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igorlevchenko-blog · 6 hours

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"Arcadia's Cauldron" alchemy shop.

Whiterun. Skyrim. 4E 201

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igorlevchenko-blog · 20 hours

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A word on Constant Effect Enchantments

We've had occasion before now to reflect how constant Illusion enchantments are detrimental to one's mental health. @theseventhoffrostfall has aptly dubbed it "the dunmer version of lead-based makeup" which also underscores how it became a kind of fashion statement, to cloak oneself in, say, cumulative Chameleon enchantments, in civil setting. The harmful effects of illusion magic ranges from insidious to truly devastating: as is the case with Sanctuary spell, shown to be the main driver of disassociative disorders—conditions that involve experiencing a loss of connection between thoughts, memories, feelings, surroundings, behavior and identity. Under these circumstances, one can imagine how even the lowliest Light spell—if made into a constant effect—would be further exasperating these symptoms.

Here I refer you to my monograph: "On pathology of indirect Light spells", Black Horse Courier Press, Imperial city.

While Reflect and Detect spells (of Mysticism school) may work towards eroding one's circumspection—the ethereality, the ghostliness of Sanctuary is an assault on faculties most fundamental.

So once again I ask you to call upon your local Council-members to vote on banning this magical mal-practice!

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igorlevchenko-blog · 21 hours

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Elder Scrolls: Portrait of an Argonian Swordsman.

—Saxhleel warrior had plumage of aquamarine effulgence that visually bled into face tattooing of similarly lurid colour. But it was the longsword of tarnished metal that held my attention for it was a weapon of unmistakably Daedric origin, and the eye-shaped jewel, embedded in its guard, was seemingly spying those around it. Suddenly I recalled where I had seen such blades and knew at once the sword was made from madness ore!

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igorlevchenko-blog · 1 day

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Icewind dale: Portrait of an aquatic troll (a.k.a. scrag).

A scrag is a marine troll, a gilled form of the common troll. A scrag is found in a large body of water, as it needs considerable room to hunt. The coloration of a scrag runs from blue-green to olive, and its forelimbs are shorter and weaker than ordinary trolls. The freshwater scrag is smaller than a normal troll and has heavy scales and less formidable claws, but its enlarged lower jaw bears many small, very sharp fangs.

#icewind dale #faerun #aquatic troll #dnd creature #dnd monster #trolls #dnd character #dnd #dark fantasy #monster design #horror #bestiary #fantasy monster #dungeons and dragons #digital art #digital painting #troll #forgotten realms

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igorlevchenko-blog · 2 days

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What are you talking about? Skyrim was completely destroyed by a snowstorm during the White Year. Nothing survived.

I really do hope that the upcoming elder scrolls game includes “immortal” characters from Skyrim or other titles (Neloth, Serana, Teldryn, etc) instead of starting on a completely clean slate.

When games have little character bits about previous titles in them and uses that to build more of a story, it’s really entertaining.

This can look like:

•Character from title 1 had an interest in magic, in title 2 they become an evil magician.

•Character death is implied in title 2, but their family can be found and introduced as new characters.

•Child character from title 1 is seen in title 2 as an adult with a good story.

•A book, item, artefact or overheard dialogue referencing a character from a previous title, shedding light on what might’ve occurred with them after the events of title 1.

It would be awfully satisfying if they made Neloth some sort of wicked character, he deserves that for all of this troubles.

On the other hand, I think it’s very unlikely that characters and bits from Skyrim specifically will be revisited, though it’s nice to think of. Ramble over.

#skyrim #tesblr

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igorlevchenko-blog · 2 days

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The way Delyna's grandfather Llerar Mandas tells it, you'd think the dastardly Lord-Wizard snatched the maiden from her ancestral manor, polymorphed as cloud of netches or something. Please—the girl was caught in leather catsuit, sneaking into Divayth's tower, geared up as burglar would: lockpicks, two glass swords and a magical ring of Chameleon—mademoiselle's frivolous attempt at "slumming", no doubt. Lenient as Lord Fyr is towards petty thieves—Delyna was merely put under arrest in the tower. She spend several weeks, enjoying hospitality of Fyrs before she was released unto a representative of House Redoran. That during these weeks her addled father, Arethan rampaged through the Ashlands alongside his gang of vagabonds—supposedly as means to cope with kidnapping of his daughter—can scarcely be blamed on House Telvanni, can it not? Truly, Delyna would have been released much sooner, if not for the real fear of her accidentally perishing en-route—Tel Fyr is fairly isolated place and the surrounding waters can be dangerous.

