#Vedam dren

[igorlevchenko-blog]

Morrowind: Portraits of Vedam Dren, Duke of Vvardenfell

[atypicalacademic]

Silk 🧵🪡 (or maybe 🕷️???) pls and thank you u3u

Could be both really, Silk is about the circumstances surrounding Alsal's parents, and therefore the normalest most healthiest family in the world

“A favour, not a partnership. And that can be withdrawn if you break your agreement and overstep your bounds. I can’t let you override our interests on the matter. The Council would never--”

“Vedam.”

His brother was pacing now, his golden robes lashing against the floor. Tall, handsome Vedam, who spoke Aldmeri and Cyrodilic, more personable and charming than Orvas could ever harbour hope of becoming. Not that he did. Orvas was not in the business of envy. He could rub two sides of a coin without bleeding his thumb dry.

“From here on, I would ask you to consult me before--”

“Velanda Omani. Nevena Ules.”

He stopped. Orvas read the dawning dread behind his eyes. Not both of them. It said. No.

Little brother, the light of his life. His nix-hound on a golden leash. Orvas smiled freely now. “I can make you Grandmaster.”

[the-real-nerevar]

*the average day in the hlaalu council manor*

Orvas: I HATE YOU.

Dram: OH? WELL NEXT TIME DON’T STEAL MY MONOPOLY.

Vedam: Dram, give Orvas his 200$, you landed on his property.

Dram: NO. HES IN JAIL. I’m not gonna give money to a CRIMINAL.

Orvas: THATS NOT HOW YOU PLAY!!!

Crassius: Vedam, why is Orvas screaming.

Vedam: Shut up, Crassius, you’re not gonna talk after stealing my LAST RAILROAD.

Orvas: I WISH I WAS NEVER BORN

[feivelynart]

Duke Vedam Dren of Vvardenfell, ingame Potrait for Tamriel Rebuilt

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Elder Scrolls Legends - Duke Vedam Dren by Maksim Marenkov

[elderscrollsconceptart]

Duke Vedam Dren

Art for The Elder Scrolls: Legends

Art by Maksim Marenkov

[turtlemagnum]

last night, while watching the election results with my mom, i was playing morrowind on a character i had basically grown bored of just due to how i got him to max level in every skill, and decided to just do the last little bit of the main quest through the back path. of course i then killed crassius curio and vedam dren, freed his slaves and whatnot. it was a bit weird going through dagoth ur without hearing voryn whisper sweet nothings into my ear the entire time. now i realize, the first time i ever did the back path on morrowind was that fucking night. god. i hope that memory turns retroactively better

[spoonmagister]

The Supposed Murder of the Supposed Ralen Hlaalo

8 Rain’s Hand

To Nileno Dorvayn, Hlaalu Council Manor — resident thief and Hlaalu representative,

I have received your correspondence thanking me for delivering justice in the matter of “Ralen Hlaalo’s” untimely demise. I write this to you under appreciable mental strain, as it has become clear to me that my warnings thus far have gone unheeded.

I will be blunt — the murder of Ralen Hlaalo has NOT been resolved, as Ralen Hlaalo is not a life-form of this realm TO be murdered. Ralen Hlaalo is a void entity not of this world or even this Reality. While it presents as a dunmer, this is only a facade. What lurks underneath is an infinite cavern which slowly and endlessly attracts and consumes matter as we know it. Do you not find it strange, that despite his apparent disappearance and various inquiries into his safety, that no attempt was ever made to enter Hlaalo Manor until my own, independent and unrelated investigation brought me there? It does not WANT to be found, but rather to continue its mysterious work unimpeded.

I have also attempted to communicate my concerns to Relen Hlaalu in the Ebonheart Grand Council Chamber. His casual disinterest in this being which appears to have been a poorly executed doppelganger of himself is suspicious, to say the least.

My own work will continue, but please do not delude yourself into thinking the danger has passed. Something terrible came to the walls and roof of that Manor, and something terrible — though I know not in what proportion — still remains.

SpoonMagister Terra,

CHIME Inquisitor

Tel Uvirith

*****

10 Second Seed

To Duke Vedam Dren, Great House Hlaalu Grandmaster

As you know, several disturbances have been reported in the Grand Council Chamber regarding the Telvanni Magister from Tel Uvirith.

