#champion of boethiah

[ladytanithia]

WIP whenever

OK, it's not Wednesday yet, but I'm going to be busy tomorrow so just in case... tagged by @gwilin-stay-winnin

tagging @mareenavee @dirty-bosmer @thequeenofthewinter @skyrim-forever - no pressure, you can wait until tomorrow or a different whenever! :-D

Working on so many things right now, but this was the most recent thing I had my fingers in. A possible chapter for Miranja's distant (like 20+ years from now) future. A meeting with someone she'll never meet in-game, because she's too nice to do the quest involved.

“Here to kill me and claim my place as Boethiah’s Champion?” The red-headed Dunmer had already risen to his feet and picked up his battle-axe from the table, gripping it with both hands and leveling it to one side as he spoke. His dark armor radiated a sinister black mist that seemed alive.

Of course, Miranja being herself, the thought crossed her mind, however briefly, that this was a handsome Dunmer man, and she hated killing Dunmer, but it was the world-weary way he prepared to defend himself that really gave Miranja pause. It was almost as if he had been expecting her, and his putting up a fight was purely de rigueur. He was a reflection of her, and she almost felt guilty about bursting in on him in what had seemed a moment of deep contemplation.

Lower your weapon, my daughter, came a tiny, quiet, calm voice in the back of her mind.

“Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa!” she cried, dropping her sword with a clatter and raising her empty hands in front of her.

The Dunmer paused in his attack, just before he began the swing of his battle-axe toward her. He looked at her in expectant confusion and curiosity, but still held his weapon at the ready.

“I don’t want to have to fight you or kill you,” Miranja told him earnestly.

“Well, that’s not what I expected,” he stated in bemusement. “You mean you weren’t sent by Boethiah?”

“Boethiah?” Miranja exclaimed in obvious distaste. “I’m sure if Boethiah did want me to do some sort of favor, it would be something horrific. Not that I would ever deal with such a cold, heartless daedra. I still don’t understand why you Dunmer worship her, unless it’s out of fear. No, I’m here because the Jarl issued a bounty to clear the bandits from this place. What was that you said about her champion?”

“As far as I know, I’m still her current Champion,” he replied, finally lowering his weapon and returning it to the table. His armor seemed to have returned to normal, no trace remaining of the curling black tendrils of vapor. He turned back to her, looking her up and down now that the moment of fight or flight had passed. “But I’m sure she’s grown bored with me and is seeking a new Champion, if she hasn’t already found one and sent them to end me.”

“You don’t seem like you’re afraid to die,” Miranja commented, thinking of his air of resignation when he’d thought she was his enemy and potential murderer. “But it almost seems like you’re hiding here.”

“A man who feels no fear has no heart,” the Champion stated with a note of annoyance in his voice, as if Miranja must be daft. “I know fear. I just don’t let it control me. As for hiding, I suppose it would appear that way. I don’t see it as hiding, but maybe I’m lying to myself on that count. I’m just trying to live out what’s left of my life in relative peace.”

He returned to the table and sat back down, and Miranja followed, standing behind the vacant chair perpendicular to his, feeling she should wait for an invitation to sit.

“Boethiah speaks of leaving your mark, a sign of your passing.”

Miranja nodded. “Carve your will upon the world with tongues and blades. I’ve been to the sacellum in the Velothi mountains in Eastmarch. The priestess there told me that if I wanted to see Boethiah, I had to trick someone into trusting me and then lead them there and sacrifice them. I could never do such a thing. I watched two of her followers fight each other to the death, and it seemed pointlessly tragic.”

“Indeed,” agreed the Champion. He motioned to her to sit, and she did. “There are other ways, better ways, to leave your mark on the world. I was finished with Boethiah long ago. There’s enough blood on these hands. I’ve realized that I have a talent for smithing, and I find it calming and satisfying. There’s a fulfillment in creating things, knowing that the armor I’m making is saving people’s lives, changing their destinies, and their families’ lives and destinies by extension.” He held his hands up before himself, seeing their potential for both destruction and creation. Miranja saw it, too, and found herself longing to touch those hands.

