#The Dremora Generals

[bunniope]

skyrim is a flawed game for a lot of reasons. A Lot. but one of the ones that really gets me is how few kinds of daedra there are running around. like outside of the dlc there are Four. the three atronach types and dremora. silly as hell tbh!

[knight-parzival]

dremora boobs 0_0

[ego-osbourne]

A Power Dremora and His Server

//click for better image quality//

Oh boy it’s lore drop time. Headcanon lore, btw. Applicable to TDI, not TES as a whole. CW below the cut for fantasy slavery, generally gross implications that come with that.

In Coldharbour, there are two distinct dremora types: power dremora and serving dremora. Power dremora (powers) sit at the top of the food chain, serving as scholars, mages, and warriors serving in their castes under Molag Bal. Serving dremora (servers) rank just above the animalistic daedroths in the social hierarchy, being spawned only to be collected by power dremora. They are much smaller and have little to no magicka capabilities. High-ranking power officers of a caste will get multiple servers, while accomplished soldiers are typically seen with only one or two as a reward for their service.

This act is perpetuated and encouraged by Molag Bal for obvious reasons.

Kyrahk was a decently-ranked soldier in his caste, and was gifted the chance to snag a serving dremora from one of the many spawning fields of Coldharbour. He’s lived with his server since, feigning affection, admiration, and love in an attempt to twist his server’s mind to his favor. Kyrahk calls it culture and expects his server to obey at every word.

Servers typically aren’t named. But that’s the face of the eventual Pirate King Velehk Sain. (Will post more lore with later art, or asks.)

[itsfennix]

Lyranth... (spoiler warning!!)

(spoilers for Deadlands and Necrom!)

So i just finished Deadlands, and... all of a sudden, Lyranth's "goodbye" sounded a little too... hmm

First, here's what she says about why she "stole" the power of the Ambitions: "...the more we uncovered, the more I grew interested in the Ambitions' power. The ability to shift destinies... Where I walk next, no mortal has ever ventured. Possibly no Daedra, either."

When you ask her what she needs them for, she says To fulfill a promise made a long, long time ago."

Now, could she just be referring to revenge against the Deathbringer Clan for their betrayal of her and the Foolkiller Clan? Possibly. But didn't she already get that vengeance in the main story? So if that's not the promise she made... what is?

Lyranth is a Dremora that is unusually interested in and in-tune with mortals and their culture. She's no sweetheart, sure, but she sure does put a lot of effort into protecting her mortal allies and helping stop other Daedric Princes. She also understands why mortals act the way they do, such as when the Anchorite struggles with her memories and follows Sombren.

Y'know, there's one other Dremora I can think of that desperately pursues secrets, is unusually in-tune with mortals, does not want the destruction of Nirn, and in general is above typical Dremora standards in power and knowledge:

Torvesard.

Yes, him. The secret/memory-obsessed Dremora that holds no inherent ill will towards mortals/Nirn, is more than willing to work with mortals as (almost) equals, understands mortals and even doesn't harbor ill will against Hermaeus Mora because he was simply defending his realm. Torvesard, the clanless Dremora that turned out to be one of the last servants of Ithelia, the forgotten Daedric Prince of paths and untraveled roads, aka "The Fate-Changer" with the ability to shape destiny and alter fate...

What if Lyranth and the Foolkiller Clan were once sworn to Ithelia? And once Ithelia was banished/forgotten, Molag Bal swooped them up. Could also explain why they so easily left him during the Planemeld. Ithelia is one of the few Princes to choose a humanoid/mortal appearance. Perhaps she was more involved in the mortal world than most, perhaps even in a non-hostile or even benevolent way. Perhaps her followers then were also uniquely interested in mortals.

Do I think it is likely that Lyranth has a connection to Ithelia? No, not really. But could I see it happening? Yes, absolutely.

[sporadic-myriadic-theatrics]

We know our prince of dark passions embodies hedonism, debauchery, and revelry, but Sanguine also happens to be the Prince of Not Giving a Fuck. While other daedric circles talk smack about his laziness and mingling with mortals, those dedicating their loyalty to Sanguine share his view on self expression being kind of cool, actually.

Dremora serving him tend to have a broader range of variation in physical appearance, with the only “uniform” being blood-red markings that include painted lips with a stripe going through the middle of the chin and down to the chest, a split and/or pierced tongue (a common modification amidst mortal followers as well), and of course the inclusion of a rose motif.

Sanguine seldom crafts his own dremora, and majority you see serving him are originally from other realms. Given his general ambivalent nature, he welcomes the more eccentric dremora that don’t quite fit the mold for one reason or another with open arms. Diversity and self-expression make the Myriads more prismatic! When he does craft his own, he’s a meticulous perfectionist and takes his time coming up with something he finds pleasing.

