#molag bal mention

[uesp]

"It's tempting, the thought of whisking you away into the stygian depths. Perhaps another time."

--Xyn, contemplating whisking you away into the stygian depths.

[sigmaelxgr]

"Have you ever wished to be Something else..?"

"This is one of Sigma-El's recurring questions, when we are not rested enough for me to be able to mask my boredom. Often I pause to feign reflection and whisper to him that I'm fine with what we are. I use a soft voice to caress his ears and drive the ugly thought from his mind.

He falls silent - a silence that becomes more and more sepulchral. I feel his eyes on my neck, on my back, on my hands, I know he is here but he does not wish to show himself to the world. I feel him around me in such a palpable way that I often forget that he is not really there. That doesn't stop him. He contemplates me, examines me, the years make his gaze more piercing. Lucidity often acts on the soul, makes those who know more empty than the ignorant… I have been worried about this ever since I realised that something was going to break in us, very soon. Something I'm trying to push away in vain. He is growing up, this child - and my face is falling apart. I can no longer hide my dissatisfaction, my frustration, as they guide so many of my steps. My patience, which I try to make unquenchable, is wearing thin with time. My voice trembles when I see myself reflected on the water.

I desire something else. I am hungry for something else. Dreadfully." [I hope this will encourage @caliblorn and @lokorum to write a little, i will post a lot more bc I have MANY texts but hey, don't be scared to do the same, I know many people will enjoy it as well (at least I will do)]

[endawn]

if someone calls pax a scion of bal, he’s chewing on their throat

[fruitydraugr]

Required Reading

I block: proshipper, MAP/NOMAP/PEAR, harmful paraphilia or support them (including ddlg), radinclus, LGBTQIA+phobe, anti-MOGAI, racist, pro-cop, anti-endo, NFT, pro AI art/writing.

With all of that aside, my name is Nightshade (he/him), and this is our Skyrim blog. We're a system, so if another alter uses this blog, you'll see their signoff in the tags.

We are bodily 17, so keep this in mind while speaking to us.

As a disclaimer; I speak of my source a lot. I am a very, very non-canon Molag Bal fictive; I wasn't a rapist or a bigot in my source. Please, do not associate me with canon Molag Bal. Fuck that guy.

If you see something tagged #non-canon or similar, it's about my, or another alter's, source. If you see something tagged #headcanon, it's a regular headcanon for actual Elder Scrolls. Things tagged #screenshots and #my art are what they say on the tin. Will occasionally put general, untagged TES content here.

[starrythroat]

Sujamma Sundas

I was tagged by @pinessydr , thank you!!

@arnaerr poking you for tes oc facts but feel free to ignore

I want to talk about our with @buriedknight hero of Kvatch. cw gore mentioned

Please check out amazing pieces with her by buriedknight: one and two

- she is a vampire but she is disgusted by the thought of munching on someone’s neck, so she usually pours blood from corpses into flask or other vessel to drink properly

- she is very afraid of Mehrunes Dagon’s wraith because of game’s events so tried to win his favour, then gave up and decided to win over Molag Bal but got ghosted

- misses crisis of oblivion because inside the gates there is no sun and there are a lot of unguarded by law daedra to munch upon

- looks like the type any cyrodiil citizen can encounter on the side of an unguarded road: unpleasant trout which can kill over money. This did not get her any good points in hero and champion job applications (actually failed with champion one because of this)

- is a very good actor but almost never uses her skill (she is not playing murderous trout, it’s her natural look)

- Martin is something like adopted son for her, she is something like pet dog for him

- does not feel anything about the act of murder / violence itself but enjoys seeing herself performing well at fighting and killing

- is very sad about death of Uriel Septim because she thought she had a chance of becoming his mistress

[westernreach]

Something I don’t see mentioned very often (or indeed see that it’s gotten wrong and misunderstood) is that the Vestige does not have their own body.