[kinghlaaluhelseth]

oddly enough the quest to bond with val serano has been one of the most wholesome and realistic custom follower bonding/romance sequences ive done, and he's the one that's a goddamn pirate.

[uesp]

"Mind my words or I'll mind them for you: I'm slave to no man, no god, and no Daedra. Boethiah talks about leaving your mark, a sign of your passing.... Well, you can make a mark on the world without treachery and murder. Whenever a man's life is saved by armor made with these hands, these hands have changed that man's destiny and his family's. So you can tell that heartless Daedra bitch I'm done doing her dirty work."

--The Champion of Boethiah

[dawns-beauty]

The Elves of Eastmarch: The Cult of Boethiah

I didn't really plan on covering non-unique/unnamed elves in my mod, but I can't resist redesigning some cultists.

The Champion of Boethiah

Not only does he get a Boethiah-inspired 'do, I also made a unique tattoo for him.

The Cultists

[moonshadovv]

Finally got around to drawing my Champion of Boethiah, Azaril!

[ID in Alt, RB to support an artist! thank you to @adorkastock for always having the best pose references.]

[trickstarbrave]

WIP Whenever

wait shit. i got tagged earlier and i forgot D:

i got tagged by @boethiahspillowbook so

wip is vivec! the water fucking killed me. but now i have to do everything else in the picture UGHHHHGHGHGH

we also got some writing WIPs! here is one from moon and star where we actually get to see nerevar's mother prior to him being born--

and i'll taggggggggg @thescrolls-haveforetold @orfeoarte @caliblorn and @mulberrycafe ! and anyone else who wants to :)

Becoming the champion of Boethiah was not an easy feat. Especially not in Resdayn where worship of the Good Three was commonplace--a pillar of their culture since the days of Saint Veloth. Many wanted to make a name for themselves by completing trials for the Good Daedra, and fewer even had a chance to be named their champions, let alone actually be bestowed with that honor. 

But Nivara wasn’t one to quit. She was dedicated, powerful, violent, and refused to die in battle. Many tried to best her, and yet they always failed. It wasn’t a glamorous lifestyle to travel from place to place, killing to earn money for supplies, but it was the only life she had ever wanted. She loved the thrill of battle, besting her foes, and being the last one standing. She had known since she was a little girl this was the only way she wanted to live. Sleeping out under the stars, being battered by ash storms, and hunting for her meals was all the more rewarding as she knew she was Boethiah’s chosen. 

And when the god summoned her to her shrine, Nivara was ready to kill whoever Boethiah requested her to kill. Yet, it seemed as though the Prince of Plots had another task for her, one that only baffled Nivara. 

Boethiah came in the form of a woman, blood stained battle armor, chest exposed, serpent coiled around her. 

“You will meet a man you cannot kill in combat.” Boethiah declared, making Nivara’s eyebrows furrowed. Had her god seen that she would fail? Why would Boethiah warn her of such a thing, when her usual method of handling failed champions was letting them die? “He will be unable to kill you in turn; a true equal.” Again, it seemed outside of her usual teachings. 

“You will have a child with this man. That is my will for you.”

“A child?!” Nivara questioned, baffled beyond all reason. 

Nivara was not the type to be a mother. If she was, she would have never chosen to be Boethiah’s champion, living and killing in the wilds of Morrowind to her heart’s content. She would have instead chosen to stay behind in the small mining village she was from, taking a husband and birthing more children to toil in the mines. 

She wasn’t maternal. She wasn’t affectionate. She didn’t know anything about taking care of an infant. 

“It is a task you have been chosen for.” Despite the absurdity of asking a killer to be a mother, Boethiah wasn’t wavering. “Flee like a coward if you wish to refuse. You know the consequences of your choice.”

To accept the task would likely mean giving up her position as Boethiah’s champion, unless the Goddess of Destruction would ask for her infant’s life as sacrifice. And to refuse the task also meant giving up her position, instead living in disgrace and incurring her god’s wrath and any punishment the prince would see fit. 

It was an unfair choice, but Daedric Princes were rarely ever fair. And Nivara was no coward. 

“... As you wish, Dark Mistress.” Nivara relented, as the vision faded.

