#chaurus

[falmerbrook]

The Falmer and Chaurus Thoughts/Headcanons

So we know the Falmer have some sort of relationship with Chaurus: much of their infrastructure and armor is made from Chaurus chitin, they have corrals that they keep Chaurus and their eggs in, and Chaurus are found pretty much exclusively among Falmer settlements and Falmer settled caves/ruins. I imagine it's also safe to say Chaurus are likely a food source for them. This relationship has been going on for at least a few millennia since we see Chaurus among the frozen Falmer that attacked the Chantry of Auri-El in Dawnguard.

Forgive my inclusion of the HUD in my screenshots lol

How did their relationship form?

I've always wondered what exactly the relationship is between the two. Is the relationship just mutualism where they both benefit from living among each other, full blown domestication of the Chaurus, or are the Chaurus wild animals the Falmer simply tame?

(for clarity's sake, taming is when an individual animal is tolerant of "human" presence while domestication is the evolutionary process where one species has evolved under the mutualistic control of another. Dogs and cattle are domesticated, foxes and deer aren't, even though they may also be kept as pets or get acclimated to human presence)

I lean towards a mutualistic relationship. While they may appear tamed or domesticated because we see the corrals that the Falmer keep them in, and we know the Falmer kill them to use their resources, the ubiquity of Falmer and Chaurus working together across most Falmer settlements we see makes me think it's unlikely to be a circumstance of taming, but the size and aggression of Chaurus makes me hesitant to assume they're domesticated. Typically domesticated species become less aggressive and smaller (with a few exceptions like horses) as they are domesticated over generations. It could be a minor touch of domestication though, since domestication involves mutualism anyway. The Falmer obviously benefit from this relationship for food, protection, materials, etc. and perhaps the Chaurus benefit from the husbandry of the Falmer protecting their young and providing them food. Perhaps the Falmer providing safety for their eggs and young has selected for Chaurus individuals that are less aggressive towards the Falmer over generations. Even if part of the reason the Falmer keep them is to kill them, it still proliferates Chaurus and increases their survivability to adulthood.

From what I can remember, we rarely if ever see Chaurus independent from Falmer settlements. Perhaps, after millennia of cooperation (although real world evolution takes way longer, I am ignoring that because it would make this whole post less fun), the Chaurus that had traits that allowed them to more easily live among the Falmer lived longer, had more offspring that lived longer, and over time the Chaurus as a species became dependent on the Falmer. Hell, with the Falmer being blind, perhaps the Falmer are somewhat dependent on Chaurus.

Falmer uses of Chaurus

Which leads my to my next set of thoughts, what other ways could the Falmer use or depend on Chaurus. In canon, we know they use their chitin shells for armor and building structures, but we also have concept art depicting them riding Chaurus as well.

Remember how I mentioned earlier that horses increased in size as they were domesticated. Maybe they same is true for Chaurus?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I think the idea of Chaurus as mounts could be interesting paired with the Falmer's lack of sight. If you need to move as a group, transport materials, or navigate complex cave systems, riding an animal that can traverse them more easily (both because they can see and because, as we see in ESO, they can climb walls easier) would make the Falmer as a group more mobile and organized over larger distances.

Other potential uses for Chaurus includes food, both the meat of the adults and the eggs. While they probably have a few other sources of meat underground from the stray mammal, Chaurus would be a much more reliable source of protein. Chaurus are probably also good at defense, both in being able to warn of potential threats and attack them. I imagine your average Falmer is more aware of the meaning of various Chaurus calls and vocalizations, which means the response of the Chaurus could help the Falmer figure out the nature of a potential threat.

