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EVE-Online RP Discussion and Resources => EVE Fiction + Fiction discussion => Non-EVE Fiction => Topic started by: Vikarion on 10 Dec 2014, 21:03

Title: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 10 Dec 2014, 21:03
I enjoyed my last play through so much that I'm going to do another. Before I start writing, however, here's a run-down of the idea.

Character concept:
A sorcerer, Elder-scrolls style, which is to say, a character skilled in heavy armor, conjuration, destruction, and enchanting. Two-handed-weapon will be an alternate after Destruction is maxed.

This will be a "completionist" character, trying to complete every questline in the game. To make it interesting, I'm going to embark on the "Dawnguard" questline immediately after completing the Companions questline, hopefully before level 20. This will ensure that my character plays the majority of the game as a Volkihar Vampire, increasing the difficulty, but providing an alternate viewpoint on your normal Dragon-Born Experience (tm).

This character will be Stormcloak-aligned, because I feel icky every time I try to justify siding with the Empire after they tried to execute my character. Also, no quest-lines will be terminated early - i.e., no killing off the Dark Brotherhood. As a result, this character may appear somewhat sociopathic at times, but hopefully I can characterize him well enough to give legitimate reasons for his actions.

This chronicle will also be somewhat more "literary" than the last (Vikarion the Blue), as in, I will take some liberties from the strict in-game events (i.e., this character might read more off of an Elder Scroll than he is strictly stated to). This is entirely for my own artistic freedom - on the whole, in-game events will be adhered to (i.e., if a character dies in-game, it might die slightly more artistically here, but it will still be dead).

A note: I name all of my characters in RPG's either "Vikarion", or "Vicariess", or some variation of those. This is why most, if not all, of my stories will have a character with this name. It's just a habit, established more than a decade ago.

Level bonuses will be (mostly) assigned as such:
1, 3, 6, and 9: Magicka.
2, 4, 5, 7, and 8: Health.
10: Stamina.

This repeats every ten levels.

In my personal opinion, health is the most important attribute, followed by magicka, with stamina a very distant third. It is quite possible to go through the entire game without ever increasing stamina on any character concept, while even a warrior-style play-through will have difficulty making it through without at least a little magicka for Restoration. For this character, designed to eventually make it through every questline, I feel that a H/M/S ration of 5:4:1 is optimal. Also, it contributes to verisimilitude, as any character using as many talents as this one should probably grow stronger in all three.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 11 Dec 2014, 00:41
Journal,
When I escaped from High Rock, I had thought that Skyrim would mean placing my troubles behind me. Instead, it nearly got me killed.

Of course, it was foolish to stand up to a noble, especially one with so many established cronies. Whether right is right doesn't matter when someone else has might. Turns out that that's not limited to High Rock, either.

I got picked up a bit after crossing the border, near Darkwater Crossing, in an Imperial cordon. Next thing I know, I'm bound, then on a wagon to Helgen to face the block. My head was literally seconds away from parting with my body when, apparently, the luckiest Breton in Skyrim turned out to be me. That's more than can be said for Helgen, of course, because the instrument of my salvation was the destruction of Helgen at the hands of a dragon. From my perspective, a more than fair trade, although I suspect that I am highly biased.

But to my point: apparently justice means even less than I thought it meant in the Empire. My execution was merely a matter of convenience to the Imperial Captain who decided my fate. Or thought she did, at any rate.

Fortunately, when I got loose, Ralof (one of the Stormcloaks) did as well. After a bit of dodging around the dragon through Helgen, we got away through an old escape tunnel in the cellar of the local fort. I had never thought of myself as a killer before, but to my own immense satisfaction, we encountered above-mentioned Imperial Captain along the way. Despite her initial commands for our deaths, she didn't face her own with much dignity. Heavy armor may protect someone from an axe or blade, but when heated to red hot by flames, Imperial Heavy Armor serves mostly as a roasting cage.

Aside from that, there was little effective opposition to stop Ralof and I from getting to Riverwood, where we met his sister, Gerdur. She was kind enough to offer me some gold and food to get me started, and asked me to bring word of the attack to Whiterun if I managed to make it there. I agreed.

I haven't made it there, yet, because I also took the opportunity of being in town to visit the local general store, where the owner was engaged with his sister in an argument over a stolen "Golden Dragon's Claw". Turns out that some thieves holed up at the local monument stole it, and I was offered a sizable reward for its return. Well, I thought that if I could survive my own execution, a dragon attack, and an Imperial garrison, I could fetch him his dragon claw.

I was right, although I hadn't figured on the local variety of undead: Draugr. It's hard to describe them, but they are ancient, mummified corpses that yet move with malevolent intellect, arising from coffins and alcoves alike with strange blue witch-lights for eyes, striking at you with the words of dead arcane tongues on their lips. I was glad to be out of there.

Actually, I stayed longer than I had to. I found the claw relatively easily, but my curiosity got the better of me and I kept exploring, until I found an ancient door that opened by the use of said claw, once the locks on the door were aligned with the symbols on the claw. These barrows may be ancient, but this one was at least well engineered.

On the other side of the door, I found a pedestal with a sarcophagus and some sort of writing on a curved wall. As I came close to the wall, it glowed blue, and I suddenly felt dizzy. I heard some sort of word, like "Fus"...and then I heard the lid of the sarcophagus fly off, and the armored form of a Draugr rose out of it.

He burned, eventually, but not before getting in a bruising hit to my ribs and arm, and not before I had to down two potions of magicka, damn it all. At any rate, he had some sort of strange stone on him, which I took, as well as an enchanted axe.

Both the golden claw and the axe got me a fair amount of gold in Riverwood, and after staying the night at the local inn (my second night, actually), I'm ready to set off for Whiterun. Let's hope today is less...exciting.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 11 Dec 2014, 20:14
Journal,
It wasn't less exciting. Apparently, I've been chosen as a Dragonborn.

Let me digress, just in case there are future readers of this journal that aren't me.

I arrived in Whiterun safe and sound, with only two incidents along the way. One was an encounter with some vigilants of Stendarr, who spent the better part of an hour lecturing me on the evils of Daedra, vampires, and werewolves. Gee, thanks. The other was when I came across some folks trying to defend a farm against a rogue giant. As it turns out, they were happy to have my help, and their leader, a woman named Aela, invited me to join her association, called "The companions". She said that I looked capable and they'd be happy to have me, "even if I was a mage".

I agreed to come by as soon as I delivered my message to the Jarl. Unfortunately, I didn't quite manage to keep this promise.

You see, I went to the Jarl, fully expecting just to tell him about Helgen. I managed that, after being threatened by his bodyguard a bit (she's named Irileth), only to be asked to go to Bleak Falls Barrow and retrieve a "Dragonstone" by the Jarl and his court wizard. What a coincidence, then, that I'd already been there and had it in my pack. I had planned to find a scholar who might want it, but from my perspective at the time, this seemed like a long-overdue stroke of luck.

And then Irileth and a guard rushed in, claiming that there was a dragon about to attack the outskirts of Whiterun. Now, I try to be reasonable, but I don't think it was entirely fair for the Jarl to press-gang me into helping them. But life isn't fair, and he did. Within an hour or so, after waiting for Irileth to gather her troops, I found myself outside a rather burned and broken watchtower, observing a dragon diving towards us.

I have to say, this fight was nearly as perilous as my own (attempted) execution. I can't say that we lost, but at least three or four of the guard died before we brought it down. Thank goodness for health and magicka potions. And when it (the dragon) did die, I felt encompassed by a rushing wind, and suddenly, the "word" I had seen in Bleak Falls Barrow came back to me, with meaning. Force.

Apparently, according to the guards, I am "Dovaah-kin", or "Dragonborn", which is to say, capable of using the ancient language of the dragons without study. Yay. Good for me.

As if that weren't enough, when I returned to Whiterun, the heavens thundered with "Dov-vah-keen!". The Jarl told me it was the Greybeards calling me to High Hrothgar.

Well, they can call all they want. I made a promise to visit The Companions. And I shall. I never asked to be dragon-born, and those who call me such can wait on my pleasure.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 13 Dec 2014, 18:23
Journal,

Well, I'm a member of the companions now, oddly enough. It turns out that it's a warrior hall of, essentially, mercenaries with honor. I don't think I would have made it in without Kodlak asking for it, as the other members aside from Aela seemed less than thrilled. Of the ones I've talked to, Vilkas was least comfortable, and started me out by having me run errands for him.

As that didn't phase me, apparently he decided on sterner measures, sending me off to confront a vampire in the moldering ruins south of Rorikstead. At least, I think it was Rorikstead. He (Vilkas) seemed a little surprised when I returned, apparently having assumed I wouldn't have the guts. Fortunately, I've been occasionally making trips to Windhelm, as the court mage there has an excellent grasp of Destruction magic, and it turns out that vampires have a vulnerability to fire. So do high elves, apparently: I met a group of Thalmor on the road to Rorikstead, and they accused me of being a "heretic" before attacking. After killing them, it seemed nothing but reasonable for me to release their prisoner. Oh, and I also met an old orc who wanted a "good death". It seemed the least I could do.

It occurs to me that I may have become somewhat more callous since nearly being executed, nearly dying in a dragon attack, and being assaulted by a few dozen bandits and growling undead. Just a tad, at least.

At any rate, killing the vampire apparently convinced Skjor, another of the companions, that I was worthwhile material. So he sent me off to "prove myself" by, you guessed it, raiding a Nordic Barrow, along with Farkas. Turns out that the barrow was infested by the Silver Hand, a werewolf hunting group. Also turns out that some of the companions are werewolves. Oh, and there were, of course, the standard helping of Draugr. I really don't understand people who make their homes in the upper levels of these tombs. You could wake up to find some ancient withered corpse with blue witch-light eyes standing over you with an ancient axe raised. Or, you know, not wake up at all.

Farkas is a bit of an idiot, but at least he was convinced of the utility of having me along by the end. Of course, I didn't do myself any favors by accidentally locking myself into a room from which he had to release me. Nonetheless, it went well enough. Any enemies I didn't catch at long range, Farkas took down with his sword, and he was perfectly willing to vouch for me when we returned.

Anyway, time for bed.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 14 Dec 2014, 03:32
Journal,
Well, that was...unpleasant. After doing a few more jobs for the companions (mostly run here and kill "that", whatever "that" is), I attracted the attention of Skjor. He brought me to the Underforge, and inducted me into the ranks of the Circle, which is the leadership of the companions. I wasn't exactly reluctant - after all, Farkas seemed to have it perfectly under control. However, when I turned, I had no choice, nor could I change back. I woke up, half-naked, in the woods, with Aela, who promptly press-ganged me into an attack on some Silver Hand who had killed Skjor - probably because he charged in there alone and without backup.

Well, to make a long story short, I've been chasing the Silver Hand around Skyrim for the last few days and weeks, at the request of Aela. Kodlak eventually got wind of it, and asked me if I would help him cure his lycanthropy. Apparently the entire process has a bit to do with magic, which is why he brought me on board.

Of course, this being the companions, the cure involves killing - in this case, I killed a few hagravens holed up in a cave who apparently got this whole "curse" started. We'll see where it goes from here.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 14 Dec 2014, 15:55
Journal,
Kodlak is dead.

