#king helseth

[aladaylessecondblog]

Red Mountain Waffle House, pt. 23

Nerevar had not been entirely honest with Voryn.

Mephala had been easy enough to gain the favor of, especially after he'd eliminated the presence of the Dark Brotherhood in Mournhold. Boethiah's bloody grin he could almost FEEL, when he'd prayed before that altar, and said that the blood of those assassins was his sign of faithfulness. He existed still because they had fallen before him. Azura...was less interested in this change of mind, had ranted and raged at him. But he asked of her what he had asked of the others.

Cure Voryn's insanity, for clearly that was what was going on. It had happened to all of the Tribunal in some way or another through their connection to the Heart of Lorkhan, but they'd had outlets, like the Akaviri invasion and fighting Dagon and things like that. Voryn...Voryn had had nothing but revenge, and the memory of him. And his beloved was happy now he'd come back, but to make that happiness complete, the Heart had to be fixed.

Boethiah had asked that of him, and he'd somewhat wryly said 'yes mother'...which had seemed to please her.

Repair the Heart, and return my brother.

But how will that work, if I leave the Heart in place?

You, Nerevar. Our missing brother will return through you.

Azura had reiterated the point when he spoke to her. She had apparently made peace with this new path he was forging, found a way to turn it to her advantage

But before he could count on fixing Voryn, there was something else to do.

Saint Nerevar had a wedding to attend.

---------------------------------

"Jiub?" Nibani was confused to walk out of the back office to find him (and several customers) staring at the TV set up in the corner. "You're here early. It's only eight, what're you doing here?"

"Power's out at my place, wifi's down here...we're watching the wedding."

"What wedding?"

"What other one would we be watching?" one of the ashlander customers spoke up, "By Azura, look at these outfits. You could buy a manor house, a couple Hlaalu senators, and a horde of slaves in golden bracers for what some of these things must cost!"

"Your jealousy is showing..." another said, "And how do you know, anyway?"

"My mother deals in fabrics," the first replied.

"You want expensive, check out the bridal gown," Jiub said, "Look at that monstrosity. Gold from neck to ankle--"

After giving a breakdown on the gown, the sequins, the cut of the neckline, and even the sleeves, he realized the rest of them were staring at him.

"Get off my dick, bridal shows are good background noise. You learn a lot of shit just by osmosis."

"And how many hours did you have to hear before you learned all this?"

Jiub laughed off the question, making zero attempt to actually answer it, and got coffee for the two ashlanders when they asked for it. The vows were being read, and then, suddenly--

----------------------------------------------------

"I OBJECT!"

Nobody who later talked of the wedding would remember how Sadara had slumped slightly on hearing those words, nor the quick way she turned towards the source of the noise.

At the end of the aisle, holding a piece of parchment paper, was Nerevar.

"On what grounds do you object?" the priest asked, surprised but seeming to take the interruption in stride.

"On the grounds that the groom is planning to have his bride murdered," Nerevar said. He held the paper in his hand aloft and looked side to side to make sure he was still being watched. "I have here a writ of execution written at the King's behest."

"Well any Dunmer can--" someone started, but they were quickly cut off.

"From the Dark Brotherhood." Nerevar spoke loudly. There were whispers immediately afterwards. He caught Barenziah's eye as he walked forward and handed her the paper.

"It's real," she said, then looked up at Helseth who glared in silent fury and seemed for once unable to produce an answer, "How could you--"

"Honestly," someone was heard saying, "...so Imperial, can't even hire the Morag Tong like a civilized Dunmer..."

It was a sentiment that echoed several times - and while it was going about Nerevar rushed forward and swept Sadara into his arms, bridal gown and veil and all, before dashing back out the chapel doors.

The only actual cheering seemed to come from the Skyrim delegation, particularly from the High King.

"Now THAT is how you steal a wife!"

Chaos erupted further at the now-pointless reception. Gossip was flying, mention of Saint Nerevar stealing the bride at the king's own wedding - and disappearing to the Three only knew where! Some would say he'd boarded a ship, others a waiting silt strider - the truth would not be figured out until much later, and the wedding itself wouldn't stop being talked about for months after that.

Helseth was ready to gut someone, and seeing as how he didn't seem capable of discriminating in his placement of blame, Barenziah was silently elected to speak to him.