As for himself, Sanguine is a shapeshifter at heart. To him, beauty has no standards, and his appearance at any given moment is as fluid as what he’s attracted to. Drag might not exist and he may not have been birthed, but “we’re all born naked and the rest is drag” is a core part of him and his view on the mortal concept of gender. To me.

For mortals, he’s attracted to radiant souls and interesting stories. He’s a sucker for a good tragic background, loves a challenge and chase, and can sniff out a rose bud waiting to bloom. Of course, having a daedric prince as your gardener involves being used for their entertainment, but Sanguine’s amount of bullshit is equally proportional to the amount he’ll spoil you for loyalty, and his intimate understanding of how mortals work makes him a surprisingly good therapist.

I like taking an incubus/succubus approach to my Sanguine, so him and his mortal-appreciating dremora feed off of the emotional energy of mortals. Physiologically, I hc that daedra don’t produce oxytocin during climax like mortals do since, y’know, they can’t reproduce so having that chemical bond isn’t necessary. But when they get it on with mortals they connect to, they get a certain high off of it by proxy. Most daedra can’t resist the addiction of being worshiped and revered by a mortal once they get a taste. Catharsis is another mortal emotion that I hc is foreign to daedra, and that sort of emotional release is one of Sanguine’s favorite flavors.

[madamefluffnstuff]

Now We're Stressed Out

Fandom: Elder Scrolls Online

Pairing: Bastian Hallix x Fem!Vestige

Rating: K

Warning(s): Daily life stresses, Vestige is generally burnt out. Bastian and the Vestige are in an established relationship and thus share a bed.

Words: 1,028

AN: I think I had started this one around the holidays (which makes too much sense tbh), but this week I've been having Not A Good Time (TM), so I finished it up.

