#vestige of coldharbour

[lithiumrev]

also my eyes were really fucking with me earlier so when i got to the gate room i kept misjudging the distance i needed to jump.

so eventually i had left and cane back with Bastian and he was SO DONE.

also shout out to the players who were trying to show me how to do it. i was so embarrassed i couldnt ask for help.

[emathevampire]

Qa’Imazha and Khajmira-do! My ESO vestige and her senche-raht bestie. I have not posted much about them, but I think of them fondly and often.

one day I will get my master angler achievement with them.

Btw, if anyone has/comes across an Ohmes/Ohmes-Raht/other rarely-seen Khajiit type OC send me a link please!!

I just think they're neat!

[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)

[captain-of-silvenar]

I will ensure no tales are told of your valor

You are a valuable asset, mortal. You will be of great use to us

Trying out any and all art styles to have some fun, and after seeing an art piece with heavy heavy shadows cross my dash I wanted to try a hand at it. Which lead me to try and draw out my feelings and thoughts about Kerasil and her relationship to Molag Bal and Meridia.

It is Mannimarco who sacrifices your soul in the name of Molag Bal, and your soul is trapped in Coldharbour until the end of the Main Game. It is Meridia that pulls it out of Coldharbour and presents it again to you in her Colored Rooms.

That is two Daedric Princes that have touched your particular soul and interacted with it; for good or for ill. I like to imagine that after the Main Game the Vestige is a kind of immortal Daedric being as a result of being messed around with so much.

Kerasil after the events of the Main Game is pretty discombobulated and, after the shock of everything settles, feels pretty alienated from the people around her. She isn't mortal anymore, she doesn't even know if she can age anymore and follow the flow of time anymore. And world events keep happening around and to her that require her to take up arms again and save Nirn from Daedric Princes. Over and over and over and over again.

Frankly, and I've talked about it in another post of mine, she's tired of it and willing to punch any and all Daedric Princes she meets. Sure she'll take the title of Champion as that is Y'ffre's will, but she isn't going to not complain about it.

She's not enjoying the fact it happened to her in such a traumatic way. And she certainly isn't enjoying the fact that while she kicked Molag Bal's ass six ways to Sundas, she hasn't gotten any revenge on Meridia using her as a tool to fight Molag Bal. And after the events of Summerset Isle where she had her friend Darien returned to her and then ripped away (possibly permanently) by the clutches of Meridia. Yeaaah no she dislikes Meridia to put it lightly.

Then there is the fact that outside of Second Era, no one has heard or speaks of this legendary hero. The Vestige, the Hero of the Alliances, Savior of Summerset, etc etc etc etc. Nothing. And while that can be chalked up to ZOS writing this as a prequel to the rest of the mainline games, I would like to use it literally as Molag Bal getting his own pull on Kerasil and fulfilling his threat:

"I will ensure no tales are told of your valor"

Thus the inspiration of this piece: caught between two Daedric Princes (Molag Bal's dolmen chains behind Kerasil, and Meridia's symbolic light rays over her shoulders) that each had their claws around your soul and influenced you in ways you cannot understand. You are no longer a person. You were the means to an ends of higher forces.

And your future is incredibly uncertain now.

[thevioletscout]

PTOLEMAEA

I am the face of love's rage

------------------------------------------------------

A small comic about my Vestige, her being sacrificed by the Order of the Black Worm, and her escape from Coldharbour. Based off the song Ptolemaea by Ethel Cain.

(I used figurosity, in-game models, my own childhood photos, and my hand as the base.)

[sanicsmut]

Words of the Fallen

Technically Darien Gautier x Vestige!Reader, but all I can say is play Summerset's main quest in ESO before reading this.

part 2

Warnings : Use of Y/N once. Angst because it is. Spoilers for the end of Summerset. Language. The letter is taken directly from the game, which is why it’s written way better than what I’ve actually written.

