An Analysis on Birthsigns and the Imperial Calendar
Date: 4E196
When the Magne-Ge fled Mundus' creation into Aetherius, the holes they left behind, through which magic seeps into Mundus, became the stars. Over time, mortals began to notice patterns and shapes in the stars above them. These constellations were noted to only appear in certain times and seasons, and through extensive study over the course of years, the early calendars of Tamriel were formed. It wasn't until the creation of the Alessian Empire that the modern Imperial Calendar was adopted throughout the continent, where it remains in use to this day among all the races and political entities.
Although the study of the constellations or signs were important to the creation of the calendar, their importance does not end there. Contrary to popular belief, the Magne-Ge's effects on Mundus did not end with their flight into Aetherius. Over the centuries, subtle effects have been noted for individuals born in certain times of the year and under a certain constellation. Many of these effects are subtle and remain unnoticed by most individuals, whereas others are more obvious. However, focused observers have been able to observe and document the effects on an individual born under a certain sign. This has given rise to the idea of the Birthsign, and to this day it still remains an object of intense study by Imperial and Aldmeri scholars.
The Birthsigns
The first and perhaps most important of the Birthsigns are collectively known as the Guardians. They are as follows:
· The Warrior
· The Mage
· The Thief
Each guardian has three charges under them, and their duty is to protect their charges from the Serpent Birthsign, the only constellation without a season of its own.
The Warrior
The first of the Guardian Signs, the Warrior's charges are the Lady, the Steed, and the Lord, and its season is Last Seed. Those born under the sign of the Warrior are proficient with weaponry and are able to easily grasp its nuances. Like sponges, the Warrior born can pick up a new weapon and absorb its skills quickly. However, they are prone to temper, and many have to work to keep it in check, lest it destroy them. The planet Akatosh is located in this constellation.
The Mage
Like the Warrior, the Mage is the Guardian Constellation for the Apprentice, the Golem or Atronach, and the Ritual. Its season is Rain's Hand, and for those born under it, magic comes easily, as does arrogance and absent-mindedness. The planet Julianos is located in this constellation. Due to their societal disregard for magic in general, the Dwemer called this constellation the Mechanist.
The Thief
The last of the Guardian Constellations, the Thief's charges are the Lover, the Shadow, and the Tower. Its season is Evening Star. Contrary to what the name implies, those born under the Thief do not necessarily become thieves themselves. Any thought that this is the case is merely misguided prejudice. Instead, they are more prone to take risks and rarely come to harm. But, their luck will run out, and as such their lives are often tragically cut short.
The Serpent
The only Birthsign without a season of its own, the Serpent wanders the night sky and threatens the other constellations. This unconventional sign is formed through the alignment of Unstars, and those born under it are noted to be simultaneously blessed and cursed in equal measure. The Imperial Orrery does not showcase this constellation.
The Lady
One of the charges of the Warrior, the Lady is seen in Hearthfire. Those born under it are known to be much kinder and more tolerant of others than their peers.
The Steed
Another of the Warrior's charges, the Steed is seen in Mid Year. People born in Mid Year are noted to be impatient and hurried travelers from one location to the next.
The Lord
The last of the Warrior's charges, the Lord is seen in First Seed and is notable for overseeing all of Tamriel during the planting. Under his gaze, people are born stronger and healthier than others.
The Apprentice
The first of the Mage's charges, the Apprentice is seen in Sun's Height. Those born under it have greater affinities for magic, both in terms of greater magicka reserves and magicka regeneration, but are more susceptible to it as well.
The Atronach
Also known as the Golem, the Atronach is one of the charges of the Mage. It is seen in Sun's Dusk, and although those born under it have deep reserves of magicka within them, they cannot generate magicka on their own. They must absorb it from spells cast on them or through the consumption of potions.
The Ritual
The last of the Mage's charges, the Ritual Birthsign has a varied ranged of effects, both to the individual as well as any undead a person may be unlucky enough to come across. These abilities depend on the moons and the Divines. It's season is Morning Star.
The Lover
The first of the Thief's charges, her season is Sun's Dawn. Those born under her watch are graceful and passionate towards those they love.
The Shadow
Another of the Thief's charges, the Shadow's season is Second Seed. Those born under it have the ability to hide in shadows themselves, no matter how small.