Respectfully, are you absolutely certain it was wise to grant this spoon-addled ticking magickal time bomb a stronghold construction contract? I and my assistants have received countless unsolicited visits and letters from her with claims of varying insanity — that I am being copied by a void entity, that I am purposely attempting to clone myself in an attempt to mimic the Tel Fyr house of horrors, that I am contracting otherworldly beings to create a black hole with which to collect gold and treasures, and the list goes on.

It is known that the Magister has violated and modified the terms of the contract. Her stronghold has ceased to be a tower and is instead a small town. She staffs well over 10 retainers. The population continues to grow. She appears to be collecting and employing altmer from across the province for who-knows-what terrifying and embarrassing purpose. To make matters worse, the Tel Uvirith dungeon is reportedly filled to capacity.

It is, of course, left to your discretion. I urge you to consider what I’ve said.

Respectfully,

Relen Hlaalu, Hlaalu Representative to the Grand Council

Ebonheart

*****

1 Midyear

To Edd “Fast Eddie” Theman, Mouth for SpoonMagister Terra

Telvanni Council House — Sadrith Mora,

Once upon a time, there was an innocent dunmer noble who did not make any waves, but found himself capsized regardless. A bad person did a bad thing to him and no one knew why. The good people of the town had a good long think about it, but couldn’t understand what had happened or who had done it.

All of a sudden, a rogue element intervened. The murderer was caught, seemingly at random. It wasn’t clear whether his killer was exacting justice or just doing a bit of their own independent killing. The good officer who enforces the law did not care much one way or the other — the crime was solved, his prayer answered.

But the rogue element couldn’t leave well-enough alone. It kept chiming in with its own theories and opinions. It interfered with a crime scene. It magickally sealed off the Manor where the murder happened, preventing any from extracting and properly dealing with the corpse. The servant of the dunmer noble went missing. The good officer started to think that maybe the rogue element did not solve the crime, so much as it used it as a platform to do more creative and confusing crimes.

The good officer, willing to let bygones be bygones, only wished for the rogue element to cease its corrupt investigative techniques and vacate the premises. He made another special little prayer, as they had been successfully answered in the past. Maybe this one would be as well.

Larrius Varro, Legion Champion

Moonmoth Legion Fort

[aladaylessecondblog]

me looking at that hot picture of Duke Vedam Dren: Man I am so sorry for what I'm going to do to you in Severed Destiny. ur a nice dude. and very good looking

[relfanalae]

Chocolate-Box exchange

Sooo, my second exchange is over and it was fun again. I only wrote the one fic I was assigned, but I was (and still am) kind of put out by events in real life, which will continue until April at least, sooo finding my romantic groove in writing was hard once I could not fall back to my own OTP. Well, here is the little thingie I cobbled together for dear @worldsentwined about Tuuri finding a kindred spirit in Reynir.

The Byway where two Paths become One

And I am still so pleased and grateful for the two stories that I recieved! One truly wonderful and romantic and emotionally gripping (and also quite funny, in a way) Emil/Lalli-story from @minutia-r and one very interesting and intriguing and wonderfully dialogue-rich story about King Helseth Hlaalu, Vedam Dren and Ilmeni Dren by Filigranka! Morrowind politics ftw!

So have Maybe tonight I’ve got a question for you and A Game At Dinner.

Thank you both so much again!

[ravenkult]

Duke Vedam Dren by Nuare Studio https://www.artstation.com/artwork/DeW29

[ansu-gurleht]

OH re: that “niche tes npcs” post: all the drens in tes3. not just like the main two or three like vedam and orvas and ilmeni, but all the side-drens too, like daynali, and galmis, and marayn, and others i’m sure. no i do not care about the online drens

[uesp]

"Don't make enemies. If someone is determined to be your enemy, then fight. But do not turn friends or potential friends into enemies through arrogance or carelessness."

--Duke Vedam Dren

[libertineangel]

Introducing my all-in-one OC: Delam Farano

Delam Farano is a Dunmer spy, too often pressed into saving an Empire he hates.

Born in 3E 375, his parents were formerly mid-ranking members of House Hlaalu, part of a minority group within the House that opposed further Imperial encroachment on Morrowind’s traditional institutions, content to have them as business partners but not leaders. Due to this, they were vehemently opposed to the appointment of Vedam Dren, known Imperial ally, as Grandmaster, and as a result they were “strongly advised” to leave Morrowind by the Cammona Tong. As a result of this, Delam was born and raised in the town of Riften in Skyrim, being taught of his heritage, his birthright and all the traditional skills necessary for a young Hlaalu initiate.