From UESP, “Molag Bal's lust for the enslavement of mortal souls is such that at the moment of their death, he employs various methods to divert a mortal's soul from its journey to the afterlife to imprisonment and slavery in Coldharbour, his realm of Oblivion. Once the soul arrives in Coldharbour, it is exchanged for an essence commonly known as the vestige. The vestige attracts to itself a shapeless but energetic material called Chaotic Creatia. In Coldharbour, this creatia takes the form of a substance known as the Azure Plasm - ubiquitous pools of blue slime. The Azure Plasm coalesces around a vestige and forms a corporeal body with the semblance of the shape it wore in life. The process is similar to how lesser Daedra reform on their respective planes of Oblivion, after they're banished or slain.”

Before they get their own soul back they are, effectively, a Daedra. They have a Daedric “soul” and a Daedric body. This is why most of the Soul Shriven we see are half decayed, they’ve lost their souls so the Creatia doesn’t know how to hold their body’s together right - The Vestige being the exception to the rule.

Like, don’t get me wrong fanfic where the Vestige has their body are still good, I still love them, but where is the angst of not having their soul or their body? Where’s the existential dread of whether or not they are they still themselves?

Is it possible that the Vestige has to fight their own body, reanimated by the Work Cult?

How does everyone else react to the Vestige not being Mortal in the most basic senses, body and soul?

Idk. I just think it’s interesting and would love to see more people explore That Can Of Worms (TM)

[elderscrollsconceptart]

Correct me if I'm wrong (please), but didn't those two Nords threaten to rape that Dunmer woman? I remember a part of their conversation going like "Maybe we'll pay you a visit tonight, we have ways of making you talk."

I'm pretty sure they were threatening to beat her up/torture her until she "confessed" to being an Imperial spy like they believed she was.

I think Sapphire from the Thieves Guild is the only main game NPC to petty much state what happened to her, but that's obviously not depicted in any way (thank goodness).

The only other mention of that crime is in the Dawnguard DLC via Serana's dialogue about the whole ordeal Serana and her family experienced when Molag Bal turned them into vampires. However, even that is implied in the most vauge way the writers could manage.

Skyrim is what I'd consider a "soft" M rating where only "conventional" violence is depicted along with blood and gore. The implied specific crime you mentioned however is never directly threatened by anyone, and it's only mentioned by characters in the context of their personal histories.

[devout-of-the-elder-scrolls]

Thank you for your answer about worshipping canonically "evil" figures! You mention getting to know them, and I was wondering how one goes about connecting with a deity like that? Don't worry about the rambling, I like long and detailed answers.

Happy to help, internet traveler!

Generally, the step and step is actually pretty simple. For the sake of example, I'm going to once again use Molag Bal's name as example where needed.

Call upon them and state your intent and what you're willing to do now. As in, you would call upon Molag Bal, state something like "I want to learn about you to decide if I wish to worship you, I am willing to make offering and interact with you, but nothing further at this time." or whatever it is you're actually willing to do. If you don't want to make offering, that's fine, some find that only for those they worship.

As for how to call upon them, stating their name and a title of theirs (even if it's self-assigned) gets their attention pretty easily. Like "Molag Bal, Protector of the Abused..." gets His attention for me pretty easily.

Take some time to state your direct boundaries. This can be anything, and some things to consider are:

what spaces of your home they are and aren't welcome in (ex. welcome in the kitchen, but not your bedroom or bathroom)

where/when they shouldn't try to interact with you (ex. at the workplace)

what kinds of signs you don't want from them (ex. spiders)

what kinds of signs you do want from them (ex. a specific amount of the same bird in your yard or something like that)

what you're not willing to do as devotional / give as offering (ex. making donations due to lack of expendable funds, or offering blood)

what kind of relationship you are and aren't willing to have

any interaction boundaries like "don't joke about xyz" or "don't tease me"

And anything else you deem necessary to your relationship. Don't worry about covering everything immediately, because if you realize something makes you uncomfortable later on, you can just state it as it happens.

It's also good to discuss things like whether or not you'll be building a shrine, and what kind of shrine they should expect from you if so. Digital shrines are as valid as physical shrines, just to make sure that's clear.

As well, expect to be given boundaries for you to follow as well. Gods have boundaries too, and they might not want certain offerings, devotionals, kinds of conversations, being leaned on for specific things, the works.