(Don't worry, I'm feeling much better now! Just had a rough week is all ^^)

~~~~~~~~~~~

"What's that you're reading?"

Bastian paused his walk to the inn wardrobe and craned his neck to try and see what the Vestige was looking at. The way the desk was placed meant her back was turned to him, and her slightly hunched posture didn't help either.

"A letter," was the blunt reply.

"Who's it from?"

"...Lyranth."

He made a face; the Dremora, while undoubtedly a helpful ally, had a tendency to be rather... demanding. And be very cryptic with those demands. And then tease mercilessly when all was said and done. A trait which grated on his nerves on more than one occasion.

Not that he'd be foolish enough to voice those thoughts out loud, of course.

"She's asking for a "favor"", the Vestige continued, an icy bitterness lacing her voice.

"You do realize there will most likely be strings attached, right?" Bastian responded dryly as he picked out a change of sleep clothes.

The Vestige nodded. "Not to mention this is the fourth letter this week that someone has asked me for help."

"Fourth?"

"Yep..."

He was quiet as that information sunk in: she always had a hard time telling people "no", and turning down those who needed help. That was something they had in common. They wanted to save everyone they could. But they couldn't be everywhere at once.

"I just... ARGH!" she screamed in frustration, slightly starting him as she did. "Why can't things just stay fixed!? Why does everyone need *me* to help them all the time!? Why can't people fix their own problems-" her voice cracked as her eyes welled with angry tears.

She had reached a breaking point. All the recent frustrations and grievances finally boiled over as she lost her temper. She was exhausted, stretched thin, and burnt out. Had her companion realized this sooner, Bastian might have done something to help relieve her burdens. He felt a little guilty for not realizing it sooner.

"It's not your fault," he reminded her gently as he approached her. "You can't expect yourself to solve everyone's problems on your own. They need to help themselves sometimes as well."

"But all of these people... so many ask me for help. Sure, they pay me, but do they ever ask *me* if *I* need help? Of course not..."

Bastian reached over her shoulder and, as gently as he could, removed the letter from her trembling hands. He made his way around the chair, picked up a book sitting on the corner of the desk, and slid the paper under said book. Out of sight, out of mind, as a wise mage once said. Firm but patient hands found their way onto The Vestige's shoulders.

"Come on. Away from the desk."

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, rubbing her tired eyes. Bastian gave her shoulders a soft squeeze. After a moment, she realized she truly was in no position to argue or protest. The Vestige gave another heavy sigh and stood up, allowing her companion to guide her away from her work station.

"Alright. Lay down for a minute," Bastian moved the bed covers for her. "I'll see if the innkeeper has something to help you relax."

As the sound his footsteps faded into the hallway, the Vestige felt herself to sink into the soft blankets. This was one of the nicer inns they had been to, especially the beds. Very plush and soft. She sat up to rearrange the pillows to her liking before plopping herself back down. The silence was unexpectedly peaceful, lulling her into a calm as her mind began to settle.

It only took a few minutes for Bastian to return from his errand. As the door opened, The Vestige immediately smelled hot tea. She perked up as he approached the bed. He smiled, "You're already looking better."

She smiled back. "Just a bit."

He offered a hand to help her sit up, which she graciously accepted. As the Vestige swung her legs over the edge of the bed, he passed her the cup and sat down next to her. She let out a contented sigh as she inhaled the sweet scent of the beverage. Bastian rested his hand on her leg and gave it a soothing pat. "You alright?"

A nod.

"You sure?"

Another nod.

He watched her carefully as she drank deeply, without blowing on it. A mix of concern and amusement spread across Bastian's face as he waited for a reaction- she just downed a near boiling drink. When she did not react, only stared at the adjacent wall unblinking, he slowly nodded and assumed she'd be fine.

Bastian quietly cleared his throat. "I'm sorry you got to this point," he apologized. "If I had realized sooner I would have helped you."

"You don't need to apologize, love," the Vestige assured him in kind. "I should have asked for help sooner."

They sat in a comfortable quiet while she finished her tea. Once she had, Bastian suggested they go to bed early. Some extra sleep would do them both good.

"No, no, I can't right now. I need to think of how to tell Lyranth-"

"All right, look," Bastian said, putting his hands back on her shoulders and looking her in the eyes. "It's late. You're exhausted. You're stressed to Oblivion. And you need to sleep. Forget about all of that for right now."

"But, I-"

"No "but's". You've done enough." His hands slid soothingly down her arms, wrapping around her own hands in a protective manner. "You need to be more gentle with yourself..."

She was silent for a long moment before sighing and admitting he was right.

It didn't take long for them to get comfortable under the blankets- Bastian even went and found an extra one for her so she could "nest" into the covers. The Vestige nestled herself into his arms as he pulled her close, resting his chin on her head. A heavy exhalation of relief escaped her lips; she was safe. She had a support system. She would figure this out in due time.

"Promise me you'll ask for help next time?" Bastian murmured into her hair.

"I promise."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag List: @lithiumrev, @arisenlicious, @alaxon, please let me know if you want to be added because I've never had a tag list before and I don't know who to put in it. ;A;

[gergoats-gogurt]

Tell me about the dynamic between Dori, Y'lanth, Yanzik and Nokvroz 👀✍️📖

YES ASH THANK YOU ASH I LOVE YOU ASH 💖

Yl’anth and Yanzik are two Ruinblood Clan OCs that belong to @voidtoblivion !!! She’s the one who helped me make this au :3