He took to this education well, with a quick mind, a steady hand, a talent for moving quietly and a cool head under pressure, and he began working as a spy-for-hire (and occasional thief or assassin, for the right price) in the courts of Skyrim’s Jarls, making steady coin and connections off their conflicts, all with the intention of building a power base strong enough to reinstate his family’s rightful place in Morrowind. Unfortunately, his skill earned the attention of the Empire’s Blades as a potential agent, and what the Empire wants it tends to get: one night he returned to his chambers to find a note telling him that he had impressed the Empire and his services would now be put to their use, that he should take a carriage waiting for him outside the town gates in the morning and that he should then expect a letter from his parents, who had been relocated to an Imperial settlement.

Clearly seeing the veiled threat in those words, he took the carriage, felt a hood go over his head and upon its removal found himself in High Rock, where he was informed he would be stationed until further notice, reporting to another local agent and receiving short letters from his family every few months, to which he of course could not reply. He began carrying out the Empire’s orders, working diligently as always, until one day he was given the assignment to exorcise the spirit of the late King Lysandus, a task which quickly escalated far beyond what anyone had expected.

After the Warp in the West the Empire lost track of him, and he took that opportunity to use what information he had gleaned from other Blades agents to try and find where the Empire kept its hostage families, but was captured and thrown in the depths of the Imperial Prison, too valuable to execute but too dangerous to be sent into the field for extended periods except at utmost need.

Utmost need arrived a decade later when he was sent to his true home of Morrowind, where it suited the Empire’s needs to have the Nerevarine Prophecy fulfilled and he was the only agent the Blades thought stood a strong chance of succeeding. Delam did his job admirably, while leaving a cell only a handful of times a year for a decade had dulled his skills somewhat he was still highly competent and pursued this assignment with particular fervour, as he thought he might be able to use his position against the Empire that sent him into it. Unfortunately the Empire had of course anticipated this and he was recalled back to Cyrodiil as soon as all their work was done in the province, and for another six years he languished in a cell, before one fateful day when the Emperor himself would pass through.

He very nearly kept the Amulet of Kings and let the Mythic Dawn wreak their destruction, travelling to Weynon Priory only with the intention of asking Grandmaster Jauffre himself where his parents were, but events moved to quickly and he thought that, while he would be glad to see the Empire burn, the letting the whole of Tamriel die was foolish and served no benefit. Hating the fame brought on him by his deeds as Hero of Kvatch, he travelled through the Door in Niben Bay and found himself yet another land’s champion, though this time feeling a little more at home in the court intrigue of the House of Dementia. Of course, he could not leave Tamriel for long, for as always his primary goal was the freeing and restoration of his parents, though after the Oblivion Crisis all of his leads and information had become obsolete and he had very little to go on. He did the best he could, but he abruptly left when Baar Dau fell to aid his people however he could. He then returned to the Shivering Isles, as stories claimed the great rock was Sheogorath's doing and he intended to confront the Madgod, who naturally denied all involvement. With the Imperial infrastructure in tatters and House Hlaalu disgraced he found himself struggling for direction, as he had no means of finding his lost family and no position to restore them to once he did, and the Shivering Isles fed on this depression as he stayed there longer, becoming more integrated in their courts and society, and as the Greymarch began in earnest he ended up mantling the Madgod himself. Part of him maintained the hope that he could use this position and the resources it commanded to finally find his parents, but much of his time and energy was spent restoring and managing his new land. Eventually he returned to Tamriel, but his perception of time as it passed in the mortal realm had become distorted with his apotheosis and his extended stay in the split land, and the years had turned to decades, and he realised that if he did not find his family soon he would likely be too late, if indeed they still survived. Upon learning of the current political situation, and not trusting the feeble Empire's knowledge of even its own past operations, he presented himself to the Thalmor as a defector and gladly worked his traditional clandestine job against the regime he'd hated for centuries, all the while hoping to find some intelligence on what the old Blades did with their captives. Unfortunately the Aldmeri Dominion realised what Delam was looking for and decided they could use exactly the same leverage as the Empire, except they themselves had not found the old prisoners and Delam knew their attempts at blackmail were fraud. He disappeared back to the Isles, knowing there was nothing left for him in Tamriel, and there he remained, this time keeping a regular eye on the mortal plane to ensure he did not lose years like before. When the Stormcloak movement began and he saw his people being persecuted he decided to intervene, hoping to work his way into Skyrim's political scene just has he did over two hundred years ago...except he was captured, trying to cross the border.

