A Tale of Scales

by Sarneh

This is my Elder Scrolls: Skyrim story. It follows a group of four argonians, who have traveled to Skyrim for an unknown reason. After being captured and nearly executed, their loyalties they carried over from their old home of Cyrodil begin to fray, and the group soon realizes they will have a much bigger role to play in the civil war in Skyrim than they first realized.

1. Vaex's Profile

A Tale of Scales: Character Profiles

Author's Note: Ermahgurd. First actual posting of my work on .
The purpose of this collection is to lay out the main starting cast of A Tale of Scales before the story has actually begun. Normally I don't do this sort of thing, but I felt it was somewhat necessary, especially for a particular character. The reason I feel this way is because these characters were heavily developed as I played Oblivion, but I never put any ideas for an Oblivion story down on paper, so I only have their history stored in my head. This is also a way for me to give you an idea of the physical appearance of the characters, without interrupting any part of the actual story with a long description (something I hate having to do). I will also most likely reference a good couple events that occurred during the Oblivion time period, so some knowledge of the storyline is helpful. General knowledge of Skyrim is also going to be extremely helpful, as the looks of just about everything are going to be based from it, along with parts of the storyline.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this sort of a "teaser" for A Tale of Scales!

[I do not claim creation of the Elder Scrolls universe, or anything in it]

Vaex

A little about the creation of Vaex: Vaex was the first character I created, and is by far my favorite to write about. I feel most connected to him, and I feel like his personal story is the most developed of the four Argonians. His name originated from a Draconic word for "Bow" (The weapon, not the action. I also cannot recall the specific universe the word came from). I had originally intended for Vaex to be a sort of archer, but as I progressed his story in my head, it really just didn't fit the personality I had created for him, and I turned him into a full-on, brutal warrior.

Phsyical appearance/attributes: Vaex is six feet, seven inches tall, only slightly taller than the average argonian, and much taller than the average imperial, who is usually around five feet and ten inches. His scale coloration is a mix of black and navy blue, with slightly more blue. Vaex is completely bald, though he has a trio of small boney horns that follow each cheekbone, along with a pair of similar horns on the underside of his chin. His eyes are a bright aqua blue, and going across the left side of his face are three scars, left by the claws of a mountain lion. The scars stand out against his skin, as they are a red-pink compared to the dark blue surrounding them. The biggest feature that makes Vaex stand out from most argonians (or just about any mortal in Tamriel), is his physical strength. Vaex has easily overpowered full-grown orcs, nords, bears, and even daedra. He's known to be able to flip over horse carriages, rip doors from their hinges, break down well-grown trees, kick through stone walls, and can wield a normally-considered two-handed weapon, in one hand, allowing him to dual wield them with ease. Vaex is thirty-one years of age at the start of the story.

Background/History: Vaex was born in Blackmarsh, the argonian homeland. He lived there until he was the age of twenty-one, when he decided he wanted to travel to Cyrodil and join the Fighter's Guild. While living in Blackmarsh, Vaex became fast friends with Laerak (Who will be talked about later in his own profile). During his time in Blackmarsh, he promised himself he would train and work so that he would be stronger than any other warrior, as he wished to undo the stereotype that argonians are only sneaky, underhanded fighters who prefer to be rogues and magi. While Blackmarsh was where Vaex gained most of his strength, he also trained constantly in Cyrodil, even adopting exercise "routines" like going out and wrestling a brown bear regularly. Upon arriving in Cyrodil, Vaex was quickly taken into custody by the Imperial Legion, as he near-perfectly matched the description of a thief that had recently escaped from the Imperial prison. While in prison, he became involved with the events of the assassination of the Emperor at the hands of the Mythic Dawn. He was there as Emperor Uriel Septim was killed, and he soon after found himself fighting against the daedra of Oblivion, the Mythic Dawn, and the daedric prince, Mehrunes Dagon. During his time in Cyrodil, Vaex signed into the Arena, and won himself the title of "Grand Champion of the Arena." After the Oblivion crisis had ended, Vaex was also inducted into the Imperial Legion, and eventually rose to the rank of Captain of the Guard of the Imperial City. Like he had originally intended, Vaex did also join the Fighter's guild, and eventually became Master of the guild, however he later stepped down from the position.

Personality: Vaex has a gentle heart, caring very much for his friends, whom he usually considers more like family than just friends, and he is very protective of his love interest/significant other. However, Vaex also believes strongly in retribution and "an eye for an eye", and will not hesitate to act accordingly. He is quick to anger when provoked in particular manners, and in these times, he easily forgets his own strength. Vaex is also very proud to be an argonian, and so he will not tolerate when others talk poorly of his people, and he will defend them without a moment's thought.