When I returned from hunting the witches, I found that the Silver Hand had attacked the companions in my absence. Kodlak took down several of them, but they overwhelmed him. It is a sad day.

Vilkas and I had our revenge, though. We tracked them down to their headquarters, and wiped them out. Not one of them survived. The death of Kodlak seems to have changed Vilkas's opinion of my usefulness, at least where the Silver Hand are concerned - at least, if his yelling at me to "burn them!" is any clue.

In any case, we found the fragments of Ysgramor's axe, killed all the Silver Hand, and made it back in time for Kodlak's funeral. I have to say, I'm not much of one for "glory", and only a little bit for "honor", but Kodlak's pyre made me think that the old man might have been on to something. At the very least, Farkas, Aela, Vilkas, and I decided to try to honor the Harbinger's wishes. Ysgramor's Axe was reforged by Eorland, and we took it to Ysgramor's tomb.

The tomb was empty of draugr, but not of ghosts. They were a test, though, and not truly deadly. Farkas apparently has developed a fear of spiders that kept him from accompanying us, but Aela and I made it to the tomb, where we met Kodlak. For being dead, he seemed fairly happy. We freed him from his wolf spirit by casting one of the witch's heads into the purifying fire. Aela couldn't seem to see the wolf spirit that came forth to battle us, but I could, and by killing it, Kodlak was freed.

I think that I, too, shall make the same choice to be free. Living as a werewolf, I think I could handle. It's the nights that are the problem - endlessly restless, full of sudden fits and starts.

At any rate, I shall miss the old man. But apparently I am to be Harbinger of the Companions now. Not really a leader - well, not a leader at all, since the Companions have no leader - but an advisor. It seems a reasonable choice - I know a bit more about magic, although the companions are teaching me the use of heavy armor and warhammers. I'll do my best to advise them.

In the meantime, I've heard about a vampire-hunting group down in the Rift, called the Dawnguard. I'm not really one for exterminating vampires, but I should at least check them out...
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 15 Dec 2014, 19:33
Journal,
I didn't get around to heading down to the Rift today, because I found something in a chest - a Beacon of Meridia. When I picked it up, a voice - in my head - commanded me to go and cleanse her shrine of some undead with associated necromancer. It wasn't too far off the beaten path from Solitude, so it seemed like a reasonable request.

Well, I ended up crawling through another nordic ruin, with a twist - trying to get a cleansing beam of light through the temple. At least, Meridia claimed it was "cleansing". From my point of view, I was the one doing any cleansing, while the beam of light needed me to set up every little beacon for it. Nor did the little beam of light help me when I finally found the necromancer, who, it turned out, had a really good knowledge of cold spells - indeed, better than mine. I used every single healing potion and magicka potion I had, while Meridia sat there and twiddled her thumbs with her precious little beam of light. And when I finally put him down - twice, because his ghost wanted to kill me just as much as his body did - all I got for all that work was a short sword called "Dawnbreaker". Which I barely know how to wield because I prefer weapons that will actually kill things - like fire spells and battle-axes. Also, I prefer my weapons to be effective against more than undead.

Also not real fond of Meridia's habit of hoisting me a mile into the air every time she wants to talk to me. But then, I suppose she wanted me to be nearer to her "holy light". At least, that's my guess, because when I wasn't experiencing vertigo, I was being half blinded.

Oh well. I suppose it was at least nice that a Daedra Lord considered me to be worthy of her attention, and not the "squish that annoying bug" sort of attention.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 15 Dec 2014, 20:06
Journal,
Well, I made my way down to the Dawnguard fort. It's...well, huge. Really, really big. Along the way I met a young man who was there to sign up with them. As for me, I was more interested in just exploring the place, which I as much as told Isran (the man in charge) when I met him.

Oh, incidentally, as far as Isran goes, he makes the Vigilants of Stendarr look like level-headed merciful types. And, like most mages who conjure Daedra and raise undead, have about as much love for the Vigilants as we do for rats. And yet Isran was busy lecturing one of the Vigilants about how soft they were when I came it.

Well, Isran sent me off to go explore some cave, and above-mentioned Vigilant insisted on coming along. Actually, he agreed to meet me outside it. Apparently he couldn't wait, because I had no sooner made my way inside before I heard a couple of vampires talking about his demise.

Let the record show that, in the interests of good taste, I did not dance a jig at the relief of not having to escort a hammer-wielding nincompoop through a nest of irritated vampires.

There's not much to say about making my way through them, though. Most of them - ok, all of them - went down pretty easily. As I've written before - I think - I have nothing against vampires, save for their habit of trying to rip off my head without any discussion of other possibilities. I finally emerged on a ledge over a small group who were killed another Vigilant once he proclaimed he wouldn't tell them anything. Well, too bad for him, I guess, as I couldn't have saved him in any situation - firebolts just don't go through stone that well. I did kill the three killers, though.

Apparently they were trying to find something, and were congregated around some sort of column with a small dome on top of it, about waist height. I thought it looked like a bit of a button, and pushed it.

Again, for the record, I am not always the wisest man. Pushing the button resulted in me getting a spike through my palm, which has put a real damper on my button-pushing tendencies, let me tell you. However, it wasn't in vain, for once I finished screaming a few curses and casting a healing spell, I noticed that my blood - or my pain - or possibly the satisfaction of the sadism of the creator of the button - had caused little sheets of light to form from the floor. It didn't take a lot of work to figure out that moving some braziers on the floor around extend the sheet of light further around the room, so I started doing that.

In retrospect, I should have considered whether this was a good idea. For all I knew, I was arming an ancient super-weapon, some sort of vampire version of Numidium. At the time, however, I was rather more interested in finding out what would happen, possibly with an eye towards discovering the identity of the creator of spike-buttons with an eye towards introducing them to a few of my views on the subject.

Well, no sooner do I get everything into position than the floor drops down in stages, while the central column rises up, a hexagonal crypt in the center. Naturally, I open it, and a young woman fell forward. Let me point out that I am at least a little thoughtful - after my entirely reflexive jump back, I did do my best to catch her.

To make a long story short, she - her name is Serana - is a vampire, she's been stuck in that crypt for a very long time, and she would like me to take her back to her, uh, home...castle.

I suppose Isran would want me to kill her. On the other hand, I don't really give a damn what Isran wants. As well, I'm not exactly predisposed to hate vampires, and this particular one isn't trying to rip my head off. If I were going to do what Isran wanted, I should walk into the court of Jarl Elisif and start flinging fireballs at her court mage, who I am damn sure is also a vampire.

Besides, I rather like Serana. I believe I shall escort her to her home, as she desires.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 15 Dec 2014, 20:34
Journal,
Well, I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised to be a vampire now, and I can't say that I really regret it.

I brought Serana to her...castle, or her father's castle, anyway, and we made our way in, where I found myself in a small vestibule overlooking an altogether uncomfortably large gathering of vampires. As I felt that I had now probably accomplished my duties as escort, I checked the door we'd just come through, just in case. Yep. Locked. Of course it was locked. What good horror story doesn't have the hero - or victim, come to think of it - suddenly realize their peril right after the conveniently innocent-looking doorman makes sure that retreat is not an option?

Well, unlike some of the other unfortunates on the tables below, I was not to be a victim, although Isran probably wouldn't see it that way. It turned out that Lord Harkon - Serana's father - was rather pleased by her return, or at least by the fact that she was still carrying an Elder Scroll on her back when she showed up. From his point of view, this merited a reward - that is to say, turning me. Not just into any vampire, either, but a Vampire Lord, one of the creations of Molag Bal, although it appears that devotion to that Daedric Lord is not required for it to be passed on.

My other option was to be "banished from the court", which I suspected at the time (and still somewhat do) would mean employment as dinner for either the vampires or whatever fishes inhabit the Sea of Ghosts. Or both.

It might be nice to claim that it was merely a choice between life and death - well, undeath and death - that I made, but that's not entirely true. Deep down, I liked - and like - the power, and the immortality doesn't hurt either. Perhaps, in the eyes of some, that should damn me. But I doubt it does. Jarl Elisif has sold her political soul - and possibly her province - to  the Empire, in the name of becoming High Queen, and she isn't being damned by anyone for that. More to the point, I suspect that the dragon-born - if I am the dragon-born - is already a bit of a vampire, except with regards to the souls of dragons rather than blood.

But that's justification. In the end, I'd rather exist than not, and I'd rather have power than not. It's as simple as that. It doesn't matter if that makes me good or evil. What matters is that I want to survive.

When I awoke, Lord Harkon had a task for me. He wanted me to go fill a chalice from a spring near Riften. There was a slight catch - it's the site of a skooma den. There was also the fact that I was hungry. Very, very hungry...or thirsty. It's difficult to tell - it's sort of both.

In any case, they keep thralls. Some are willing, others are unwilling. I found it hard to care, but I found one of the more willing ones. I suppose I should be ashamed at the fact that I did it, or that it was so natural and so easy, but I mostly don't care. I'm not hungry anymore, and he's not dead.

I'm on my way to Redwater Spring.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 15 Dec 2014, 20:57
Journal,
Well, now I know why Serana complained about the sun so much on the way to Castle Volkihar. I went outside, and it hurt. I also felt tired, and dull. Everything was far, far too bright. It took me longer than I expected to get to Redwater Spring, but I did, and getting inside was a relief.

I took the liberty of not killing everyone inside just because I could, and instead opted for pretending to be a customer and then slipping into the back. It turns out that the whole thing was a creation of a vampire. Rather clever, really. The waters of the spring are apparently debilitating and addicting, so he added it to skooma and turned it into a disguised buffet. Clever. And, from my point of view, a bit evil, although I confess I don't cry too much over skooma addicts. It only takes a healing potion (one of the modern formulations, of course) to cure the addiction, so I find it hard to believe that the incoherent nobleman I passed by on the floor of the den was exactly an "innocent victim".

Unfortunately, above-mentioned vampire decided to take the "violence without talking" approach towards me, which meant his little operation is now leaderless and a bit low on personnel at the moment, and probably permanently. I also had the enjoyable experience of being ambushed by two vampires of Harkon's court, who apparently decided that I would be easy pickings and that the chalice I carried was perfect for whatever political move their masters were planning.

Actually, it wasn't all that unfortunate. I also needed the blood of a powerful vampire for the chalice, and it was rather convenient to have two reasonably powerful vampire donors available, once they stopped screaming, anyway. It probably didn't help them that they decided to double-cross each other at the same time they ambushed me. I don't think it would have made much of a difference, however. A vampire with firebolts and a battle-axe who has been using both for months is probably going to beat two vampires who appear to have considered even training with a weapon beneath them. Still, I appreciated them going to the extra effort to ensure my victory.

Of course, you don't accomplish a task but someone gets the bright idea that competence should be rewarded with more work. Harkon decided he needed a moth priest to read the Elder Scroll Serana had brought back. Apparently there was one in Skyrim due to Harkon putting around the rumor that one had been found, and the court was tasked with finding him. At this point, Serana popped up (I have no idea where she went to while I was out trying to fill up the too-fancy goblet), and asked to come with. Why not, right? So, we're off to the College of Winterhold, to try to find a moth priest.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 15 Dec 2014, 21:23
Journal,
Well, we got the bloody moth priest, but I'm not sure we should have.

