#pale pass

[elderscrollsconceptart]

Akaviri Script

Extracted in-game asset from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

*Artist Unknown*

If anyone knows who created this, please comment below!

[andrevalias-tes]

Meet the Character: Bloodies-His-Face

Report for the Elder Council

Compiled by General Alexus Nipia

Frostfall 7, 2E 583

With sincere regret, I cannot make direct contact with the Elder Council as the 2nd Legion still has the lengthy task of securing Bruma and the surrounding area. May this letter find Councilor Lovidicus and the rest of you well, and may I also commend Chancellor Tharn on securing a temporary truce in the Three Banners War. Whatever brief cessation of hostility it may be, know that the 2nd Legion will use every moment to restore Imperial control in Cyrodiil’s north.

Onto the matter at hand, I received a request to keep track of a former Arena Champion by the name of Bloodies-His-Face. Recently, he attended the Varen Memorial Cup held in Kvatch and then again in the Imperial City (Akatosh speed her recovery). It would please the Council to know he spent time up here in Bruma (as recent as last week), and I personally got reacquainted with the champion.

I’d known of Bloodies-His-Face (Red to his friends, a privilege I had the honour of using but will refrain otherwise to maintain formality in this report) indirectly from my time serving under Varen Aquilarios during the Colovian Revolt. He’d fought in several skirmishes alongside Varen’s personal cohort across the countryside and on the Red Ring Road. He was particularly known for his ferocity when fighting against Emperor Leovic’s army; part of a personal vendetta I later learned.

Before he became an Arena Champion, Bloodies fought in the Coronation Cup held in Leovic’s honour a decade prior. Alongside him were a cohort of Argonian servants whom Leovic had conscripted to fight. Despite his best efforts to train his egg-kin, Bloodies outlived them all and was even forced at arrowpoint by the Emperor to fight the second-last of his kin. For this, he sought revenge and joined Varen’s Rebellion.

When we disposed of Leovic in 2E 577, many of us parted ways. Since then, Bloodies recounted adventures had in Blackwood, Morrowind, and even Skyrim. He had ‘kept busy’, as he told me. The Council, of course, knows that a year later was when the dread Soulburst occurred and the Dark Anchors heralding Molag Bal’s invasion appeared. To recount for the Council: during this time, Bloodies had rallied local Imperial guard and citizenry against the initial wave of Daedra, as well as the treachery of Legion Zero.

From what I understand, Bloodies-His-Face formed the Order of the Sacred Ashes after helping many citizens escape the Imperial Isle six months later. Though a brotherhood of pauper knights initially, it serves to remind the Council that Bloodies and his comrades battled Daedra and the Worm Cult across Tamriel. They even, at times, partook in the Three Banners War. However, he insisted that his knights swear to maintain peace and justice first and foremost over any provincial claim to sovereignty. I hope this would satisfy the Council’s curiosity to his allegiance from the start.

I did not manage to learn more of what he has been up to between then and the Varen Memorial Cup, as he spent most of his time in the region at Fort Dragonclaw. Once again: my deepest apology for not compiling a more recent dossier on the Sekiryu clan, but I can at least inform the Council that it would appear Bloodies-His-Face is deeply affiliated with them. In the least, it can only be beneficial that he is of respected standing among their number as the Council knows that the Sekiryu are descended from the Akaviri who fought Reman at Pale Pass.

In summary, my brief contact with Bloodies-His-Face has informed me well of his character and alliances. I can confidently report to the Council that if we seek the services of Bloodies, his Ashen Knights, or his contacts with the Sekiryu, then it can only mean good things for the Empire. And at such a dire time when our citizenry worry for the future, we could always do with more heroes.

P.S: Bloodies wanted to convey his interest in a position as a General of the Imperial Legion that Varen promised him. I leave that proposition to your discretion.

[stymshots]

The prey approaches.

[uesp]

Did You Know: Multiple problems limited the effectiveness of Pale Pass, the land passage between Cyrodiil and Skyrim, during the Civil War in Skyrim? First, the mountain pass experienced multiple avalanches, preventing the easy deployment of reinforcements from Cyrodiil. Next, the destruction of Helgen by Alduin removed the closest friendly settlement to the border. And lastly, bandits took advantage of the closing of Pale Pass and loss of Helgen to kill the now isolated garrison of Fort Neugrad, removing the closest friendly fortress and allowing bandits to easily raid the surrounding area.