Words: 1000 (I can't believe I got such a perfect count)

Robin’s comment: Cried making this, bon appétit. More seriously, this chapter (the game's DLC I mean) made me hate Meridia. She was one of my favorite daedric princes, but now it's over. All hail Azura. Anyway this is basically me telling Meridia what she deserves to hear. There's also a hint of a part two at the end ;). I'll try to write it, but I can't guarantee anything.

"Never trust a Daedric Prince. If there's anything I learned from all this, that's it in a nutshell. I used to think I had a purpose, a part to play in the grand scheme of things. I suppose I did, sort of, but the way things turned out, it wasn't at all the way I imagined. Meridia said I was her vessel. I guess my fate was sealed from the moment she brought me into existence.

Now, here I am, back in the Colored Rooms. I thought that when I gave my energy to restore the sword—and I did that for my friend, not for Meridia—I thought that was the end of me. I'm back, though, but this time is different. My light, it's fading. I can feel the darkness getting closer, pressing in. I expect that once the light goes out, that will be the end.

I need to tell you something about Meridia. She's a deceiver. She promised that if I served her faithfully, I'd earn my freedom. She never told me that freedom was just another word for the void. Don't trust her. Don't trust any of the Daedric Princes. Not ever.

I've found peace though. Meridia gave me a chance to see the world, and those I care about, one last time. To save those I loved. I'm grateful for that, at least.

I wish I had a chance to say goodbye to everyone. To Skordo. To Gabrielle. Gods, I'll miss them. But most of all, (Y/N). I don't know if she will understand how much she truly meant to me. Perhaps we'll see each other again, in another place, another time. I probably won't be the version of myself that's writing these words, though. That me will be gone. I can live with that.

I only wish I could have spent more time with everybody. Had a few more adventures. Ordered those drinks like we always talked about.

I hope my friends find peace, happiness, and love. They deserve what I could never have. If anyone ever finds this book, know that I will never forget those I named herein. And, if you find them, and I pray that you do, tell them this.

Protect the ones you love. Hold them close. Cherish their every moment. Make them laugh, and laugh with them. Smile together and never, ever, forget that the moments you have are so very precious.

Oh, and tell them not to forget me, either. I mean, I am a legend, as far as I know.

The polite, handsome, and humble knight,

Darien Gautier”

You let the book fall back on the bench where you found it.

No… No…

You were breathing heavily. And a few minutes later, surrounded by those trees, you let out your anguish.

Dawnbreaker gripped tight in your hand, you screamed.

“Take it back! Take your goddamn sword back!”

“It seems my vessel isn’t the only one who ended up having feelings when he shouldn’t.”

A bright light. There it was, this patronizing voice. This voice you had respected, after giving you back your soul and helping you in Coldharbour. This voice you grew to hate.

“You bitch, he was my friend!”

“Where is your respect, Vestige?”

Vestige. You hadn't been called that since that time you helped Abnur Tharn in Elsweyr. Only the companions called you that. The companions and Meridia. But even the Daedric Prince hasn’t called you that during this whole mission. It was like you were back in Coldharbour all over again. Back fighting for what you thought was right, back, fighting against and with forces you couldn’t comprehend.

“My respect for you died when Darien got condemned. By your fault.”

“He was my vessel, an empty shell, a weapon to do my bidding. He served his purpose.”

“He was my friend!” You yelled again.

“And a traitor.”

“How the f-”

“He sacrificed he life for you. He purified my sword, not to serve me, but to help you.”

“Oh, so this is it? You’re throwing a tantrum because your tool wasn’t devoted to you only?”

“Careful with your words, Vestige.”

“You owe me! I’m the one who fought Molag Bal, I’m the one who assembled all those allies to stop the coalition! I’m the one who just stopped Nocturnal! And you owe him too! He may have purified Dawnbreaker for me, but everything else he did was for you, to serve you, because he was your champion! Because he truly thought he could trust you!”

“And you owe me for your soul. And he owes me for the purpose I gave him.”

“You wouldn’t have been able to take my soul if I hadn’t fought in Coldharbour! It’s all thanks to me! And his purpose? He could’ve been a hero without disappearing for your fucking sake! Hell, he just wanted to help his friends!”