It was a bit annoying, too. First, we went to Winterhold, which was promptly attacked by a dragon. I couldn't leave the people of Winterhold to its tender mercies, so I killed it - not very difficult a task, either, as it was one of the weaker ones I have fought. I also consumed its soul, which prompted Serana to note that apparently there are things I haven't told her about myself, either. Like I've had the time.

I have to say, though, Serana is a great traveling companion, aside from the griping about the weather. She's actually a remarkable person...been through a lot, and stayed strong.

Anyway, I had to convince Faralda, the gatekeeper of the College, to let me it. She agreed, after I displayed my magical capabilities, but insisted on signing me up as a member - a prospect I wasn't averse to. I'm not surprised they can offer membership for free, as the price they charge for magical training quickly adds up. Actually, I suspect that I could buy a few houses for all that I'll end up spending.


But I digress. We found out that the moth priest was on his way to Dragon Bridge, a small village near Solitude. Of course, when we got there, we found out that he'd left, and when we found his caravan, we found out that he'd been kidnapped by vampires - apparently, vampires not affiliated with us. Oh, and when we found the cave where they'd taken the moth priest, it turned out that the vampires had been killed by the Dawnguard.

As a note, it turns out that Isran has been outfitting the Dawnguard with armor that protects against vampire abilities. Doesn't do anything for firebolts, though. And I'm not sure what he thought armoring a troll would do. They're vulnerable to fire too.

The moth priest had been enthralled by the now-dead vampire that had caught him. Apparently the only cure for that is to enthrall him yourself, which I did. Not sure I care for being called "majesty". In fact, pretty sure I don't. But at least we got him back to the castle in one piece.

Harkon was pleased that we'd found him, less pleased once the moth priest read the scroll. Apparently there are two other scrolls that need to be found. What I did hear, though, makes me think that I may have unearthed a super-weapon of some sort after all: apparently, Harkon's big idea is to blot out the sun. Permanently.

Now, I confess to being no great fan of the big burn-y thing in the sky (at least not now), but it seems to me that turning it off might get all the people in...well, the world...pissed at you. You'd have to be a megalomaniac to think that you could survive that. And they'd be pissed for good reason: no crops, no warmth, eventually, no life. And where's the fun in that? I suppose that Harkon just thinks that if he darkens the sky, everyone will just fall on their knees to him. Yeah, sure. Just like everyone fell on their knees to Mehrunes Dagon in the Oblivion Crisis. Oh, wait.

Well, at this point, Serana took me aside and asked if we could try to find her mother and her Elder Scroll. I'm not sure what Serana's solution to her father's mad scheme is, but I suspect it's better for us to find that scroll than someone else. Which is why I helped her find her mother's laboratory, and why I'm now looking for ingredients to do some ritual that will get us into some place called the "Soul Cairn". Yay. I can hardly wait.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Havohej on 17 Dec 2014, 12:35
The other was when I came across some folks trying to defend a farm against a rogue giant. As it turns out, they were happy to have my help, and their leader, a woman named Aela, invited me to join her association, called "The companions". She said that I looked capable and they'd be happy to have me, "even if I was a mage".
How the fuck?

I've never even been able to land a hit on the bastard.  It always goes down just as I'm coming within sight, and then Aela talks shit.

On topic: another enjoyable series ^^
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Rin Kaelestria on 17 Dec 2014, 16:55
The other was when I came across some folks trying to defend a farm against a rogue giant. As it turns out, they were happy to have my help, and their leader, a woman named Aela, invited me to join her association, called "The companions". She said that I looked capable and they'd be happy to have me, "even if I was a mage".
How the fuck?

I've never even been able to land a hit on the bastard.  It always goes down just as I'm coming within sight, and then Aela talks shit.

On topic: another enjoyable series ^^

Soon as you get to the farms around Whiterun, got to start hauling rear to where the Giant is to land a hit. Managed to do that on the last character I had in Skyrim.

Either way, been reading this series as well. Keep it up!  :D
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Havohej on 17 Dec 2014, 18:51
The other was when I came across some folks trying to defend a farm against a rogue giant. As it turns out, they were happy to have my help, and their leader, a woman named Aela, invited me to join her association, called "The companions". She said that I looked capable and they'd be happy to have me, "even if I was a mage".
How the fuck?

I've never even been able to land a hit on the bastard.  It always goes down just as I'm coming within sight, and then Aela talks shit.

On topic: another enjoyable series ^^

Soon as you get to the farms around Whiterun, got to start hauling rear to where the Giant is to land a hit. Managed to do that on the last character I had in Skyrim.

Either way, been reading this series as well. Keep it up!  :D
My best effort to date was to get within bowshot and lob an arrow, but the big oaf fell just before the arrow landed.  :(
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 17 Dec 2014, 19:55
The other was when I came across some folks trying to defend a farm against a rogue giant. As it turns out, they were happy to have my help, and their leader, a woman named Aela, invited me to join her association, called "The companions". She said that I looked capable and they'd be happy to have me, "even if I was a mage".
How the fuck?

I've never even been able to land a hit on the bastard.  It always goes down just as I'm coming within sight, and then Aela talks shit.

On topic: another enjoyable series ^^

Soon as you get to the farms around Whiterun, got to start hauling rear to where the Giant is to land a hit. Managed to do that on the last character I had in Skyrim.

Either way, been reading this series as well. Keep it up!  :D

Hey, thanks again. things like this help keep my motivation to write up - sometimes I just want to come home and veg.

Anyway, yeah, basically, the giant "event" fires right after you pass Honningbrew Meadery. If you then sprint, you can manage to get to the giant before it goes down, usually. For this character, wielding both Destruction and Two-handed, getting a hit only required having a firebolt handy (I believe I found it at the general store in Riverwood).
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Havohej on 17 Dec 2014, 21:07
Hm.  I never really thought about exactly what 'line in the sand' you cross to trigger the event.  With my graphics settings (not quite highest) I typically see the Giant from a fair distance, but yeah...  Next play through, I'll sprint from the Meadery with a ranged weapon.  It only takes one hit, aye?
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 17 Dec 2014, 21:14
Journal,
Not much to say this time, because the Soul Cairn...wasn't much of anything.

The Soul Cairn is a endless wasteland, under a dead sky. It strikes me that it fits Harkon's vision perfectly...above you, there is only an empty hole in the sky, forever hungering, and beneath it, a vast wasteland of basalt cyclopean ruins, fissured earth, and dead brush. I doubt that the brush was ever alive.

The air is thin, and the only smell is of dust. Pits dot the landscape, filled with strange white fire, and dark crystals hover over some ruins, but the only sounds are the hissing of the fissures, and cold wind howling through the basalt ruins of stone. Occasionally, one sees a soul, silent and hunched, or one of the Bonemen, Mistmen, and Wrathmen. Soul gems are everywhere.

I explored the area thoroughly. I found spell books to summon the Bonemen, Mistmen, and Wrathmen. I found the three gems of the Reaper, and plundered his house and killed him. I also learned to summon a skeletal horse, named "Arvak".

It had occurred to me to wonder why others, rather than making bargains with the Ideal Masters (the apparent rulers of this dimension), did not simply enter and take what they desired, as I did. But this place is hostile to all life...even I, as an undead being, found that it tried to separate soul and body. For a living thing, it would probably kill almost instantly.

We found Valerica, trapped in one of the ruins. She took an altogether rather confrontational tone with Serana, which I thought was somewhat interesting, considering her plight. On the other hand, Serana did not apparently feel inclined to take that sort of treatment, as she launched into a reasonably devastating diatribe, which I personally thought was justified. However, if I had any doubts about the relative decency of her mother, Valerica quelled them. She apologized, and explained that everything she had done, she had done for her daughter. Words, of course, mean little, but she backed them up by offering to give us the Elder Scroll we needed.

There was, of course, a catch: the Ideal Masters had apparently decided that Valerica's soul was just what they wanted, so they'd trapped her in that ruin, behind some sort of ward. There were three "Keepers" powering it, via several souls per "Keeper". These "Keepers" were arranged around the ruin, probably so that Valerica couldn't get at them. Well, that meant I could, so I killed them.

Incidentally, while I was at it, I met a soul calling himself "Saint Jiub", who drove out the Cliff Racers from Morrowind, whatever a Cliff Racer is. I'd been picking up pages of some book along the way - turned out it was his book, which he needed to complete his "Opus". Fine, whatever. I found a couple more, and turned ten of them in, which seemed to make him happy. He gave me a copy of the book, and a locket. The book is actually a fair read.

Anyway, taking down the "Keepers" meant we could get into the ruin. No sooner had we done so, though, then we were attacked by a dragon. We took it down with relative ease - with both Serana and I pelting it with spells, it had nary a chance - but it did summon Bonemen. No big problem, but I had expected to be able to consume its soul. Instead, I was bending over the puddle one of the Bonemen had left when I realized that the dragon wasn't burning - rather, it was disappearing.

Leaving that mystery for later, Serana and I accompanied Valerica and retrieved her scroll. She refused to come back with us, stating that it would put both the world and Serana in more danger. She told us that the prophecy that Harkon is seeking to fulfill is called "The Tyranny of the Sun", and if he uses Serana's blood to contaminate a weapon called "Auriel's Bow", he will be able to permanently darken the sun. As I already concluded, she also noted that vampires could not survive the crusade to remove the curse on the sun that would follow.

In addition, I'm not a fan of bleeding out Serana any more than Valerica is.

As we made our way out, we encountered the dragon again, significantly more friendly. He asked only that I summon him to Tamriel now and then, as he cannot otherwise leave the Soul Cairn. He also called me "Dovah", more evidence that I am dragon-born, I suppose. Perhaps I really should visit the Greybeards. No time to think of that now, though.

I have to say, it was good to be back in Tamriel, even in Valerica's ruined laboratory. I had worried that the Ideal Masters might try to trap us as they had trapped Valerica. For now, though, I've promised both Serana and Valerica that I'll return to tell Valerica once the coast is clear. And as Serana made clear to me when we left the Soul Cairn, if Harkon won't give up his desire to blot out the sun and kill his daughter, that means he has to go. Actually, Serana pointed out that Harkon will probably also want to kill me, as by accomplishing what he could not, I've proven to be stronger - and a threat.

We'll see about that.

In the meantime, we're off to find the last Elder Scroll. We've visited the Mages College again, who directed us to a hermit in the ice fields of the Sea of Ghosts. I made a bargain with the old man to bring him a copy of the Scroll in a Dwemer lexicon cube, which I shall. Eventually. At the moment, we need to find the scroll in this Dwemer ruin before anyone else does.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 17 Dec 2014, 21:14
Hm.  I never really thought about exactly what 'line in the sand' you cross to trigger the event.  With my graphics settings (not quite highest) I typically see the Giant from a fair distance, but yeah...  Next play through, I'll sprint from the Meadery with a ranged weapon.  It only takes one hit, aye?

That's right.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 21 Dec 2014, 22:34
Journal,

Well, finding the scroll was less difficult than I expected. That is to say, no trekking through the wastelands of some dead world on another plane. No, all we had to do was first go to the Mage's College, then track down an old mage trying to unlock a Dwemer puzzle box, then make our way through an seemingly endless Dwemer ruin, fight our way through an underground city, take a lift all the way from the subterranean depths to the heights of an observatory, then finally take readings of the Elder Scroll from an a arcane machine designed for the purpose, before getting to snatch the the Scroll.