Okay a bit of context/background: this all takes place in an au where Dori ends up serving Dagon under Nokvroz in a “keep them alive for x amount of time then kill them if you want” sort of punishment situation. At first the desire to have nothing to do with each other is mutual, but after Dori starts getting close to his subordinates, he starts getting pissbaby jealous about it because he views it as Failure to be a good master on his behalf, and as a narcissist his fragile ego can’t take it.

Needless to say, she's the first person Dori starts growing attached to, and it makes Nokvroz FURIOUS. He uses this as leverage later to try and force Dori into being vulnerable around him the same way.

Yanzik is a kynval scientist who's cringefail on dremora standards for being small in stature, more passive in nature, and having a deep fascination with mortals as a consequence of being naturally curious about everything. She's usually disregarded as pretty useless, but gets a chance to shine when she's told she needs to help Nokvroz's mortal pet "adapt" to life in the Deadlands. And life around others in general. They are shedding half their body weight due to the heat and they won't let anyone touch them to help. She's here with a brush, a bit of tenderness, and a lot of determination.

Yl'anth is a Kynmarcher and just about the only one who's able to point out when Nokvroz is making a bad decision and still keep his head. The one to carefully be like "you *do* realize that most sentient being don't like their personal space forcefully invaded right?" after Nokvroz acted belligerent and caused Dori to sulk for the rest of the day AGAIN. He also functions as Dori's primary mentor when it comes to combat and the Dremora's culture surrounding it. He's strict and ruthless, but patient and understanding enough that Dori can work under him without anxiety. At first he views taking care of them as a duty and their existence as something potentially entertaining, and eventually grows fond of the funky chaotic little cat.

Nokvroz also gets jealous that Yl'anth able to teach Dori when HE'S their master, and Yl'anth really deserves a raise for essentially being the middleman between a megalomaniac and a sad, wet cat.

[molags-balls]

Mr. Molag, how do you respond to pollsters’ claim that Prince Meridia will sweep Mundus in the 2024 general election? Are you worried about your chances of victory given the alleged Planesmeld incident ten years ago? Is public opinion in your favor?

The polls are fake news. They're all rigged by the radical mortals, who want to take away your right to bear spells of necromancy.

I am a proud necromancer and a member of the NNA, and I refuse to live in a world where the right to practice necromancy is outlawed.

The Planemeld was nothing more than a peaceful demonstration by good, hardworking Dremora and Xivilai such as Ghaxthath the Mortal Flayer and Hxtyteraxth the Disembowler. Meridia twisted it into a war. She used her AntiVamp thugs to attack us.

I am the strongest Daedra in all of Oblivion, and I will not let Meridia destroy my our Mundus. We can defeat her and restore law and domination to the Mundus.

[mareenavee]

WIP Whenever, once again <3

Hi Friends!!!

I'm swamped with holiday stuff, work for Skywind, fic, and also a significant novel collab I'm working on with a very dear friend of mine! Original, too! We're in the prewriting stages and I'm HYPED.

(This is why I am not tagging anyone on these, I have vanishingly few minutes for Tumblr.)

But back on the fic wagon, I have been working on both World Chapter 32 and an Untitled Ghost Story set in Morrowind-times, speaking of Skywind.

My same very dear friend and I have adopted these OCs from cut content in another project and I've decided to write him a fanfiction.

Veru Bavani belongs to Indoril Jinumon. Ulpar Enakul is, technically, both of ours. (:

The palindrome verse was Indoril Jinumon's work, originally, written for this character's dialogue.

The Ald Chimeris below was written originally by Strager (on AO3) and means: "You dare come here!?"

CW for canon typical violence and general spookiness!

Without further ado, under the cut, today's selection is from Untitled Ghost Story! 798 words.

Veru’s heart sank. Enemies from all directions, and this was how they treated their captives. She closed her eyes and bowed her head in a silent prayer, just in case nobody had bothered to remember this one when they were alive.

As she was recounting her verse, she could have sworn she heard murmuring and then movement in the air, as if someone had walked past. She opened her eyes and whipped around to check, but the corpse was exactly as she left it. Everything remained as unchanged as it had been when she’d discovered this place. A chill ran down her spine, air going cold—or so she thought. Was that her breath fogging? Of course not—it was as dry and overly warm as it had been for a while now. She exhaled through her nose and turned on her heel. It was a dead end, anyway. She would have to climb back out to the main chamber and try again. As she began her ascent, she turned and looked over her shoulder one last time. Wait—had the skull shifted? No. No. Don’t be stupid. Let the dead rest.

Back at the main chamber, she chose the middle path next, marking another Vehk rune before she moved on. This one was pristine in a strange way, the rocks beneath her feet smoothed over as if, long ago, it had once been a kind of road. Now nothing remained, not even an echo of the civilization which had made their last stand here. Nothing except ashes, if even that.

Veru walked for what seemed like hours, the gloom crushing in around her as she descended further into the depths. She stopped only to carve more Vehk runes, the first ever. This could have been below the citadel—the way seemed correct, the last she was able to determine. As she made her way, the stalactites thinned, replaced instead with high ceilings of twisted, once-molten rock, sharp and curled like the spiked armor on a dremora. The light of her torch did nothing to alleviate the oppressive vastness into which she could not see. Anything could be up ahead. Her throat felt like it would close in the silence, but it would not do to risk her voice now, when anything could be out there and so much was at stake. Gritting her teeth, she stepped carefully in time with the verse in her head. She drew her sword and adjusted her grip on the torch. The flame flickered, her shadow like a monster merging with the greater darkness. She inhaled deeply, eyes wide and watchful for any hint of movement. 

