright contract on what aspect of sex is happening and what god it's under. There's been many religious wars about this

The lizard ppl are part tree

the Dwarves all fucked off somewhere and disappeared bc they were so atheist they did math to break relativity and literally no one has any idea where they went God or mortal (except maybe Cthulhu and hes not telling)

Said Cthulhu stand-in treats hiding your grandma's secret cookie recipe & hiding a spell that would end the universe and slay a god the exact same and he will murder you for either

Everyone wants to fuck the Orcs but will never admit it and they got so bent out of shape that a demon god killed the og orc god, ate him, and shat him out bc she couldn't deal with everyone complimenting them all the time so now all Orcs are cursed to be hated but they're all still sexy & so is their god

And all this isnt even the tip of the iceberg

[ariquar]

One thing I think about but haven't touched on in anything I've written so far is that Ari uses Dragonbane incorrectly.

I like to think that Dragonbane is, in fact, a two handed sword, but because it's an Akaviri sword and there's nobody around to correct the way he's using it...

He uses it like he'd use a rapier back in Summerset. That was his chosen type of sword back then — in Skyrim he learns to use whatever he can find useful, usually shortswords, but he's best ( and fastest ) with a rapier.

His logic is just. This sword is thin and sharp. Must be used like my old sword, right?

[sbeep]

I adore your Skyrim art and OCs. You wouldn't happen to have anything Akaviri related?

Just like TES games, I have relatively little Akaviri-related! I'm in the camp of thinking that they are NOT giant snakes but men that evolved (supposedly humans were "eaten" there but I take that as metaphorical, not literal) to be cannibalistic and serpentine, and really enjoyed the dragonguard content from TESO.

My interest skews much more into the effect they had on forcing Tamriel to unite to survive more than anything concrete about them in their own right. Like thr Dwemer, theyre more fascinating in their mystert. It would be great to see more of the non-euro/scandi inspired cultures like Akavir, Yokunda, Elsweyr, Valenwood, Wrothgar etc, but I don't think we'll get it. And I wont be heartbroken if we don't.

But mostly I approach TES through the lense of my OCs, and my current crop of characters has good reason to be wary of anything Akaviri-related, especially the Blades and reformed Dragonguard. Eivør might always have been on the side of Men, but the Dragonguard's indiscriminate purge of the dovah was abhorrent to her. Tal fears them and their knowledge, their networks and their blatant using of him for their ends, and he wants to protect any life that chooses good and peace, regardless of them being human or dragon.

Whatever is left of the Akaviri, I haven't seen any good, chill dudes around!

[azures-grace]

I have a lot of ocs and about half as many parents (we love the OC trauma)

Rin visits her parents, but tries to avoid when they dote on her

Mira has parents and they're pretty good, she just ran off as an adult to chill out with Jebbeda

Sergor's parents died in a very Sotha Sil way that I didn't even know about, which is to say a devil took out his entire village and he was the only survivor

TES OCs now

Lina: bad relationship. Ran off in her teens and got disowned

Alexi: good relationship, but she hasn't seen them in a long time because main character or something, I don't know

Cyra: depends on the AU vs the Canon, but canon Cyra has a rough relationship with Lina and never met her dad (cause he died). She meets Lina when she's middle aged, but she has a good relationship with the Blades who raised her.

Lensa: her relationship with her parents is very good. She just discovered Skooma in Skyrim and has never been the same since.

Aerin's parents are very proud of her and when the Dragon Crisis is over, she's probably gonna go back to them or bring them to Skyrim because she misses them dearly

Iriae: terrible. She's had no contact with her father for 3 years and plans to keep it that way. Unfortunately, other circumstances may appear and she might have to see him again, we'll see. Her mother died in childbirth and her stepmother hates her with a burning passion because she's illegitimate and also a half elf.

Luna: she had a good relationship with the Fighters' Guild member that raised her, but after she killed a chicken, she panicked and ran away. If he found her again, she'd probably be happy to see him. Her real parents she doesn't know and one is dead.

Armina: good relationship with dad, fixing relationship with mom (who had to leave for Akavir when she was 5)

what's your oc's relationship like with their parents?