Chaurus Hunters

The Chaurus we see among the Falmer in the games appear to actually be the larval stage of Chaurus. At the end of this life stage they form cocoons and eventually emerge as Chaurus Hunters, wasp-like flying bugs (tangent: I thought these were predators that hunted Chaurus for years lol). But what relationship do the Falmer have with this phase of the Chaurus' life cycle? Truthfully, we know very little about Chaurus Hunters. We do observe that their cocoons are found near falmer settlements, which makes sense since that's where Chaurus are present, and we know they are tougher enemies in-game than the other Chaurus variants. UESP also states, "While Chaurus and Chaurus Reapers are set to be "pets" of Falmer, Chaurus Hunters (of both varieties) are not, likely due to them having to "hatch" from a cocoon, first." I'll be honest, I'm not sure exactly what this means since I think it's talking from a gameplay mechanics perspective. This does mean, for our purposes at least, that we don't get an opportunity to see them present among Falmer.

So I have two ideas for what the relationship is between Falmer and Chaurus Hunters: 1) They basically maintain the same mutualistic relationship, and we just don't see it in practice because of gameplay limitations (they all start out in cocoons in Skyrim and aren't present at all in ESO). Perhaps, in this case, the Falmer are still an advantageous ally because they protect the cocoons. The Hunters could be beneficial to the Falmer as they can navigate more easily (although I'm not sure someone could ride one of them) and are more formidable foes. My other, less conventional idea is 2) the mutualistic relationship between the Falmer and Chaurus is over after the larval stage. After emerging from their cocoon, Chaurus Hunters are too aggressive or hard to corral for the Falmer, and they live on their own in the caves of Skyrim independent of the Falmer. This could explain why we see so little of them in the games. This theory makes way less sense (especially because it would mean the potential larval Chaurus stage is the one that lays the eggs), but I think it would be an interesting relationship to explore!

Dwemer, Falmer, and Chaurus

One last little idea I'd like to put forth (and, disclaimer, this is my most "making shit up" thought of this post) is what did the Dwemer think of the Chaurus, having lived underground with them before disappearing themselves? The Dwemer don't really give me the "getting along with nature and animals" vibes, so I'm going to go ahead and assume Chaurus were just really big pests. What if the Falmer used that to their advantage when they rebelled/went to war with/attacked(?) the Dwemer in the decades before their disappeance (context, if you aren't aware). Perhaps this is the origin of the mutualistic relationship between the two.

Art time

Finally, it's probably a job or task among Falmer to take care of the group's Chaurus. I imagine it's not the safest job given how big and aggressive Chaurus seem to get. Since I already did that post about Falmer attire, I thought I'd make another one based on that idea :)

[elderscrollsconceptart]

Chaurus Mount with Falmer rider

Concept art for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Art by Adam Adamowicz

[butch-de-101]

Blackreach and it’s Beneficial Flora Hive-Mind for the Falmer. Thoughts/Head-Cannon

So what is Blacreach? Blackreach is a massive underground system of caves, caverns and tunnels that span underneath the holds of The Pale, Winterhold, Hjaalmarch, Haafingar and The Reach, and it’s also home to various creatures and inhabited by the Falmer. It’s most noticeable cave being it’s namesake Blackreach or in Dwemer “Fal'Zhardum Din” or "Blackest Kingdom Reaches". Now as we all know one of the most notable features in Blackreach has to be its bioluminescent walls and celling which in my opinion appeared to be some form of fungus, Lichen or Moss.

Some might say these are Glowworms but these glowing ceilings appear in almost every cavern inhabited by Falmer, such as Darkwater Pass and the giant Mushroom Trees appearing in Darkfall Passage and the rest of the Vale.

Flora Hive-Mind? Uhh Explain Yourself

I’m glad you asked because it’s about to get very science-icy in here involving plants their root system/structure and chemicals. Have you ever mowed a lawn, broke a stem or tore a leaf in half? If you said yes to one of those things you would have noticed a peculiar pleasant smell. Well that’s the chemical reaction of a plant screaming in agony releasing a signal to all surrounding flora that there is an unforeseen threat that is harming them and that they should keep their guide up. And another way plants can communicate with each other is through their root system which can connect the largest of trees to the smallest blade of grass, and one of the biggest connectors in this system is… Fungus aka Mushrooms. Now this form of air communication is called Biosemiotics but particularly form is Volatile Organic Compounds. Which are chemical signals released by plants to signal plants to warm of them potential threats or to attract pollinators, and the root base communication is called Mycorrhizae in where roots and fungi are connected underground in a mostly beneficial relationship. This root/fungus base communication allows plants to share information, nutrients, water and even provide aid for damaged or sickly plants and works as a massive support group in different ways.