“Friends he shouldn’t have had in the first place.”

“I swear, I defeated Molag Bal and Nocturnal, I can defeat you too. Take back your fucking sword and give me back my friend.”

You could feel Meridia’s rising anger, the air feeling tense around you despite the Daedric prince not being here physically.

“You want your ‘friend’ back?” The prince of light asked, her voice filling you with a bad feeling.

“Yes!” You answered. “Free him from your realm!”

You swore you almost heard Meridia growling, even if that sounded out of character. But that being was strict and cold, full of authority, like a severe and cruel mother. But nothing about her was motherly. She might have been less ‘evil’ than other princes, but she still served her own interests, mortals were just tools for her, or obstacles she had to get rid of. And you were sure that she was now in the second category.

“You will have to free him yourself.” Meridia declared. “That is, if you can get out of my realm.”

Her voice was tainted in cruelty, and a blinding light burnt your eyes before everything went black.

[falmerbrook]

What is the worst thing your OC does in their story?

What is your OC’s ‘‘darkness moment’’ in the plot?

Dealer's choice on which OC for these!

Does your Vestige cross paths with Darien? (Which, like, *obviously* in the game mechanics, but do they have any sort of opinions/relationship outside of that, I guess.)

I think I'll do both Stellar (Nerevarine) and Elisere (LDB) for the first two!

What is the worst thing your OC does in their story

Stellar: He likes to think and act like he's this morally bankrupt bad boy, but he is not. Deep down he wants to be the good, celebrated hero, so he has pretty strong moral convictions and really can't bring himself to violate them. Probably the stuff he got up to as a teen was his worst, however. Prior to being shipped to Morrowind he was invovled in organized crime (which is what inevitably got him thrown in jail). Since he was young, he personally mostly did minor petty stuff and specialized in theft, but he was 100% an accomplice to much darker crime, and the specific event that got him caught invovled him crushing an old guy under some crates to distract the guards chasing him.

Elisere: Conversely, at the start, Elisere likes to think of her as this beacon of justice when her morals are actually pretty fucked up. Her initial intention on travelling to Skyrim was the (very unrealistic, emotionally fueled) goal of killing as many Nords as possible just because she hated Nords. She never actually got very far with this given she was caught literally at the border, so I wouldn't say that counts (although she probably took out a few random dudes during the initial commotion at Helgen). There is certainly a lot of only-kinda-justified killing under her belt, but there probably isn't one singular moment of "worst", rather a general shittiness of her character at the start of the game's story.

What is your OC's "darkest moment"

I'm going to interpret this as more their lowest moment, since a grimmest/most unethical interpretation would be pretty similar to the first one.

Stellar: After Caius suggested he might be the Nerevarine, Stellar got real pissed off about it (having been quietly wondering it himself, but he didn't want it to be true), took the money he had made from Caius, and travelled to Black Marsh with the intention of leaving Morrowind behind for good. Once he got there, though, he was slapped in the face with the reality that the local tribes didn't see him as a Saxhleel, and since he had basically no cultural connection to the Saxhleel it was unlikely he'd ever be truly accepted by anyone there besides of other outsiders. He felt like an outsider there, but didn't want to go back to Morrowind either.

Elisere: When her mother and grandmother died within like a week of each other. Her grandma was the only person in her life she felt fully open and comfortable with, and with both of them gone her whole family was a bit of a mess. She also saw them as her one connection to her snow elf heritage, so losing them was like losing a whole family history to her. It was the inciting incident to make her impulsive move to Skyrim.