[aquicat]

Daedric Princes as Corny Pick-up Lines:

‘…Are you the Champion of Azura? Because you trapped my soul!’

‘…is that Boethiah calling you? Because I’m free tonight if you wanna (you know) perform a sacrifice?’

‘…you must be Clavicus Vile, because you’re master of my insidious wishes.’

‘…Hermaeus Mora? Ha! You read me like a book!’

‘…Hircine, huh? You know that I, *ahem*, have a fursuit?’

‘‘Gray Prince of Order?’ More like ‘gay prince of order’, bcs I’ll make you my bitch!’

‘…is your name Malacath? Because I wouldn’t mind being in your ashpits…’

‘…let’s destroy the world together, my Mehrunes Dagon!’

‘…ohhh! Mephala, ay? Tie. Me. Up.’

‘…you’re Meridia. You annoy me greatly, but you are the light of my life.’

‘…no offence, but if you worship Molag Bal… I- I don’t want you to call me again…’

‘…like Namira, you have rotted away the cage around my heart.’

‘…I want to embrace you under Nocturnal’s moonlight, because you snuck into my heart!’

‘…Peryite must have gotten to my, because I am lovesick.’

‘…I would give you a bouquet of roses, but I only have this one big staff…’

‘…Is it ol’ Sheo’ playing tricks on me, or are you insanely beautiful right now?’

‘…bite me! But don’t go too far - I know you’re into Namira.’

[iamnotshazam]

The Elder Scrolls daedra lore: Malacath isn't trapped in a new, unfavorable form because of a cruel trick Boethiah played on him. He's trapped in a different, misunderstood form because Boethiah tried to do him a favor in the only way Boethiah knew how - and perhaps she did not realize Malacath would be so intolerably Aedric as to never understand.

What else is the cycle of life and death, birth and rebirth, on Earth as well as Nirn, but to consume and be consumed? Our wastes are as fertile and important to the world as our prized creations. Boethiah knew this, as well as Lorkhan, and it parallels lessons of many of the 'nastier' Daedra - ex. Peryite, Namira, Mehrunes Dagon.

One story of how Boethiah tricked Malacath has the hallmarks of a moralistic fairy tale. Boethiah pretends to be a series of ugly, sick, and (most importantly) old humans, and Trinimac does not want to help them, even though Boethiah is giving something in return. Trinimac does so only because he gave his word but he does it while cringing. When Boethiah becomes beautiful and hale, and young, then Trinimac rushes to help and is swallowed whole.

What is this story but a clear fable to not take beauty as it first appears? To try to help people for help's own sake, not because you gave your word? To not mind sickness and age, hallmarks of approaching death, and to approach with compassion? You're on the Mundus. You and Auriel chose to stay and help the mortals, because you think that mortality is a curse but the spirits are still worth salvaging. Are you really so shallow? And when Trinimac failed the test Boethiah gave to show how he might improve - chomp.

How does an immortal being change? I mean really change, because a hallmark of Daedra is they don't change, unless interrupted and somehow . . . dealt upon by something stronger than them. I don't think Boethiah was stronger than Trinimac, champion of the Aedra. But what Boethiah did struck Trinimac so sideways he was shocked enough he didn't react until it was too late. Boethiah's actions afterwards seem less like the cunning victory of a schemer typical of the Prince of Plots and more like a dog that caught the car. They didn't quite know what to do with victory over Trinimac so they started running around making him seem like a gross idiot.

And they were doubly surprised when Trinimac did not fight his way out. Was their idea working? Was the actual lesson seeping in? So she gave up the massive advantage she had over this powerful rival in order to end the farce - she shat him out.

It was the final pièce de résistance to what she wanted to show the snobbish Aedra and their followers. Lorkhan's deceit and entrapment happened. It's already done. There is more to be gained by helping each other overcome challenges and enriching the spiritual soil of Mundus than to hold oneself above others when you are just as vulnerable. Just as changeable. You chose to be here. Now actually be a part of the stream of changing shape and form.

She miscalculated. Perhaps she didn't realize the true depth of pride and willfulness in Trinimac, or the sensation of being digested was more awful than she herself, Daedric and unchanging, could realize. She shat him out. The prank went too far.