Also not only are the walls and ceiling of Blackreach are covered in glowing fungus but on the cavern floor stands large and almost tree like Mushrooms that tower over creatures and buildings. If these over sized mushrooms have a Taproot structure that would mean they go deep into the ground and hold it from any form of erosion, either from underground water and rivers which Blackreach has. This also goes for the long glowing tendrils that come from the ceiling and ground.

Now for my Blackreach Hive-Mind theory, so while exploring the various Falmer dwellings you’ll find that various species of mushrooms from near the entrance to deep within their lair. Now although mushrooms don’t have roots they do have Mycelium, these are fungi threads that can span deep and extend miles connecting large areas of flora to a network of beneficial interest. Three places of interest in this theory are Shimmermist Cave, Lost Echo Cave and Darkwater Pass all of which are Falmer inhabited, home to glowing mushrooms and show no sign of entry to Blackreach accessible to the player, but let’s say that the Falmer Wall Holes lead to unseen tunnels and caverns that also contain glowing fungus which would mean a large network of connections back to Blackreach fungal mass. So if we use the examples of root/fungal network and how they use this to share information, resources and aid we also know that Falmer caves and Dwemer ruins are all over Skyrim, so if we used this information that would mean that the entirety of Skyrim surface area from farms, forest and meadows are connected to deep underground tunnels allied with fungus that Mycelium threads connect them to a larger network of underground ecosystems doing everything in its power to live and thrive.

(corn is know to release a chemical signal that wasps will pick up to come to it’s aid when it it’s being eaten by pest such as locust)

How does this benefit the Ecosystem?

Skyrim is a large and diverse nation when it comes to weather and its environment, but even evaluation has it’s effects on how temperatures work. But to simplify it, the Northern Parts of Skyrim are cold while the Southern Parts are Warmer but that doesn’t matter as winter will still cause frost and if Nir tilts like Earth, then night will be longer and more intense etc.

But let’s so it’s winter and most of the Flora has “died” and won’t be able to photosynthesize, well that to worry as Skyrim is full of Pine/Spruce trees which are Evergreens. That means they do not lose their foliage and have the ability to attain nutrients from the sun, and they actually share their nutrients with their dominant neighbors and they share these nutrients with the previous fungal Mycorrhizal Network. Now let’s other important nutrients from decaying plants/animals aren’t as abundant as before well the surface won’t have to worry as deep beneath the surface are large tunnels and caves filled with Falmer and Chaurus, Vale Deer, Durzogs, Trolls and insects such as Spiders, Moths, Shroom Beetles, Cockroaches, Nixads and even Gloomspore Creatures. Which are giant sentient fungal growths that take the form of animals.

So now let’s say there’s a drought in Whiterun hold the fungus in Blackreach can share much needed water and let’s say theirs a blight effecting the trees in Haafingar Hold, again the glowing fungus from the tunnels would be able to transfer that information to the network system and warm the other of a possible threat and to prepare antibodies for themselves and to send to the infected plants. As plants do in real life

(corn is know to release a chemical signal that wasps will pick up to come to it’s aid when it it’s being eaten by pest such as locust)

How Does This Benefit The Falmer?

One thing I noticed while in Blackreach is that it’s able to support Trees, Shrubs and Grasses, which would mean that the bioluminescent that is produced from the wall and ceiling glowing fungus, lichen or moss and the giant mushrooms like trees/tendrils are able to produce the same amount of ultraviolet lights as the sun. which would give the Falmer and other creatures a daily/yearly supply of vitamin D which would give them stronger bones and immune system, but that is not all. The root from the tress and mycelium from the fungus would hold the ground, cleaning and walls tightly keeping the ground above and below them steadily in place.