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igorlevchenko-blog · 2 days

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Alternate Facts

“A sign? I don’t recall such a thing. I was born in a world hidden behind a steel door. I have vague memories of a monster, some kind of a frozen bird? I wasn’t feeling like myself. Then I woke up on a boat. No, perhaps I was in a prison? I had a guest, he told me to make it so. He didn’t make it. Or was I taking a nap in a wagon? Just a relaxing trip through the countryside? Whichever it was, there was an Empire involved. There might be more than one. This Empire doesn’t have any gears or steam. Have you seen any thieves? I think I was with some kind of a thief. Do you know how valuable limeware is?”

I abruptly ran out of thoughts, and then words. The bearded man in front of me squinted in thought, or perhaps confusion.

“…Interesting. Now before I stamp these papers, make sure this information is correct.” He placed a document onto the table beside me with a series of supposedly defining details of myself. A quill beside the document seemed to claim the power to confirm reality, but I was not so sure.

Terra — the last name seems to be omitted. Altmer. Mage. Atronach — is this the monster? …No personality? No memory — possible magical tampering.

I glanced up at the man. “How should I know?”

He did not seem to notice my question, and stamped the document in a fluid motion. “Well, maybe a new start is just what you need. Show your papers to the Captain when you get your release fee.”

Release? Captive? Again? Have I been here before? Where even AM I? Why does it all feel incorrect?

The Captain proceeded to instruct me to deliver a package in the name of the Emperor. I was no longer listening. I exited the Census and Excise Office and deposited the package into an open barrel in the grassy courtyard area. I barely even noticed myself picking up the stray ring that lay at the bottom of the barrel. It felt natural to do so, but I could offer no explanation as to why.

I would eventually decide to travel to the nearby town of Balmora. Having heard talk of a Mage’s Guild while perusing the local Tradehouse, it seemed as good a place as any to search for answers.

Why is this mer getting so close to me?

“Are you the one that boat dropped off? Odd to see a boat arrive at that time of the day. Don’t bother trying to rob me. The Imperials have taken everything away.”

At the time, neither I nor the diminutive mer in front of me knew just how odd my arrival was, or how much had actually been taken away.

#morrowind #house telvanni #the elder scrolls #morrowind fanfic #tes fanfic #seyda neen #fargoth #morrowind memes #tes memes #character creation #fanfic #spoonmagister

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igorlevchenko-blog · 2 days

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Summoning of Ash Spawn

Screenshot from Beyond (Beyond Skyrim:Bruma):Skyrim.

#elder scrolls #skyrim #tesblr #screenshots #skyrim mods #skyrim screenshots #crpg #pc gaming #gaming

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igorlevchenko-blog · 2 days

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Located halfway between Vivec and Balmora, Pelagiad's the only thing that stands between the Thieves Guild and Camonna Tong; the latter kept from swooping in from Ascadian Isles by an imposing fort that looms above Lake Amaya. 'Tis never been its purpose to curtail the local smugglers—vexing though it is to let them scurry through the honeycomb of caves around the trade road— but rather to check the mighty Dren Plantation and keep it confined it to the Isles—thus (deliberately, some say) allowing the Guild to run its logistics along the edge of the lake. One route leads to Vivec City (and its clandestine sea ports), the other— northward, further inland whence come the caravans of contraband ebony and glass. This uneasy standstill between two criminal organisations is only temporary, and before long the local gangs (Adanumuran included) will be forced to choose a side in this conflict.

P.S: The Tong is right saying: just as the rat comes with a ship so did the Guild come with the Empire. And on its institutions it's utterly dependent still.

A Dunmer chilling outside Pelagiad

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igorlevchenko-blog · 3 days

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Morrowind: A portrait of Menta Na, the daedroth, with a daedric staff. Kora-Dur, Northern Vvardenfell. Year: unknown.

—I've mentioned the sudden departure of Trebonius Artorius left me with a dearth of paying clients. And since the new Archmage didn't prove to be a connoisseur of Arts—for a time I had little choice but to consider some uncanny commissions, whose source one'd do well not to mention around Temple district, lest one plans to take lodgings at Baar Dau.