As for my Vestige (Atena) and Darien, yes! They are buddies! Atena's "canon" alliance is the Daggerfall Covenant, so she goes through all the quests with him in Glenumbra, Rivenspire, and Bangkorai (and beyond. I also like to think they spent at least a little bit more time together casually outside of the game quests). Her first impression was that he was endearingly eye-roll worthy. Not interested in his flirting but definitely saw him as a friend. She's generally up to befriend anyone and everyone and recognized that he was worthy pretty quickly. He was type of friend you keep at arm's length to not get caught up in their hijinks but who you happily will listen to their stories about them after the fact. They get a lot closer leading up to the final assault in Coldharbour though, and especially during Summerset. Because of her memory issues, she doesn't actually think of him that often, but when she is remined of him it hits her like getting hit with a truck.

TYSM FOR THE ASK!!! It gave me some very interesting stuff to think about! <3

[daggerfall]

Isabelle "Bel", breton, "vestige", magplar

my next most babygirl oc whose lore exists almost entirely in my head

When the first hints of what would be the Planemeld began, Meridia hid away a champion "for their own protection" until such a time came they were needed. To Bel, she was just a gal from a world without magic and dragged into Tamriel during an incident with one of Divayth Fyr's extraplanar expeditions. Meridia spoke to the two of them and declared Bel to be her champion - nevermind the fact she had no combat training and hadn't ever seen an elf before.

After a few weeks of training, she was sent to join the efforts of the Fighter's and Mage's guild in Coldharbour, where she met the newest member of the Five Companions and fellow Vestige Falvesi. The two realized they worked rather well together, with Bel handling the talking side of being a Hero and Falvesi handling the tough decisions and fighting.

On their way back from Coldharbour to tell Divayth what had happened, the two found an abandoned gryphon egg. Bel didn't know how, but somehow she just... felt she knew how to get it to hatch, in spite of what Falvesi insisted that very people in all of Tamriel knew how. A few months later, she proved them all wrong and the egg hatched.

Eventually Bel and Falvesi join up with the Undaunted and meet Renee Terentius and Linaarie, forming a regular team for dangerous adventures into Tamriel's most dangerous depths.

(there's a whole lot more to Bel's lore but I don't want this to get too long either lol)

look at her knife horse

More Bel looks and outfits below the cut :3

Coldharbour/MQ Bel

High Isle/(redacted) Bel

Elsweyr "hot girl summer" Bel

West Weald Bel

[rvnwtch]

“You’ve been quiet today.” The Vestige said.

Fennorian was always sort of quiet, but today was… different. Not his usual contemplative silence. He’d been sitting at his desk, and there was no book open in front of him.

Fennorian blinked and seemed to hesitate. “Just thinking.” He said quietly. The Vestige closed their book and waited for him to elaborate. “My condition means that my soul is… not exactly my own. When I inevitably die I will be stuck in Coldharbour.” His eyebrows were pinched together in that way they do when he’s worried and trying not to show it. “I just wonder what that will be like.”

The Vestige couldn’t help but snort. Fennorian met their gaze, looking a little embarrassed. “I know that’s a long ways off and there’s no use worrying about it now, but I-”

The Vestige interrupted. “Coldharbour is a dark, and terrible place. As if I’d ever leave you to a fate such as that.” They cracked their book back open, but could feel Fennorian’s eyes on them still.

“We’re talking about life and death, here.” Fennorian starts. “Molag Bal owns my soul. And it’s not exactly our choice where we-”

“I’ve fought Bal before. I’d do it again.” They said easily waving their fingers in the air. “Besides, do you know how many cosmic entities said they ‘owe me one?’ I’ll just save those favors up for you.”

The scholar was quiet.

“Oh, and since this will be presumably after my own death,” They said pointedly, “I’ll have lots of free time! So I’ll go looking for Verandis and your sisters too when the times comes.”

Fennorian said nothing else, and pleased with the turn in conversation, they went back to their book.

[the-elder-polls]

I hope Friday is not over yet!!