I should note that I intend to return to that ancient and abandoned city, Blackreach. It is magnificent.

Of course, once we had the scrolls, Dexion couldn't read them. He'd gone blind, perhaps permanently, because he did not take the correct precautions before reading them. I don't know why - it wasn't as if I'd told him to "read the Scroll without proper preparations". Perhaps one needs to be perfectly precise when commanding thralls. Or perhaps Dexion just got unlucky.

Well, I didn't want Harkon to rip out his throat, so I asked Dexion what we could do. He suggested going to an Ancestor Glade and using the Ancestor Moths to help me ascertain the location of Auriel's bow.

There's not actually much to be said about that adventure. It was mostly in and out, with the directions Dexion gave us making things easy. Reading the Scrolls was, however, different. Watching yourself venture down different time streams, or up, rather, to select the one where you find the bow is draining. And difficult.

Of course, the Dawnguard decided to attack right as we were leaving. I don't know why they have it in for the two of us. It's not like we're the ones out attacking cities. We're not even looking to put the sun out. But every time I turn around, there they are. One of them had a writ of some sort on him - apparently Isran has decided to "condemn" me to death for the "crime" of vampirism. As if I were running around biting people - even if I wanted to, I haven't had the time. Well, he can condemn all he wants, but his failed attempts prove his words to be just that...words.

Still, he's beginning to irritate me.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 21 Dec 2014, 22:48
Journal,

We have the bow! We had to trek through a cave, and then undergo a small ritualistic pilgrimage - collecting water from a number of sacred sites to open a ruined chapel of Auriel - who is the ancient sun god of the Snow Elves. Apparently the Falmer used to be snow elves, before the Dwemer got hold of them, and at least one is still around - he still serves as the guardian of the chapel, and aided us in getting to it.

It turns out that his brother was also still alive, at least until we found him. He was a vampire, and apparently wrote the prophecy that we've been running around trying to rewrite. Well, after he tried to kill us so that he could be the one to blacken the sky, we destroyed him, and took the bow.

His brother, the guardian, was kind enough to give us some "sun-hallowed" arrows. I don't like to look at them, much less touch them - they almost seem to burn - but they should be very useful when we go up against Harkon. Which is what we must do now. I feel bad for Serana, but she's right. Her father won't give up until she's dead...and she's probably right about him planning to kill me once I'm no longer getting him what he wants.

And I suppose that there's also the fact that I don't want to live in a dead world. I've already seen what that looks like.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 27 Dec 2014, 16:40
Journal,

Well, we did it. Harkon is dead. It was a long fight, and a hard one.

We used Auriel's bow against Harkon, and although both Serana and I also suffered some burns from the sun-bursts, it nonetheless worked to stop him from simply regenerating at the shrine of Dagon.

Serana seemed a bit shaken after the fight. I can't blame her -  it must be tough to have to kill your father before he kills you. That said, we also ventured back into the Soul Cairn and retrieved her mother. Valerica was happy to be back in Tamriel, and I can't say that I blame her. Oh, and I'm apparently in charge now, or, at least, I have the run of the place. Not really "king" as Harkon was, but I suppose the others want a modicum of stability.

Anyway, I suppose that I should make my way up to High Hrothgar soon. I've put it off long enough.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 28 Dec 2014, 00:39
Journal,
Well, I went to High Hrothgar. The Greybeards were...interesting. Arngeir seems slightly full of himself, in that "wise man knows best" sort of way. They taught me a couple of shouts - well, that is, they taught me the next word of "Unrelenting Force"...yes, it turns out that these shouts are not just one word, but phrases - and "Whirlwind". "Whirlwind" is interesting - it moves you forward, and fast. After they taught me those, they sent me off to find an artifact: the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. Well, alright, whatever.

I was going to get it, but I got distracted. First, when I entered Whiterun on my way there, I was attacked by some cultists. After I killed them, I found a note on one of the bodies. Apparently there's someone in Solstheim who wants me dead. Well, I'm not quite ready to go to Solstheim, but I suppose I'd better plan on making the trip relatively soon.

In the meantime, I learned that there's a Bard's college in Skyrim, located in Solitude. That sounded interesting, so up to Solitude I went. Of course, they wanted something too - Viarmo, head of the college, wanted me to go get him a book. Apparently there's a festival here every year where they burn a king in effigy, but the current Jarl - Elisif - has banned it because her husband died. Or possibly because she's an annoying and incompetent puppet of the empire, from what I've seen at her court when I've gone to visit her court mage.

Anyway, I agreed to get the book. Insert your standard trek through an ancient nord ruin. This one was a bit different, though, as I had the ghost of an ancient bard helping me. Together we found his body, and the book, and then we went and together tore the undead remnants of King Olaf to shreds. It seemed only fair to let Svaknir (the bard) have the final blow. Then I looted the place and Svaknir disappeared off to wherever happy ghosts go.

Well, turned out that the book was in bad shape. So Viarmo and I made up some verses to fill in the blanks, and presented it to Elisif, who, pleased with our invention, allowed the festival to go forward. I admit, the festival seemed a little gloomy at the start, but then the bards and food hawkers started up, and things got more festive. I was accepted as a bard, and even got a little coin for my work. Unfortunately Elisif, apparently going overboard as always, declared that the festival would now take place once a week. From one extreme to the other, that's Solitude's Jarl for you.

Anyway, there were a few other things I could do for the Bard's College, specifically, fetching a few stolen or lost items. That wasn't hard, although one of the items was located in another ancient Nordic ruin with some ancient sorcerer trying to revivify himself by luring people into his cave and then into sacrificing themselves to fuel his regeneration. It must have been someone effective, because I had to kill him about seven times to make it stick.

That's all for now...having delivered their instruments, I think I'm going to see about dealing with a dragon that has been bothering the area around Shearpoint. Oh, and I still need to get that horn.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 28 Dec 2014, 13:55
Journal,
Well, I got distracted again. I found a book at the Bard's College called "The Aetherium Wars". It spoke of some extremely rare metal that the Dwemer found, and a forge they created for it. I decided to check it out, because...well, because I was curious. I don't need another reason.

When I arrived at and entered Arkngthamz, however, I encountered a voice telling me to go back. I didn't, and soon found myself in a vast fissure in the earth, on a small mesa-like island with a corpse. Well, not just the corpse - the woman's ghost also showed up - she was the one warning me to go back. I politely insisted that I could take care of myself, and she asked to come along. Katria (her name) has apparently been haunting these ruins, trying to stop adventurers from getting themselves killed, ever since she died doing the same. The reason she was here was that the guy who wrote the book (The Aetherium Wars) stole her research, and she was trying to prove her claims beyond a doubt.

Arkngthamz, aside from being a geologically unstable and mostly-destroyed Dwemer wreck, had little of unique note, save for a "tonal lock" - a vault wall which requires you to hit certain switches in the correct order if you want to get in. Of course, the Dwemer being the Dwemer, if you don't hit them in the right order, the construction starts releasing automatons with a distinctly irritable disposition. The combination was fairly easy to figure out, but being an old hand at killing Dwemer constructions (and more to the point, fond of looting them for parts), I intentionally got the sequence wrong a few times. I stopped when the bolts from a couple of mounted ballistas started raining down around me, and decided that I'd had my fun, and entered the right combination.

Inside, we found a piece of Aetherium. Sort of a light, glowing blue. I took it, and using Katria's journal, we quickly scavenged the rest of them from around Skyrim. It wasn't too hard - one of the pieces actually was just sitting on a pedestal out in the open up near Deep Folk Crossing.

Oh, and I did eventually make it to Shearpoint - Raldbthar (where one of the pieces was located) is close to it, so I had a fight with the dragon there. That went about as well as it could go - I surprised the marauder as he was resting on his Word Wall roost - but as he died, a coffin nearby broke open. I turned, expecting a Draugr, but instead it was...well, if I had to guess, I'd say it was one of the ancient Dragon Priests I've read a very small bit about. Like a lich, but far nastier. Unfortunately for him, Vampire Lord Dragonborn beats just-woken dragon lich. He had a mask, however, which seems...interesting. I'm going to hang on to it, as I'm hanging on to Katria's bow, Zephyr. She pointed it out to me while we were in Arkngthamz...it was hanging up on a log, lost during her fall. Interestingly, she seemed to have her own ghost version of it.

At any rate, with the four pieces of Aetherium in tow, we made our way to Bthalft. It didn't look like much - just a pedestal with a metal-vane globe on top, but Katria suggested I place the four crests into the pedestal, and then remove them.

With a great rumble, the ground quaked, and the pedestal rose up into the air, atop a small Dwemer tower. Inside was a lift, which took us down a long way. You could feel it.

Inside, there was a vast cavern, dark but for the dimmest light breaking through from some cave system far above. A Dwemer road - with ancient torches firing up to provide light as we walked along it - led from where we stood down into a small valley, across a bridge of natural stone, and then up a great stairway to the forge. It was...magnificent. And humbling. Like Blackreach, the ancient power and knowledge of the Dwemer is on full display.

The ruins were untouched. More than four thousand years have passed since someone walked in the Aetherium Forge - even the Dwemer had apparently long abandoned it even before their disappearance. It was...strange and exciting to be the first to see it in so long.

Of course, that didn't mean nothing had been walking the halls of the Forge. There were still some automatons there which Katria and I met shortly.

When we finally made it to the forge, it appeared that the Dwemer had found it necessary to use the heat of magma to power to forge itself. Steam was everywhere - and when I shut off the steam, we were swarmed by Dwemer spiders and spheres. As I noted earlier, I'm experienced in the killing of same, but what came after was not a pleasant surprise.

I've fought a few centurions before. They're nasty, but the trick is to stay back, hit them with stunning firebolts, and avoid their blasts of steam. This thing - the Forgemaster - was far deadlier. Fast, and fire didn't bother him a whit. He could breathe it, though, blasting us with bursts of flame. As a vampire, fire is hardly my most favorite element to be on the receiving side of...but fortunately, I'd kept that in mind, and enchanted my boots with a spell designed to resist flame. Also, I downed a potion with the same effect. That was enough to keep me from bursting into flame while I switched to ice magic, which eventually brought the monster down.

After that, it was easy enough to use the Aetherium forge. There were plans loaded for three artifacts: a crown, a staff, and a shield. The Staff was tempting, but the Crown is apparently designed to allow one to utilize the powers of two standing stones rather than one...both theoretically and practically more interesting and useful.

Katria was overjoyed to see the crown, and thanked me profusely before fading away...to Sovngarde, I suppose. If anyone deserves it, she does. It's a pity she didn't want to hang around - I found her company enjoyable, and I'll miss her. But I suppose she's done more than enough.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Havohej on 28 Dec 2014, 15:31
"The Aetherium Wars"
I've never done this quest.  Great journal entry, I'll have to check this out tonight!
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 28 Dec 2014, 19:01
It's part of the DawnGuard expansion pack, I think. Also, it has a lot of non-map locations, so finding all of the spots can be tough. Good luck!  :)
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Havohej on 28 Dec 2014, 19:19
Aye, just went through the first ruin.  I don't like those Centurion things, so I'm glad I got the tonal lock right on the first try (it's kinda 50-50, but I guessed the pattern correctly).  This ghost is one of the most engaging NPCs I've encountered yet imo, which for Skyrim is actually saying quite a bit.