She came up to him bearing two glasses of wine, one of which she sipped at, the other she set on the table before her son.

"That scheming bitch, she let him in somehow. I don't know who--who she--who could have done it."

"It could have been anyone," Barenziah said, "You're seen as an Imperial puppet, it could have been a Tribunal worshiper. Though I'm not certain why they'd help spirit her away, unless they thought she was...sympathetic or of a mind to..."

"She was married to the Sharmat, she was NOT a Tribunal worshiper! This was the work of the Sixth House!"

"A marriage the House itself did not support."

"The followers only parrot what they're told by their Lord. What his relations think hardly matters to them. They--"

"Helseth!" Barenziah said, "You're not going to be able to get this under control if you cannot master your own mood."

"You're right, mother, I know you are, I simply--"

"Have something to drink," she gestured at the glass of wine before him and took another sip from her own. "You know it will help."

"I--there's no servants to taste it. I'm not going to risk..." Helseth gasped when Barenziah took a drink from his glass herself. "Mother, anyone could have poisoned that!"

But after thirty seconds elapsed with no apparent sign or symptom, he took his own sip, and then a gulp. Half the glass was gone before he stood up.

"I needed that," he groaned, "Thank you, mother, you always sheem to know whats..."

"Something wrong, Helseth?" Barenziah asked. She moved quickly to his elbow when he coughed and stumbled, seeming for the moment like a posing doll with its joints suddenly unloosed.

"Help!" he called out, "Hepp me, mother!"

The door burst open at the sound of that shout, and one of Helseth's royal guard came forward. The king was crying at his mother's breast, begging her to help, begging her to save him - but she made no move except to physically comfort him.

Until the royal guard stood before her.

Barenziah reached into her robe and pulled out an envelope which she handed over to the guard.

He opened and read:

King Hlaalu Helseth

The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.

Barenziah looked down at her once-beloved boy, and smiled the rueful smile of the reluctant killer.

"I'm so sorry, Helseth. I'm so, so sorry. But I told you - the endless scheming and plotting and murdering...when I heard what you'd done to your own flesh and blood..." She held him closer, now openly weeping.

"W..." Helseth's struggling lips barely managed his last words, "Why did...?"

"I did not escape one Imperial tormentor only to let myself birth another," she said, her voice turning iron despite the tears, "And I would not inflict a second Tiber Septim on a woman for all the gold in Tamriel."

Now, or never...

Helseth struggled, but Barenziah held him until he moved no more.

[dykevandyke]

Straight up didnt even know Morrowind had a king until i got to Mournhold. No fuckin clue. Oh this is a monarchy? Huh never would have guessed. Oh you're the king? Ok. Nobody has ever mentioned you once ever and I've been an elder scrolls fan for over a decade.

[daggerfool]

The baddest Daggerfall boy around, the main villain himself, Lord Woodborne.

He had sooo much potential to be a complex and interesting character instead of a basic powerhungry nobleman but who needs personality when he has - not sure what he has, probably blonde hair and god complex? idk

Anyway I have headcanons for him under the cut :D

More Daggerfall characters I made: Helseth, Gothryd

So I think he should have been around from the very start, maybe acting as a friend to the Agent, being all friendly and stuff. I like the idea of him being just generally nice to the Agent at the start, when he doesn't yet realize what the Agent's quest is so it hits harder when the Agent finds out who killed Lysandus. Like if he's not a stereotypical bad guy but an ambitious, sneaky yet kind noble who is also their friend, the whole issue would be more personal. Oh and if he had like an actual reason to kill Lysandus, like Lys killed his dad and he killed him in revenge, it would have just made it better.

In my headcanon he's Gothryd's toxic bestie and they have met when they were kids at a boring meeting between Daggerfall and Wayrest and since they were around the same age they played together. I didn't find anything that would imply his age so I like to think he's not some old man being betrothed to Elysana.

Speaking of Elysana, I like to think that he at least respects her and doesn't just see her as the way to the throne. Definitely no love there though, friendship more likely.

He can't stand Helseth or Morgiah though. If we go by my previous hc and Woodborne is the Agent's friend, he could give them advice to avoid the Hlaalu siblings and don't do/fail their quests on purpose. For more drama, he could have been Helseth's friend before being betrothed to Elysana, then turning against him completely once the plan to become king was set. I mean they are alike, both ambitious and cunning, they surely had things to talk about.