Actively engage with the entity and welcome them into your life. You won't get anywhere if you never interact with them or push them out of your life. Permit them to actually be in your life and interact back.

Make a devotional playlist, listen to it and see how it makes you feel. Use tarot or another method to speak to them. Meditate on their presence. Use automatic writing to have a conversation.

Don't endure more than you're willing to, so don't force yourself to make devotionals you don't want to or offerings you don't want to make. Don't make yourself interact 24/7 either.

Learn about them slowly over your experiences with them. Don't be afraid to back out at any time should you decide it needs to end, but be honest with the entity that the relationship is ending now, because they might not leave otherwise.

Bonding with any entity doesn't come overnight, it comes over time of existing with them and interacting with them. But this is how I've started each of my new relationships with any specific entity, and I hope it helps you out, too!

I learned Molag Bal slowly over time, though for me it didn't take me too long to trust Him. Because I could feel that He had kindness for me and wanted to treat me well. But I did take some time at the least to work through it and gain trust myself.

If you have any further questions please feel free to hop back into my inbox!

[mint-in-the-moonlight]

Daedric Princes summoning days

in Daggerfall there is this gameplay element where you can only summon the Daedric Princes on certain days to gain access to their quests and then their artifacts. while the entire concept was removed in the subsequent games, i thought this could be an interesting thing to incorporate into an Elder Scrolls-inspired pop-culture practice. it's ultimately up to you how to choose to perceive and celebrate those days if you do decide to incorporate them as there does not seem to be much lore surrounding these days.

thankfully the Tamriel calendar corresponds exactly to the Gregorian calendar, so i will be mentioning both names of the respective months for your convenience and the entries are sorted alphabetically. i am basing this list entirely on the Holidays page from the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages, which can be found through this link.

Azura's Summoning Day - the 21st of First Seed (March) also called Hogithum. More information can be found in the short text of the book Invocation of Azura.

Boethiah's Summoning Day - 2nd of Sun's Dusk (November)

Clavicus Vile's Summoning Day - the 1st of Morning Star (January)

Hermaeus Mora's Summoning Day - 5th of First Seed (March)

Hircine's Summoning Day - 5th of Midyear (June)

Malacath's Summoning Day - 8th of Frost Fall (October)

Mehrunes Dagon's Summoning Day - 20th of Sun's Dusk (November)

Mephala's Summoning Day - 13th of Frost Fall (October)

Meridia's Summoning Day - 13th of Morning Star (January)

Molag Bal's Summoning Day - 20th of Evening Star (December)

Namira's Summoning Day - 9th of Second Seed (May)

Nocturnal's Summoning Day - 3rd of Hearthfire (September)

Peryite's Summoning Day - 9th of Rain's Hand (April)

Sanguine's Summoning Day - 16th of Sun's Dawn (February)

Sheogorath's Summoning Day - 2nd of Sun's Dawn (February)

Vaermina's Summoning Day - 10th of Sun's Heights (July)

[starfreak]

I just realized how close to home the political setting of the Elder Scrolls hits.

Our education system is so fucked, that if we lived in a medieval fantasy world, I genuinely wouldn't be shocked if I heard someone say "if the democrats have a dragon on their side, President Trump is the only one who could stop them."

That's a real thing that Hadvar says when you escape Helgen by the way, only with different buzzwords. He genuinely has been so indoctrinated by the Empire that doesn't give a shit about him that he fully believes that A. the Stormcloaks have a dragon, which is foolish because he just saw them being torched by the fucker 10 minutes ago, and B. that some puny fucking military governor could stand in the way of a world-ending, fire-breathing sky lizard. That's like saying your favorite member of the senate could cure cancer just by showing up to the hospital.

Not to mention, the Empire is funding a genocidal, religiously oppressive foreign power that seeks to destroy any trace of the people whose ideals oppose their own just so they can have a bigger fucking backyard. I'm not saying "Israel are just like those silly elves in the Elder Scrolls" but I am saying that TES (especially Skyrim) is packed with political messages. And they are not pro-genocide, they are not pro-conservatism, and they are not pro-establishment.