I was a little :argh: when I got out in the world to find the other locations NOT marked on my map... but I'm off and searching for the spot by the river northwest of the starting ruins.  The more I think about it, the more I like that it's not as simple as pre-marked locations.  This way is much more immersive.   :D
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Morwen Lagann on 28 Dec 2014, 20:27
Also, that Zephyr bow that you get from the first part of the quest - it's one of the highest-DPS bows in the game (next to Dragonbone and Nightingale, iirc), if you happen to pay attention to or care about that sort of thing. ;)

Definitely one of my favorite quests from Skyrim, though. I was sad when Katria left. :(
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 29 Dec 2014, 01:50
Havo: yeah, finding some of the locations is pretty easy. Only one I had any trouble getting to was Raldbthar, because there are two entrances and one of them is locked. However, two minutes of searching isn't a great inconvenience...for someone who started with Morrowind, anyway.

Morwen: I very much am the sort to take that sort of thing into account, which is why Zephyr is stashed in my chest of cool stuff. However, this character isn't much of an archer, and I find that Destruction outperforms archery for any use save sneak-attacks. Destruction does more damage, its ammo (magicka) regenerates, and staggers virtually every enemy in the game (if you got the perk, which you should have). And provided the player buys or enchants his items with even a glance towards magicka use reduction, destruction spells are almost free.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 29 Dec 2014, 02:21
Journal,
Well, I finally made it to the tomb of Jurgen Windcaller. It was infested by rogue mages, bandits, and Draugr. The mages had pretty much wiped out the bandits, but were in turn being wiped out by the Draugr. Actually, it looked like the Draugr had been woken up recently: there were signs of recent human habitation even deep inside.

Well, it turned out that I was right to notice that, because someone had been deep in the tomb. Taking the horn I was supposed to retrieve, and leaving me a note. Something about meeting them and asking for an attic room at Riverwood's inn. I figured it had to be a code phrase, because the place isn't big enough to have a second story.

I was right. I went there, asked for the room, and promptly discovered that the innkeeper - Delphine - is more than she appears. She brought me down into a secret room below the inn, and showed me a map of dragon burials. I learned why this was important fairly quickly - Delphine was sure that dragons were being brought back to life. I was skeptical, but it did seem to explain where they'd been all this time. I have to say that she did give me the Horn, but I find her attitude both arrogant and demanding. She might be trying to help, as she says, but she's also trying to do so by both withholding information and being threatening.

Fortunately, Delphine, although a bit pushy, did have a plan. She'd spotted a dragon burial mound near Kynesgrove, and we agreed to meet there, as it fit the pattern for the next resurrection - provided dragons were being resurrected. We agreed to meet at Kynesgrove, and I headed off.

Well, what do you know. I'm heading up the road to Kynesgrove in the middle of a blizzard when a woman comes screaming down from the village, claiming there's a dragon attacking near the old dragon mound. When Delphine and I go sprinting up to the mound, there's the black dragon from Helgen. Hello, bastard.

However, it didn't seem interested in me. It was interested in the dragon mount. It spoke...something, and the mound heaved. As we watched, a skeletal form clawed its way out, and as it did, flesh and skin covered its bones, and it spoke back to the black dragon.

I've seen much, but I do have to admit, this was a bit more impressive and terrifying than much, if not all, I've experienced - although, frostbite spiders dropping from the ceiling still is the gold standard for terror, as far as I'm concerned.

Then the black dragon turned its gaze on me. He said some nasty things, then flew off, after ordering the newly resurrected Sahloknir to kill me.

Sahloknir tried, I'll give him that. But I've been fighting dragons a lot more than he'd been fighting Dragon-born, and it showed. His first mistake was using frost, seeing as vampires are nearly immune to it, and his second was...well, he didn't really get the chance for a second mistake. Delphine and I tore him apart, and I devoured his soul.

Delphine was pleased to have her theory proved true, but that was pretty much all she had. She explained that she is a member of a secretive order known as the "Blades", who are apparently sworn to serve the Dragon-born. Yeah, sure, and I crave the gentle caress of the sun on my skin. You don't "serve" someone by ordering them to prove themselves to you, demanding they prove your theories, and then telling them what they have to do after that.

Anyway, I agreed to meet her back at the inn. Which I will. Eventually.

In the meantime, I returned to the Greybeards. They were far more pleasant. Apparently, all I had to do was get the horn, and that was enough. They taught me the last word of "Unrelenting Force", and then welcomed me by speaking to me in the Dovah tongue. When they did, the mountain trembled. I probably trembled a bit too...there was power in their speech.

After that, they sent me off to find more words of power. One of them coincided with my finding an (grumpy) old alchemist in Windhelm a magical phial. Unfortunately, it turned out that it was damaged. Still, his assistant was kind enough to pay me something, and I found the word wall, so it wasn't a wasted trip. I'm now off to look for some other words.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 30 Dec 2014, 02:19
Journal,
Oh, so, remember how I went to the Mage's Guild to find some information on a certain Elder Scroll, in order to prevent/rewrite a certain prophecy - which reminds me, I need to check on how Serana is doing - and joined the college in order to get access to their library?

Well, I stopped by there again today to get some training in enchanting. And guess who had promised to take a tour of the facility and team up with the students to do some lessons? Right. Me. Oops.

Faralda and Mirabelle - Destruction instructor and dean of the college, respectively, were quite insistent this time. Apparently, it's not so much that they want me as a student, as that they think my expert level of knowledge in Destruction would be excellent for instructing other students. I tried pointing out that everything I knew about Destruction, I had learned from actually blasting, frying, or freezing various entities, but Faralda only noted that that was precisely what "Destruction" was about. I suppose she had a point.

I tried the same argument on Mirabelle, but she only responded that practical knowledge was the most useful. I wonder if she would be so interesting in my practical knowledge if I started educating students here on the best ways to become a vampire, the correct methodology for plundering the Soul Cairn (which, coincidentally, would also include becoming a vampire), or the best way to knock the head off a Dawnguard trooper/Vigilant of Stendarr with a firebolt before they can close with you?

Actually, based on the short list of rules I was given, she might not mind any of those, come to think of it. It pretty much boiled down to "don't kill anyone here, don't take their stuff, and try not to get caught doing anything that would make us look bad". I can live with that.

Anyway, off I went to my first..."lesson". To be quite honest, it wasn't really a lesson for me. An older man named Tolfdir - actually an approachable and kindly man - was lecturing on the dangers of magic, and then the two of us demonstrated the use of wards. After that, he suggested we all take a break to head off to Sarthal. The trip might take a bit for the rest of them, so I promised to show up in a couple days, and used the opportunity to find and learn another word, conveniently located at the end of a long trek through a Nord tomb, and guarded by a Dragon Priest.

Fortunately, aside from the Dragon priest, there was nothing of particular note in Volskygge....er, Volkygge...forget it. V-something. And the Dragon Priest, apparently without prior experience with vampires, tried to use frost magic on me, which meant that the Frost Atronach he summoned was actually more threatening than he was. Throwing freezing wind and ice at me? Annoying. An ambulatory ice statue hitting me over the head? Now that hurts. So I melted it. And the Dragon Priest. And stole his mask. And learned the last word of Whirlwind Sprint.

After reporting that to the Greybeards, I made my way to Saarthal. Along the way, I encountered a dragon flying over the glacier, who had it in for a snow bear. So I let the two of them battle it out, and then killed the winner (the dragon).

Once inside Saarthal - which seemed like a model excavation, I have to admit - Tolfdir put me to the task of helping Arniel Gane collect enchanted items. Easy enough, right up until I pulled an amulet off the wall and got locked in a room by a row of bars intersecting the doorway, activated by the removal of the amulet. Tolfdir suggested putting the amulet on, which I was skeptical of - I've heard a few horror stories about strangling amulets - but putting it on revealed that the wall the amulet had hung on was enchanted to crumble if hit by fire magic.

Heh.

Well, that lowered the bars, too. So, Tolfdir was soon by my side, egging us on deeper into the ruin. With me in the lead, I note, although, to be fair, I'm far better with Destruction magic than Tolfdir is.

I should make sure to note this - just as we started, something froze time, and an apparition appeared, making cryptic comments about how I had unleashed a chain of events, that I wasn't to blame, but the Psijic order believed in me. Then it - he? - was gone.

Uh...thanks. I should write more about that, but there isn't more to write. Just *poof* cryptic comments and *poof*. As if that's some sort of help. Maybe they could have done a little announcement before I pulled the amulet off the wall? Like "hey, maybe don't do that, and here's why?" or, if it's not a disaster I'm about to incite, maybe a "caution, momentous events ahead"? No, all I got was "hey, you may have royally screwed up, but it wasn't your fault, and we believe in you!"

Oh well.

We worked our way through Draugr and traps until we came to a great room, in which a giant orb sat...glowing teal, with rune-covered black bands and lacings. And magical. You could feel it coming off the orb. You could see it coming off the orb, too, because there was a very angry Draugr apparently siphoning energy from it.

Did I mention that the energy made him invincible?

If it wasn't somewhat hair-raising at the time, the spectacle of me running around the room trying to keep a Draugr busy while Tolfdir disrupted its connection to the orb would have been a bit hilarious. I may even find it funny myself, in a hundred years or so. But Tolfdir managed it, and deprived of his little protective shield, the thing went down quickly.

Of course, neither of us had any idea what the orb is, or does. So Tolfdir sent me off to see the Archmage. Savos Aren, the Archmage, seems nice enough, but a bit distant. I get the idea that the Archmage basically does his own thing while the Dean actually runs the college. In any case, he sent me back off to the library to find some books.

I've learned enough to expect that things are never that simple. As usual, this was the case. The books I need are...um...gone. As in, stolen. And the librarian is going to track them down for me. In the meantime, I suppose I'm going to try to track down another lead on the orb: the Draugr guarding it was apparently named Gauldur, and had a "Writ of Sealing" on him. There are apparently other "Gauldur" buried around Skyrim, and perhaps it has something to do with the orb.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 30 Dec 2014, 20:33
Journal,
The Gauldur amulet was a dead end. Well, a dead end for the Mage's College, that is, not for me. I, personally, received a rather nice magical artifact.

I started out by researching the legend of Gaulder in the College Library. What little was known about the legend indicated that it had something to do with three sons who killed their wizard father for his powerful amulet, then - and why they would do this, I have no idea - split the thing into three pieces, of which one was the piece I held from Saarthal. Then they split up and promptly all got killed by the current king's men.

The book's author had no idea of the burial place of any but one of the sons, and fortunately it wasn't Saarthal. It was Folgunthur, which turned out to be the site of a previous expedition. The camp looked to be a few weeks old, and about that long deserted, but there was a journal there belonging to a certain Daynas Valen. Not a particularly nice person, as he apparently had no scruples about robbery or murder in order to further his quest for the amulet. For example, he killed someone in Bravil for the Ivory Dragon-Claw key he needed to open Folgunthur. And he planned on fooling a group of adventurers he met into expending themselves upon the Draugr inside the tomb in order to net him his prize.