The Tower
The last of the Thief's charges, the Tower is found in Frost Fall. Gold is easily found by them and they are sometimes able to open locks easily, no matter how complex they may be.
Conclusion
Let it be known that, although a Birthsign may start the path an individual may go down, it does not necessarily determine one's destiny. There have been those born under the Warrior who go on to become great mages, those born under the Steed who stay in one place their entire lives, and so on. But their importance on the lives of mortals cannot be understated, and through better understanding of the Birthsigns, one can better decide just how they wish to live their life.
Trestus Whovinici, Historian at the Imperial Academy
Notes by Ruby Rose, 4E 201, 20th of Hearthfire
So, Weiss and Blake were able to match Remnant's calendar with Tamriel's. We are so lucky that things matched out in terms of seasons and days. Is that a weird coincidence? Yes, but one that I'll happily take without question.
So, moving on, the days of the week are pretty easy to understand and match. Morndas is Monday, Tirdas is Tuesday, Middas is Wednesday, Turdas is Thursday, Fredas is Friday, Loredas is Saturday, and Sundas is Sunday. The months were a bit more difficult, but we were able to match them up as well.
Morning Star is January. First month of the year and all that made it easy to match up.
Sun's Dawn is February.
First Seed is March.
Rain's Hand is April. Funny how on both Nirn and Remnant this time of year is known for raining. Also, Weiss' birthday is this month, which makes it super important. If we don't make it back to Remnant by then, I need to start preparing something for her birthday. Maybe a staff? Thoughts for later.
Second Seed is May.
Mid Year is June.
Sun's Height is July. Again, hottest time of the year for both planets. Weird, but I'll take it.
Last Seed is August. Yang's birthday would also be in this month and, if we'd thought about it, we could have celebrated it when we first got here. But, stuff kinda happened. We were actually on that boat to Patch in order to get her present in the first place. It was a nice one, too. Drat.
Hearthfire is September, and is the month that we're currently in.
Frost Fall is October, and is the most important month of all because my birthday is in it. I wonder if Skyrim has something similar to Halloween?
Sun's Dusk is November. Makes sense, as that's when winter really sets in.
Evening Star is December, and is also when Blake was born. After my birthday, we'll need to plan something for her. I'll probably get her a book or something.
Have to admit, this stuff about Birthsigns doesn't make any sense, so for now I'm going to ignore it.
4E 201, 30th of Hearthfire
So, JNPR made it to Nirn before us. Yeah, that was quite the shock. I know that they're alive and well, but part of me can't help but worry. Still, I figure that I should figure out what their birthdays are here. I figure that once we get back, Team JNPR would all like something to remind them a bit about Nirn. After all, if they've made half the friends we have then they must have some fond memories of the place, too.
Jaune was born in March, which means that on Nirn, his birthday would be First Seed. He told me that Pyrrha's birthday was in September and that they were planning something lowkey for her birthday party. Honestly, he could just take her to a nice restaurant and she'd be over the moon, or moons here. He also said that Nora was born in November and Ren was born in February. Once we get to those days, we'll celebrate for them.
4E 201, 15th of Frost Fall
So, funny thing. Those Birthsigns that I ignored before? Yeah, they're real. Apparently, since I was born in October or Frost Fall, I fall under the Tower Birthsign. Yang calls them Zodiac powers, and I have to agree. My Zodiac powers are being able to easily find gold and I can open locks every so often. Honestly, it's kinda weird, but whatever.
But, now that I know that Birthsigns are legit, I should probably go ahead and figure out what the others are.
Weiss was born in April or Rain's Hand, which means that her Birthsign is the Mage. Honestly, it totally fits. The fact that she's been able to easily grasp magic is key. Also, as much as I love my partner, she's kind of arrogant, and once moneymaking enters the picture, she goes all over the place.
Blake was born in December or Evening Star, which means that she falls under the Thief. She definitely takes risks that she shouldn't. I still think she should have tossed that stupid blade in the ocean, but I'll support her decision. Still, I can't help but worry about the whole "luck runs out" thing.
Yang was born in August or Last Seed, which means that she falls under the Warrior. That also makes total sense for her, especially about her being able to easily grasp weapons. She's getting really good with those axes of hers. And while she doesn't have much of a temper, if her hair gets touched then it's a different story.
