#Pre-Morrowind

[mareenavee]

Lean Into the Storm and Hope To Weather It

Happy birthday, @changelingsandothernonsense!! We're BELATED but it's so worth it. Thank you for letting me write fanfic of your fanfic 😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂

This one is directly inspired by Arkanis: Teldryn and the upcoming Arkanis: Erra and ... a secret third Arkanis entry. :>

So. Morrow-fic. Sorta. Pre-Morrowind Morrowfic.

It's a little off the rails, featuring Nibani Maesa, and her Aro/Ace QPR relationship (and eventual betrothal and bonding) with Sul-Matuul, her visions, and how Peakstar came to be recognized as one of the incarnates (though, unfortunately, failed.) Also features some easter eggs for Ceth's fic universe <3

Without further ado:

Lean Into the Storm and Hope To Weather It

When earth is sundered, and skies choked black, and sleepers serve the seven curses…

Nibani Maesa shook her head, trying and failing to clear the voice of her grandmother from her ears. It had been long enough since her passing that her family’s grieving was done—yet the pitch and timbre of the raspy, ashen, elderly voice never had faded from her. It was another Sign, one she had withheld from her mother now for months. The less that was spoken on that front, the more likely her sister, Diyanna, would be considered for the sacred position of Wise Woman. This was, of course, folly to wish for. But she would let the wisest of the Urshilaku talk, and pretend they might decide otherwise. Keeping their gaze from her face brought her a semblance of peace—though Nibani knew deep down all would be uncovered eventually. She would need to step into her power sooner rather than later.

She had, after all, foreseen her mother’s death. That, too, was another Sign. It was the heaviest of them, and she had trusted it to only one other—Sul-Matuul. He was her best friend—and perhaps the only true friend she had. When one was marked by the stars as she was, there were few who would look past the perception of power bestowed by her eventual title. But Sul had known the shape of her soul since they were children. Azura knew he’d likely known her across every lifetime. She felt their connection to be a foundational truth of the universe, and had told him as much. Despite her current worries, she smiled at the memory of his response. He’d woven his fingers through hers and sighed in exasperation, only to laugh his agreement at the sentiment. He’d insisted he’d never been one for poetry, or he’d have said it himself.

Nibani was positive that in every lifetime, she’d have to be the one to proclaim such truths—and would do so again, and again.

She set down the basket she had been carrying and smoothed the stray strands of her thick, auburn braids, pulling them back over her shoulders. Sul was there across the plains, sparring with Zabamund—though she wished he wouldn’t. There was a reason Grandmother’s voice would not empty from her mind this day. It was imperative to talk about it. He would try to understand, and would remind her of her strength all the while. For now, he was preoccupied. He had a role to fill, too—he would be named Ashkhan, though the Gods only knew when. It didn’t stop his father from insisting he act as if the title was already his.

To the hearth there comes a stranger, journeyed far 'neath moon and star…

Nibani sighed and looked toward where the sun would be setting, if they were lucky enough to see such things. That there was not an ash storm and she could breathe the air was blessing enough. Sometimes—though rarely—the winds blew favorably. It was a shame for such a day to be tinged by the beginnings of what would surely become a full vision. She needed her friend for this. -> Read the rest on AO3.

[trickstarbrave]

colored ayem sketch....

i just wanted to flex on the gold sorry abt that

[stellastra-scribbles]

May 20, 2024 - A casual outfit idea for my Nerevarine.

[salemelas]

got bored, decided to draw how i envision pre-foul murder voryn

if you like my art and feel like leaving a tip, i have a ko-fi!

[thescrolls-haveforetold]

the outlander. tit window-less and bandage less and much less cool (he’s about to suffer beyond imagining)

[changelingsandothernonsense]

TES Summerfest 2024

Day Six: Mirror or Abandoned @tes-summer-fest The Nerevarine's mind tends to play tricks.