Also water from the surface that will be absorbed by the ground will be purified from pollutes and other undesirable materials. As roots and tightly compacted soil will work as a natural filter and provide clean drinking water to the Falmer, creatures and foliage that grows there. Also according to Elder Scrolls lore the Mushrooms that cause the blindness in Falmer are ironically extinct so that don’t have that to worry about but they do still have a large option when it comes to edible vegetables as they could grow crops like the Falmer in the Vale do.

(And if you ever had to de-weed or cut roots, you’ll know what I mean)

End

I think I written and botched enough of what I was originally thinking and thought/theorized about. I hope I made sense and that the read wasn’t boring but I had fun and I hoped you liked it too.

Also @falmerbrook was a huge inspiration and please go give them a check and read what they have to say.

[wild-e-eep]

A glow worm larva taking down a slug many times its own size.

Wikipedia has a decent write-up of what's going on here under the heading Life cycle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lampyris_noctiluca#Life_cycle

[eghostsofdeadchildren]

Chaurus & Falmer.

[stymshots]

Hall of the elven king.

[macmanx]

Garo

[gooopy]

Chaurus eggs can be eaten ('to kill an emperor' quest, where a chaurus egg can be added by the chef 'for flavor') and chaurus meat can be eaten ('chaurus pie: a recipe' book which is both very cute and also describes how to cook and eat them) why arent we farming them. Why arent the people of tamriel farming chaurus. They are HUGE they can be TAMED im sure we could also farm and bottle their poison like frostbite spider venom. They can be used to make armor! You can use rvery single part of them! The falmer know whats going on WHYYYYY ARENT WE FARMING CHAURUS.................. people whove played morrowind do they do ot there i know theyre bugpilled someone please tell me we are utilizing the power of the chaurus

[sonsofbal]

IX. Chaurus Eggs

After weeks of silence, Alicent's attempt to reconnect with Seth leads to a tense encounter in the potion shop, where she discovers that his birthday is coming up. Determined to win back his attention, she embarks on a perilous quest to find the perfect gift. The journey will test her courage and wit as she faces unknown dangers in the hope of rekindling their bond. Immerse yourself in a tale of bold determination and fragile hope as Alicent navigates both her fears and the dark, mysterious world around her.

If you want to read the book from the start, here's the INDEX. You can also read it in AO3.

Alicent separated another snowberry from the bunch and tossed it into the bowl where she already had a pile of them. Someone cleared his throat in front of her, causing the alchemist to jump in place. So lost in her own thoughts, she hadn't noticed anyone else in the shop until then.

Once she met his eyes, Alicent looked down.

"Hello?" Seth greeted, confused.

It took Alicent a moment to get her feelings back in order.

"Welcome," she finally said in a subdued tone of voice, without taking her eyes up from the display.

She wanted to look at him again, but felt that if she did, she would start to cry. For the past few days, knowing that Idgrod and Joric would be back soon had been the only thing keeping her from breaking down. Being with them again was exactly what Alicent needed. Surely Idgrod would find the explanation why Seth ignored her, pushing away the uncertainty that killed her, and Joric would make her laugh with his nonsense. She needed her friends to remind her that the world hadn't come to an end just because Seth had had enough of her.

Alicent smiled at the mere thought of her friends, and Seth snorted.

“Where are the Chaurus eggs?” he demanded, his confusion replaced with anger. “Did you get them or not?”

Alicent sank a little deeper behind the counter and looked up at last, a little pout on her face.

"I'm sorry," she muttered.

Seth smacked the wood with his open hand. A few branches of snowberries flew. Alicent jumped again, and Seth looked to the side in a frustrated look.

"Just great."

"Some bandits held up the wagon," she explained. As soon as she finished, a lump formed in her throat.

I'm sure he thinks I'm no good. That's why he no longer wants to spend time with me. It wasn't fair that he took it out on her, but Alicent couldn't blame him. If she couldn't do something as simple as get some ingredients when that was literally her only job, how could she expect him to waste his time with her?

"And when does the next delivery come?"