Jaune was born in March or First Seed, which means he falls under the Lord. I guess it explains how large his Aura reserves were. He told me once in private that he actually lied to get into Beacon, and that Pyrrha had to unlock his Aura during Initiation. I didn't care about it then and I don't care about it now, as he's my best guy friend. Still, the fact that his Aura reserves were the highest in the entire class is amazing, given his lack of experience. I can only imagine how he used that during the Oblivion Crisis.
Nora was born in November or Sun's Dusk, which means she falls under the Atronach. It explains certain passages in Journey of Heroes, given how she would gleefully absorb lightning spells from Ren or Jaune and use it to crush her enemies, often literally. Speaking of which, apparently there's someplace called Guardian Crater in Cyrodiil. It formed after Nora got hit by a Lightning Storm while closing an Oblivion Gate. It went as well as I expected.
Pyrrha was born in September or Hearthfire, which means she was born under the Lady. It does explain how nice and tolerant she is.
Ren was born in February or Sun's Dawn, which means that he was born under the Lover. Admittedly, this was a bit harder to wrap my head around, but I was eventually able to figure it out. Ren is passionate, just in his own way. Especially towards Nora.
We're on our way to Winterhold now. Some guy named Ancano is doing something at the College of Winterhold. I don't know what's going on over there, but Onmund sounded scared. Whatever Ancano's doing, we'll stop him.
(=)
The Fauna of Tamriel: Skyrim; Subterranean Terrors
I previously touched upon the potential hazards of venturing into the tunnels, caves, and other dark corners of the world without taking the appropriate precautions. Whether it is from the need for crude shelter, hopes of plundering lost riches, or simply the spirit of adventure and exploration, delving into the depths of the earth can easily result in you never feeling the sun's touch again if you do not keep your wits about you. And while dangers such as cave-ins, toxic gases, trap mechanisms, rogue Dwemer constructs, and all the myriad types of undead could take up an entire tome all on their own, I am here to inform you of some of the living creatures that will readily devour anyone foolhardy enough to enter their underground dwellings.
Frostbite Spiders
Commonly referred to as "The Arachnophobe's Nightmare", these aggressive arthropods are one of Skyrim's most feared and loathed native creatures. Their spined, hairy bodies, legs, and oversized chelicerae seem to be designed to make people's skin crawl, an effect only enhanced by their chittering screeches, and the fact that they often share the stature of large dogs or wolves (or if the trespasser is particularly unlucky, are taller than a man).
The venom from which their name is derived damages the blood and soft tissues it's injected into, causing the affected area to pale before slowly blackening and dying. Aside from simply biting their victims, which they will often leap through the air to do, they are also capable of spitting their poison a fair distance, often aiming for the vulnerable eyes. There have even been cases of individual spiders that have learned to coat globs of webbing gathered from their spinnerets with their venom before flinging them at distant enemies, increasing their range even further. It is surprisingly easy to extract the venom from a slain Frostbite Spider, and they are not immune to their own toxin, so it is a common tactic to coat one's weapon with the venom of the first Frostbite Spider one defeats to help in killing any others.
While more resistant to the cold than most arachnids, they are by no means immune, and as such tend to congregate in cave systems and abandoned catacombs to form communal nests. Every surface of these lairs are covered in thick swathes of silk to insulate from the chill, and so large white webs serve as an obvious warning sign when approaching a Frostbite nest, along with the cocooned, desiccated remains of previous meals. If you insist on continuing past these hints to retreat, then be sure not to only focus on the Spiders before you on the ground. Look up! Frostbite Spiders prefer to tuck themselves away into nooks near the ceilings of their nests, often covered with woven trapdoors, and will descend onto inattentive prey from above, either by climbing down walls or rappelling with dragline.
Curiously enough, many of the properties of Frostbite Spider silk that make it such a useful tool in the pedipalps of its creators, namely its strength (multiple times that of steel by weight), flexibility, elasticity, and insulation, could be just as valuable for our own purposes. Innovations in alchemical treatments and weaving based upon the textile practices that produce the exotic silken clothing of Akavir have recently been developed for Frostbite Spider application. Depending on the potions applied to the silk to preserve it from degradation, it can be spun into a luxuriously smooth thread or cloth that is incredibly resistant to cutting and tearing, and in some cases can be stretched a considerable amount while retaining its shape. Equally capable of being turned into opulent formal attire or superior light armor, the sheer quantity of material produced by these common invertebrates could serve as the base for profitable new industry for the province. Of course, the requirement of regularly venturing into the lairs of man eating spiders has proven to be quite the dampener for anyone considering such an enterprise.