It changed him into the Daedric Prince of refusing to change.

But there are signs of Malacath having much more potential for growth and prosperity than he does now. The Ashpits are barren and near-lifeless but they are also the Ashpits, enriched soil full to bursting with the fertility of life-from-death. The remaining faithful covered themself with nightsoil to be like their leader. What if they had used it in fields instead? Malacath tries to grow a garden. It doesn't do well.

The tragedy of his existence is not that the garden doesn't grow. It's that it could, but in some way he chooses for it not to.

also she shat him out like what the fuck boethiah

[theoneandonlysemla]

Self-rec post

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love❤

Thanks for tagging me @rakaiawriter!

Feels weird to recommend my own fics to be honest and I will have to sprinkle in some German works that I have not translated yet to get to 5 that I really like. So, lets start:

Dealings with Daedra

Of course I have to put my baby first. What was once a little plot bunny has become a story of 150k words and will get a second part. This fic is about my OC Nevri and her struggle as the dethroned Champion of Boethiah. There is blood, there is friendship and a blooming romance, all under the eye of another daedric prince.

Doe and Wolf

Another Skyrim fic, this one does not have a ton of OCs, but a rare pair! I had this headcanon of Ancano taking a liking in Faralda, mostly inspired by the Song She Wolf by Sia (fuck her, but it's a great song!). I imagined him as a gaslighting ass and her as a little too naive to not fall for his advances. Writing Anacano was an absolute pleasure so he will get a little page time in the second part of DwD and there will be a connection between the two stories!

Whisky by the Sea

Originally written in German, this is a product of my hyperfixation on Mötley Crüe, Hair Metal and the 80s. I hoped to catch the spirit of the time with that story, even tho I was caught in spermatogenesis back then. Experimenting with a dual point of view was fun, but also a challenge. I really want to reread it, now that summer comes back. It really is a summertime romance.

I think I'll eat your heart

This Hannibal fic is only available in German and I really can't say, if I'll ever finish it. I started it in 2015, rewrote it completly a few years later and honestly, it might need another rewrite. But my attention span has left the Hannibal fandom and is now pouring into Elderscrolls. Occasionally I am working on chapters, because I do know how it should end but... Who knows if that day will ever come. But it has a place in my heart!

Daedric Drabbles

Out of a whim, I started writing some drabbles as an exercise after I had produces a 10k word chapter. And it did help to get a better feeling for wordcounts! Every Daedric Prince gets a drabble, so far 8 are done. If anyone has any idea for a prince, I have open ears!

Turns out, I just took one German story into this? But those who are interested can take a look at my other stuff on fanfiction.de!

I really don't know who to tag, as I know @thequeenofthewinter already did this thing. How about @ladytanithia & @vanilleeistee?

[whitegoldtower]

For the first time ever I’m playing an orc! 🤩 And I may or may not be absolutely smitten with him.

His name is Moth, he’s a pale orc with white hair, and he’s a devout of Boethiah (for an orc, would be like being a Christian Satanist).

He lives for pain and its ✨intricacies✨, you see. (if you know who the inspiration is, you have taste)

He achieves divine strength through suffering, and is something of a flagellant. He wears a cilice garter, has a heavily scarred face, and his body is practically covered in tattoos. There are also small nods to Mephala in his tattoo designs, as he honours her, too as she aided Lord Boethiah in the Prince’s fight with Trinimac.

(The story goes that Trinimac led armies of elves against humans and Boethiah, seeing him as the strongest, consequently ate him to assume his shape in order to create the Orcs and Chimer. The Prince then essentially shat him back out and Trinimac became Malacath, a weaker and more vengeful version of his prior self.)

Moth rejects worship of Malacath in favour of worship of Boethiah, because the suffering he endured should have made him stronger, yet it instead twisted him into something less powerful. So in Moth’s eyes, Trinimac/Malacath failed, and the Orcs should instead owe their creation to Boethiah.