[vosh-rakh]

a window, open and closed

chapter 2 

(chapter 1)

cw: implied nsfw, nothing explicit

note: i don’t even know what the state of tense is in this, and i don’t care at this point lol

- - - - -

“...So.”

Hla-eix had already rolled over away from Daabush, her eyes contemplating the window. “So...what?”

“You said we would talk.”

Dammit, he remembered. She closes her eyes. “Did I?”

A hand grabs her shoulder and rolls her onto her back, but she keeps her head turned away from him. “No,” Daabush says. “Not again. You agreed to this. Stop trying to run away.”

“It’s all I’m good for. Running away.” She bites the inside of her lip, wishing she hadn’t said anything.

Daabush reaches over her, his rough hand gentle on her chin, pulling her around to face him. He’s so intense, the way he stares at her - into her. She always tries to avoid eye contact, but if she ever finds it, that intensity holds her completely still. No more running away. 

He caresses her cheek, his thumb running over the thin, delicate scales there. “I just want to get to know you, Eix.”

“Sorry,” she says, her eyes managing to step aside for just a moment to breathe. “I don’t know what to tell you. Where to start.”

Daabush purses his lips around his tusks. “Fine,” he says. “Okay. I’ll start, then. I grew up in a stronghold, out east, in the Velothi. What about you?”

“Uh.” This was going to be hard to explain. She always hates having to. But maybe if she can just get it over with… “I grew up in two places. Some in Morrowind, some in Black Marsh. Few years with my moms near the border. About ten years in Morrowind. Few years after the Red Year, I got taken in by the An-Xileel. Then -”

Daabush stretches his thumb over to cover her lips. “Sorry, hold on,” he says. “The Red Year?”

She bites his thumb. “I told you I was old.”

“Ow! Okay.” He props himself up on one elbow. “Also, what’s the An-Xileel?”

“Uh. Government of Black Marsh?”

“Is that common knowledge?”

“It’s not a secret.”

“I’ve only ever lived in Skyrim.”

“I guess you wouldn’t know then.”

“Anyways. Why’d they take you in?”

“Well. My mother was a dunmer. Ashlander. Mabrigash, to be specific. Like a witch, I guess. I lived with her and her coven for a long time.” Hla-eix looks up at the ceiling. She’s always thought about these things. She just needed a push - and some trust - but once she got going, she had plenty to say. “But the An-Xileel pushed north after the Red Year, to take back lands stolen by the dunmer long ago. We lived in those lands. So they killed the mabrigash except for me.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago.”

“Yeah, but…okay. They didn’t kill you? Why?”

Here’s the hard part, the one she’d been avoiding. “Well. You know what I look like. I had two mothers, an argonian and a dunmer. They found a way to have a child of their own with magic. When the soldiers found me, they thought I was … a cruel experiment of witches, I guess. Another awful thing the elves had done to our people.”

“Why didn’t you tell them?”

“Couldn’t. I don’t know why. But I didn’t speak for a couple years after that. So I just let them assume what they wanted.”

“Okay. So -”

Hla-eix covers his mouth with her hand. “Nope. Your turn again.”

He swats her arm away. “Ugh. Fine.”

“Why’d you leave the stronghold?”

“Well. Hm. You know the Great Houses of Morrowind, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, there was a wave of Hlaalu emigrants almost ten years ago. Bunch of folks nobody wanted no more, on account of being so close to the Empire. Got especially bad after the Red Year.”

“Wait. You said you were born in a stronghold.”

“I did. Hold your tongue for a minute. I’m not Hlaalu.” His eyes glaze with thought for a moment. “Well. I might actually be, technically. That’s...well, who gives a shit.” He shakes his head and looks back at Hla-eix. “Where was I? Before you rudely butted in.”

“Hlaalu emigrants.”

“Oh. Well, they passed through the Velothi near our stronghold on their way to Skyrim. We let them camp nearby, gave them some supplies. Hlaalu’s always been the House that hated us least. There was…” He pauses, bites his lip. “...a person who, uh. Became important to me. But before I could get...their...name, the caravan left.”