"Maybe in a few days..." she mumbled.

"Well, I'll be gone until next week." He complained. I was hoping for before my birthday," Seth added, making Alicent's heart skip.

 “I didn’t know it was your birthday,” Alicent said, surprised. For some reason, this seemed to irritate Seth even more. Had he told her at some point and she didn't remember? That was unlikely. She had replayed all their conversations a thousand times. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..." she added, almost crying.

The expression on Seth's face relaxed.

"It's not your fault," he replied, softening his tone. "I didn't tell you."

Seth mentioned his birthday, but Alicent was still focused on the wagon. Not wanting him to think she didn’t care, she nodded with a hesitant smile.

Should I give him a gift? The way things were going, she didn't know if he would want it. But at the same time, he seemed really annoyed that she had forgotten.

"Well, see you next week." Seth told her abruptly.

Alicent took a deep breath, trying to disguise her sniffles. It was the first conversation they had had in weeks, and it hadn't even gone well.

"See you next week..."

Seth turned to leave, but stopped halfway and looked at her.

"Alicent, I..." he began, hesitating.

"Yes...?"

"Nothing." She felt disappointed when he replied. "Just..." Alicent pressed her hands against the countertop. "Take care of yourself while I'm gone, okay?"

Alicent nodded, at a loss for words. Seth nodded and left.

A few days later, Lami stood in front of her, hands on hips, a worried look on his face, when they finished eating and it was time to reopen the shop.

"How about you take a walk first?"

"Huh?" Alicent blinked, puzzled. "Why?"

"You've been in the clouds for hours."

"It's not..."

"Yes, it's true. I spoke to you three times and you didn't say a word during the meal."

Alicent  looked at her apologetically. Earlier in the morning, the wagon had arrived with the ingredients, but without the chaurus eggs. When Alicent asked the merchant about them, he confirmed her worst fears; they would not have a new supply for quite some time. From then on, all she could imagine was how Seth would take the news.

“Why don’t you go see Falion?” her mother suggested.

"Falion?" Alicent tilted her head sideways. "Why? If I don't have class today..."

"I'm sure he knows when Idgrod and Joric arrive tomorrow."

Alicent bit her lower lip. She hadn't really remembered her friends since she'd seen Seth, but as soon as her mother brought up the subject, she couldn't forget them. She wanted them back, among many other reasons, because the sooner they were back, the sooner Idgrod would be able to help her figure out if she should give Seth something or not. So, smiling a little, she said goodbye to Lami and went to see Falion, where she knew he would be.

Falion opened the door shortly after knocking. He looked overwhelmed, and barely mumbled a "Come on in" before turning back to the table cluttered with papers. Alicent followed him with unsteady steps; it was clear that she had not arrived at a good time.

"What are you doing?" she dared to ask.

"Nothing that matters to you," Falion replied gruffly. It was a rude answer, but Alicent didn't take it because it was his way.

He walked over to the table and stared down at what he was doing.

"Your book is broken," Alicent said in surprise, leaving aside the original reason for her visit. "How did that happen?"

"Spell cast. It backfired and bounced off of him." Falion's voice sounded annoyed. When Alicent saw the cover, she knew why: it was one of the books he used for his lessons.

"What did you want to hit?" she asked. Falion snorted, and she held up a page, looking at the number with the intention of helping him.

“What page do you have there, girl?”

"Seventy-third.”

"Give it to me. And search for the seventy-four."

Together they sorted through the pages until they reached one hundred and fourteen, and Alicent held the sheet in her hand, studying it intently.

"What is this?"

"This is a Chaurus. It's normal that you don't know them, even though you have their eggs in your store," Falion replied in a better mood. "They're not usually seen on the surface."

This is a Chabrus, she repeated mentally. Alicent held the sheet up to her face to get a better look at drawing and describing.

"It's horrible!" She blurted out, for lack of a better word. Alicent couldn't remember ever seeing anything like it.