A hot take, and one that is widely unpopular with other orcs, hence why he keeps his distance. He keeps such a distance, in fact, that he joins the Volkihar Clan. Despite being a vampire, he remains ever faithful to Boethiah, seeing this extra layer of suffering (being unable to enter the sunlight and being forever hungry) as a way to gain strength through devotion. He also joins the dark brotherhood to satisfy his religious fervour for stealthy and bloody sacrifice.

The ultimate suffering, for him, however, is when Boethiah demands a sacrifice of importance to him, and he chooses his most beloved follower to slay at the Sacellum of Boethiah. He revels in his grief, sure that it will make him stronger…

But it gnaws away at him. He begins to question himself. He has Boethiah’s favour. He is the Lord’s champion. But at what cost?

If it hurts, he’s doing it right. Right?

One of two things is going to happen. The certainty, here, is he is going to see parallels between himself and Trinimac/Malacath. It’s just a case of ✨when✨.

Either he will recognise what has happened immediately and devote himself to Boethiah even more violently, refusing to become like Malacath in favour of remaining strong like Trinimac…

Or he will only recognise what has happened after he has become a vengeful, hollow, weakened husk of his former self.

(Also as a funny side note, due to some weird glitch/bug, Moth cannot swim. Dude sinks like a brick. He also gags whenever he has to test alchemy ingredients (even if they’re pleasant).)

[sulphuricgrin]

1 & 15 for any/all for the TES OC Interview!

OMG Thank you!! :D

TES OC Interview Game

1. What class do they fall under? Anything they specialize in? (ex: Mage > Illusionist) Have they changed their class over their lifetime or stayed the same?

I answered Lilliandra here

Elikar: If we go by DnD rules, he would be a Paladin. In TES, he would be a templar! His god for the majority of his life would be Stendarr. When he travels to Skyrim with his sister, Lilliandra, he's rather unwillingly picked by Meridia to take her beacon to her Temple and becomes her Champion.

He's strong in Restoration, Mysticism, and Destruction magic, particularly Shock magic. He didn't gain the epithet of Alinor's Thunder during the Great War for nothing! (though he wishes he never did) And he fights with sword and shield, and summons an Aedra spear if he must in battle.

He stays rather consistent with his style in life.

15. Tropes, tropes, tropes! Do any come into mind for this character? Or do they subvert any?

YOU GAVE ME MY FAV ASK AHHHH I got a whole LIST of tropes!! I'll pick some good ones!

These probably contain spoilers, but eh. 🤷

Lilliandra:

Acid-Trip Dimension - potentially her own pocket realm, reflecting her fractured mind/memories; also what it’s like with her torturous illusions

Black Knight - a mirror to Elikar’s The Paladin imagery; especially as Boethiah’s champion

Cruel and Unusual Death - She has an incredible mean streak, dishing these out. Have a list, will not post in an ask in case of tw.

The Dreaded - both to dragons, her victims, and (to a lesser extent) Miraak when she shows up with all the dragon priest masks, having killed his former fellow priests and even his would-be jailor, and a necromantic lich dragon helping her

Evil Hero | Villain Protagonist

Evil Versus Evil - Dragonborn DLC; After waking up the first time on Solsthiem under Miraak's control after sleeping there, she takes great effort to contact Vaermina, offering to torture and give those souls to her in return for a trinket to stop his interference during her sleeping/dreams. Vaermina gives her a steep price and only hours to complete her mission and the trinket would only continue to work if she fed it tortured souls. Lili in turn starts picking off those Miraak has in control building on the island, defenseless, and feeds the trinket their souls. EVIL v EVIL

Faux Affably Evil | Villain with Good Publicity - By playing nice and downplaying her sinister, ulterior motives, she's able to coerce people into going along with her plans without realising just what they've signed onto.  She’s smart enough to use her title as the legendary Dragonborn (Stormcrown) to convince the public she was a hero, and not a villain.

Functional Addict - consumes a majority of drugs, always attempting to cloud the memories; tobacco, moon sugar & skooma, alcohol, opium, etc

Malevolent Masked Man - begins to hide her face, but for privacy and as a psychological threat if it’s a scary mask

Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe

One-Winged Angel - when she’s willing to transform herself into a Bone Goliath

Pragmatic Villainy

Screw You, Elves! - particularly against the Dominion

Surreal Horror - her illusions and her hallucinations

The Unfettered "Necessity knows no law."