Trolls
A decidedly odd design belies the simplistically brutish nature of this widespread menace. While thankfully not very prevalent, different breeds of Troll can be found throughout the provinces of Tamriel, easily identified by their bipedal, ape-like bodies and three beady black eyes. Despite their physical similarities, Trolls do not share the developed intelligence and social capabilities of great apes, usually living in solitude except when necessary for mating or reproduction, lest their gluttonous hunger readily turn them to cannabalism.
While technically omnivorous, Trolls will only turn to vegetative food sources if absolutely no meat is available. Whether it is hunting fresh prey or scavenging rotting carcasses, this creature will not care, and when combined with their complete disregard for hygiene, the most reliable warning for the presence of a Troll or its lair is usually from its gruesome stench. Despite the filth and squalor these beasts typically live in, they rarely suffer the consequences of illness and disease thanks to their extraordinary vigor. It is theorized that one of the causes for the Troll's bottomless appetite is due to their specialized metabolism that enables rapid healing and regeneration.
Aside from their sharp fangs, claws, and strength that enables them to literally rip a man limb from limb, this regeneration is one of the primary threats to keep in mind when fighting a Troll. They are able to recover from anything short of the destruction of a vital organ such as the heart or brain, with even grievous wounds closing up before one's very eyes. In fact, an unwary warrior is liable to actually get their weapon stuck within the body of Troll, with a blade becoming sealed by the very flesh it has pierced if it is not immediately withdrawn. The most reliable way to prevent a Troll from healing the damage given to it is through that most ubiquitous of monster-slaying elements: fire.
Even a freshly slain Troll will continue to have its wounds close for a time, though thankfully they cannot recover from full death. As such, the sheer time and effort involved in skinning a Troll is not nearly worth the value of their filth-encrusted hides. In conjunction with how foul their meat is, arguably the only prize worth the effort of hunting these creatures beyond the tale and satisfaction of removing such a blight is the fat. A valuable alchemical reagent, the rich fat of a Troll has a consistency curiously similar to the blubber of whales, seals, and other marine mammals. The native breed of Skyrim tends to possess the thickest layers of the insulating fat, in conjunction with the thickest, most fur covered skin I have documented so far, making it quite the durable beast indeed. At this point, an attentive reader would earn no prizes for predicting that the colloquial name for this breed is...the Frost Troll. Let it not be said that the people of Skyrim have the most creative naming sense...
Addendum: After hearing tales that some Trolls have actually been tamed and trained, I needed to confirm the veracity of such rumors for myself. And to my astonishment, I recently have! It would seem that I must withdraw my previous assessment equating the intellect of Trolls to the same level as a Skeever. I stand corrected: they instead approach the mental acuity of the average dog under the appropriate conditions. The organization that introduced me to this practice train these Trolls as a hunting hound equivalent, and even went through the effort of outfitting their attack beasts with armor! When I asked for their purpose, they said it was for Vampire Hunting. Given a Troll's natural strength, regenerative capabilities and disease resistance, I can readily see why they would be attractive war beasts for such a task.
Chaurus
The infamous "livestock" of the Falmer, these giant insects are used as beasts of burden, attack animals, cattle, and possibly even companions all at once for the subterranean race that has somehow domesticated this aggressive arthropod. It is theorized that the basis behind this relationship is a correlation behind the sounds through which the blind Falmer perceive their surroundings and the clacking noises that Chaurus use to communicate with each other. While Chaurus are capable of subsisting on a variety of the fungi found within the chasms and caves they so frequent, their preferred form of sustenance is meat, and their masters are reviled partially for their practice of feeding their pets the corpses of most people unfortunate enough to cross their paths. In turn the Falmer use their insectoid livestock as their primary food source (the only edible portions of Chaurus anatomy is the white flesh found within the main body's thorax and abdominal sections, while the yellow flesh of the head and and limbs are inundated with lethal amounts of acidic poison), while also using the chitin from the thick carapace to craft nearly every object in Falmer "society", including weapons, shields, armor, tools, containers, as well as shelters such as tents.
Chaurus come in a wide variety of forms and sizes, and for the longest time there was much confusion and debate as to how each related to the others as well as their overall classification. However, recent results from long term studies, carried out by a team of truly dedicated arcane researchers in the College of Winterhold, have done much to clarify the particulars of the Ant Chaurus life cycle, supporting one set of theories over all others when applying the discoveries from this pygmy species to its larger cousins.