It was like an enormous bug. It had four legs and a thick, rough shell that, according to the book, it used to camouflage itself among the rocks. It also had huge, dangerous, serrated claws from its jaws and two stiff tails ending in a pincer-shaped tip.

"And stronger than they look, I assure. Fortunately they do not come out of their caves, although we have some colonies nearby."

Alicent's stomach churned.

"Are there any chabrus caves around here?" The question came naturally, with no hidden agenda, but once she absorbed it, her torch was lit.

What if she chased them herself? It would be like killing two birds with one arrow. Seth would finally have his eggs, and Alicent would have a birthday present. Besides, Seth would definitely want to spend time with her again when he found out that she had been the one to collect them.

"A few." Falion took the page from her hand, tired of the wait. "The closest is the swamp, north exit of town."

"Which way?" Falion did not suspect anything because he was so busy stacking the pages.

"I'm not sure about that right now. But I have a map there." Saying this, he pointed across the room, right near the door. There, in a corner, there were several different maps of the region piled up on top. "If you want to take a look at them, go ahead, but be careful. I have much more important maps than this."

Alicent went to the maps and started rummaging through them until she found the one she wanted. She opened it and studied it for seconds, frowning. She didn't quite understand what the drawing was. Was it a mountain or some kind of ruin? She glanced to the side at Falion, who was trying to glue the left corner of the pages to the cover of the book.

He certainly wouldn't lend it to her if she asked. Alicent hid the map behind her back, because he would rightly assume that she wanted to go there, even if he didn't know why.

"I'd better go," she said, raising her voice. It's just a waste of your time if I don't keep my mouth shut." The wizard nodded: at times like this, it was a good thing that Falion was so awkward with people that he did not notice anything odd about the question. "See you in town."

Before Falion turned to say goodbye, Alicent pulled the map from behind her back, taped it to her chest, and walked out without Falion noticing.

The Sundas arrived, and as planned, Alicent set off for the swamp after studying the map. It was a relief to discover that she actually knew the location of the cave. She had passed near the mound countless times during her summer adventures with Idgrod and Joric, neither realizing there was a crevice.

Evening had fallen by the time she arrived. Though the place was less than an hour from the village, the fog was thick in the swamp and Alicent had real trouble finding her way. Once there, it was not difficult to find the entrance. The hard part was finding the courage to cross it. Knowing she was lost, Alicent couldn’t stop thinking how reckless she’d been—venturing into danger without Magnus’s protection and an ominous feeling looming over her.

I can't back out now. She unhooked her leather pouch from her shoulder and rummaged until she found the first vial containing a blue liquid. It had been a while since she had rationed her supply of frost potions, and though well wrapped, the cold was becoming unbearable. She took it out with trembling hands, opened it with her teeth, and gulped it down. It tasted pleasantly minty, and she felt relieved almost instantly as the icy sensation caused by the wet swamp climate left her. Then pulled out two more bottles. She repeated the same process, pouring the yellowish liquid into her mouth. The stealth potion tasted like nothing, and after drinking it, her hearing and eyesight became sharper and her body lighter. Finally, she drank the tonic of invisibility, a whitish, thick liquid with a nasty taste that fell into her stomach like a stone into water, or so she felt, as a wave of power rose from within her and passed through her, making her body invisible in its wake, as well as her clothes and bag. She had an hour to get those damned Chaurus eggs with which she hoped to regain Seth's affection.

Alicent interlocked the fingers of both hands at the level of her face, resting her nose on them and mentally reciting a prayer as soon as she entered.

Magnus, please hear my words. I know you must be angry with me because I didn't bring you the offering this year, but I need you to take care of me. I promise that if I get out of the cave alive, I'll make the best offering in the village next year and pray to you every day until the Mist Festival.

Perhaps it was foolish, and the Aedra were too busy to heed mortal pleas, but the gesture gave her hope and courage to continue.

The entrance to the grotto was a narrow, muddy passageway.Her boots were soaked from trudging through the swamp, and now each step sank into thick mud, forcing her to pull her feet free with every move. This part of the journey took forever until the ground hardened and she could advance to the first gallery without much difficulty. There, light filtered through the cracks of the mound; her enhanced senses suffered for a few moments at the clarity that contrasted with the previous darkness.