[belmontswhip]

Pale Pass

Fight Against The Thalmor mod by 13 oranges

[templardragonknight]

The Stormcloak Bible DEBUNKED PART 3 (Can Skyrim defend itself?)

Before anything I have to make it clear that this is an update to a previous version of this part of The Stormcloak Bible DEBUNKED, so this is not the post the author replied to*

In the third part of this “bible” (http://colonel-killa-bee.tumblr.com/post/69090901004/stormcloak-bible-part-3-can-skyrim-defend-itself), the author tries to prove that Skyrim can defend itself without the empire, but as always he is superficial and ignored many aspects that would contradict his conclusions (that if he knew about them at all).

 First he says that the Thalmor can not reach Skyrim trough Morrowind and/or Hammerfell, what may or may not be true, and states that Thalmor armies are not allowed in imperial provinces and thus an invasion trough Cyrodiil would not be na option (it is worth mentioning how many people say that the empire is a ally and/or puppet of the Thalmor while they don’t allow the Dominion’s forces in the Empire). I have to say even though Colonel Killa Bee is technically right in here, he shot himself there. How? On the first part of his “bible” he said that the security in the Empire is bad during Skyrim’s Civil War and used the bandit uprising mentioned in Cicero’s Journal as an evidence (just read some of the first parts of my part 1 a second time if you don’t remember this) and oddly enough I used the same dialogues from General Tullius as counter arguments. This can only mean one of these two things: 1- the fact the imperial forces are gathered in southern Cyrodiil to prevent an invasion by the Dominion means thaty the security in Cyrodiil is, actually, pretty good nowadays; 2- if the security in some regions is precarious by the time being, it is because the legion needs to focus on preventing a Dominion invasions and not waste time and resources unnecessarily (that if such bandit uprising did not happen before Cyrodiil was able to gather most of it’s legions on the southern border with the Dominion), and both options contradict his claims on the first pat of his Stormcloak Bible. Yep, he basically contradicted himself here, a clear sign of a weak position.

 Next he talks about the natural borders of Skyrim (“Now look at Skyrim’s natural barriers. Mountains. The worst kind. You cannot sustain a flow of troops and supplies through a mountain range. Not easily anyway. Couple that with the intense weather, and you have a complete supply chain disaster, easily cut off with avalanches, ambushes in the mountains, and already made impractical and long treks due to the mountains already”). Now I admit that these mountains would be a great defense, but there is something he is underestimating by using the mountains as an argument: the Dominion’s spies. The Dominion mainly acts trough secret agents like the infamous Justiciars, and they have already shown jhow effective they can be when they took control of Valenwood using mainly spies (which is revealed in the last volume of Rising Threat, in case you don’t remember https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rising-threat). Having this in mind, the Thalmor could hypothetically manage to cause a great deal of damage in Skyrim in case of a Stormcloak victory, and the fact the Stormcloaks think that getting rid of the imperial loyalists means getting rid of the Thalmor would make it easier for the spies to act than in the case of an imperial victory. This may not enough to defeat Skyrim once and for all, but would certainly weaken it and make it’s defeat easier on the long run.