“Daa.” Hla-eix playfully bonks him on the head. “My parents were both women. You don’t have to play the pronoun game.”

He sighs, and she notices that some tension leaves his body. He closes his eyes. “Okay. So … Well, I decided to leave the stronghold to follow them, so I could talk to him again.”

“You didn’t mind leaving your kin behind to follow this Hlaalu mer?”

Daabush’s eyes shoot open. “That’s...Actually. It’s your turn. Why’d you leave Black Marsh?” 

“...Occupational reasons.”

“A trader? Adventurer? Mercenary?”

“...Sure.”

Daabush furrows his brows pointedly but doesn’t push it. “But you didn’t mind leaving your kin behind to follow your occupation.”

Hla-eix cocks an eyebrow. “So your elf crush was just a job to you?”

“That’s…!” He stiffens his posture and raises his voice. “That’s not what I mean and you know it. I was just … ugh.”

“I was forty-four when I left for the first time since arriving,” Hla-eix says. “To me, that’s nothing. But to orcs I’m sure that age is meaningful. What I’m saying is that it wasn’t easy to leave.” She wiggles and fiddles with her fingers idly. “I’m sure you can imagine … what it was like for me. To be among normal-looking argonians. To constantly have to prove yourself worthy. That you’re one of them. That you’re loyal to them, and not the dark elves.”

“...Yeah. I get it.”

She snaps out of her anxious spell and sits up straight, crossing her legs. “Tell me more about the Hlaalu boy.” 

Daabush gently runs his fingers along Hla-eix’s exposed and heavily scaled back. “...His name was Sevren. Member of the Dren family, he said.” Hla-eix raises a confused eyebrow. “As in, Vedam Dren.” She pulls back a corner of her mouth and shakes her head. “Was the Duke of Ebonheart. Whatever. Important guy.”

“...So what happened? Did you talk to him? Were you...involved?”

Daabush’s eyes close shut, then open again, but they were in a different place and time. “Yes. We were in love. He left his family to be with me.” He shakes his head back and forth slightly. “Not easy, two men, orc and elf, in Skyrim, you know. He was used to city life. But it wasn’t really an option. We joined a band of poachers in Eastmarch. They didn’t mind, long as we pulled our weight and didn’t get nobody caught. They were skeptical about Sev at first. But we managed. It was cold, but there was warmth there, with Sev, and the others. Like family.”

He shakes his head more forcibly to clear it and sits up, matching Hla-eix’s posture. “What about you? What’s your history with love like?” 

She looks away towards the window. “...I lied.”

“What?”

“I, uh. You’re my first.”

Daabush places a firm hand on her thigh. “...No. Doesn’t make sense. You’re too experienced. You’ve had others.”

She stands and walks towards the window. “No. When you’re like me, you have to pay them. And only if they’re desperate.” She opens it and leans into the biting cold.

Hla-eix doesn’t hear anything except for the heavy silence of Solitude late at night. It is a quiet hour, even the loud drunkards fled to bed. No early morning exercises clanging metal at the castle; no music wafting from the college; no weeping at the cemetery; no prayers at the temple. There is the faint whisper of winter wind, the delicate sound of snow shifting, the crisp crackling of street torches, and the cacophony of thoughts roaring in her head.

Then there is a massive warmth pressed against her back, wrapping around her. “Then I’m not your first,” Daabush says, slowly turning her to face him.

First she sees his chest, heavily scarred grey-green flesh built like a bear. Then she looks up into his eyes, this time without being forced by them. “You’re the first that mattered.”

He pulls her into a deep kiss, their first real kiss despite all their rutting, and his first in years. In his arms, she is warm despite the cold outside.

When they finally pull away from each other, he reaches over to close the window. Hla-eix buries her face in his chest, listening to his heavy heartbeat, entranced. But he hesitates, and distantly she registers the sound of a door slamming open downstairs. 

“Shit.”

[electronicdelusionstarlight]

House Leaders from Elder Scrolls Legends

Dagoth Ur for House Dagoth

Sun-In-Shadow for House Telvanni

Duke Vedam Dren for House Hlaalu

Archcanon Saryoni for House Indoril/Tribunal Temple

Bolvyn Venim for House Redoran

("One of these is not like the others" plays faintly in the background).