Alicent looked between the rocks and saw that it was not easy to get down. She would have to descend cautiously. Fortunately, there was still no sign of Chaurus. They were nocturnal creatures, so they must be sleeping in their nests, according to Falion's book. Alicent moved carefully to make no noise, leaning on the walls to keep her balance and taking her time moving from one rock to the next. She managed to touch the ground without falling or making a loud sound. The muddy soles of her boots had almost tricked her a few times, and she was sure that the stealth potion had helped her in some way, for she knew herself well enough to know that on any other occasion she would have cried out in terror, which would have been fatal. Her plan was relatively simple: she just had to remain unnoticed until she found the eggs and leave before the creatures woke.

She proceeded along a corridor descending into the depths from the main gallery. Alicent began to notice a strong, foul odor as she moved deeper into the cave. Though unpleasant, it was also a sign that she was getting closer to her goal. She walked slowly, as slowly as necessary so that the sound of her footsteps was even fainter than her heartbeat, something she could not avoid out of fear.

Then Alicent came to a new gallery. No daylight reached it, but small echoes of bluish light scattered on the floor illuminated the abyss. She recognized them immediately: They were the eggs she was looking for. Alicent sharpened her eyes and studied the area around her. It was wide, and there were several karst pillars supporting the structure. The nearest egg cluster was at the base of one of those pillars, but a group of chaurus dozed nearby.

She spotted a new group of eggs a bit more distant, along the eastern wall of the cavern. Alicent would have to go deeper than she wanted to, but they were the only ones she could find that were far enough away that it would not be too dangerous to pick them up. Alicent approached them close to the wall, careful where she stepped. When she arrived, she was pleased to see that the animals were still asleep. However, she saw something that puzzled her. There, Alicent could see the bottom of the gallery. Before the wall, a pair of poles with pelvises tied to their ends decorated the entrance to another passageway. She squinted to see what those strange decorations were and discovered, with both surprise and horror, that they were bones. But it made no sense. Insects didn't do crafts.

Whatever it was, she had no intention or interest in finding out. Alicent crouched beside the pile of eggs, opened her backpack, and began plucking them. If it weren't for the unpleasantness of their smell and their texture, one could even say that they were pretty. The shiny part was soft and slimy, protected by a kind of hard black netting. They were about the size of chicken eggs, and Alicent began placing them in his pocket, careful not to break any.

Alicent had already collected a dozen when she was alerted by a sound. It was a discreet sound, very subtle. She stopped and sharpened her hearing. It was footsteps, and they were close. Alicent turned to look, and what she saw took her breath away. A small, wiry, stooped man approached her from one of the karst pillars.

She inhaled slowly through her nose. Instinctively, she glanced down in the direction of her hand, a check that the invisibility potion was still in effect. He must have seen the Chabrus eggs float and disappear into my bag. Alicent straightened up cautiously and placed the bag on the ground. It was open, and despite the invisibility spell protecting the fabric, the glow of the eggs shone from inside. Alicent cursed inwardly as she gave up the prize for lost.

The stranger advanced stealthily but swiftly; she retreated, also stealthily but with slow, clumsy steps. Quickly, Alicent made a plan: she had used just over half the time the potion gave her, more than enough to retreat to the first corridor and stay safe while the mysterious man searched her belongings. But he diverted his course to her new position against all odds.

It can't be. He can't have seen me at all. How...? Then Alicent's heart began to beat wildly with fear as she better understood his form. More than a man, he was a being. Bald, with teeth as sharp as nails, his face was disfigured. He had a pile of thick folds of skin where his eyes should have been, and it looked like someone had cut off his nose, leaving two large pits crossing his face from below his forehead to the birth of his upper lip. His ears were pointed, like those of the elves, but they were much larger. As if it could hear her heart beating, its huge ears twitched and sniffed sonorously. Then it growled angrily, echoing through the cave and waking some of the chaurus.The rustling of the insects' shells as they sat up was the last of Alicent's worries. I need to get out of here, or this is the end.