[nientedenada]

The Septim Bastard Who Became Empress - The Curious Case of Morihatha Septim (and what it meant for Martin)

Originally posted on r/teslore

Here’s a little lore oddity. In 3E 317, Morihatha Septim inherited the Ruby Throne from her childless brother, Uriel VI. Why is that odd? Well, the circumstances of Morihatha’s birth are odd. Not only was she not the child of her brother Uriel’s mother, she and her twin sister Eloisa were explicitly barred from succession before they were even born. Nevertheless, she became Empress one day, and was succeeded by her twin sister’s son.

Morihatha Septim, Illustration by @ladynerevar

Let’s drill into the details.

From A Brief History of the Empire, Part Four

On Uriel V’s death across the sea in distant, hostile Akavir, Uriel VI was but five years old. In fact, Uriel VI was born only shortly before his father left for Akavir. Uriel V’s only other progeny, by a morganatic alliance, were the twins Morihatha and Eloisa, who had been born a month after Uriel V left. Uriel VI was crowned in the 290th year of the Third Era. The Imperial Consort Thonica, as the boy’s mother, was given a restricted Regency until Uriel VI reached his majority.

So, Uriel’s official wife, Thonica, was the mother of Uriel VI and outlived her husband to become Regent. However, while married to Thonica, Uriel had a relationship with another woman, which is characterized as “a morganatic alliance.” The twins Morihatha and Eloisa are born to that relationship.

“Morganatic” is an odd word to use here. It usually means “relating to or denoting a marriage in which neither the spouse of lower rank, nor any children, have any claim to the possessions or title of the spouse of higher rank”. In this case, it would seem to mean that Uriel’s relationship with the twins’ mother was given some recognition, but the relationship was formally defined not to put them in line for the throne. Perhaps this was the condition the Elder Council put on Uriel being allowed to continue the relationship. It sounds like they feared the possibility of Septim bastards claiming the throne from the true heirs.

However, Morihatha grew up to be the greatest ally of her half-brother, Uriel, not his rival.

His half-sister Morihatha Septim was (not surprisingly) his staunchest ally, especially after her marriage to Baron Ulfe Gersen of Winterhold brought her considerable wealth and influence.

And despite the “morganatic” designation given to her parents’ relationship, she became Empress after he died.

Any protests that happened back then are not mentioned. Given the legal designation of “morganatic”, I’m sure there were some. But Morihatha had the political clout and willpower to power through such protests. The result? Uriel Septim VII (aka Patrick Stewart) was the grandson of Septim bastard Eloisa (Morihatha’s twin sister).

That explains a few things about Uriel’s own succession issues. First of all, he had a problem with his own bastard son Calaxes

From the book Words and Philosophy, interviewing the head of Uriel’s Imperial Guard,

The only story I asked her that she would neither admit nor refute was the one about Calaxes, the Emperor’s bastard. When I brought up the name, she shrugged, professing no knowledge of the affair. I pressed on with the details of the story. Calaxes, though not in line for succession, had been given the Archbishopric of The One: a powerful position in the Imperial City, and indeed over all Tamriel where that religion is honored. Whispering began immediately that Calaxes believed that the Gods were angered with the secular governments of Tamriel and the Emperor specifically. It was even said that Calaxes advocated full-scale rebellion to establish a theocracy over the Empire.

Calaxes might not have been “in line for succession” but he’d be well aware neither was his great-grandmother Eloisa. This family history made Calaxes claim much stronger, especially since there were rumours that Uriel’s legitimate sons had been replaced permanently by doppelgangers, during Tharn’s impersonation of Uriel. It’s believed that Uriel had Calaxes murdered to stop his threat.

And then, we have Martin. The Blades in Oblivion have absolutely no doubt in their mind that Martin is the legitimate heir. Maybe they thought he was the only one at hand too, but it must have made it easier that Martin’s great-grandmother was also a Septim bastard who entered into the line of succession after the legitimate heir died. If Morihatha’s legitimate Septim cousins didn’t proceed her, why bother looking for a Septim cousin to proceed Martin?