He doesn't like Eadwyre either, nor Barenziah.

Anyway he could have been more than just a trash man <3

[sbnkalny]

And now I'm being chased By the Empire on the PEOPLE And the people under its control, he had already begun to think myself paranoid as The prince HIMSELF when I found myself doubting the sincere loyalty of the Prince's chamberlain, Burgess, a Breton who had been in his employ since his days in the court of prince Helseth's stepfather, king Eadwyre, there was a rugrats episode with the Same title.

[bforblitz]

do the pro-imperialist aspects of tes generally come from oblivion? i've only played morrowind where theyre an antagonistic colonizing force, and skyrim where they're an incompetent bureaucracy, so i was surprised to see your "pro imperialist" take in that one post😭 totally agree about the racism though

okay not to go on full autism mode but. this is highkey my special interest so this is going to be a long post. this does get kind of serious, so i want to preface that this is all just fiction, but it's important to analyze how writers' internal biases can affect the worlds they build. and like I don’t think the Bethesda writers are like “graaa!!! kill all minorities!!” in a way that’s different from the average liberal American imperialist brainrot.

TL;DR tes is pro-imperialist because the empire is constantly portrayed as either good or not as bad as the other options + characterizes racial minorities in a super "they deserve to get colonized" way.

Pretty much every tes game has aspects of pro-imperialism (the only exception I can think of is Redguard). Oblivion is 100% the most pro-imperialist, but Skyrim and Morrowind are steeped in pro-imperialist rhetoric as well, it’s just a little more subtle than “DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS: THE VIDEO GAME”.

OBLIVION

I don’t think I need to explain too much on why Oblivion is pro-imperialist outside of the concept of “the Emperor is divinely chosen so only he and by extension the Empire can save the world”. The only way to stop the Oblivion Crisis is to relight the Dragon Fires, which only the Emperor can do because of a covenant with Akatosh that says he’ll protect Mundus so long as Alessia’s heirs (aka dragonborns) sit on the throne, and thus the Empire’s claim to dominance is legitimized because they are literally divinely chosen as the protector of Nirn. There’s also how Pelinal is portrayed as a noble hero that the player actually “becomes” when he committed genocide against the Ayleids so extensively that even his allies were disgusted (bit awkward if the player is an elf).

Now I COULD go into how Mankar Camoran’s writings can be interpreted as anti-imperialist, but that’s a huge can of worms that I don’t feel equipped to talk about because there is like. genuinely theological analysis there and I’m a filthy non-believer.

MORROWIND

Morrowind’s pro-imperialism is actually quite interesting. It’s definitely critical of the Empire, painting it as bloated and corrupt, but any attempt at anti-imperialism is stifled by other factors.

The Nerevarine is an imperialist agent. Like not “you work for the Empire”, but ACTIVELY furthering imperialism and making it easier for the Empire to colonize Morrowind. I can expand on this on a different post, but the Empire uses the Nerevarine to politically destabilize Morrowind .

The only reason Morrowind is not a fully incorporated province is because of the Tribunal. Tiber Septim understandably did not want to fight three living gods, so he instead made a deal with Vivec that allowed Morrowind to be semi-autonomous. The current Empire probably also doesn’t want to wrestle with the Tribunal, plus they’ve got Dagoth Ur and Corprus to deal with as well. The Tribunal are also generally seen positively because they’ve done so much to improve the lives of the average Dunmer.

So it’s very, very convenient for them that there’s a local prophecy about an outlander hero (who can be born within the Empire) that is destined to defeat Dagoth Ur and the Tribunal. This is best seen in the Tribunal DLC, in which Helseth (my cringe problematic failson) literally says that now that the Temple is weakened after Almalexia’s disappearance, he can better implement his policies (which are intrinsically in the Empire’s interest). The Empire basically highjacks a sacred prophecy from an indigenous people (the Ashlanders) so they can colonize better.

The Empire is definitely painted as kind of scummy for this, especially since they blackmail you and likely Caius, but only in their methods. Yes, there’s criticism of the Empire, but it’s often coming from people we aren’t supposed to agree with. The idea of the Empire taking over Morrowind is only questioned by locals who are painted as xenophobic bigots and the strangely large amount of tax evaders. Or straight up bio-terrorist cult leader Dagoth Ur. The Empire certainly isn’t perfect, but seeing as how Morrowind is a place of constant strife and danger, they’re the best choice for “stabilizing” the region and making it “safer”.