It always started the same. He’d felt his flesh dissolve from his bones as another pyroclastic flow engulfed him. Same shit as usual. Only this time, instead of a beach or cave, he awakened in a quiet candle-lit chamber that reminded him of the offering halls found in ancestral tombs. He felt someone take his hand, kissing it lightly before something was whispered into his ear in Dunmeris. Lips pressed against the shell, the breath hot and putrid as those lips trailed down his neck. He was staring at himself, his hands on some sort of candlelit altar that was stained with long dried blood. His reflection stared back at him through the polished bronze mirror. The smile it wore was menacing and he found himself lost in the void where his eyes should have been. His reflection reached out through the wall as Teldryn felt lips trail down his neck, teeth scraping almost painfully at his skin. Long nails dragging down his bare chest, dipping to his hips and- His reflection grabbed him by the jaw and forced him to stare into the dark, endless void that had replaced the bright crimson of his eyes. He tried to look down at whatever it was that was now between his legs, biting at his hipbone, hands stroking the bare skin of his inner thigh. Cold lips met his and all he could taste was rot and bitter ash. He felt something sharp clamping down on his tongue, the taste of ash replaced by the sickening metallic sensation of blood pouring down his throat. He tried to open his mouth, to scream, to pull away but he couldn’t move. His reflection held him steady as blood poured from his lips. His reflection turned away and spat something from his mouth. Teldryn watched as it hit the ashen ground, small, red and bloody. It took him a few moments to recognise it as his own tongue.

[woodsplinter]

Vivec scribbles for your troubles. You can almost see a side profile on the left side of pre-chimeral Vehk, unintentional but kind of nifty if I do say so myself.

[whitegoldtower]

Better idea for my Nerevarine.

Name: Balaarys Marethi

Age: Appears around 35

Appearance: pre-op but post T ftm Dunmer. Quite muscly. Long, white hair and black eyes - those who sent him to Morrowind could spot him as the Nerevarine a mile off because of the white hair and black eyes; he doesn’t look like a regular dunmer, and looks more like a chimer. That, and him being FTM hints STRONGLY at Azura’s influence (being the Prince of Dawn and Dusk, and - by extension - transition.) They took one look at him and went “yeah, it’s this one, there’s no questioning it.” Then kidnapped him from Solstheim and stuck him on a boat.

Backstory: He was living quite happily as a farmer of ash yams in Solstheim until he was torn away from his life and put on that boat to Morrowind. He was a worshipper of Azura, and for all intents and purposes, was a normal guy, aside from this deep yearning in his heart that he couldn’t quite place. Whether a yearning for a person, or a thing, or a place, he wasn’t sure. Only dreams of a touch like sunlight, and a breath of fresh air, a blood red setting sun, and the occasional sensation of jet black hair sweeping over his skin, smelling like fire. Balaarys was a romantic at heart, and mused on these dreams through song as he worked, singing quietly; in this AU, he wrote the song “Black is the Colour of my True Love’s Hair” by Nina Simone. - I’d consider this song his theme song ngl. He’d hum the tune quietly to himself whilst farming, or on the boat to Morrowind, or absently when he’s concentrating on a task; he’s haunted by this song. He doesn’t know the words, just the melody, but every so often he will try to find the words (he doesn’t succeed - it’s not time for him to know them yet).

He later learns who he really is - Nerevar. And because he’s a smart lil guy, the pieces fall into place; the song he’s haunted by, the dream he thought he concocted, he knows who that really is: Voryn Dagoth.

Voryn Dagoth might have been the ‘true’ Nerevar’s secret lover, but those feelings were amplified in his reincarnation to Balaarys; one might even now consider Voryn Dagoth to be Balaarys’ soulmate. Which is an absolutely crushing revelation to Balaarys.

Balaarys is being asked, essentially, to kill his dreams. So my playthrough of Morrowind is just a very tragic love story.

Of course, Balaarys goes through with it, and faces an extremely difficult task; there is no way to save or redeem Dagoth Ur, because as soon as he severs the heart, Voryn Dagoth will die.

Of everyone he’s ever met, when he meets Dagoth Ur, to make it even more painful, he’s never been spoken to so lovingly. For someone who’s supposed to be this horrific villain, Dagoth Ur offers him mercy, to let him go free, tells him they don’t have to fight, tempts him to join him, calls him ‘moon and star’.

On top of that, the parts of Nerevar’s fragmented memories of Voryn Dagoth that Balaarys holds dear are shocked by the reality of what Voryn Dagoth looks like now. If it wasn’t enough to have Balaarys’ dreams shattered, he’s now faced with what that dream has become. The monster it has warped into.

Furthermore, despite his corprus being ‘cured’, he knows this isn’t truly the case, and that sooner or later, the negative effects will come back, like a cancer, worse and more malignant. He knows it will eventually kill him. He knows he’s living on borrowed time, and wants to live as Balaarys instead of just a reincarnation of Nerevar as much as he can before that time runs out.