Swords, like words said with pride, cutting pride with said words, like swords.

Between one inhale and the next, something screeched out of nowhere in a rush of freezing wind which smothered the flame of her torch. Though blinded, she was prepared for something like this—some nefarious Dwemer abomination. There was another screech to her right, and with a yell, she struck out with her sword. She was met with the pale green-blue glow of a revenant, its sword locked with hers, ice crystals crawling along the blade of hers. His face was twisted in an ugly snarl, eyes not inches from hers as he advanced with all his strength.

“Ni kana shanta sino?!”

The voice sounded myriad, like a thousand-thousand souls had been woken from their slumber to scream the words. She didn’t know this language, and in her inability to respond, the spectre was thrown off guard, just so. It was enough. She parried, the sharp screech of ethereal metal against glass echoing out into the void around them. The ghost charged at her again, sword raised, leaving him wide open. Veru stepped left, dodging his strike only to stab into his ectoplasmic form from the side. A shriek unlike anything she’d ever heard before pierced her skull. She cried out and tried to block out the noise with her hands. The ghost disappeared and reformed feet in front of her, the noise of its scream still disarming her as it reverberated.

He raised his sword, and in a flash that stung her eyes to tears, flames sprung up around the perimeter of the room from sconces in the wall. Veru wiped the sweat from her eyes and rushed in for another hit. The ghost was faster than she anticipated, and struck out with the pommel of his sword, uttering another sharp shriek that seemed to come from everywhere all at once. The pommel connected with the side of her head, sending another explosion of pain through her skull, enough to pull the darkness back into the edges of her vision. She screamed and, though dizzy, moved in for another stab in the opening his ill-advised blow left.

[powdermelonkeg]

Oh boy you have opened the floodgates

Okay, some random questions floating in my mind

How are people going to react if the BG3 crew refers to the Durge as a Drow instead of a Dunmer? In that same vein, are people (like Taliesin or Caryalind or Nebarra, for instance) going to be skeptical of Astarion when he says he's a high elf?

How are people going to process Karlach? The closest analog to a Teifling that shows up in Skyrim is a dremora, and I'm pretty sure people don't like those.

I'm mostly asking questions about races and stuff because I think the transition from "Tabaxi and Dragonborn" to "Khajiit and Argonian" would be really interesting to touch on.

Also the sheer differences between how magic works in the two universes. Do the (idk what to call them, tadfools?) Still have spell slots or are they transferred to Magicka? Stamina isn't really much of an element in DND as far as I know (unsure about BG3, still haven't played it), so do they feel tired more often as a result of suddenly entered a universe where fighting doesn't happen in 6-second bursts?

Also their reactions to all the different varieties of dragons too. The shock when Blood Dragons and up can spew both fire and ice, but none have any other breath weapons.

And I'm pretty sure food works differently too. Who's going to be carrying all the cheese?

Are the Daedric Princes going to be able to sense that these people aren't supposed to be there? Are they going to be nice to Partysnacks?

I have more questions, but they may come later.

Okay, so, in order:

How are people going to react if the BG3 crew refers to the Durge as a Drow instead of a Dunmer? In that same vein, are people (like Taliesin or Caryalind or Nebarra, for instance) going to be skeptical of Astarion when he says he's a high elf? 

The identities of the Faerûnians are mostly going to be a point of conversation among Team Dragonborn itself. It serves them better to try to blend into the population how they can when they’re on their adventure–so if someone wants to refer to Gale as an Imperial or Shadowheart as a Breton, there’s no point in correcting them.

Tav (Durge) WILL get a little tetchy about the general attitude towards Dunmer, though.

In terms of Team Dragonborn–which starts out as Tally, Lucien, and Auri–they’ll definitely get a lot of confusion and skepticism. But, well, since they just walked out of a crashed alien spaceship, I think it’s not too far of a leap to say they’re from another sphere altogether.

How are people going to process Karlach? The closest analog to a Teifling that shows up in Skyrim is a dremora, and I'm pretty sure people don't like those. 

Karlach is going to have to hide! A lot. Dark hoods and everything, probably has to stay out of town in some situations, and the Vigilants of Stendarr are going to be a threat. It’ll get easier once Gale gets enough grasp on Tamrielic magic to cast Seeming.

I'm mostly asking questions about races and stuff because I think the transition from "Tabaxi and Dragonborn" to "Khajiit and Argonian" would be really interesting to touch on.

This is actually going to show up most prevalently when they’re called Dragonborn. “I can’t believe it. You’re…Dragonborn!” “Excuse me? Do I LOOK like I have scales?”

Also the sheer differences between how magic works in the two universes. Do the (idk what to call them, tadfools?) Still have spell slots or are they transferred to Magicka? Stamina isn't really much of an element in DND as far as I know (unsure about BG3, still haven't played it), so do they feel tired more often as a result of suddenly entered a universe where fighting doesn't happen in 6-second bursts?

So with this, I’m going to play kind of fast and loose with the rules of D&D combat vs Skyrim combat. 6-second bursts are less of a law everyone lives by and more of a way to break a battle down for tabletop. Karlach is still a raging barbarian, just picture her rushing at you like a Skyrim bandit would.