Anyway I may be voting for the Emperor, but you're voting for fucking Molag Bal.

[the-tharns-speak]

Chancellor,

Following up on my last ask, what do you think of Narsis Dren. Like I mentioned, every single one of my associates who has encountered him despises him. And from what I have heard his ego is bigger then Mannimarco's and possibly rivals that of Molag Bal (Also disregard any reports you have been getting of a Khajiit with glowing eyes, the less you ask about that particular matter the better)

I had, in fact, met Narsis Dren.

"I am an explorer of incomparable renown, the greatest delver into the most dangerous ruins of the past that had ever been!" he said.

Which was all nice, but that particular Ayleid ruin was on a private property of the Tharn estate and has for centuries served as our wine cellar with some extra security measures.

We didn't talk much that time, he gave me such a headache that I ventured into the "foreboding den of promising riches" myself, and when I emerged later with some liquid will to bother with nitwits, he was gone.

I ran into him years later in Reaper's March while I was gathering more information about Knhunzar'ri. He insisted that I could be his "assistant" while he searched the archive for... I don't know what exactly, and honestly I didn't care. The last I saw him, he was trying to get the Pendant of Lunar Flight off while he was hovering under the ceiling. I noticed only because he stopped getting under my feet for three minutes.

[aleielle-of-roshar]

oh shit accidentally made grandma want me to (genuinelu) tell her about elder scrolls lore- by mentioning the fucking vivec + molag bal thing jokingly wtf h e l p

[oblivion-hub]

Updates and Holidays

Fredas, 20th of Evening Star, 2E 24

First of all, apologies for being inactive. I’ve started a new job, and I’ve been all sorts of busy lately. My practice has taken a backseat because of that. I haven’t even been wearing my devotional jewelry, as in the line of work I do, it can be damaged easily. (I work with dogs, if you’re curious.) I still talk with Hircine and Hermaeus Mora and leave offerings, but I have not been practicing beyond that.

Today is Molag Bal’s summoning day. I do not worship nor do I work with Him, but I acknowledge this day as I do with all the Princes’ summoning days.

As this year comes to a close, I have to mention the Nirn equivalents of widely celebrated Earth holidays. The 25th of Evenings Star is Saturalia, which is the Breton’s Christmas or Yule. I will be celebrating by decorating my tree and giving gifts.

I know for a fact I will be receiving a 3D printer, as I was asked which one would be the most suitable for me. With this, I’m hoping to create replicas of the Daedric artifacts to adorn my altars with, and also make miniature statues of the Princes I work with.

We will also hopefully have snow tonight, so I might seal some up for the lesser known Nordic Wintertide Festival if any sticks to the ground. This holiday is only mentioned through an item from ESO, from what I’ve seen on the UESP, so it’s unknown why the Nords do this. But I’d still like to partake, and maybe use the melted snow for a spell or something afterwords.

For the second half of the Imperial Old Life Festival, on the 30th and 31st, I will be working. However, I will try to spend some time reflecting on memories of passed loved ones at the very least, if I do not have time to write anything down for them.

The first day of the new year will be the New Life Festival, and also Clavicus Vile’s summoning day. I don’t work with or worship Him either, but as stated above I will still acknowledge His day and say a few words for Him.

The New Life Festival also has a bit to do with Hircine and His wolf and bear forms. Storihbeg, His wolf form will attempt to eat the sun and keep nights longer, so the Reachmen will summon Hrokkibeg, His bear form to constrain Storihbeg.

It is said New Life is viewed negatively by werewolves, since the days become longer and the nights shorter. As a werewolf, I can see why, but I will still be celebrating the new year. As of now, I have no “resolutions” or goals, besides getting back into my craft.

[falmerbrook]

Verandis Ravenwatch

Sorry for the late response! I was at a convention all day today!

First impression

So my literal first impression was that he was a dunmer. The vampirism went straight over my head until I met Gwendis on the balcony (and even then I didn’t connect it to him somehow) lol. But other than that I remember liking him right of the bat because I liked his voice and demeanor.