The documented life cycle plays out as such: the eggs hatch in spring, shortly after Chaurus Hunters lay a new natch. The larger Chaurus Reapers from the previous year's natch watch over their infant cousins (the "Standard" Chaurus) as they grow. After about a month, the newborns can fend for themselves and the older Chaurus Reapers leave them in charge of the newer eggs. For most of the year, the Chaurus eat, grow, and guard their nests, and the sheer size of individual Chaurus during this larval stage can vary greatly, dependent more on factors in their immediate environment and circumstances than age. Over the course of the fall season, the older Reapers enter a deathlike state where they convert their outer husks into a form of chrysalis, in which they metamorphose into their adult stage, the Chaurus Hunter. (It should be noted that a developing Chaurus Hunter can emerge from its chrysalis prematurely, and quite suddenly, in response to a perceived threat, and the resulting unfinished specimen is what is referred to as a Hunter Fledgling.) As winter finally approaches, the Hunters emerge from their cocoons, and they begin finding mates and laying new eggs, either in their home cave systems or settling new locations in the search for food sources that their future offspring can feed upon after hatching. They die just before the eggs from the previous year hatch, starting the cycle again, while the Chaurus that hatched at the beginning of the year have grown into Reapers in their own right.
This explains why Chaurus and eggs are present all year, but Hunters are only seen during the winter season. The life cycle fully plays out over the course of two years with two distinct but similar larval stages living alongside each other for most of the year, until it is time for the true adult stage to emerge and lay the annual clutch of new eggs.
The common features of Chaurus regardless of form are their thick, dark carapace with blue bioluminescent nodules that turn green after death, razor sharp limbs and mandibles, and an acidic poison that they are capable of both injecting and spitting at a distance. Standard Chaurus and Reapers share a morphology similar to that of earwigs or centipedes, with long sectional bodies, a multitude of sharp legs going down their sides in multiple rows, and long curved mandibles on their front end matched by similar pincer-like claws on the opposite end, both of which can be reared up into the air to strike out like a snake. Chaurus Hunters are essentially giant wasps complete with wings and venomous stinger, albeit with disproportionately large spiked forelimbs more convergent with those of a praying mantis, which is all thrown on top of the poisonous bite and spit kept from the previous stage just for good measure.
Studies on the origin of this species in regards to possible Daedric influences are as of yet inconclusive.
Dragonlings
While the region of Iliac Bay has the most well known and centralized presence of this fascinating species, small populations can actually be found amongst the crags of High Rock, Haafingar, and the Reach. As the name suggests, these dog-sized flying reptiles resemble the Dragons of yore to a degree that none could claim is incidental. However, it must be stressed that despite their appearance and even the ability to breathe fire, frost, or lightning, Dragonlings are not baby Dragons, or directly related to true Dragons in any way. I imagine that if one were to have the miraculous opportunity to converse with one of these long lost beings, to insinuate such a claim to a Dragon's face would ensure you would not live long enough to regret the insult. True Dragons were fully conscious beings of a divine nature, beyond such a mundane process as reproduction. While magical, Dragonlings are ultimately mere animals, pale imitations incapable of higher thought and function.
However, this is not to say that Dragons were not responsible for the origin of Dragonlings as we know them today. Recently uncovered texts dating from the Merethic Era, when Dragons still ruled over the mortal races of Tamriel, reveal that a particularly curious and enterprising Dragon lord discovered a species of primitive winged lizards and took a shine to them due to their amusing superficial resemblance to himself. This Dragon, whose name is as yet unknown, gathered a population of these creatures and kept them as pets within his mountain home, valuing their ability to hunt down any pests or vermin within his lair, similar to the domestication of the common cat.
Their immortal owner and a few of his fellows that he shared his novel pastime with went on to direct an extensive selective breeding process to emphasize their draconic resemblance as much as possible, to an astounding degree of success evidently beyond even their own expectations. In fact, much like how the meowing of the domesticated cat is actually an attempt to mimic human sounds, the now developed Dragonlings mimicked the Words of their own masters, unconsciously using a small, much-weakened version of the Thu'um, or Voice, as they did. This remains the source of their breath attacks, although they are limited to the three simplest one Word elements already mentioned. (Personally confirming that such attacks are in fact accompanied by "spoken" Words rather than being a natural form of magicka fueled spellcasting as other schools of thought believed was a rather harrowing experience.)