In terms of spell slots, that’s more interesting. Magic in D&D operates by utilizing the Weave, which is Mystra’s organized and dedicated magical fabric. Since Mystra has no influence over Tamriel, the Weave, also, wouldn’t exist.

However, magic does exist. And underneath the Weave, Toril has unorganized magic called Raw Magic. Gale needs to experiment quite a bit to get his spells to work how he wants them to, but essentially, Magicka is a refined, yet still unorganized, form of Raw Magic that steadily bleeds into Nirn. Once he gets a grasp on that, he’ll be able to utilize it properly (there was actually an event where Toril collided with another Weave-less world, and people in that world HAD to use Raw Magic to cast spells).

Tav, on the other hand, is a sorcerer. He IS magic. Magicka is going to come naturally to him, and he’ll be able to cast almost everything he could before. Of course, he doesn’t REMEMBER what he can do, so he’s not going to be super-powered right out of the gate.

Also their reactions to all the different varieties of dragons too. The shock when Blood Dragons and up can spew both fire and ice, but none have any other breath weapons. 

Lae’zel is going to have an aneurysm.

And I'm pretty sure food works differently too. Who's going to be carrying all the cheese? 

Gale! Gale’s the camp cook, and he’s very protective of it. Sure, Tamriel might have different ingredients, but that doesn’t mean he can’t make a good meal of pan-fried slaughterfish with saltrice vinegar-based hundur sauce! He might even give some of the locals a taste for Waterdhavian cuisine.

Are the Daedric Princes going to be able to sense that these people aren't supposed to be there? Are they going to be nice to Partysnacks?

Oh the Daedric Princes are going to be a problem. Particularly Mehrunes Dagon and Boethiah. Because there is only one lord of murder, and his blood loathes competition. Not to mention Shadowheart taking offense at Nocturnal encroaching on Lady Shar's territory.

Also, yes, absolutely, Partysnacks is going to be a friend. Lae'zel in particular looks up to him (though she thinks the Greybeards are a bunch of pacifistic cowards).

[metallic-scaled-scarf]

My addition to @ego-osbourne 's Velehk Sain's trusty crew! She's under the cut because she is very unclothed.

This is Calamity, one of Sanguine's dremora, who left his realm sometime before the Oblivion Crisis and joined Velehk Sain's crew when she'd heard of a successful dremora “Pirate King.”

She minds the sails of the ship and works with the few other dremora onboard to keep the mortal shipmates in check. She's sassy and playful, usually a good sport about general mischief.

When the ship is docked, Calamity often uses her skills in... convincing people.. to trick those landgoers into gambling all their money away and consequently letting her make more money for the crew. Rumor has it she's never cheated in a game before.

[sulphuricgrin]

TESfest 2024

Day 4:  THIEF  //  enamoured

Hermaeus Mora gives a mission to steal from Mephala’s champion

Characters: Lilliandra (Altmer OC), Hermaeus Mora, Dremora OC, mentions of other OCs

Warnings: brief mention of body parts

Word count: 1053

@tes-summer-fest

_________

It has been six years since she found a Black Book in the academy library, and since then Lilliandra has been so busy. She had found and joined the Sodality of the Eye cult, whose portal was hidden in Ondil in Auridon, and became one of their biggest patrons, funding them liberally. She acted as a merchant to the Ciphers within Apocrypha when she visited, where she spent almost half her time. 

When she wasn’t doing anything related to daedra worship, she was acting as the perfect socialite within Summerset society - she hated it. While she did enjoy the music she created and performed with thaumavocalism, she found it tedious as usual to charm those she had to socialise with. High society was vanity personified. They were vain and vacuous, arrogant and avaricious. She was a mere decoration to their lavish parties and found their conversations vapid and the majority of them illiberal. 

She found Apocrypha and the Sodality of the Eye freeing in some sense. Everyone was looking for knowledge, rarely the same subject between the many cultists and ciphers. Their motivations were generally all the same. You couldn’t charm or manipulate your way for information (usually), but had to pay for knowledge with knowledge or money. She also found ciphers the easiest way to get test subjects to research illusion-focused thaumavocalism on. They were willing to take part in experimentation that would be potentially frowned upon in Summerset, and all she had to do was trade with information or coin. And if someone got hurt or even died, well, it was a risk they should have understood and a price she was willing to pay.  

She knew even some dremora would take interest in watching her experiments. Herald Xyria finds Lilliandra interesting enough to talk to her regularly, which she finds surprising for a dremora. She doubts Xyria particularly respects her, but perhaps found her amusing enough.  And it’s Xyria who tells her that Hermaeus Mora wants to talk to her.

She had only interacted with him once, when she had been transported to Apocrypha through the Black Book. He had welcomed her, wondering if she was clever enough to find knowledge, and warned her of the peril. But she was clever, and cleared the gauntlet (with some struggle), finding a massive book at the end and getting a boon.

But now she stands before him again within Apocrypha. 

“I have watched your progress through my realm with growing interest. You are following in the footsteps of my first servant.” 

She’s bereft of breath, yet nearly vibrating with excitement. Years of worship and even sermons she herself has held in Auridon, and now she is picked to speak to the Daedric Prince. “How may I be of service?” She can only ask, knowing there must be something she can do, given that she now has his attention. 

“Mephala’s champion holds a book, a Tracts Perilous, that was stolen years ago from my domain. ‘The Enlightenment of the Soul’. It is time to return it back to its shelf. And only you, daughter of Mephala’s champion, can do so,” the void of tentacles and eyes speaks slowly, firmly. 