I'm sorry, if this was long! The actual list is SO SO MUCH longer.

[nighting-crow]

Crow: Gets orders from Boethiah to kill her previous champion in Knifepoint Ridge

Lucien: “Always look on the bright side of life…”

[fictionkinfessions]

@ the stxrdust🌌 anon omg other TESkin!!!!!!!! I know there's a handful of us out there, maybe I should make a discord server for us 🤔

-anon that sent the NEREVAR MY SON ask,,,,

(I'm a non canon Champion of Lord Boethiah, 2 different falmer, and Miraak . I've used the tags #👁⚡️ and #✴✴ before! :3)

x

[uesp]

"Bright Lady! Umaril. Your most blessed champion extinguished by a lowly Man. How? How have these heretics arisen from their place in the mud? How have they thrown off their yokes they were bred to wear? How have they robbed your chosen people of our temple? Is this the treachery of Boethiah at work? Or Molag Bal? Or Mephala? The wicked schemers and liars! How could this happen?"

--An Ayleid journal

[nientedenada]

"You can make a mark on the world without treachery or murder." - Or can you? Some Skyrim Boethiah Quest Weirdness

Crossposted from r/teslore.

In Boethiah's Skyrim quest, you can confront her former Champion, whom she's tasked you to kill. And he has some interesting things to say.

This is what you want? To slave for others? What about your own destiny? "Mind my words or I'll mind them for you: I'm slave to no man, no god, and no Daedra. Boethiah talks about leaving your mark, a sign of your passing.... Well, you can make a mark on the world without treachery and murder. Whenever a man's life is saved by armor made with these hands, these hands have changed that man's destiny and his family's. So you can tell that heartless Daedra bitch I'm done doing her dirty work."

I've seen this exchange quoted many times on teslore, and analyzed it with others. Is Boethiah really against leaving your mark on the world without treachery or murder? Or is she pissed off at this guy specifically for rejecting her? Does she want people to follow their own will or hers? All excellent questions, but I have to admit I never played the quest through or investigated the Champion himself.

Yesterday, I finally checked the wiki to find out who this guy was, and how he was living his life, and discovered he's a bandit chief as well as a smith and keeps a dead body in a cage in his cave. His hide-out is Knifepoint Ridge and he replaces the radiant bandit chief if the Boethiah quest is active.

So much for no murder. What is going on here?

Boethiah's instructions to you paint a picture consistent with the person and setting we actually find

"My previous champion displeases me. It is time he is replaced - in the traditional fashion." Who is he? "I am loath to utter his name... one cannot erase a thing if it has a name to be remembered." Where can I find him? "You will find him holed up at Knifepoint Ridge, where he plays king to bandits and highwaymen." What has he done to displease you? "For a time he served his purpose, but that time has ended. He uses my gifts for his own amusement, and the only amusement I tolerate is my own." Say no more. He's as good as dead. "Kill every single member of his band. Do so as silently and invisibly as you can, for this is not about you. You are to be my instrument in this. Slay him in the coldest of blood. Do not give him the dignity of defending himself. Once his corpse lays cold upon the ground, and all trace of his followers erased, retrieve my Ebony Mail. A gift fit only for my true champion."

Why is this petty bandit king talking about having turned his back on murder and serving other people?

A fun Watsonian in-universe answer would be that the guy is in denial about what he truly is. He prizes his loyalty to his comrades/followers and paints himself in a positive light as a benevolent crime family boss.

For a development-focused Doylist answer, I'm certain the quest was rewritten at some point, and the champion's dialogue is a missed artefact of an earlier version. The tenor of the Dragonborn's question "This is what you want? To slave for others?" makes no sense in the current quest where Boethiah's told us this guy is using Boethiah's powers to be a bandit king, and this is exactly how he appears when we meet him. I think the Champion's dialogue was written for an earlier iteration of the character, where he was a smith in a civilian setting and had truly turned his back on violence.