Going into a more doylist analysis, Morrowind is extremely orientalist. Like by the gods, it is SO orientalist. Let’s start with the fact that Morrowind is explicitly referred to as “the East” while the Empire is “the West”. The Dunmer are analogous to several Asian + MENA cultures, it’s stated by the writers they were inspired by the Japanese and Egyptians. Dunmeri culture is seen as backwards (slavery), violent (solve problems by killing people), mystical (elven magic), conniving (bureaucratic corruption and murder plots), and highly xenophobic. Most of the people on the player’s side are either not from Morrowind or sympathetic to the Empire’s cause (whether they know it or not). We’re clearly getting set up for a Western civilization vs. Eastern barbarism dynamic.

This is best seen in the issue of slavery. In-game, the Dunmer view slavery as part of their tradition and culture. The Empire views slavery as a backward and evil institution that must be abolished. Slavery is undoubtedly evil, and the average tes player is probably going to agree with that. At the baseline, the player is already more supportive of the Empire on this issue because their position reflects our irl values. The primary pro-slavery House is Telvanni, who are arrogant, “crazy” xenophobes. Telvanni is also extremely anti-Empire, and there are many instances where violence is literally just the only answer to problems. The primary anti-slavery House is Hlaalu, who are hypocritical, conniving opportunists. Hlaalu is pro-Empire, but only for their own economical reasons, so they don’t come out of this looking very good either. The writing on the wall is “this culture is so inherently violent and primitive that those who are against this great civilizing force hate us because of we’re bringing progress and those who are with us are doing so because they have no loyalty and are willing to betray their own kind”. Textbook orientalism.

This isn’t even talking about how in Bloodmoon you literally can found a colony, or how the Dunmer traditionally worship the “demonic” Daedra, or how living in an inhospitable place and being violent partly because of that is literally how people talk about MENA people. There is so much that could be said about how Morrowind is pro-imperialist, but I don’t want to ramble for too long.

SKYRIM

Skyrim is, in my opinion, the writers’ attempt at writing something anti-imperial that just ends up being imperialist because they don’t understand how anti-imperialism works. There is, again, a lot to talk about that I can make a separate post on, but I’ll be going over what I think is the most notable examples.

Let’s start with the Empire. Again, the Empire is NOT painted in a good light. But it is kind of telling that most people agree that they're the better of the two options because at least they aren't ethnonationalists, they're only oppressive imperialists. Kinda racist, but at least not as racist?

In my opinion, the Stormcloaks are more interesting when it comes to analyzing Skyrim as pro-imperialism.

First off, we can’t ignore the fact the Stormcloaks are white. Like THE whitest race in tes, PASTY white. They also have that christianized version of the Viking aesthetic going on (@trickstarbrave has a great post about this). They’re literally called the STORMcloaks. They’re based in Racism, the City. They are literally ethnonationalist white supremacists, and I think it’s kind of fucked up that their ideology is treated as a valid way to rule a country.

Similarly, the main negative of the Stormcloaks is the racism. But that really isn’t a negative for people who like them. At best, it’s something they can downplay (not to call anyone out but I’ve seen fics where the author explicitly says their version of the Stormcloaks is “less racist”). At worst, it’s the reason they like them. The portrayal of racism in Skyrim is also cartoonishly hamfisted and inaccurate. The other negative is them not being able to defend Skyrim against the Thalmor, but I'll go into this later.

It's also important to point out that the Stormcloaks' whole thing is that they want to rule Skyrim independent from the Empire because it's their homeland and they don't want the man to tell them what to do. However, in the lore, the Nords stole Skyrim from the Snow Elves, who they proceeded to genocide and enslave (reminder that Windhelm was built by Snow Elf slaves). This is literally the same dynamic as "the white colonists of the U.S. wanted to rule themselves because it's their land, don't ask about the people that have been living here for thousands of years".