She isn’t given a question, but a mission. And he is correct that only she could do it. It takes little time for her to think about where it could be, for she once held that exact book when she was merely 15, without realising what it was. 

“I am your servant, my lord. I will bring it back,” she answers with confidence. 

It wasn’t technically the first time she had to steal back stolen books or artefacts, but it certainly was the first time she was doing anything related to her daedric worship within her family’s estate. So for the first day, she keeps her routine, but watches everyone’s habits. Whether the timing was intentional or a coincidence, her mother was out, meeting with the top officials in the Thalmor about secret intelligence. 

The next night she cloaks herself in an invisibility spell and goes to the entrance to her secret office. Getting her mother’s trust came hand in hand with being her mother’s favourite; therefore, she was the only one that even knew of the office. Detect Life tells her no one is near and she uses the spell her mother taught her two decades ago for the access. The stone wall seems to ripple before opening a portal to a dark and narrow hallway. As soon as she steps through, the portal closes and she’s forced to use a simple candlelight spell to walk through one, of many, secret passages in the estate. 

It takes little time before she enters the office and casts a stronger spell, flooding the room with light. And the first thing to greet her is her mother’s ebony idol to Mephala, as if it were mocking her. Feeling watched, she hastens her actions, with long strides to the locked cabinet of her mother’s curiosities. 

She had worried her mother had changed the locking and unlocking spell she specifically used, but it was for naught. Because of her mother’s trust and her arrogance, it would be her mother’s failure to not rotate her locking spells that helped Lilliandra in the end.

As soon as she opens the cabinet, as always, she can’t help but stare back at the collection of preserved eyeballs; the feeling of being watched in this room ever heightened. Ignoring the rest of the odd curiosities, she finds the book with ease. It was a plain, dark hide covered tome. Temptation grips her to open it again, like she did 12 years ago. Tempting a peak, a cacophony of voices assault her mind before she snaps it shut. Tome tucked under her arm, she locks the cabinet again. Realising she’s done it, her heart thumps against her chest, blood pumping at her victory. She knew her mother would likely figure out she was at fault for the book’s disappearance, but what was she going to do, kill her over a book?

And just like that, she opens a portal to Apocrypha and leaves, ready to return the book to her Lord. What would she be given in return?

What she hadn’t expected was that she would be given the highest honour of becoming champion. 

[ego-osbourne]

What colors would a dremora serving Hermaeus Mora have?

//click for better image quality … Time: 1hr//

Truth is, there are no dremora who serve naturally under Hermaeus Mora (in TDI). Instead, dremora form other Princes are either captured by, traded to Mora, or approach him personally. Their memories are taken from them by Mora to add to his collection of knowledge, and they’re made as book keepers, organizers, and other general task managers around the endless mess of Aprocrypha.

Like all things that enter Apocrypha, too much exposure to that Oblivion plane begins to morph and transform them. Dremora are no different, and take on different forms depending on their origin in Oblivion. However, they all eventually take on a fishy / tentacle-esque form, with many dremora evolving into Seekers or Lurkers. A few others devolve into other mindless creatures that roam the inky waters of Apocrypha. The unclucky individuals eventually rot and decay until death takes them.

[ashyam-xivilai]

A bit more about:

Shurgan Rakhza'ar

Dremora in the service of Prince Sanguine

Once summoned to Nirn by an old, flamboyant dunmer wizard, who hosted parties dedicated to Sanguine at his home. Shurgan was expected to entertain the mortal visitors and perform errands for his master. During one very wild party, the drunken wizard slipped on the stairs and died, thus leaving Shurgan unbound. He's been roaming Nirn ever since, disguising himself as a dunmer.

Not much of a melee fighter,or a fighter in general. Prefers talking himself out of nasty situations. If that fails, lightning strikes and fireballs will do.

+*+ Sassy +*+

Huge sweettooth, khajiit marvel at the amount of moonsugar this supposed ''dunmer'' can consume.

Mastered the art of tailoring while on Nirn. He is very fashion-oriented.

Doesn't detest mortals, like many other daedra do. Shurgan thinks they are amusing and likes interacting with them.

Bonus Shurgan in more Daedric looking armour:

[changelingsandothernonsense]

Skyrim favorites! 2 parts!

Answer one or more of these as either Teldryn or Sydari!

And then ofc give us your favorites, too! 20.   favorite weapon?

23.   favorite faction?

24.   favorite creature?

26.   favorite ability?

Answering as both since they both have their own opinions on this. Throwing in some Morrowind references too...coz reasons.

I'm dropping a fic easter egg in here! :D

20. Favourite Weapon.

Sydari unsheathes a curious dagger from her boot and places it on the table. The metal is unnaturally dark and the weapon itself seems to hum. There's daedric lettering etched into the centre of the blade.

"This little thing has gotten me out of more sticky situations than I can count. The enchantment is a little temperamental but the blade never dulls." She looks over at the Dunmer seated beside her, he raises an eyebrow as he stares apprehensively at the blade. She carefully places the dagger back in its sheath and smiles at him.

"He hates Daedric shit."

Teldryn shakes his head and slumps a little in his seat.

"I don't hate Daedric shit, I just," He scratches the bridge of his nose before taking another sip of the beverage beside him. It elicits a slightly disgusted look, "Miluth forgets that I've had my fair share of interactions with Daedra, all have consequences that I am no longer interested in experiencing." He looks down the hallway and smiles to himself, "Not any more."