So after severing the heart, he can’t bring himself to just leave. In response to being earlier called ‘moon and star’ by Dagoth Ur, he does what Nerevar never did, and names him ‘sun and sky’, and stays by his side as he dies. He removes Voryn Dagoth’s mask and kisses whatever monstrosity is underneath it. He’s sick and dying anyway, so what does it matter, right?

This completely hardens his heart.

Balaarys doesn’t care for Almalexia. Nor Vivec. Nor Sotha Sil. He kills the tribunal with no regrets, trying to ‘wipe’ Nerevar from his system because he’s sick of the story. Or rather, he wants to be Balaarys, not Nerevar. Once that’s done, he forsakes Azura.

As a result, his hair turns black, and his eyes turn red. He’s completely gotten rid of anything ‘Nerevarine’ about himself, aside from the memories of Voryn Dagoth, which he keeps tucked away safe in a corner of his heart.

Balaarys, then, follows the refugees to Skyrim, looking no different to an ordinary dunmer. The only thing that seems to make people question it, now, is the way he sings the lyrics to the song he used to hum, having finally found the words. He sings with such an aching weight that people can’t help but listen. And after he’s sung, he moves on to the next town, forever wandering. Sure, he got Nerevar out of his system, but he also now has no idea who ‘Balaarys’ actually is, and he’s too old to start trying to figure it out. He has no sense of identity, no sense of purpose.

He becomes a piece of folklore in Skyrim; sometimes, out on the roads late at night, a heart-wrenching song can be heard, carried on the wind. A song about a man, and his black-haired lover. Some say the singer is a ghost whose lover was killed. Some, albeit few, know the real story.

As Balaarys grows older and his corprus comes back, he slowly forgets the lyrics, and returns to humming, still wandering, slowly going mad. He starts to look more and more zombie-like, no longer the muscular, white haired Nerevarine, but an emaciated, frail dunmer.

Then, in Skyrim, years later, when the Dragonborn arrives, his skeleton can be found in the tundra between Winterhold and Dawnstar, along with his journal, telling the story of the Nerevarine from his point of view.

If you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed the angst.

Also, this song is the theme for later on, when he’s in Skyrim. If it was a film, this would be the end credits. ✌🏻

[pulsarr4]

Dagoth doing Nerevar’s war paint

[azures-grace]

@thenopequeen mentioned a possibility that Voryn was so pale he'd fit in with pre-Dwemer Falmer, anddd... I drew this.

random thought below the cut

I was thinking about how maybe the Falmer distinguished families and such by earrings. I don't think there's much on the Falmer for before they were driven underground and enslaved, so I'm running with it because i can.

[neurodecadence]

If i swing a sword and I watch it go through a rat, and then the game says "no u missed tho" while the rat bites me to death, that's not skill issue, that's bad game design.

[ervona]

I was thinking of putting together all my TES Summer Fest works from this year into one post for ease of reading and here they are!

Day 1: Arcane / Beast

Day 2: Beloved / Ritual

Day 3: Starlit / Teeth

Day 4: Mortal / Sanctuary

Day 5: Forgotten / Devotion

Day 6: In Bloom / Blood

Day 7: Profane / Sword

[hot-take-tournament]

HOT TAKE TOURNAMENT

POST-PRE-PRELIMINARY #82

Submission 203

The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind isn’t that good and people are blinded by nostalgia and elitism

I want to get into the game but would like quest markers to help me because I’m shit at directions, especially when some are known to be incorrect. Every time I try to find a mod I find a forum full of people saying that “this isn’t how the game is supposed to be played.” I tried to get into it but never got past the beginning, compared to my multiple play throughs of Skyrim and Oblivion.

Pre-preliminaries will be used to determine what qualifies as a hot take. Propaganda is encouraged!

Also, remember to reblog your favourite polls for exposure! (exposure like when you’re exposed to the fact that the KISS Scooby Doo crossover does actually exist, scarring you for life)

[fithragaer]

I think one of the things ESO does right is bringing back random shit from pre-oblivion TES games, like dungeons from Arena or beasts from the fucking Nokia mobile games

[slime-crafters]

Being somebody who's somewhat into the elder scrolls series is funny because I've got hundreds of hours into the game, I'll hyperfixate on playing it, but I also will not turn down an opportunity to shit on the game(s).

[an-unseemly-gentleman]

its truly freeing mostly caring about media from the 80's, 90's and 00's. Iv all but given up on modern video games and tv shows and i just play Morrowind and RCT2 while i watch Star Trek TNG & DS9 or some guy playing SA2 Chao garden...