The anti-indigenous rhetoric is RAMPANT in Skyrim, and I don't think I need to explain how imperialism begets it. The Snow Elves are said to be dead and gone, which falls into the trope of indigenous people being in the past and not existing in the present. But more importantly, THEY'RE LITERALLY STILL THERE. The Falmer are painted as mindless beasts, but they clearly have culture. They've domesticated Chaurus, they've built their own homes, they have some type of religious structure. They're people that are understandably scared of outsiders who are invading their home, which is why they attack anyone who wanders too close. Again, painting an indigenous group as "mindless savages with no culture who kill innocent people and steal babies" is like THE trick in the anti-indigenous, racist playbook.

The Reachfolk aren't treated any better either. The Forsworn is a group fighting against the people who stole their land, genocided them, and threw them in a labor camp. They are by all rights in the moral good here, but the writers have tacked on very questionable things. They have demonic, Daedric rituals where they transform their own into evil crones and mindless warriors. They wear little to no clothes to represent their "wild" nature. They're bandits who attack innocents and pillage the "civilized". Truly the ONLY quest in Skyrim that isn't about how much we fucking hate indigenous people is the Forsworn Conspiracy, and even then Madanach compromises his own values in collaboration with the Nords. At the end of the day, the Nords are portrayed as the best option for keeping Skyrim at peace. They are in the right for driving the Reachfolk and Falmer off their land.

We have now reached the point where I say probably my most controversial tes lore opinion: I'm pro-Thalmor but for a very specific meta analysis reason. I promise I do NOT like fascism or racism.

The Thalmor being fascistic ethnonationalist who manipulate 4E politics from the shadows is reflective of the writer’s pro-imperialist views and actively deploys anti-semetic + sinophobic tropes. Stripping things of their weird racist tes context: the Thalmor are a political group that rose up against a colonial power that genocided their race. They came to their peoples’ aid during one of the most horrific tragedy when the colonial power could not, and They are actively supporting other colonized peoples to fight against their oppressors (reminder that the writers felt like it was okay to say the Thalmor were behind the Argonian invasion of Morrowind).

How the Thalmor are portrayed in Skyrim is truly fucking terrible. They want to genocide the humans simply because they think they're better than them. They want to get rid of Talos worship because they simply can't accept that a human could ever ascend to godhood. They want to destroy human culture because it is inferior to their own. They are manipulating the scene, they control the Imperial government, which is ineffective and bending to their whims. They're doing evil against humans and the Empire.

I need to stress that the Altmer are in some parts inspired by East Asian cultures (the old Altmer art is literally holding a katana while wearing a shitty recreation of traditional Japanese wear), particularly the Chinese. In fact, ALL of the non-human races are based on BIPOC cultures. Combined with what I said in the previous paragraph, what does that say?

The minorities DO hate us. The minorities WILL form a coalition to destroy us. The minorities DO control everything and want to eradicate us and our culture. The minorities DO want revenge. They are a faceless hoard, a force of brutal and manipulative power that we know nothing about except for the fact that they hate us. They are lying in wait to strike when we are weak. And if we don't get rid of them first, they will do EXACTLY what we did to them.

THAT is exactly how fascism frames its victims. They are weak, but they are strong. They hate us, so we must hate them. If we win, we will return to our former glory and rule the world as its rightful kings. And if we lose?

They will exterminate us.

Now, giving them the benefit of the doubt, I don't think the people at Bethesda are like. consciously into killing minorities. I think this is just the product of that particular flavor of imperialist, borderline fascistic brainrot that every American has (source: I'm an American and I absolutely unconsciously held similar views, even as a POC). Then again, that’s like basically the same thing.

It's really hard to watch people just NOT understand that writers' conscious and unconscious biases affect their writing. I ultimately torture myself by deeply loving this series, and I don't expect people to like suddenly start hating it because it's problematic in the way 99% of fantasy and sci-fi media is.

so yeah. that's the condensed version of my opinion.

[solsthiems]

New OC just dropped. This is my new Nerevarine, Nulsie Hlaalu, bastard daughter of King Helseth Hlaalu

[rzpotato]

Old Symmachus fanart from last year sometime?? Yes I know he has a dagger not a sword but it was for the posing and I kinda just made up his armor to be a mix of empire and dunmeri influence and I GARUNTEE the next time I draw him he's gonna be wearing something different again King Helseth takes after his father (according to me) fr fr

[trickstarbrave]

i think its soooooo funny king helseth tries to have you killed by the dark brotherhood TWICE.