And although their draconic masters are ages gone, and the descendants of this unique experiment have spread and thrived in the wild on their own, their instinctual connection to the ancient Tongue of the lords that Raised them remains a fundamental aspect of their existence. And one can hardly resist the allure of the legends which claim that these fiercely proud beasts, which refuse to be cowed or calmed by any means magical or mundane, will only become tame in the presence of one who can truly speak to them in the language of their first and only masters. Unfortunately, none of the notoriously reclusive Graybeards, the only known practitioners of the Voice who reside in their monastery on High Hrothgar, have deigned to accept my proposal to accompany me on an expedition to Dragonling territory to confirm or deny this enticing lore. But I refuse to be discouraged by the mere recalcitrance of men, and I maintain hope of one day witnessing the truth of this fable.
- Na'ankan Tributore
(=)
Excerpts from the Writing Journal of Blake Belladonna
Hearthfire
Well, here it is. I'm finally doing it. I'm writing that novel I always said I would. Now that I can actually get some free time, in between life-threatening situations and bouts of long travel, I've penned down a few samples. Only a couple thousand words at the moment, but it's a start. I'll admit, for the longest time I wasn't sure what I wanted to write. I knew the genre; I've wanted to create an adventure full of romance, conflict, drama, and some hot scenes here and there since forever. But now I've finally gotten the right inspiration.
Back in the Merethic Era, Cyrodiil was ruled by a branch of High Elves known as the Ayleids. I double-checked with Weiss, and she's confirmed they weren't a separate race, just a disparate culture, like the Direnni or the Chimer before becoming Dunmer. One big thing about them was their overwhelming tendency to enslave other races en masse, especially humans. They were horrible to them, too, often using them for Daedra sacrifices or cruel sport. Obviously, resentment grew and grew, but the humans there didn't believe they stood a chance at freedom. Then Skyrim's wars of extermination against the Falmer happened, which apparently made the Cyrodiilic men start thinking, "Hey, if they can beat the elves, then so can we." Kind of an awful way to get inspired, but I'm more than willing to bet they only heard the pre-Nord's version of events for the longest time.
At some point, a young woman then prayed to the Gods. A lot of sources are conflicting on what exactly happened, but it's kind of important to note two things: the Ayleids were said to have worshipped all gods. I'm not sure how that worked out, but they apparently had just as many shrines to Mara as they would Molag Bal and then Meridia and then Hircine. Maybe they were just trying to not take sides? Whatever the case, the second thing is that they had summoned up a lot of Daedra to reign in all their slaves, likely because meric populations are rarely as large as human ones. This young woman, Alessia, was then given a vision of Mundus being closed off from Oblivion so that the Ayleids could no longer depend on the tons of Daedra to control their slaves. Kynareth then sent her son, a demi-god named Morihaus who appeared to be a winged Minotaur, to help and advise her while rallying the other slaves into an army. So far, he's becoming my favorite character to write about. He's got the most well-defined personality out of all the historical figures of the time, and he and Alessia eventually fell in love and actually had children. It should be noted that these were likely the first Minotaurs.
A lot of things happened during this war, but the overall strategy seemed to be to box in the Ayleids and then press them towards the White-Gold Tower. At some point, a demi-god king named Umaril took control of the armies, and what exactly made him a demi-god is kinda confusing. I'll have to look for references to something called a kalpa and the World-River.
Perhaps one of the biggest hurdles, and one I really wanted to avoid, is Pelinal Whitestrake. While Morihaus is kind of a joy to look at the point-of-view of, Pelinal is both confusing and sickening, and yet people still want to think of him as a hero. He was murderous, insane, and at times caused such devastation that in The Song of Pelinal it's said Alessia had to beg the Gods for forgiveness for what he did. He's described as committing war crimes by their dozens, having led slaughters that made the genocidal Nedes of Skyrim pause, and even went into Elsweyr and killed a large number of Khajiit when he mistook them for a kind of elf. Not Ayleids or Altmer. He thought they were 'some kind of elf', and that was apparently enough of a reason to slaughter them. He disgusts me. However, I can't avoid mentioning him altogether. He was as big a part of everything as Morihaus and Alessia were. Doesn't mean I have to like it.