I want to share my three Vestiges! They are from different alliances and at first were cautious of each other (obv because they were enemies and now had to work together - they met during the attack on Coldharbour) but then they became closer and sometimes adventure together until they forgot their alliances are still at war

All of them are soulless, all of them were killed but the one who does all the main quest is the khajiit, so he escapes with the Prophet and others found other ways to escape

The khajiit's name is Ja'advik. He is cheerful guy that usually does good things but still will do dubious stuff. He is proud of his heritage, so you'll always see Elsweyr fashion on him. He was scared at first when he was doing all the Dominion stuff because the attention was new to him but then he was okay with this. Well, he still had that criminal side of his, just he had to be much more sneakier than usual. You wouldn't catch him in the criminal act, because he carefully dresses when going out doing criminal things. Oh, he wields a bow and even though he is not very magically gifted, he can summon cold winds. Was captured by Worm Cult on a ship, like in the game

The breton Florianne Gauthier. She was just a commoner girl who wanted to see the world and learn every skill she wanted. And because she couldn't do complex magic her first step was becoming a vampire. Well it was a rough time getting used to living like a vampire and not succumbing to the urges but she manages. She is also sticking to the shadows. But usually she is good too, doesn't do criminal stuff on purpose. She can do magic but not complex spells, so she relies on the sword (I WISH ESO HAD ONE HANDED SWORD SKILLS) more. Her soul already belongs to Molag Bal (bc of vampirism) but when she was jumped and killed by the Worm Cult, somehow she returned normally in the Coldharbour and then managed to escape

The dunmer is Davros Arthenni, at first egotistical mage who always boasted about his knowledge of arcane crafts and dwemer mechanisms. But with time he became less of a prick. This is his character arc. He still thinks he is a magical genius. He actually joined the Pact willingly bit then he was sneakily killed in Cyrodil and then he was at Coldharbour (this is based on my first experience in this zone because Davros is my first ESO character ever)

OOHHHH they're so neat i love them!! also rly awesome outfit & character designs, love em. always love hearing about yalls vestiges

[lithiumrev]

WELP I DID IT AGAIN JUST AS MY ARCANIST THIS TIME

Darien just looked at me like “you did that the last time.” and Proxy told him to shove it.

i was playing through the Battle of Coldharbour on my latest playthrough…. and i fuckin yeeted myself off of the platform via a terribly placed roll dodge.

i know my current vestige had to be embarrassed AF bc it was in front of Darien.

[devexus]

Albus Jakal: Vestige, Godslayer, Enemy of Coldharbour.

Fearer of Spiders. Rescued by his very patient wife.

[lyndaris]

Alec’s Relationships: oc brainrot

Veya - first love, first heartbreak.

I don’t personally ever consider the relationship to be real. But Alec did truly love her, the feelings weren’t mutual though. Two young, angry mer that had bad tempers. Destructive and dangerous. They fed into each other’s hatred’s for the Tribunal, for Alec, and House Redoran for Veya. Alec was loyal to a fault, she would’ve watched the world burn for Veya but Veya was so easily manipulated into believing Alec would betray her that she betrayed Alec first.

A lot of mental and emotional abuse & severe lack of communication between them.

Alec helped & encouraged Veya for justice while in Balmora. Since at the time, the Houses & Tribunal denied Alec her own justice in finding the killers of her exiled tribe & parents. Her own rage blinded her and made them both rash in getting justice for Ulran.

All the loyalty & love was lost when Alec went in search of Veya in Summerset. Unaware that Nocturnal had turned them against one another.… when Alec and Veya finally see each other, Alec had already spent a month or so looking so she was relieved to see her & openly ran over to her to hug her. Saying she had been looking for her but Veya was confused, in her moment of confusion and remembering what Nocturnal told her she stabbed Alec in her gut. To “save her”, prevent her from interfering with Nocturnal’s plan & keep her from the Prince’s wrath.

It shattered her, the one she loved so deeply and would’ve walked to the end of the world with had betrayed her more than once. stabbed in the heart and gut.

Lyranth - ?? Not really a ship, but I’m mentioning it anyways.

Considering Lyranth picks up an odd curiosity of the vestige, my personal headcanon is she can pick up that something is off with Alec the moment they first meet in Coldharbour. When Alec goes to save her sister (my actual vestige) and to face the Prince.