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igorlevchenko-blog · 3 days

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Telvanni "smart home" technology.

luke_penry.exr on TikTok

Credit if used!

#mushrooms #fungi #house telvanni #tel mithryn #sadrith mora #tel mora #tel vos #vvardenfell #tel branora #telvanni #morrowind lore #magical

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igorlevchenko-blog · 4 days

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Good people of Vos! Let me assure you: nothing maleficent has been happening in Venim Ancestral Tomb. There's no "infestation", undead or otherwise.

Please remain indoors until further notice.

#morrowind #vvardenfell #dunmer #necromancer #tel vos #Bolvyn Venim #tamriel #tesblr #morrowind fanart #morrowind lore #grazelands

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igorlevchenko-blog · 5 days

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Fate and the School of Gravity

It is no surprise that I have dedicated myself to the unraveling of the Reality Hallucination. In fact, nearly everything I do is in pursuit of this goal. The harder I press, the more cracks are revealed, but it has been my assumption that I was alone in my endeavors. This land’s residents seem, more or less, content to live within this false reality, awaiting a false savior, or communing with false gods (pests).

On the path from Seyda Neen, I experienced an intense vison. A curious wizard, brazenly participating in wacky and wild antics in opposition to the Reality Hallucination. This creature — appearing like a mer but significantly less impressive — shrieked and wailed as he plummeted to the ground directly on top of a curiously placed Tome. As the bones snapped and the flesh jiggled, I considered the possibility that I had witnessed another crack in the Hallucination.

Suddenly, the vision ends and I find myself several seconds in the past, a curious Tome at my feet and a screaming mer overhead. I swiftly cast Slowfall on the mer as he plummeted yet again, and saved the Gravity Wizard from the grisly fate I had witnessed. (Note: to be clear, this refers to a Wizard whose only trait is to be affected by gravity. It is not to imply he has gained mastery over the same).

…And then I detained him, and ported us both to the newly renovated prison beneath Tel Uvirith. It is my growing suspicion that this Wizard was an experiment. The Reality Hallucination has seen my work, seen my attempts to reveal and undo it, has seen that I receive extraterrestrial assistance by way of the CHIME, and now plots to mimic my methods so as to better combat me. It has crafted this bizarre, misshapen, unimpressive mer and foolishly sent it out into the field.

The Gravity Wizard presently does not wish to speak on the matter, but it is only a matter of CHIME.

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igorlevchenko-blog · 5 days

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Makes total sense if you remember that you are playing through a first-hand account of someone who starts the game in an insane asylum (with amnesia to boot). That's right: in the era corresponding to the one of TES there did NOT exist prisons to spend one's punishment in—an arrestee was 'detained' for a brief time before being disposed in whatever fashion. I'm not going to rob anyone (yet) of a chance to research this particular topic for themselves. Point is: the Imperial City Prison is no *prison* at all, but an institution of another kind.

Oblivion has the weirdest aesthetic choices going on. Everything is super bright and saturated, the characters look silly and almost bordering on cartoonish, and the voice acting and delivery tends to be pretty silly. The whole things has such a strong classic fantasy vibe compared to the other tes games, but also there's a bunch of realistic gore and rotting corpses and really dark questlines with gross visuals (for the quality of those visuals). it's such a weird game.

#tes #oblivion #uriel septim

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igorlevchenko-blog · 5 days

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Portrait of Trebonius Artorius, Archmage of The Mages Guild on Vvardenfell. Vivec city. Year: 3E 425

—Alas, with his departure I've lost my best-paying client.

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igorlevchenko-blog · 6 days

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Skyrim: True Storms

Mod by fadingsignal

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igorlevchenko-blog · 6 days

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The Tall Tales of Umbra

It was clearly a very drunk Orc.

The unfortunate creature was unable to even remember his own name. I briefly sympathized with him, as I also have great difficulty differentiating between the various guttural sounds that Orcs choose in place of a name. But while most Orcs seem content enough to upend tankards of alcohol or endlessly hammer steel and anvils, this one seemed to struggle to support the weight of his own equipment and did not appear to understand how, when, or where he was.