Personally, if I need something bad enough, I'll kill for it. I mean, I won't pay bandits a toll just to use the road. It's much more fun to simply smile, transform into a nightmarish creature of the night, and then rip the life force from their bodies. But if I want to get my hands on some spell books, I don't find the nearest wizard and murder him. I just buy the books. It's that sort of reasonable nature that sets the civilized man apart from a mere brigand. Also, I like to think that killing bandits, forsworn, Thalmor, and Vigilants of Stendarr is performing a public service, saving the common people from robbery, murder, racist religious tyranny, and overly preachy religious tyranny, respectively. And although I don't seek out Dawnguard to kill them, I like to think that defending myself against them raises the average intelligence level of society, just a tad.

Speaking of the Dawnguard, I have no idea why, but they will just not leave me alone. You would think that they would go after someone who was actually a demonstrable danger to the public. I can count the amount of times I have drunk blood on one hand, and most of those times were so that I could, I don't know, go kill a dragon in the daylight. Even more interestingly, in the interests of preventing marauding vampires from causing problems, I've actually cleaned out two or three rogue nests, with nary a Dawnguard in evidence. But if I take a few steps outside of city walls or the eyesight of a village guard, there's a more than small chance that some maniac with a crossbow and his dumb buddies are lurking there, just drooling for a chance at me.

On the plus side, sales of Dawnguard armor and weaponry will soon allow me to buy another house. In Solitude. With furnishings.

But I digress. In Folgunthur, I found quite a few bodies, both of the expedition and Draugr, as well as more than a few traps. I'm fairly experienced with those, now, although I did accidentally walk into a dart trap when I failed to notice a pressure pad. Ouch. On the plus side, being undead means that poison is a lot less impressive. I also found the body of Daynas Valen, and "liberated" the Ivory Dragon-Claw key. I'm starting to get a collection of those.

I also found the Draugr that was Mikrul Gaulderson, and killed him. Snatching the amulet, I made my way to the last son's tomb, and plundered that. He gave me a bit more trouble than the other two, as he knew "Unrelenting Force" and kept tossing me around the room like a child's ball toy. This did not improve my mood. Nor did the rather large fiscal impact of having to consume around five higher-end potions of healing. But I got him. Sigdis Gauldurson's fragment was mine.

Finally, following the directions in Daynas Valen's notes, I went to the tomb of the father, to reforge the amulet. Unfortunately, when I made my way down into the tomb, guess who was waiting for me? All three sons. I have no idea how they got there, but I had to fight them all again. Even after that, they weren't entirely discouraged from attacking me, until their father appeared as a ghost, and banished them. About time. Assholes. Archmage Gauldur also did me the favor of reforging the amulet, which strengthens one's body, soul, and stamina. It looks pretty nice, too.

Anyway, I'd best be off. More later.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 01 Jan 2015, 19:16
Journal,
Still no word from the College. In the meantime, I've been taking care of a few attacking dragons, and investigating a few more Nord tombs.

Found one, forget the name, with a Dark Elf treasure hunter whose crew had abandoned the dig site. She offered to split the treasure with me if I'd kill the Draugr. Seemed reasonable to me, but just as I got the final door unlocked, she rushed in to see what there was, only to get impaled on a spike trap. I suppose it's just as well - there was no actual treasure, only a Word Wall. She would have been terribly disappointed. Still, that was rather...annoying.

Found another one, a bit south of Morthal, filled with ghosts asking my forgiveness for attacking me. Turns out that it was the den of a rather...strange sort of necromancer. He had a rather clever trap, where those who entered the tomb immediately see a treasure chest, and the path to it includes a nice little nordic door in the floor, dropping victims into a cage. I figured this out afterwards - I didn't want the treasure so much as the word in the Word Wall behind it, and I have become cautious regarding nordic doors of all kinds, no matter their orientation. The necromancer himself was a nasty little man, with apparently a great delight in killing helpless mortals. I'd like to think that his death at the hands of a capable immortal had a bit of symmetry to it.

The last, and most interesting, of the tombs I've raided was one south of Riften, on a small mount covered by snow. Atop it, I found an elf in Stormcloak commander garb, who asked me if I would retrieve the mask of a Dragon Priest from the tomb, which was a holdout of a Dragon Cult after the Dragon War. Possibly the last holdout, actually.

I agreed, although internally I admit I was debating keeping the mask. Inside, the tomb was a scene of ancient horror. Upon being assaulted by the Nords, the members of the Cult had killed their own children, poisoned the water supply, and then poisoned themselves, sending themselves into undeath as ghosts or Draugr bound to the (now) tomb. The Nords had barricaded the place and left, probably a wise decision. Nonetheless, I made my way through the tomb, and finally killed the Dragon Priest who was primarily responsible. And took his mask.

And what do you know, as I made my way outside, I found the elf, now dressed in Imperial armor, asking an Imperial soldier to find the mask for him. The soldier promptly declared this to be a Thalmor trick, and attacked me and the elf. I attacked the soldier and the elf, and the elf attacked the soldier and I. I am now one mask richer, and there are fewer Thalmor and Imperials in the world by one. All in all, a good outcome.

Lastly, I did some work for Calcemo, the court wizard of Markarth. I'd picked up a magical dwarven mace a few days back, and Calcemo sent me a note asking if he could have it, as he is a researcher on the Dwemer. I've bought soul gems from him before, so I figured I might as well oblige. He quite reasonably took it off my hands for full price, and then offered me a proposition: if I would go kill a spider which had halted his excavation, I could have full access to the excavation and to Calcemo's museum.

The spider was easy enough to kill, but I found a note on a dead body in the webs that indicated a research team had already headed deeper into the ruins. When I brought it back to Calcemo, he explained that it was a colleague who had ignored Calcemo's warnings and never made it back. Calcemo was sure that they were dead, but offered me compensation if I retrieved their notes.

Deeper into the ruins, I found Falmer, lots of Falmer, and the research team. They had split up, and then been ambushed one at a time. The last one had been trying to activate the Dwemer security systems when he died. I turned them on, but I needn't have bothered - fighting my way back up through Dwemer automatons was more annoying than the Falmer would have been. Fortunately, Calcemo was very grateful for the notes, and rewarded me.

Incidentally, there's a man who wants to meet me at the defunct shrine of Talos in Markarth. He gave me a note the night I arrived in time to foil a murder in the marketplace. Perhaps I should check that out...
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 02 Jan 2015, 21:41
Journal,
I shouldn't have checked it out.

So, I met the man - Eltrys - at the shrine of Talos in Markarth. He wanted me to investigate the near murder in the marketplace. No problem.

My first stop was to investigate the potential victim, Margret. Turns out that she's an agent of General Tullius. Apparently the Silver-Bloods are Stormcloak sympathizers, and she was send to dig up dirt on them, hopefully to allow the Empire a pretext for seizing the silver mines.

I then went to the treasury house to see Thonar Silver-Blood. He was angry and dismissive, so I turned to leave, when his maid and manservant suddenly attacked the clerk at the counter and killed Thonar's wife. Thonar was...upset. In fact, he blamed me for the attack - not sure why - and said he'd see me rot in Cidhna Mine. On the upside, he did let it leak that he had the king of the Forsworn locked up in Cidhna Mine. Apparently he felt that holding the king (Madanach) would make the Forsworn more pliable.

Aside from that knowledge, Thonar was pretty much a dead end. So I decided to try to track evidence down by tracing the (would-be) killer. Turns out that he was a worker in the forges, and lived in the slums known as the Warrens. The man turned out to be named Weylin, and had a note instructing him to act in his quarters. When I left the Warrens, I was accosted by a thug who told me he was going to make sure I kept my mouth shut. This was a godsend, as the note to Weylin only had the letter "N" as a signature. I beat the thug within an inch of his life with the rest of the foundry workers looking on, and then extracted a name: "Nepos the nose".

Right. I tracked down the house belonging to Nepos the Nose, and managed to get an audience with him. Surprisingly, he confessed everything: Madanach was indeed the Forsworn king, and he was indeed in Cidhna Mine. However, Madanach had no intention of complying with Thonar's demands, and was in fact coordinating the rebellion from inside the prison, as well as the various murders around town.

Less surprisingly, Nepos then informed me that I was neither the first nor the last to get this far, and I wouldn't leave the room alive. In his arrogance, he had apparently not appreciated that one must carefully consider who - or what - one invites into one's home.

Dropping the last body, I made my way back to the Shrine of Talos to meet Eltrys. He was dead, apparently at the hands of either Nepos or the City Guard. My money is on Nepos, though, as the Guard just throw people into Cidhna Mine. As they did me, for being an annoying busybody, and also a convenient patsy for the recent murders. Well, I suppose "patsy" is pushing it. After all, I did kill Nepo's entire little circle. But then, I claim self-defense.

I suppose I could have resisted arrest, but I actually wanted to meet - and kill - Madanach. Also, I was pretty sure that no prison yet made can hold a Dragon-Born Vampire Lord.

I would like to point out, by the way, that I am not a fan of the Forsworn. I've seen things in Forsworn camps that put Daedric cults, vampire lairs, and necromancers to shame. Many Daedra are worshipped out of an appreciation for that Daedra's qualities, or for some ideal. Vampires and werewolves, at their worst, are slavering, hungry beasts, predators. Necromancers desire knowledge and power (usually). But the Forsworn enclaves don't seem to just utilize the cruel and insane when necessary - they seem to pursue it for it's own sake. It's not that they butcher animal and human alike for ritual or need - they glory in it. Their bastions are one long festival of dried blood, rotting flesh, and bones. The heads of dead animals on spikes, on walls, entrails spread around like some obscene paint. Oh, and they revere and worship hag-ravens, those diseased abominations that feast on human flesh.

When I met Madanach, he confirmed the truth of what I'd discovered, and mockingly asked if I wanted revenge for the deaths and attacks. I confirmed that I wanted just that, and killed him. Looking him over, I discovered that he had an escape plan and tunnel. Convenient. I also discovered that the other prisoners were Forsworn, and were displeased by the death of Madanach. Failing to realize that it was not I that was trapped in the mine with them, but rather that they were trapped in there with me made my rampage all the sweeter.

The tunnel out was populated by the standard enemies: spiders, dwarven automatons, etc. When I reached the exit, Thonar Silver-blood was there. He had apparently thought better of his action, and his guards, when entering the mine in order to free me, had discovered the dead Madanach and the escape tunnel. He returned my equipment, offered me a family heirloom for my trouble, and explained that he'd cleared my name with the Jarl. Then he walked off.

Well, I still don't care for the Silver-bloods. I think that they are greedy, manipulative bastards. But I suppose I won't show up in Thonar's house on some dark night looking for payback.

In any case, I've finally received word from the Mage's College as to where those books are located. Time to introduce myself to Fellglow Keep.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 03 Jan 2015, 16:47
Journal,
Fellglow Keep was easy. Almost all conjurers. For a sorcerer, wearing heavy armor and able to attack in melee and at range, combat was no contest.

The thief was apparently under the impression that I was there for him. I took pity and freed him. The conjurers had also imprisoned several vampires, which I also freed, and who took their irritation out on their former captors.

Anyway, after getting the books, I've been assigned to go look for the Augur of Dunlain, which I intend to. In the meantime, I'm going to put down my impressions of some of my colleagues here at the college.