She can never quite pinpoint what’s different or off about Alec but that she’s not just an ordinary mortal. Growing more curious and as Alec proves herself to be a competent mortal to work with, they have their own ways of “bonding”… as in, killing and solving mysteries.

Alec is still very much antisocial when they first meet, but Lyranth enjoys that Alec isn’t asking so many questions & just does as said. It is a partnership that works [shrug] Their teamwork is almost unmatched, with Lyranth’s immortal power & knowledge & Alec’s skills & abilities as a mortal… things that shouldn’t work but somehow manage ✨

their behavior around each other is odd though. They both have a sense of attachment to each other but outright deny it. Lyranth won’t confess she likes working with Alec & is fond of her as much as she is curious. Alec refuses to put her trust in anyone & admit to herself that she is also fond of Lyranth.

They work well together & have an odd/unspoken fondness/attachment for each other but won’t admit it.

Tanlorin - friends to lovers. slow burn.

aaaas much as i ship post about these two, in reality they have a painfully long, slow burn.

when they meet and throughout tanlorin’s quests, they are just friends. even for a long time after what happens, they remain friends. first and foremost, they both got betrayed by someone they deeply loved & cared for. to alec, it was like watching what happened to her all over again & in slow motion. she could see the signs of lies, deception, and betrayal happening to tanlorin but had no power or ability to stop any of it, to protect them from the heartache she had experienced.

they remain friends for a long time because, in my head, neither of them are really considering any type of serious relationship/romance for a long time.

eventually, alec realizes they have taught her what it means to be happy and live her life. not just constant battles and surviving the world. she has the realization she’s more happy being by them, spending time with them, than being alone and it’s confusing and scary for her to have that kind of emotional connection and allowing herself to trust them. she’s scared of being hurt, she’s scared she doesn’t deserve them because despite all they have gone through they still see the best in people and the world. they smile and make others smile. all while she held onto her rage and hatred for so long…

in my headcanon, tan starts to develop feelings as well but they don’t know how to be subtle & hide their emotions very well. their tattoos glow at random especially if they have strong emotions. and since alec had seen them at the worst of times, they make mistakes around her & missions, etc. she knows them pretty well to know when they’re trying to hide something…still, they assume she would never reciprocate what they feel. (really, they’re both falling in love without realizing the other loves them back. they’re a mess.)

but eventually, they sit and confess & it gets to the point they learn alec is a lost demiprince of Ithelia :) (i haven’t decided how tan reacts to such a revelation)

[thetamrieltraveller]

My personal ESO headcanon is that The Vestige will always be bound to Coldharbour and Molag Bal. They were created from the chaotic creatiea in Coldharbour, and even when they get their soul back, their body is still made from this. Thus, they are always going to be bound and if they do ever die, they will sadly, despite all of their heroics, end up in Coldharbour for eternity.

[crynwr-drwg]

I want to know why Coldharbour apparently has urns for all (?) of the different soul shriven (or maybe just Vestige's)? It's not gonna be any sentimentality. So what

[daggerfall]

Linaarie, breton, ex-Worm Cult, necro healer

Lin, aspiring student of soul magic, joined up with the worm cult as her only real option at the time for being able to study her field. Mannimarco took an interest in her studies for some time, but tired of her goody two-shoes act with time and had her sacrificed. Unlike many of his victims, Linaarie survived as a vestige, and was found by Vastarie on one of her expeditions to Coldharbour. She rescued Linaarie and took her under her wing, the two sharing many interests as well as a distaste for the Worm Cult.

It took a few years for Vastarie to realize Linaarie too was immortal now, for other reasons than her own. Wanting to make use of her new life, she would often travel around Tamriel as an exorcist and spirit medium. After the Planemeld ended and she felt her soul return to her, Linaarie decided to join up with the Undaunted, now less afraid to see the world with Mannimarco lost to Coldharbour (or so she heard). It's then she met Falvesi, Bel, and Renee and regularly joined up with them in the Undaunted.

i progged the witch title on her before account wide achievements for the rp, please clap