Fivefold Venerations

Skyrim from an Altmer-eye-view

[fivefold-venerations]

“Every last piece of armor I wear and every last weapon I wield is carefully enchanted to best suit my purpose. The Divines have placed me in a seemingly precarious role as the Dragonborn of legend, but I don’t believe they have faltered. My physical strength and endurance are indeed lacking, but I have quickly learned to use my mind to make up for such shortcomings, especially when I am unable to complement my own abilities with those of my friends and allies. 

Syrabane has blessed me with an intricate understanding of the arcane, and Zenithar has bestowed the gift of craftsmanship upon me. I suppose I should give credit to Moranwe as well for her patience with me as I learned the art. I have grown since, and damn near perfected my enchantments…and with such knowledge at my disposal, I fear very little of this world and perhaps even beyond.”

[fivefold-venerations]

The box contains the heart. The essence of a god.

Septimus Signus, on the Dwemer lockbox in his outpost

[fivefold-venerations]

Greetings followers, user For-All-Kings here! Mara’s blessings for a happy Valentine’s Day to all!

Here’s a new piece of original artwork of Jenassa and Elerae sharing a quiet moment on a bridge in Whiterun Hold. I didn’t have an exact place on the timeline in mind when I made it. Let’s say it’s sometime in Sun’s Dawn 203, so they’ve been married for about a month.

"I swear it, Jenassa. Come, fight by my side until the world dares try and take us."

[fivefold-venerations]

“I hunt mammoths from time to time. These creatures, as well as the giants that herd them, are as enormous as they are stupid, making them an easy enough kill if they are taken down from a distance with caution. The problems start when you find yourself surrounded by them. Of course, it would be foolish to hunt mammoths for sport alone. While it is true that their tusks fetch a fair sum of Septims, I hunt them for their very souls. These souls can fuel even the most powerful and complex of my enchantments.

Here, I had just felled a giant and his herd with my good friend Kharjo when we were attacked by bandits. We were both worn out from the hunt, so I tapped into my birthsign’s power, using the Ritual to reanimate the giant and mammoths alike. From a distance, we watched them tear apart the brigands, who I’m sure immediately regretted their collective decision to attack us. 

Necromancy has saved my life on more than one occasion. To think that the Empire deemed such magic to be wicked back in Cyrodiil!”

[fivefold-venerations]

Today marks the last day of Evening Star, and therefore the end of the year. Have safe and happy New Year everyone, and remember:

If Sam Guevenne offers you a drink, just say no! And do not, under any circumstances, try to outdo him in a drinking contest!

[fivefold-venerations]

“The White River is the longest river in Skyrim, flowing out of Lake Ilinalta in Falkreath Hold past Riverwood, Whiterun, and up through Eastmarch to the Sea of Ghosts.

The sight of a vivid sunset reflecting off the water’s surface is enough to bring me to my knees in awe. In the end, even the most gifted elemental mages have little control over the power of nature. The gods have blessed us with beauty all through Tamriel, if one’s eyes are discerning enough to find it.”

[fivefold-venerations]

Elerae Joreus, 202 4E

Greetings and Fivefold Venerations, this is For-All-Kings with some original artwork for you! If this one seems familiar, that’s because it’s the full version of the avatar I’ve been using for this blog. I made this using Adobe Illustrator CS6, then cropped it down with GIMP.

More to come!

“Beware! My temper is quicker than my wit, and my lightning even more so.” -Elerae Joreus

[fivefold-venerations]

“In 176 4E, my father, Anaril Joreus, accepted an offer to become a Thalmor inquisitor, leaving his previous position as a warlock in the Dominion Army. Based on the stories he’s shared with his associates and myself, the interrogations were formulated to do much more than gather intelligence. The object was to extract information while simultaneously breaking the subject’s mind irreversibly. And judging from the way he talked about it, Father thoroughly enjoyed the latter.

Father’s associate Mirahil once told me about the messier side of his work. She said he was sure to keep a healer at hand to keep the subject alive - barely. He would utilize the destruction and illusion schools of magic to torment both body and mind until he got the answers he wanted, though sometimes the interrogations didn’t end there. Mirahil said that my father’s magicka reserves would sometimes run dry, at which point he wasn’t above casting equilibrium, draining his own lifeforce to prolong the subject’s suffering.

I have met few so wicked as my father, even among the Thalmor. To this day, I do not regret performing the Black Sacrament.”

[fivefold-venerations]

Mod List: December 22, 2017

Greetings friends, user For-All-Kings here with my first mod list update!