Of those who entered the college when I did, I enjoy spending time with Brelyna Maryon and J'zargo. Onmund is often a bit too uptight and defensive. J'zargo is ambitious, but also, oddly for a Khajitt, fairly guileless, being quite open about his hopes, plans, and dreams. He's competitive, but has a healthy attitude about it, seeing the success of others as an incentive for personal advancement. Brelyna is smart and very modest about her own abilities.

I think the person at the college I've been most impressed with is Faralda, an Altmer who specializes in Destruction magic. She, along with Mirabelle Ervine (the current dean), seems to be one of the most level-headed and clear-eyed of the mages here. This is all the more interesting considering that the stereotype of Destruction mages is...less level-headed.

Ancano is the Thalmor "advisor", and has generally been a sticker-thorn in the sock for just about everyone here. In fact, right before my writing this, he dragged me up to the Arch-Mage's quarters to meet a Psijic mage. Ah, I forgot to write that down above. Well, typical Psijic double-speak, but the Psijic is the one who ordered me to find the Augur of Dunlain.

Colette Marence is the local Restoration expert, but she also has an unpleasant personality with a tendency to whine, combined with a persecution complex. Drevis Neloren, on the other hand, Is a bit absent-minded, but generally pleasant.

Mirabelle Ervine is business-like, strict, but reasonable. I very much have the impression that it is the Dean that runs the college, and that the Arch-Mage is generally there for status and firepower.

There are quite a few others, of course, but that's all I can write for now. Time to go find the Augur.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 03 Jan 2015, 17:12
Journal,
Well, after some searching around, I persuaded Mirabelle Ervine to tell me where the Augur was. In the midden. Seems a strange spot, but, oh well.

When I found the Augur, he indulged in the standard "mystical speech". Seriously, what is it with that? It's never useful, never helps, just makes whoever is giving it look like a pretentious shit. Oh well. He told me that I needed to find the Staff of Magnus to avert some great disaster.

I went to tell Savos Aren (the Arch-Mage) this, and he directed me to Mirabelle again. After chasing her down, she informed me that some Synod (some other group of mages) researchers had come to the College, and were investigating Mzulft. This wouldn't be important, save for the fact that they had mentioned the staff. So, now I'm off to Mzulft, in the Rift.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 03 Jan 2015, 17:36
Journal,
Mzulft. Full of Falmer, Dwemer Automatons, and dead Synod. Well, not all dead, but I wish they were.

I made my way through the ruin, until I found the last Synod researcher. Along the way, I'd picked up a "focusing crystal", and it turned out that that was integral to what came next.

See, the Synod researchers had been working on developing a way to use Dwemer technology to create a map of magical loci throughout Skyrim, by using some sort of "Oculory" to focus starlight. Well, together, he and I finished the project. Of course, after the map was created, he immediately noticed that the College had become a massive loci of magical power, and promptly accused me of trying to sabotage his project. Eventually, I managed to get him to help me figure out that the Staff was probably in Labyrinthian, after which he announced his intention of heading back to Cyrodiil to "tell them everything".

Perhaps I should have killed him, but, at this point, I'm not really worried about the Synod. They have no power in Skyrim, and based on their performance against rather mediocre Falmer and Dwemer threats, I suspect that they are little threat. I've also heard that they've banned both Necromancy and Conjuration, which probably also means that they do little Enchanting. No wonder the College of Whispers is winning their little power struggle in Cyrodiil. In fact, Faralda says that the Whispers are trying to get the Synod labeled a political minority unworthy of recognition.

Unfortunately, when I came back, the College was in turmoil. Ancano had locked himself in with the Eye (the orb from Saarthal), and warded the entrance to the Hall of Elements. Savos Aren and Mirabelle Ervine asked me to help break through it, and I did, with fire magic. Unfortunately, Savos Aren then had the bright idea of running up to Ancano. A moment later, there was a bright flash, and I came to lying on the floor, with Mirabelle asking if I was alright. I was, but Ancano had re-warded himself, and Savos Aren, the Arch-Mage, was nowhere to be seen. Mirabelle was injured, but asked me to go look for him.

I found him outside, with Tolfdir. Tolfdir told me that Savos Aren was dead, which was quite apparently true, having been apparently blasted through the doorway by Ancano. I should remember to be grateful more often for ebony armor. Tolfdir also told me that Ancano had set some sort of magical attackers against Winterhold.

With Faralda and Arniel Gane, I rushed down the bridge and we took on the glowing orbs that were whistling through the streets of Winterhold. They looked a lot like the wisps in the Soul Cairn, and there might be a connection, as they appeared to be somehow composed partly of soul gems.

When I returned to Mirabelle, she and Tolfdir were trying to contain Ancano's expanding ward. She told me that Savos Aren had given her something, which he intended for me. It was a torc, ancient Nordic, shaped like a door knocker. She told me that I should go to Labyrinthian and retrieve the Staff, as it might hold the key for defeating Ancano, as it can theoretically drain magical energy.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 03 Jan 2015, 17:51
Journal,
Labyrinthian was...a labyrinth. And I think I learned a bit more about Savos Aren there. After using the torc to enter Labyrinthian, I began to see...historical ghosts, I guess. Apparitions of what had happened long ago. It turns out that Labyrinthian held an ancient evil, a Dragon Priest named Morokei. Savos Aren and a group of his friends from the college had come to Labyrinthian to investigate it, only for most of them to die - at least one of them to an ancient, undead dragon skeleton.

When they made it to the final chamber, there were only three left. Unfortunately, inside, they woke up Morokei. Savos Aren used the souls of his two friends to hold Morokei in a binding, apparently. When I entered, I released them from their torment, and then killed the boastful Morokei. And took his mask, as well as the Staff of Magnus he carried.

Oh, and then, on my way out, I was ambushed by another Thalmor, trying to make sure Ancano succeeded. Ancano is not working alone, it seems. Unless this Thalmor was his only assistant, in which case he is working alone now.

When I returned to the College, Tolfdir met me. He informed me that Mirabelle was dead, killed getting the others out. As for the College, well, Tolfdir and I were speaking out on the walkway, as the College was completely warded off by Ancano's whirling blue energy field. However, as predicted, the Staff of Magnus easily dispersed it.

The Staff was equally as useful when we entered the Hall of Elements. Ancano was completely impervious to any spell, drawing power from the Eye as he was. Fortunately, the Staff also worked well to end that little trick, closing up the Eye to Ancano and rendering him vulnerable once again. Good thing, too, as he'd taken my work on the Eye as an opportunity to paralyze Tolfdir, and I had to take him on myself.

For all of his boasting, though, Ancano was only a good mage as long as he could tap into power strong enough to render his own limitations inconsequential. Once he was separated from the Eye, he went down, hard, to only a couple Incinerate spells.

Once he was down, the Psijics showed up again. They took the Eye (and good riddance), before telling me that they were proud of my success and that I would make a good Arch-Mage. Uh...thanks.

I wasn't sure about what to think about them taking the Eye. On the other hand, it's apparently just until the world is ready for it, and frankly, it can't be left here at the College. As well, I don't know what to think about being made Arch-Mage - as it happened, Tolfdir and the others agreed with the Psijic. But then, it is mostly a ceremonial position, and Tolfdir will be Dean, handling the operations of the College. I certainly have no complaint with helping out now and then.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 04 Jan 2015, 18:23
Journal,
The island of Solstheim is...strange. Ashlands, woods, and glacier. Definitely full of variety.

I arrived here after investigating the note I found on the body of those cultists a bit back. I probably should have come sooner, but here I am.

The settlement of Raven Rock appears to have fallen on hard times. There are several out of work miners - the local ebony mine is out of ebony, apparently - and no one can tell me who Miraak is, although the name is familiar to almost all. The ash from Red Mountain is held away from the settlement by "The Bulwark", a large wall, and by sheltering cliffs. It should be a prosperous settlement, but the lack of farms or an income source mean that it is slowly disintegrating, despite the efforts of Lleril Morvayn, Councilor, and Adril Arano, Second Councilor. Lleril is a good leader, so far as I can tell. In fact, he's currently covering some of the expenses of the colony from his personal treasury, if the conversations I've overheard are correct. He obviously can't keep that up forever.

Despite all this, the Dunmer here are remarkably friendly, save for a couple - well, one - glaring exception: the local orc thug and loan shark. He spends his time haunting the local pub and stalking around the town, demanding money. I dislike him for that, which means that his life expectancy has become somewhat...diminished.

Anyway, a couple people mentioned that the name "Miraak" reminded them of the "Earth Stone", a standing column outside of town to the south-west. When I arrived there, I found several of the locals in a trance-like state, mumbling and building some sort of shrine. Oh, and a Telvanni wizard, Neloth, who, although a bit eccentric, was quite informative. Apparently Miraak has been dead - or gone - for thousands of years, although there is a temple to him being constructed in the middle of Solstheim. That's all Neloth knew, so I suppose I'm off to the temple tomorrow.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 04 Jan 2015, 18:45
Journal,
The habits of mortality die hard. No sooner had I finished the previous entry, then I set off to the local inn (The Retching Netch). It wasn't until I had rented a room and was about to lie down that I remembered that I didn't need to sleep, and that, in fact, night would be the best time to go investigate the temple. So, not wishing to arouse suspicion, I snuck out of the inn and made my way towards the temple.

Good thing I did, too, because I discovered Captain Veleth, commander of the local Redoran Guard, trying to fight off three ash-spawn (basically, sort of ash-atronachs, or ash zombies). I stepped in to help him, and once they were slain, we discovered a written "declaration of war" on one of the dead spawn. Apparently someone in the decrepit Fort Frostmoth doesn't care for us. Well, I promised the Captain that I'd look into it as soon as I'd checked out the temple.

The temple itself was much like the shrines in style and condition, being rebuilt by entranced natives of the island. But I'm on the right track: I encountered a few cultists around the temple. I also found a Skaal - a member of a local tribe of Nords - named Frea there, trying to rescue her friends from their trance-like state. We agreed to team up and entered the temple.

The temple was similar in nature to other Nord ruins, with plenty of Draugr and other undead, as well as more cultists. We found little of note, until we reached the final room of the temple, hidden though it was behind a fake wall. There, on a pedestal, sat a Black Book. I cannot describe how it seemed, except to say that it was...almost ethereal, and yet entirely too solid. Naturally, I opened it, and seconds later found myself wrapped in tentacles, and then..."pulled" through reality. On the other "side", I found myself under a flaming green sky, on an island in an oily black sea. And there was Miraak, who spoke a few dismissive words and had his minions throw me back to Nirn, the mortal plane.

It was...unpleasant.

Back on this plane, I told Frea what I had seen. She recommended that we go and visit her father, the shaman of the Skaal village. We did so, and I told him (his name is Storn) what I had seen. He explained that Miraak was an ancient Dragon-Born who had rebelled against the dragons, and failed. The Black Books are artifacts of the Daedric Lord Hermaeus Mora, and Miraak is apparently holed up in Apocrypha, Mora's realm. Storn theorized that Miraak is behind the reconstruction of the temple and of the shrines around the large "Stones", probably to harness their power in order to return Miraak to Solstheim.