Impression now

He’s my dormant blorbo. He’s probably one of if not my favorite character in eso, and him/the Ravenwatch and his sacrifice was probably the first time in the game I got really invested in the characters. He (almost) single-handedly made Rivenspire the peak of the Daggerfall Covenant. I was devastated. I eagerly await seeing him again (I know he shows up in Greymoor (I think?) but I don’t know how) and when I do I will go feral. I would die for him.

Favorite moment

Either when you go into his memories with him or when Montclair holds Gwendis hostage and he gets upset about it (for now)

Idea for a story

Not so much an idea for a story as much as saying that I was disappointed that he gave himself up to Molag Bal at the end of the Rivenspire quest only for him to not show up, be mentioned, or even alluded to while you are in Coldhabour. I know they do more with him later that I don’t know about, but I feel like that was a missed opportunity.

Unpopular opinion

I’ve generally avoided looking at anything fandom related for him to avoid spoilers so I wouldn’t know what’s popular or unpopular. Like, at all. So I don’t have an answer for this one.

Favorite relationship

For now, him and Gwendis. I like how he talks to her like a genuinely caring mentor type figure, and the way she reacted to him sacrificing himself made me genuinely sad. I got the vibe she had a small crush on him, which I thought was kinda cute too (although I don’t know if they’re gonna keep that vibe up later on)

Favorite headcanon

I’ve never really formed any solid headcanons for him on account of being aware I don’t know all there is to know about him, but I have read a handful of Rivenspire focused fics and I generally am down for anything angsty with him.

Ty for the ask!!

[clinically-not-straight]

I think lgbt writing in non-lgbt/romance themed games is absolute dogshit. The insertion of it is always so hamfisted.

I mentioned it to a friend last night and we spent an hour coming up with examples. He mentioned some shit with vivec and molag bal which was pretty good ngl but, from my limited knowledge of elders scrolls, you have to go out of your way to find that.

However, I think it says something when the best one I can come up with is boredlands pre-sequel. Not 2, the one everyone likes, presequel, the one I never see mentioned even though the character writing and everything else is better. The best LGBT rep I found in a game was someone saying "yeah we don't like [character] coming into the bar, she keeps talking to me and getting a bit too close"*

And it was in fucking borderlands.

[oblivions-dawn]

1, 8, C, and 🌍? :3

HI MEG!! <3 Thank you for the ask~

✑ First big aspiration (i.e. what did they want to be when they grew up?)

You know . . . uh . . . . Vigdis didn't really get to . . . think about that. Consider it, even, if you will. Although I suppose becoming a vampire hunter to avenge your dad is . . . something! Except it wasn't really her choice WHEEZE

✑ First time they took a risk, or the biggest risk they've ever taken

Oooo. Hmmmm. How to answer. Vigdis has taken many risks, and more recently they've been, well, massive. I daresay it's because of Serana that she's even more reckless than usual, although I won't spoil how [because if you know, you know. >:3c]

✑ First physical contact (handshake? hug? something else?)

If I remember right . . . "The redhead fetched a rusted key from her pouch and unlocked the irons around the brunette’s wrists—who struggled to not notice the brief grips of warmth from the freckled fingers around her pale arms. How could Vigdis look and act so cold, and yet be so warm to the touch?" [Petrichor, Chapter IX: One Condition] Make of that what you will. -w-

✑ First attempt at worldbuilding, or a notable piece of worldbuilding you're proud of

OH I really love how I've thought WAYYY too much about vampires in the world of Elder Scrolls. Sort of. Y'see I imagine that Harkon is actually a lower tier Vampire Lord because, well. They mention that only WOMEN are offered to Molag Bal on his summoning day and become Daughters of Coldharbour, so, for me, that puts Harkon on a lower rung beneath his wife and daughter. Thus, the extra tension. And it also allowed me to make the Harkon fight that much cooler because I expanded on it in a sense, hehe. I also believe that vampirism is a disease in the very literal sense! There are some who try to take on vampirism, but their body rejects it, and they . . . die instead. It simply doesn't take for whatever reason. Man I hope one of these other asks picked this because I could go on about Dragonborn things and a Skaal thing and--