"look i know i tried to have you killed by the dbh by putting a hit out on you. but thats water under the bridge ur so much nicer and cooler than i thought and youve helped me out so much. but i need ur help someone is going to try and assassinate my mommy i just know it. can you wait in her bedroom and stop those nasty assassins?" helseth i think barenziah should beat some better ideas into that thick skull of yours.

[theropoda]

does this make them immune to poison in general too cause now im thinking about the nerevarine post corprus being given poisoned food by just one of many parties that want em dead but they're eating that shit UP and their enemy is just sitting there sweating nervously like WHY AREN'T THEY DYING.

wait if the nerevarine is immune to all disease after getting their corprus cured does that mean they can eat whatever they want without getting food poisoning

[chappydev]

Morrowind and Enantiomorphs

Okay so generally the whole enantiomorph thing is only present in background lore, specifically with regards to deities, cosmology, and so on. But I think there is one game where we see it in a literal sense, and that's Morrowind

At Red Mountain, Nerevar was the King, the Tribunal were collectively the Rebel, and Voryn Dagoth was the Observer.

Fast forward centuries, and we have a cycling of the roles. The Nerevarine (who is Nerevar) is the rebel, Dagoth Ur is now the king, and the Tribunal, so stripped of their power, are essentially the Observers who die as a consequence of the struggle (Vivec gradually, the other two quite painfully)

AND there's another enantiomorph WITHIN this enantiomorph, in Tribunal. Almalexia is the King, Nerevarine is the Rebel, and Sotha Sil is the murdered bystander killed due to their conflict.

Hell there's even a semi-enantiomorph in Tribunal's setup. Helseth is the Rebel to Almalexia's King (or vice versa, depending on interpretation), and the Nerevarine is the observer getting those DAMN ANNOYING DARK BROTHERHOOD ASSASSINS SENT AFTER THEM. ARGH.

[aladaylessecondblog]

Red Mountain Waffle House, pt. 22

Author's Note: I reiterate, this one really got away from me...this was supposed to be a goofier AU and it turned into a telenovela... --------------------------------------------

Sadara had gone very quiet of late. The reason was quite obvious, and despite the sudden amount of attention she was getting from the palace servants, it seemed not to touch her. She kept mentioning being tired, and while the healers declared nothing to be wrong with her physically, some said it might simply be nerves. Rest would always help, so as long as she tended to what Helseth asked of her, her extended sleeping hours went unchallenged.

Austere, the papers called their future queen. A strict and simple match for the King. Some said there could be no great love between the two, that the King sought this particular bride for reasons known only to himself. Certainly there was no fortune or title to speak of on her side to tempt him into the match. Others said it was the case of a noble suitor putting back together a heart broken by the Sharmat - a king among men to lift her above her sorrows (this was less common, but if asked about one's opinion on the romance by Helseth, one usually answered with this).

Sadara herself would not confirm or deny any of the stories, and seemed to dedicate herself almost wholly to Helseth's cause of abolition. 'A stain on the face of Morrowind,' she said, 'A stain that should long ago have been wiped away.'

The insults slung at Helseth were directed at her as well - that she was far too influenced by her birth and upbringing in Cyrodiil. But from what Barenziah could see, Sadara only smiled serenely and it seemed as though the words passed right through her. Even the honey-covered barbs Morgiah threw on her arrival seemed not to cause upset.

"You handle them very well," Barenziah said to her, as Sadara breathed a sigh of relief at dinner, "Almost as if you were born to it."

"It's not being born to it, it's practice. I've been called worse things."

"Perhaps it's also that you're the incarnate of Nerevar? I've heard that said too."

"Almalexia said as much when I saw her last," Sadara replied quietly, "She seems pleased with this match, and was sure you were too."

She paused.

"Are you?"

"Of course I am. Perhaps between the two of us we can direct Helseth's attention a little better."

Another pause.

"Was this your plan?" Sadara asked, "To find someone to rein in the King? I'm afraid you've chosen incorrectly if that's the case."

Always proper vocabulary now, but stiff, like a statue. Whatever Helseth had said or done, it had spooked her into behaving exactly as a noble should...or at least how he thought one should.

"You suit him, that is all." Barenziah said. But privately, she had other thoughts.

Rein him in? Oh, my dear girl, I intend much more than that.