Storn then offered me an opportunity for frustrating Miraak: if I went to the far north of Solstheim, I would find a Word Wall where I could learn the "Bend Will" shout, which would allow me to break Miraak's hold on the Stones and make his return more difficult. I agreed, but first I have to visit Fort Frostmoth.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 04 Jan 2015, 19:04
Journal
Well, Fort Frostmoth was the source of the ash-spawn attacking Raven Rock. Apparently someone - long gone, but they'd left their notes - decided it would be interesting to try putting a "heart-stone" into a two-hundred-plus-year-old corpse. And then the poor Imperial Commander so revived decided to kill anyone on the island not submitting to Imperial authority.

Of course, this is predictable. Even a second-rate necromancer knows that you can't just revive a body. Either the soul must be recalled somehow from the afterlife, or the corpse must be maintained under magical control. Otherwise, you end up with what we had here: a body, superficially capable of action, but without the capability of comprehension of any new reality. This is in contrast to a ghost, which is technically capable of any mental operations necessary, but is largely incapable of detailed interaction with physical objects, although most ghosts can still strike at living beings or objects utilizing magical energies, such as Dwemer creations.

But I digress. I cleared the fort, and ended the threat, as well as cleaning out the Temple's Ancestral Tomb (in Raven Rock) for Elder Othreloth. Now I'm off to Saering's Watch, right after I take a quick trip to the mainland to sell a few items.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 04 Jan 2015, 19:14
Journal,
Well, it appears that Miraak has decided to start taking "my" dragon souls. While I was on the mainland, I fended off a dragon attack, only for Miraak to show up in ethereal form and consume the soul of the dragon. How...rude.

Ah well. In any case, I made my way back to Solstheim, and to Saerin's Watch. There was a Word Wall there, and a dragon, and several Draugr, but while I killed the Draugr and learned the word, the dragon took off and did not return. How odd.

I then returned to the Skaal village and from there, made my way to the Wind Stone. Using the first word of "Bend Will" resulted in a spectacular explosion of the half-constructed shrine, and an attack from some sort of...abomination. I killed it, and discovered that the entranced Skaal were now back to normal, albeit somewhat disoriented. I can understand - before I used the "Bend Will" shout, I'd touched the stone...and found myself hammering away at construction of the shrine. Fortunately, I was able to break away from the compulsion, although not without effort.

Anyway, I then returned to the Skaal village, where Storn informed me that Neloth knew more about the Black Books, and asked me to free the other Stones, save for the one in the center of Miraak's Temple, which, being the center of Miraak's efforts, cannot be freed until Miraak is dead. Although it took a bit of work to walk all over the island, I've spent the last few days traveling to each stone and breaking the shrines, and am now on my way to Neloth.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 04 Jan 2015, 19:32
Journal,
I quite like Neloth, although perhaps I shouldn't. He's rude, somewhat uncaring, and often sarcastic, but he possesses an inquisitive detached air that's both entertaining and disarming. He's also incredibly matter-of-fact and openly self-centered...yet more in a drive for knowledge sort of way than a power-hungry or greedy way.

He was also incredibly helpful. The instant I explained what I was about, he was out of his tower and off to a Dwemer ruin, explaining that there was a Black Book inside that would explain the source of Miraak's power.

I won't go in to the long and complicated process of re-engineering the pumping system that it required to access the Black Book within the flooded ruin, but I will say that working with Neloth was a rare pleasure. Oh, he was somewhat condescending and sarcastic, but also highly competent and very informative, as well as being a capable, level-headed fighter. Of course, he's been around for centuries, so I suppose he's had time to practice.

Anyway, we found the Black Book, and I read it. Inside, I made my way through the halls of Apocrypha, under that alien and burning green sky, through stretching halls and whirling pages of lost secrets. Well, some of them were lost. I picked up quite a few books for later reading. It's not like they'll be missed - there are literally walls of ancient books and scrolls.

But I think the most disturbing thing about Apocrypha is that endless sea. The sky is alien, but nowhere near as threatening as the Soul Cairn's. Yet, in Apocrypha, that oily black sea, which burns if it touches flesh, goes on forever...the occasional writhing limb extended from it. What abominations lurk beneath those dark waters?

In any case, I found my way to the end of this particular maze, where Hermaeus Mora confronted me. Actually, this is not the first time I have spoken to the Daedric Lord. I believe I forgot to write in this journal about it, but I performed an errand for Septimus Signus that ended up with Septimus getting...vaporized, and me holding the Oghma Infinium - all, sort of, at the behest of Hermaeus Mora. That is to say, I performed a task for Septimus, and Mora did what Mora wanted to do, and then claimed I did it in his service. I haven't read the Oghma Infinium yet.

Well, Mora reminded me of that encounter, and then taught me the second word of "Bend Will". Apparently Mora isn't entirely pleased with Miraak's little escape attempt (from Apocrypha), and has decided to see if I can defeat him. However, I will need all three words of "Bend Will", and Mora will not give me the last unless I get the secrets of the Skaal for him.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 04 Jan 2015, 19:37
Journal,
Hermaeus Mora has just killed Storn.

I brought the news of what Mora had said back to Storn. He agreed to give Mora the secrets, though it would cost him his life, and read the book. I objected beforehand that there ought to be a better way, but Storn stated that the Skaal had prophesied that this day would come, and read the book anyway.

Well, Mora got his secrets - apparently nothing noteworthy, just knowledge he had wanted to acquire, and I learned the word. Storn was, apparently, collateral damage. I think that Mora should figure out a better way of acquiring knowledge than ripping people's minds apart.

I'm going to read the Black Book, "Waking Dreams", and confront Miraak. Might as well do it now, while I'm still angry.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 04 Jan 2015, 19:54
Journal,
Miraak is dead.

I fought my way through Apocrypha until I found one of his dragons, Sahrotaar, who I bent to my will with the "Bend Will" shout. I rode him to Miraak's tower, and there fought Miraak, after speaking with him. Miraak stated his intention to consume my soul and then use my power to escape Apocrypha, re-establishing himself as the ruler of Solstheim. There was no reasoning with him.

Miraak was far more gifted in the use of his nature as a Dragon-born than I am, but he was a less capable combatant in magic and steel. I wonder if his ability to shout led him to underestimate the power of more mundane techniques? Perhaps. Or perhaps he had become too dependent on his patron Mora.

As the fight went on, he continually restored himself by killing his subordinate dragons and consuming their souls to fuel his own life-force. That worked until he ran out of dragons. I, personally, found my belt of health potions both more convenient and more adequate to the task. But then, Apocrypha is rather barren of alchemical ingredients or potions, so I suppose Miraak had no other option besides dragons.

Seeing that I was about to win, Mora took the opportunity to steal my victory, impaling the wounded Miraak with a tentacle and taunting him, which I thought was in poor taste. In any case, I consumed Miraak's soul, and took his equipment, as Mora gloated behind me and proclaimed me his new Champion.

Well, Mora can think what he wants.

I think I understand Hermaeus Mora a bit more. For all that he is claimed to be a powerful corrupter, I don't think that he is. Hermaeus Mora cannot corrupt you, he can only tempt you, trade with you, as he did with the Skaal. You are only corrupted by your own choice to trade with Mora, to serve Mora. Miraak wasn't trapped in Apocrypha just because he read a Black Book - he was trapped in Apocrypha because he traded his subservience to Mora for power and for a refuge from the dragons he had betrayed.

But for all that Hermaeus Mora proclaims me his Champion and his agent, I am not. I have agreed to nothing, and I am not tempted to make trades for Mora's power and secrets. Nor am I tempted to spend ages prowling the islands of Apocrypha. If I want something from this place, I shall simply take it. And for all that Mora claims that my free will is an illusion, and that I serve him, he lies. I know that I don't, unless I believe I do. Mora can tempt, but he is not Molag Bal - he cannot force.

I have returned to Nirn, and spoken to Frea. Storn's sacrifice was not in vain: with the death of Miraak, Solstheim and its Stones are free. Frea cautioned me about Mora, and I listened. Now I shall return to Raven Rock.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 04 Jan 2015, 20:29
Journal,
The ebony mines are open again! And all because I offered to help Glover Mallory get his pickaxe back.

Talking to the local blacksmith, I found out that he'd loaned Crescius Caerellius, a local miner, his "Ancient Nordic Pickaxe". At the same time, the local innkeeper and bartender, Geldis Sadri, had asked me to pass out some samples of his new Sujamma blend. Why not, I though, combine the two errands and offer the miner a sample of the Sujamma in exchange for returning the pickaxe?

Well, when I found the miner, he was inside the old mine, having an argument with his Dunmer wife (he's an imperial, if I don't miss my guess, and I don't). She, obviously concerned for his welfare, didn't want him venturing down into the mine, while he stubbornly insisted that he had to find out what had happened to his great-grandfather, who disappeared in a purported cave-in long before.

I offered both Crescius and his wife (Aphia) some Sujamma, and then spoke to each of them about Crescius's desire to investigate the mine. Talking to Crescius, I offered a compromise: give me the pickaxe, and I'll investigate the mine. He agreed, and after returning the pickaxe to Mallory - who promptly gave it right back to me (apparently he just wanted Crescius to be more responsible) - I entered the mine. It didn't take long to break through the closed-off section, and I discovered that the "cave-in" had, indeed, been only a cover story. However, contrary to Crescius's dark suspicions about the East Empire Company, they had had a good reason: the miners had broken into an ancient Nordic barrow.

Making my way through the barrow, I discovered his ancestor's remains, as well as his notes and an ancient blade, which, when used on a magical lock, allowed me to clear the rest of the barrow and kill a Dragon Priest guarding a Black Book, before making my way out to the surface. Crescius was overjoyed to learn of my success, and clearing the barrow allowed further investigation by Crescius, revealing several deep veins of ebony ore, which, after a bit of renovation in the mine, have allowed it to be reopened.

Of course, this last has occurred over the past week or two, as I have been doing errands for Neloth and making a few trading trips to the mainland. Nonetheless, the atmosphere and mood of Raven Rock have brightened considerably, even more so after I foiled an assassination plot against the First Councilor. As well, the destruction of the source of the ash-spawn attacks has made farming on the outskirts a much safer proposition.

I can't say that this is all my doing, of course - without Crescius's determination, Raven Rock would have been doomed. But it's still good to know that one can have such a positive effect.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Vikarion on 18 Feb 2015, 19:05
Just as a note: I haven't forgotten about this, but I've sort of over-skyrim-ed myself for a bit. I intend to continue this at some future point, but for now I'm taking a two or three month break.

However, I did enjoy this, and I'm planning to do one for a single-player 7 Days to Die game.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Morwen Lagann on 18 Feb 2015, 20:16
I know how you feel. I've been playing (and streaming) a lot of Skyrim lately myself.
Title: Re: The Adventures of Vikarion the Red, vampire sorcerer in Skyrim.
Post by: Ché Biko on 01 May 2017, 12:06
I'll just leave this semi-related tale here:

So, I was roleplaying in Oblivion some time ago, and I had just been Jedi mindtricked into bringing the Amulet of Kings to Weynon Priory. But night was falling, and I did not want to travel the possibly dangerous roads in the dark. So I hired a room in some inn, and prepared to go to bed. I took of my clothes and stored my stuff in a chest or something until I was just standing in my underwear with the amulet in my hands. The amulet refused to be stored in the chest, it would also not be placed on the table. When I tried to put it around my neck, it slipped off, yet strangely did not fall to the floor. Not knowing what else to do with it, I shoved the Amulet of Kings down my underwear and went to bed.