"Oh, that's bullshit Tel! Your favourite weapon of all time was that weird crescent sword you took from that Dremora Lord," Sydari jeered, "Tell them that story!"

Teldryn shakes his head, "It's locked away in the armoury for a reason." He makes a sign with his hands that implies "little fingers".

"He stabbed a god with it!"

"Did I?"

(I love the design for Daedric weaponry in TES, something about it is so badass).

23. Favourite faction.

Sydari rests her feet on the table and sighs, "I'm a Nightingale."

Teldryn laughs, "She runs the Thieves Guild!"

Sydari throws a crust of bread at him and laughs in return, "And he thinks building tents in the yard and putting lamps in the window qualifies as a personality trait!"

"That one is a worthy cause and teaching her to build a yurt is a great way to pass the time."

"And attracts the attention of half the town."

"It's a dying art"

Sydari smiles back at him, "I know".

(I play the Thieves Guild questline in Skyrim a lot and Josh is very much an Ashlander projection on my part. He's also a member of Twin Lamps, a faction that has grown on me quite a bit! Yes I did say I'd throw Morrowind into this, can't do anything as instructed lol)

24. Favourite creature.

Sydari smiles, "I have always loved rabbits. They're so cute! I find the netch that float across the island to be fascinating."

"You've never had one of those things puke on you. It's foul." Teldryn takes another drink of the odd beverage beside him and grimaces. He pats the large, olive-green carapace of the nix hound at his feet.

"That's because I've never thrown a whole bottle of Sujamma at one you s'wit!"

"Language!" Teldryn tuts, a smile plastered across his thin features, "I heard her say fetcher the other day! Where did she pick that up?"

"She probably picked it up from you at the market last week! You called Fethis one because you think that he overcharged you for that glass tube you insisted on importing from the mainland."

"That's because Fethis is a dick!" Teldryn sighed and leaned back in his chair, "He's a dick Sydari."

"Language Sero, language."

Teldryn shakes his head, "I like big dogs."

"He likes cats."

"Shhhhhh!"

(I can't choose animals, I like most of them tbh so the above is a selection. I personally love the calls of silt striders and I think netch are cute.)

26. Favourite ability.

Both elves look at each other.

"Invisibility"

(I play stealth characters as a general rule, it's fun!)

[venacoeurva]

IRT the slavery jokes, and the tag about how bad it must have been years ago: I’ve been in the fandom for almost twenty years, and it honestly wasn’t too bad until Oblivion came out? The fandom shifted from quiet nerds to mainstream very quickly. Could be that I was insulated to some specific forums where the biggest drama was “stop asking us where the puzzle cube is” and one of the mods wanted to make dremoras and atronachs kiss, but I don’t remember much in the way of slavery jokes and offensive bullshit until Oblivion happened and attracted a bunch of randos, a lot of whom were edgy teens who started the whole thing. Worryingly, a lot of people also came in and played Morrowind out of curiosity, then walked away thinking the whole Dunmer xenophobia thing was “cool.”

HOMOPHOBIA, on the other hand, was a big deal even before Oblivion. Lots of people gnashing their teeth over Vivec being canonically bi and AlienSlof making mods that had assless chaps for men. It’s kind of funny that Voryn/Nerevar is the big ship nowadays because I can still remember all the dudes who felt personally threatened by mesh shirts for elves, and screaming “IM NOT GAY” while staring at the Nude Better Bodies option on GameSpy.

Yeah, I can see that happening (keep in mind I was like 6 when mw came out and I wasn't exactly Online), Oblivion promo was everywhere around when it came out and permeated everything for YEARS (at least around here, everyone had it, everyone was playing it, same with Skyrim, but I feel like Oblivion was a BIG big thing because the high fantasy sort of appeal, the lore wasn't prohibitive for new players, and it looked graphically ambitious for the time). I think the aughts were around when being a Gamer started being seen as a semi-cool/acceptable subculture, too, so I'm sure that emboldened a lot of those dickweeds because they felt like revolutionaries or something and circlejerked, including their shared bigotry (and then the skyrim nazi problem happened). Biiig gateways to get people into the older games.

But yeah, I remember constant homophobia and every other [minority]phobia was just a Fandom Problem in general regardless of series... at least the fragility of homophobic dudebros toward even the most basic shit like a male character being shirtless or had tight pants, or having long hair (or a female character having short hair, because they're afraid that's too gay for them) was funny and pathetic as hell when they weren't expressing a wish that people like me die or something. The fact that people still act like this makes me wonder how they survive.

I saw it in multiple places. I think it helps along with general social progress that social media is more than mostly just forums, old style blogs, webcomics, and dA so more lgbtq+ people can just be out there and not get flamed and harassed to the point of just leaving all available mainstream platforms for fans of something and sites are (usually) more proactive about preventing as much hate speech and the average person will shut down or ignore and simply report/block anyone trying to be bold with it.

Also yeah it's kind of funny it's so big suddenly? I think people just really like running with subtexts with fanbases in general these days instead of just sticking to staunch, outright and stated canon that's put directly in your face (which is kind of moot with dying on that latter hill for this series lmao) because people used to just fight you on that shit back in the day for any series, and going nuts and finally have the freedom to do so. New people coming in with their pre-established behavior and accepted norms from other fandoms helps as well I'm guessing. And judging by tags on my art, gay dudes just really like Voryn and see him as a projection character/he was a gay awakening for some of them? I think being on the gay trans website in an era that shipping is its own subculture within fandoms helps