Well, I just learned what a kalpa is. I'm now even more confused.
If I'm understanding this right, a kalpa is sort of a 'world phase'. Apparently, the world of Mundus has ended and restarted several times, and each version is known as a kalpa. Sometimes, however, pieces from a past world can end up in the next one (or several), usually through something related to Oblivion. Umaril's father was apparently a god from one of these, but even that's screwy because what does that mean about said god currently? Whatever it is, I think I'll just keep it vague. Gives me plausible deniability in case I got mistaken.
Umaril's character isn't easy to pin down, but he seems to be the planner-commander type that can hold his own well enough in battle, though with a preference to ranged combat. There's a physical description of him in Journey of the Heroes, when Yohannes has to stop his foretold return. At that time Umaril was striking out against the Divines, so it's likely that he blamed his people's defeat and subsequent disappearance on them. However, it seems his actions during the Oblivion Crisis caused him to lose favor with Meridia, but that just might have been author bias.
Back to Pelinal, I've been trying to be a little fairer, but the best I can honestly say is that he was a short, violent burst of evil that let an era of peace take root. The humans of the Empire look to him as a historical hero, but to elves he was a monster that tried to lead a pogrom against their entire species and said as much. I'm not going to glitter it up and make him look like a dashing knight, because he wasn't not one, but I'm not going to sling mud. I'm just going to write it down and let the people reading make their choice. He also made a short appearance during Journey of the Heroes, but not much is said. Yohannes didn't even really know who Pelinal was before being dragged into the whole situation, so there likely wasn't much to say. Although, some people do say that Yohannes was the reincarnation of Pelinal, but given how murderous Yohannes wasn't, not to mention fair to all the races of the Empire, I don't put much stock to it.
Frostfall
I swear the world keeps throwing curveballs at us!
Okay, so it doesn't really impact my book too much -I've gotten around to the point where Alessia and Morihaus have taken their first victory against the Ayleid Empire with a group of rebelling slaves and a handful of sympathetic elves. I am loving how I've gotten the two's interactions down- but Weiss just figured out that four of the Five Heroes were actually Team JNPR. Between what Azura told us, the physical descriptions of the heroes, and the fact that we got here ourselves, we were able to put everything together. Well, at least Ren and Nora got together. Or at least everything points to them doing so. I feel kinda weird about shipping people that I know in real life, though.
Well, maybe if we get back to Remnant before I finish writing I can ask them for some pointers on Umaril. I've had to make up some secondary villains to fill out the blanks of evil needed to really hammer in how bad the Ayleid Empire is, but I'm trying to make sure I hit "The Play for Thrones" villainy and not "Sailor Luna" levels. Umaril's supposed to be the main baddy, but he feels more like a vague threat that Morihaus feels like not even his power can stand up to.
Still, I can't help but hope JNPR got home okay. I've heard the synopsis of what happened, but I want to believe they've gotten out of the Shivering Isles and returned to Remnant. Maybe if we're lucky we'll come back at about the same time and can swap stories. Wonder if Nora will like that I finished what she started with the Dark Brotherhood?
Got the full outline together, and maybe ten skeleton chapters. Once things have calmed down, I'm hoping I can find some really, really old being and ask them about the times. Yang told us about how she ran into that Draugr woman and sent my scroll the video, so maybe there are others from south of the Jeralls who can give me a similar point-of-view. I doubt Divayth Fyr knows much about it, if he would even deign to talk to me. Some people say that there are Altmer on Alinor as old as he is, but there's about a snowball's chance in Hell that I could even get there. Valenwood would be the best bet, but that has its own set of obstacles, all on top of it being part of the Aldmeri Dominion. Maybe if I played it off as someone doing research of 'the elven version of events' I could get by, but that's about as much of a pipe dream as can be at the moment. Not to mention I'd probably just be fed a bunch of Thalmor propaganda, even if they hate the Daedra-worshipping Ayelids almost as much as everyone else.
Also, calm down is a relative term at this point. Along with dragons, we've got vampires popping up and assaulting towns and villages, and there's still the civil war to worry about. While I'm on the side of caution, we can't just ignore it forever. Something's got to give. While the dragons, vampires, and winter has gotten everyone to hunker down, that's going to change the moment one of the supernatural threats let up and the weather starts warming. I just hope that if we have to make a choice, we make the right one.