Alicent ran off in a desperate attempt to get to safety, pushing the creature in her path, but failing to achieve her goal of throwing it off balance in order to gain some distance. Whatever the thing was, it tried to grab her, but she was able to dodge it. Alicent grabbed hold of the skirts of her dress as best she could to try to gain some mobility. She didn’t look back, running as fast as her legs could carry her. Hope surged when she squeezed through the stone walls toward the exit tunnel. Without stopping, Alicent took a deep breath.I can do this. If I don't stop, I can get away. I just have to keep on running. I must keep running. This mantra looped in her mind as she moved forward between the rocks. Then everything happened very fast. First she heard a sizzling sound behind her. Immediately, a searing pain shot into the back of her neck and through the rest of her body. Her muscles ceased to obey and she fell to the ground, hitting her head on a rock. Alicent blinked a few times, disoriented, and tried in vain to catch her breath, causing several choked moans to escape her mouth as the world became a blur. She tried to move, but the parts Alicent tried to move disobeyed, while others seemed to take on lives of their own; her neck tightened several times in violent spasms. The creature reached her. She did not see it, but felt a cold hand grab her ankle and drag her across the floor. Alicent lost consciousness before they were out of the tunnel.

[reagan-the-saunders]

Wip Wednesday <3

Tagged by the lovely @tiredela <333333

alrighty, I don't have many wips right now, but I have some sketchies. <3

Have some Zirya and Rawli in their Wild West outfits for a lil tes dnd campaign I'll be doing with some frens <3

aaaaaand have a sketch of Seynari and her lil chaurus buddy Ormr, kinda just born from a running joke we have on the Val Serano discord server :D

Tagging @timetravellingpenguin @sothascrib aaand @abstractredd

AND YOU OF COURSE

[smorgasbort]

Screw it. Christmas Eve TES crack theory posting time.

[snail--man]

real life chaurus??

I thought this feisty little critter was an isopod until I got a closer look. This is a carrion beetle larva, and, as their name suggests, adults and larvae of this insect eat dead animals, maggots that live in carrion, and/or other types of decaying organic matter. I have no idea where this one came from, since there were no dead animals nearby or compost. Perhaps an insectivorous bird dropped it, or maybe this particular species likes chicken manure (there was a chicken tractor nearby vroom vroom). Putting this next part below the cut because it's a little gross. Proceed with caution:

This carrion beetle child seemed somewhat hungry, as it was nibbling at some dead skin around my finger nail. It tickled a bit and reminded me of the shrimp they sometimes have at aquariums that will nibble at your fingers. Yes that's a thing.

unidentified Silphidae larva Northeastern Pennsylvania, US

[elderscrollsconceptart]

Falmer mounted on Chaurus

Concept art for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Art by Adam Adamowicz

[stymshots]

Frozen out.

[cillyscribbles]

khajiit au the third... mistoffelees! the caravan's most expensively dressed member first and highly treasured necromancer second. here's some simple roadside wisdom: it's best to stay on good terms with the guy who's more likely than not pledged his soul to the daedra.

couldn't decide on the color scheme so purple version's under the cut!

[gooopy]

Has anybody thought hard about falmer culture.. not the snow elves idgaf, i mean the blind people who domesticated Chaurus bugs and make poisons, the falmer who were coerced into blindness by the dwemer... like, theyre blind. Hows their life? Their culture? They have hairstyles and armor and structures. Do any of the falmer have a favorite chaurus, feeling a notch in their chitin and knowing its their favorite? One falmer whos better at making poison than the others so everyone always hands them the nightshade... break up fights between their tamed frotsbite spiders and their chaurus..... do they do eachothers hair? They have what seem to be shrines or maybe storage containers we cant access, someone had to make those. Someone made the homes and the fences and the chests. Are there baby falmer? Grits my teeth i give a fuck about the falmer. Dwemer when i get you dwemer......