-----------------------------

"Thank you," Nerevar said, "Really, you have no idea what you're doing for--"

"I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for me." Morgiah's arms uncrossed and her hands moved down to smooth out a wrinkle in her gown, "Honestly, I knew that Helseth would choose a woman from the Empire, but I didn't think he would follow the Emperor's own practice of marrying a woman who clearly despises him."

"Is it really that obvious?"

"As much as anything around here." There was a pause. "Strange, how the King should neglect to at least invite Saint Nerevar to the wedding. So long as you avoid Almalexia's notice you should be able to get in and out."

"And what do you get from this?" Nerevar asked, suspicion creeping into his voice. "Do you want the crown of Morrowind for yourself?"

Morgiah gave a harsh laugh. "Why should I want this ugly ash-blasted land when I have the beauty of Firsthold? Perhaps the land here suits you, but I would prefer nothing more than never to see it again."

"Again - what benefit do you derive? If you intend to slay me I promise it will not go well for you. Lord Dagoth will--"

"I want you both as allies," Morgiah said, "There are many who would love nothing more than to see me unseated from my throne, and while I am perfectly capable of retaining power...it always helps to have outside aid."

"You want an alliance?"

"Of course I do. Your dark future husband, he has many arts at his disposal...arts I would encourage to be used to keep certain troublesome forces in Firsthold at bay. As for my royal brother..."

(It was the first time, but certainly not the last, that Nerevar would think how much alike Morgiah and Almalexia were.)

"Well, at any rate..." there was a pause, "I'm certain his mouse of a fiancee will be pleased to be rid of him."

"Excuse me?" he was momentarily stunned, and about to retort - but Morgiah merely smiled and left before he could do it.

----------------------------------------

Sadara was alone, as expected, looking into a mirror prior to getting started for the day - and she jumped in her seat when she saw the door open and Helseth step in.

"You really must learn to better hide your fears," he said with a slight laugh, "How can you expect to do well at my side if not?"

"You're...just the first person to..."

"...to truly frighten you? I'm flattered." Helseth had another small box with him, "I thought I might reward you for your compliance so far."

He set the box on the table before her, opened it, and drew out a gold chain with a black pearl at its center. One that seemed to match the one in the ring she'd been given.

"You refuse to open the wallet I've given you and spend anything to look more like the role I'm giving you, so you've forced me to do it myself."

"The people seem to like the idea of--"

"I don't particularly care what the people think." Helseth brought the chain up and around her neck, fastening it tightly. "You will look as you should."

Sadara looked into the mirror, and had the distinct impression of that necklace - that it was the collar to his leash.

Well, perhaps that was right. She was only Helseth's dog now.

"There now, you see? Far better than what those devils gave you."

"Of course," Sadara's voice was hollow as she reached up to touch the pearl. "Thank you."

[kagrenacs]

Currently reading through the lore contributions of Loranna's RP. Some highlights:

Helseth has clipped ears. One is due to his sister Elysana biting it off, the other he clipped to match.

"Helseth wore an ancient crown of the Chimer, with five points curving inward like blades, supporting one in the middle: what it symbolized in the elder days was debatable, but today it meant Five Houses Under One King."

Ald Raathim, which is under the control of House Dres

Mantling of Nirn itself

Tattoo enchantments (one Dunmer character has tattoos around his arm to protect from vengeful ancestor spirits, vampire hunters commonly have tattoos to protect against undead)

Altmer weddings last half a day

Firsthold has a mask season where everyone wears costumes

[valthari-andari]

Name: Kalvana

Race: Dunmer

Gender: Female

Titles: The Nerevarine, Protector of Morrowind, Nerevar-Born-Again, Moon-and-Star, The Eternal, Lady Morrowind, Queen/King of Morrowind.

Fighting Styles / class: Warrior

Weapon(s): Goldbrand

Partner: Male Ashlander

Family: The Lord and Lady of Mournhold (grandparents), Queen Barenziah (Mother), unknown father, Dralsi Indoril (Half Sister), Karliah (Niece), Helseth Hlaalu (Half Brother), Morgiah (Half sister), Valthari Andar (daughter), Unnamed Grandchild(ren), Kaiden (Son-in-law)

Bio:

Kalvana was born to Barenziah and an unknown lover in a city of Morrowind. Shortly after her birth a servant who was a secret follower of Vaermina sensed Azura's blessing upon the child and stole her away. Using a spell, she erased the child from Barenziah's memory.