Then he talks about the avalanches in the Pale Pass, what has made the situation of the imperial forces in Falkreath even worse afterAlduin destroyed Helgen as it is revealed by the imperial missive in Fort Neugrad (https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Imperial_Missive_(Fort_Neugrad)). He only neglected to mention that in case the Stormcloaks take Falkreath, the Imperial Missive is replaced by a Stormcloak Missive, in which it is stated that imperial forces are gathering in the south as the Pale Pass is clear (https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Stormcloak_Missive). In short the avalanches in the Pale Pass can not be used as an argument because they were temporary. The dumbest part of the paragraph I show he states that the Thalmor would be at disvantage due to Skyrim’s cold climate, as if the Thalmor Justiciars did not learn how to deal with it already (since they are literally walking around Skyrim’s cold lands while hunting Talos worshippers from the shadows). Then he says that the Thalmor attacking Skyrim from the sea would not be an option because they would be under constant attack (what would depend on how close they were to the coast on such hypothetical campaign) and because the Sea of Ghosts is Treacherous, and he neglected to mention that it is possible to deal with the Sea of Ghosts as the atmorans used sailed trough it in order to raid and invade Tamriel for centuries (https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pocket-guide-empire-third-edition-throat-world-skyrim  "Tradition has it that the first humans came to Tamriel from the continent of Atmora in ancient days. It was a not a single invasion but a series of them over hundreds of years, creating many different Nedic cultures, the new-arrived Atmorans always clashing with the generations that had already established themselves." https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pocket-guide-empire-third-edition-atmora "For hundreds of years in the Merethic Era, raiders crossed the Sea of Ghosts to invade Tamriel from the frozen lands of Atmora, becoming after generations of living in our land the Nords, Cyrodiils, and the Bretons of today") and without mentioning the Thalmor soldiers led by Ancarion, that managed to sail to the northernmost regions of Solstheim (which means they sailed trough the Sea of Ghosts) to get the secrets of how to forge Stalhrim equipment (wich not only means that low temperatures will not stop them but also shows that they are more than capable of dealing with the Sea of Ghosts). I am not saying that the Sea of Ghosts can not be treacherous (pretty much any ocean will be treacherous in certain conditions), I am just showing how the old atmorans (that were nowhere near as developed and powerful as Alinor by 4th Era 201) managed to travel and arguably dominate such waters for hundreds of years, using them to reach Tamriel and then return to their homeland. Also it is very, very funny how the author contradicts himself here, because in his part 1 he said that the imperials could send reinforcements to Skyrim by using ships (and for that they would need to pass trough the Sea of Ghosts), but when we talk about the Aldmeri Dominion attacking Skyrim using ships is not an option thanks to the Sea of Ghosts. Yep, coherence is overrated, am I right?

Talking about the same paragraph, he talked about an attack directly from Alinor, while what the Thalmor actually want is to have the empire weakned so they are able to easily defeat Cyrodiil itself. Having Skyrim as an ally would be extremely useful for Cyrodiil in the next Great War, and if the Stormcloaks win Cyrodiil and High Rock will pretty much stand alone, and if Cyrodiil falls it will no longer be a shield against the Aldmeri Dominion, who would waste no time in putting as many soldiers as possible on Skyrim’s doorstep.

As if all of this was not enough, there is something revealed in game that is nopt widely known in the community, but by itself destroys Colonel-Killa-Bee’s post: the Stormcloaks plan to directly attack the Aldmeri Dominion in the future. This is revealed, in fact, by both Ulfric and Galmar. Once you join the Stormcloaks, you will have the option to ask Galmar “What is the aim of this war?”, and he will say “First, we'll kick the Thalmor and their bloody Imperial puppets out of the country. Then, we will rebuild Skyrim into the land she once was. When we are done with that, we will take our army to the Dominion, and show those pointy-eared bastards not every man is fit to be their slave.” and in the case of Ulfric, in the end Battle for Solitude (more specifically when the player reaches Castle Dour and confronts Tullius and Rikke), part of Ulfric’s dialogue with Rikke is “When we're done rooting out Imperial influence here at home, then we will take our war to the Aldmeri Dominion.” Skyrim’s natural defenses would be useless if the Stormcloaks were at the other side of the continent. That without mentioning how invading the Dominion like this would be a terrible idea because how can the Stormcloaks expect to be sucessful against the bulk of the Dominion when they have fought few legions primarily made of unexperienced and locally recruited nords to a standstill for years? And how would Ulfric do this, by using a navy that at this point would easily be underdeveloped, underfunded and unexperienced (because he could have already founded a navy and use Windhelm’s and Dawnstar’s naval ports to get the upper hand in the war and maybe have already invaded Solitude trough the sea, what would also have given it combat exparience) since going by land is not an option? And what if the Second Great War breaks out BEFORE the Stormcloaks manage to “rebuild” Skyrim? And even if the Stormcloaks manage to invade Dominion territory, they lack a lot in equipment and organization (and overhaul military power) when compared to both the Empire and the Dominion, and fighting enemy forces on their homeland is almost always more difficult unless you are far, far stronger than them. A Stormcloak invasion of the Aldmeri Dominion is doomed to fail.

[elderscrollsconceptart]

Pale pass map

In-game art asset for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

*Artist unknown* If anyone knows the artist comment below

[uesp]

Did You Know: Helgen is known as the "Gateway to the North"? For a visitor traveling from Cyrodiil to Skyrim it is most likely to be the first town visited, thanks to its proximity to Pale Pass.