I had been operating out of Suran for the past three days, gathering intelligence in my attempts to root out agents of House Hlaalu. Aside from the copious amount of Cat drugs and mysterious gyrations found within the House of Earthly Delights, I found very little of note. There was talk, however, of an insane and dangerous individual lurking in the hills outside the town. What I found instead was an Orc who instructed me to call him Umbra, after the sword he lazily carried with its point dragging in the dirt. The blade appeared to have traced a meandering and circular path.

The orc spoke as though he were reading lines from a script.

“I have traveled from one end of the land to the other. I have the blood of man and mer uncountable on my hands. I have seen the atrocities of war and the hideous excess of peace. There is nothing left for me in this world.”

“I have also traveled this land, though there is nothing truly in this world for anyone,” I replied. “It is but a figment of a collective imagination which I intend to shatter.”

Umbra slowly rocked backwards, as though he had been hit by a gentle wave. He did not appear to process my words, but rather seemed to be struggling against some sort of internal force. He adjusted his sword grip and clumsily planted it into the ground.

The orc continued on.

“…I have seen the wholesale slaughter of men, women, entire races of people. Here I still… stand.”

As he concluded his delusions, he gestured with his free hand at the dirt beneath him.

“Here? Right here?” I glanced back towards the town of Suran which, to my knowledge, still stood relatively unscathed. Nearly everyone I had met here has shared the mistaken belief that their actions within the Reality Hallucination are of any consequence. This particular orc seemed to be living a vice-fueled fantasy in which he remained undefeated in combat, and sought a way to end his cycle of self-proclaimed victories.

“The only things you have seen here are ash and the occasional cliff-racer. From where have you come? Why do you wander these hills like some sort of bewitched Nord?”

“I…I…have no more to do in this life.” Umbra began to struggle with his words. “All that is left for me is my own death. I have found no one that can best me in combat. Are you the one who can, altmer?”

As inebriated as this orc was, it did not surprise me he was unable to find anyone capable of dispatching him, as the only candidates for such a contest were sugar-addled Earthly Delights patrons, or the aforementioned wandering cliff-racer. Even a well-armed drunkard may find great difficulty in piercing his admittedly impressive armor.

“I have virtually no doubt of my capabilities to defeat you,” I posited from behind several magick barriers and protections. “But I have a great many doubts regarding the authenticity of your exploits. It seems to me that this province would have been reduced to an even greater smoldering ruin should even a fraction of what you have told me been the truth.”

Umbra was now fully leaning on his sword and gestured once again to the barren and empty hills around him. “You…you come into my house, into my domain, with such foolish disrespect? These hills are littered with the countless bones of challengers. The very grass hesitates to grow in my presence. The blight follows in my footsteps. The…Matze ceases to flow. The elves…the elves…remain hidden from sight…and you come to face me with robes and…and spoons?”

“I am merely investigating a supposed threat, and instead have found yet another destitute and confused orc.”

“Come then,” he suddenly shouted. “Lift me from these shackles of life! Become the new wielder of Umbra!” He took a step towards me as the sword, still planted in the ground, blocked his path and tangled beneath his feet. He tumbled towards me with a cry of war, and perhaps also surprise.

***

Days later, I entered the dingy and dilapidated House of Destitute Orcs and Trade Emporium within Caldera. This was to be my last attempt to uncover the origins of Umbra, having already visited countless daedric shrines, taverns, and armories throughout the island. Despite my magick-assisted questioning, the orcs here seemed incapable of confirming or denying the existence of such an individual, though the empty bottles and bones which littered the floor of the manor did not inspire confidence that this was a reliable source of information. In fact, it was entirely believable that any of these orcs could have passed for Umbra, had they only donned the appropriate armor.

I spoke briefly with the curious yet financially-reliable scamp who lived among the filth and orcs.

“Ah! Umbra! I know this! The sword is choosy when it comes to new owners! I heard it was cursed by a witch! It normally remains hidden until it finds a new owner! Why do you ask?”

I retrieved the blade from the portal within my Bag of Holding and telekinetically placed it onto the pile of other priceless and apparently legendary artifacts I had come across in my travels.

“It isn’t that choosy.”

#umbra #morrowind #humor #fiction #orcs #house telvanni #elder scrolls #spoonmagister #gaming #morrowind fanfic #tes fanfic #tesblr #tes

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