She took the babe to the imperial city, intending to bring her to a cult but was intercepted by a guard. Kalvana was taken from her and raised in an orphanage.

Eventually, she was arrested for murdering a man who attempted to assault a friend of hers, and eventually sent to Morrowind. There she becomes the Nerevarine.

In 4E 6 she leaves to discover a way to stop the eruption. She takes a break and visits her Ashlander lover towards the end of 4E 170. At 4E 171 she returns to Solstheim and gives birth to her daughter Valthari. Kalvana stays with her for a year before being forced to leave again.

Eventually, she returns and is able to put a stop to the Red Mountain's eruption, and with the help of her daughter they are eventually able to rebuild Morrowind.

Kalvana stays in Morrowind and takes her place as Morrowind's protector. Eventually the civilians give her many names and titles, such as “Lady Morrowind,” and “The Eternal.” Once she returns to Morrowind she is crowned the King of Morrowind.

[welkynars]

snippet

“Everything would be fine if you hadn’t died.”

Morgiah paced, restless, around the clay pit holding the ash that was once Symmachus. Ash that had once formed the arms that held her as a little girl. Ash that consisted of the blood, sweat, and tears of her father, her protector. 

“You should have fought harder. You could have. I know it. I don’t care if you had to cut through a thousand mer to survive. You should have come back to me, protected me, protected us.”

A lifeline, a soldier, a husband, a father, a king; all reduced to nothing but the fine, grey power nearly indistinguishable from the dust that sat on the surfaces of the tomb. For all the Empire had done in memoriam of her father after his death, there was nothing to show of it. No one had entered this part of the tomb in years. Not even Barenziah nor Helseth had visited when they returned. Morgiah wished she hadn’t. She remembered little of ancestral tombs from her childhood, and to her now they seemed like a cruel rest. Ash that was once a life, a good man, for all she’d known at eight years old. Maybe all she’d been told were lies, maybe her own memories were lies. If he were still alive, perhaps he’d be an unforgiving ruler and a harsh father. Perhaps he’d withdraw in his old age, abandoning his wife and children in all but formalities. There was nothing to show for who he’d be. Nothing but ash.

“I know I wouldn’t be here,” She continued aloud, her voice monotone but betraying a slight tremor. She glanced at the ground and noticed the dust was dirtying the hem of her skirts. “At least I wouldn’t be here, at your grave, wondering who you’d be to me. Longing for the life I’d have in Mournhold, the life I deserve. Do you have any idea what it was like? The things I’ve seen, the things I’ve done, the things done to me, across the continent and throughout decades, all because you couldn’t-“ 

This time her voice cracked, betraying what she fought hardest to hide, even in the absence of everyone she felt the need to hide it from.

[sylvienerevarine]

Sylvie after playing Almalexia and King Helseth against each other for months

[lilmothiits]

So many of your OCS look really fun.

You said to ask so, skaris lore?

YAAAAAAAA aauuuuuuu thank youuu

so skaris is one of my nerevarines. i used princessstompers royal start mod which sets you up as the bastard heir of king helseth

so skaris was born to a khajiiti mother but named + raised primarily dunmeri. he gets aaaanything he wants just as long as he stays out of helseths hair. he keeps his mane on his neck trimmed down to the length of fur on the rest of his body bc helsth didnt want to bother with trying to furgonomics his attire. i gave hin a tail and digitigrade feet bc morrowind khajiit have them but im v tempted to plantigrade and dock him (docking being for the same reason as trimming his mane)

anyway as the mod goes, you steal something of great importance to helseth and so he pawns you off on the blades bc hes sick of you. skaris gets sent away to vvardenfell with instructions to meet caius cosades (and from there its just regular morrowind)

skaris isnt used to um. caring for himself and he immediately gets lost on his way to balmora. and when he eventually gets to balmora the first thing caius says is go get a job. and skaris doesnt WANNA get a job. he ends up joining the thieves guild

i dont have a whole lot of planned out lore (esp compared to bee or engel) bc i havent played morrowind in yeeeaaars but whenever i can im gonna play as him bc im love his scrungly stupid mean ass