I manage my mods with NMM and sort with LOOT every time I make a change, launching my game with SKSE (the Steam version). Without further ado, here are the mods I’m currently using listed with the base game and DLCs in load order:

You’ll notice some cheat mods. I’ve played this game at least halfway through five times at the very least, across three different consoles. I’ve sided with both the Empire and the Stormcloaks, and I’ve played through each guild questline at least once. I’ve communed with all kinds of horrible Daedra. Say, do you know how many times I’ve murdered Nazeem? I lost count. I AM NOT DOING ANY OF THAT AGAIN JUST FOR SOME QUALITY SCREENSHOTS. Well, maybe I’ll kill Nazeem again, but let’s not get carried away. I love Alternate Start because in addition to jumping straight to character creation, it lets me pick where I’d like to begin and gives me appropriate gear, saving me a few console commands.

But the most important mod from a screen archer’s perspective has to be Puppeteer Master. This utility is exactly what I was hoping to find when I reinstalled the original release of Skyrim. It’s not perfect, but there are so many idles to choose from that it doesn’t really make a difference. Prepare for more dynamic, expressive characters soon!

Do you know of a mod that could help me with screen archery? Let me know! Hit the ASK button...I want to know what you think.

Talos Guide You,

For-All-Kings

[fivefold-venerations]

“Solitude’s port makes me yearn for Anvil, the city in Cyrodiil where I spent eight of the most formative years of my life. Whenever I had my doubts about where life was taking me and whether I was doing the right thing, I would stand near the lighthouse and watch the water to clear my head, looking to see if any new ships were coming in that day.

The port here in Solitude is twice as large, and the people seem half as friendly, though I can’t help but wonder how much of that has to do with current events. I bring my son out here with me when I can. Alesan likes to watch for ships coming in from Hammerfell. We sometimes talk to the newly arrived Redguard sailors to get the latest news, and Alesan often asks them if they knew his father. Already, we’ve met a few men who have.

My son says he doesn’t care to sail again after what happened, but I hope he changes his mind when he’s older so I might bring him and Sofie to Solstheim to see Raven Rock. But I have time yet to convince my boy...after all, he’s only eleven.”

[fivefold-venerations]

“My Solitude housecarl, Jordis, is a force to be reckoned with. We were investigating an old Nordic tomb in Haafingar when I spotted a coffin near the word wall bearing ‘Kest’. The ancient Nords always protected these walls with formidable guardians, so I was expecting a powerful draugr at the very least.

When Volsung attacked, Jordis jumped in his path of destruction to buy me time to charge a lightning spell and prepare a shout to make the dragon priest more vulnerable to her melee attacks. She and I pair well on the battlefield, and the way she defends me without hesitation is the ultimate display of her loyalty and dedication to serving me.

I know that I can count on Jordis to protect my family to the death, should it come to such dire circumstances, and I am sure to reward such displays of courage whenever I can.”

[fivefold-venerations]

“Larethor was a good friend of mine growing up. Since both of us had a parent serving the Aldmeri Dominion, our families were close as well. We often played together as children, and as we grew older, we made a habit of looking out for one another. Larethor was strong and cunning, and sought glory above nearly all else. Around the time I took up enchanting, he left for Chorrol to train in preparation to join the Imperial Legion.

I next encountered Larethor three years later in the Market District of the Imperial City, wearing Elven armor bearing the crest of the Aldmeri Dominion. He had changed his mind about the Legion and joined the Thalmor instead. Our friendship was never quite the same following that exchange, for by then I realized that my concerns regarding the Dominion were more legitimate than I initially thought.

Decades after we’d stopped talking altogether, Larethor sought me out to deliver a warning to both me and my fiancee, Brevosi. He told me that he had heard rumors that my father was preparing extreme measures to gain my support for both him and the Thalmor. He was willing to send a Thalmor detail to capture and imprison me so I might make powerful weapon and armor enchantments, or face harsh consequences. This warning proved to be the nail in my father’s coffin, as I made contact with the Dark Brotherhood shortly after.

I haven’t heard from Larethor since I left Cyrodiil, but I will never forget the considerable risks he took and the way he saw past our differences to express his concern me. He may have saved my life.”

[fivefold-venerations]

“The Divines have sealed both of our fates, Mother. Arkay keep you, always.” -Elerae Joreus

[fivefold-venerations]

“I cannot bring your wife back, Anaril. It is done. You know this. I know this. Vengeance will have to suffice.” -Hannold Maracel

[fivefold-venerations]

“Retribution need not be inflicted by the Gods. We will return, Elerae.” -Dessa

[fivefold-venerations]

“Your mother has yet to return. One week late, and still no word. I fear for the worst.” - Anaril Joreus

[fivefold-venerations]

“I first spotted Fort Hraggstad under a crimson sunset on my way up to Solitude from Whiterun. At that time it was filled with bandits, so I moved along rather quickly. Eventually it would fall under Imperial control. I helped liberate the fort for the Stormcloaks when the time came.”