Supporting this theory, there is very little chance of ever seeing this dialogue in game. The Champion is automatically aggressive, like every other bandit in the stronghold. You have to use a calming spell to talk to him, and there is nothing to suggest you should. Skyrim doesn't usually hide conversations with bandits and Boethiah asks you to use stealth attacks during this mission so you're even less likely than ever to come out in the open and have a conversation. No playtester would ever trigger this conversation, so it could be easily forgotten. The game went out with the ghost of an earlier quest version in its files. And then it was probably found via Creation Kit, and documented on the wiki. It becomes a mainstay of discussion about Boethiah's values, but without the context of the gameplay.

The Champion's dialogue is still in the game, but what isn't in the game is Boethiah's viewpoint on the Champion's line of thinking. Boethiah in game is reacting to a bandit chief, not a civilian smith with a passion for helping people, so who knows what Boethiah would say about making your mark on the world through smithing? Maybe she'd still be mad at a former champion for throwing away her gifts for that, but this all becomes speculation. What seemed a concrete example of Boethiah's will crumbles when observed in context.

You could definitely come up with a Watsonian explanation to put all these points together, but this has been a good reminder for me that the Elder Scroll games are games first and foremost. Dialogue that seems to give insight into the lore might not actually say what it seems to say, once you observe the context of the gameplay.

[wellthebardsdead]

Evalien: *a human from our world, got isekaid into tambriel and transformed into a dwarf, now sitting in Malacaths hand, in the cool water pool of his shrine in skyrim after she spent hours cleaning it up* Well. I think you’re pretty handsome if it’s any consolation.

Malacath: Your lies of flattery mean nothing to me.

Evalien: *sighs* Look. I get it alright. I spent the last, what? 10 years of my life getting over the trauma that was inflicted upon me during primary and high school. For ages I thought I was fat and ugly. Neither were true! But they made me believe I was! And now look at me! I’m a purple bad ass who can breathe fire! But before this?… I’d just become somewhat content with myself as I was and honestly?… I miss my old body… I miss being human… and that’s okay, because I’m happy as I am now too. It’s a new experience, and it’s really fucking awesome if you ask me.

Malacath: and your point is?…

Evalien: You we’re hurt. Really hurt. And you’re still hurting. And that’s okay… but now you’re taking it out on the people who care about you. And that’s not okay… what the ‘good daedra’ did to you was cruel, they changed you in a way nobody can fix, except yourself… you can continue to sit there in ‘shame’ and self pity… or you can move on, and heal. And realise you’re still you. You’re you. You’re not a carbon copy of auriel he shaped to be his ‘perfect champion’ or a monster created by Boethiah… you’re you. You’ve always been you, you’re still handsome and powerful. And so… *places their hand down on his giant palm* so very gentle… stop punishing your people… they adore you…

Malacath: *staring at them in utter confusion* …

Evalien: *sighs and stands up* I can’t fix what’s happened… and I’ll admit… I still remember the pain that was done upon me… that stuff doesn’t just go away, and it hurts still but… I know it was all lies… *smiles up at him* You’re incredible you know?… I just wish… I could help you remember that… You’re so very beautiful.

Malacath: *staring at them in awe, face flushing dark green, then rose gold, as his form twists and changes resembling a high elf with an orcs tusks, horns and nose, but two large, beautiful wings glittering with starlight* I- what did you-

Evalien: *just smiles* I didn’t do anything… you just decided to take the first step towards healing yourself… *hops down off his hand and into the water only to be caught by his hands again as he joins her in the pools as a slightly larger aldmeri like orc*

Malacath: *pulls her close against his body, hands firmly on her hips and eyes locked intently but softly onto hers* …Lay with me tonight…

Evalien: … *wraps her arms around his shoulders, not about to deny a literal god wanting her and her body* Okay.

*Several, days, later*

Evalien: *blinks awake in a warm, cosy long house, furs covering her now very VERY pregnant body, tiredly shuffles to her feet and waddles to the door, opening it to see orcs from every stronghold outside, waiting to greet their new god queen* … *closes the door then finally notices their stomach* … *looks around hoping malacath is watching from wherever he went* look you’d better be raising them because I still have to kill the world eater.