Entries of Cyrodiil: A Goblins journey

[Keanumoreira]

(If you are familiar with Oblivion and the Elder scroll series, then you can just skip to the story below. If not, then please read on, it explains much of Tamriels history along with a few things I came up with on my own.)

 

PROLOGUE

 

Six A.M, the 30th of Sun's Dawn, the year of Dibella, Era four of 434

 

I live in a universe composed of many intersecting realms, each alive and teeming with life and miracles. One of these realms, known as Tamriel, is what I call home. It is a place of divine beauty with rolling hills, various species of proud plants and animals, with mountains that tickle the feet of Akatosh, and of one thing that the others lack...humans. Every realm in existence was created by a Daedric Prince; the little that know them call them Gods, but Tamriel is among the most peculiar of their creations. The one who created it is a 250 foot monster known as Mehrunes Dagon, the Prince of Destruction. This Daedric Prince once ruled this realm in a time known as the Mythic age, where man was just beginning his first baby steps. We watched as they suffered under his rule, most of them perishing in the fires of Oblivion, another of Dagon’s creations and his original home. It wasn't until his brother appeared, the Dragon God Akatosh that his reign of the mortals truly began to weaken. Akatosh gave the humans a very powerful artifact, known as the Amulet of Kings, where it was placed in the hands of one woman. Her name was Alessia, the woman that would seal the barriers between her world and Oblivion, and was to become the first human ruler of Tamriel. Such a thing wouldn't be allowed in the other realms, and therefore was, and until very recently the only act of its kind.

 

Since then, Tamriel has flourished under the human grip, after defeating not just one foe, but two. After fighting the innumerable armies of the Daedra, man fought the next race that took up arms against him. They were called the Ayleids, the people who created humanity itself. Most believe that after the Oblivion invasion last year in First seed, which left the realm permanently safe from the ilk of Dagon and the throne empty; was proof in itself that Dagon really did create man as a slave race, but this is only fiction. The Ayleids where the true origins of all humans, serving them while they served the Daedra. But when they realized that their creation banished a holy species, they began to regret their decision and decided to kill them off, but genocide had turned the tables. Alessia led her kind against the Ayleids, and seized their empire for themselves, erasing much of their culture and dismantling most of their cities. No one alive today remembers an Ayleid’s face, and much of their life is lost, but a handful of their remarkable technology still lives on. Among the most popular and abundant of these technologies are Runestones and Welkend stones. The Runes where thought to serve the purpose of harvesting the energy of the stars that pasted over them at certain point in a day of everyday which would grant the user permanent control of this rare magic. Welkend stones are far more understood, known to be invented for the sole purpose of restoring ones magica; a gene within every creature alive in every realm that enables them to manipulate the forces of magic, but only intelligent beings, the ones smart enough to realize they have it, actually use it. But the true pinnacle of these stones was the Great Welkend stones which are enormous compared to their smaller cousins. They were once present in every Ayleid city which was placed at its center, but over the centuries, looters and mages stole them for their captivating glow either to sell them into retirement, keep them as treasures to display, or to use them for dark rituals which was how the last of Great Welkend stones was destroyed, in a ritual that involved the fetching of the Amulet of Kings to cease the Oblivion crisis. Although they left a world behind them, and took most of their lifestyle with them, the Ayleids did leave one thing that they couldn’t take with them; the landmass of Elaria.

 

Elaria is a super Continent, a Pangaea if you will if you don’t count Summerset Isle. This is the heart of my realm were Imperialia, a single empire more commonly referred to as the Imperial empire, is controlled by the Imperial humans where they reign supreme. At the heart of it is Cyrodiil, the base of all human life and dominance. Surrounding Cyrodiil is its eight Provinces: The home of the Wood Elves, Valenwood; the Desert of the Khajiits, Elsweyr; the swamps of the Argonians, Black Marsh; the east land of the Dark elves, Morrowind; the mountains of the Nords, Skyrim; The fields of the Redguard and Orcs, Hammer fell; the sea rock of the Bretons; High Rock; and Summer Island of the High Elves; Summerset Isle. These eight, distant lands, and its nine races are all situated around the foundation of this great empire, where today, they all coalesce as one. But in the early days of Imperialia, things were not always this peaceful in our Golden Age.

 

Back when Imperialia was struggling to unite, the Septiems or the royal family that once wore the Dragon crown, were just beginning their invasion of their neighbors, and once they claimed a province as part of the Imperial empire, they enslaved them. Most of these enslavements were abolished fairly early, but it wasn’t until around the half of the last millennia that the Khajiits, Argonians, and Orcs were finally released from their iron shackles and were granted full welcome into Imperialia, although heavy racism continued largely until the modern day. From what I observed, females of all kinds in the empire are making a charge as well. Even though Alessia was the First female ruler and the first Emperor ever, every time a male rose to the crown, sexism in Tamriel would shift: If there was a female, sexism was nowhere to be seen, if there was a male, it would burst out like the flames of a Dragon. It took much stability over the course of human survival, but eventually, most of this belief has been considered to be barbaric. Although women aren’t regarded to be as powerful as men physically, today they are thought of to be equal partners in most regions of Elaria, granting them the right to serve in the legions, to become head of the Fighters guild, or to guard the royal family should one return again as well as other roles that most citizens of the Imperial empire are given.

 

But in all aspects of humanities arrival, they are still developing civilly. Unlike us, they steal, murder, and rape their own friends and family, and argue between each other with such stubbornness yet to be seen anywhere else. However, they are blessed ironically as the most cultured people to walk this realm, surpassing even the greatness of the Ayleids. They have crafted the largest cities in recorded history; they’ve made roads that crisscross through forests, and over and beneath entire mountain ranges. They grow the most splendid of vegetables and citrus, and brew the finest mixture of water and barley, and the more preferred squeezing of grapes; strange concoctions they call beer and wine. They also contain a biblical army, one so powerful that it rivals even Dagon’s invincible brood.

 

It is here in this land of combined beliefs, of many lakes and waterfalls with diverse people and creative minds, where nature wraps here finger in splendid, pleased approval of the artificial people that improve her beauty. A land where guilds of magic, fighting, stealing, and murdering can merge without a care for worry. That one continent where dreams can be visited, where bodies can be bound, where the dark secrets of Necromancy can be studied and shared, and where artifacts with powers of unimaginable magnitude waits to be found while ruins rest to be explored. It is here in that realm of Tamriel, in Cyrodiil on Elaria where I begin my own revolution of rights and strive to change the history of all around me. My name is Yori, these are my entries...and I am a Goblin.

 

*Sun's Dawn is known as the month of February, while First seed is known as March.*

 

http://www.imperial-library.info/maps/cyrodiil_ingame.jpg

[Maharg67]

Very interesting. I will need to read this again but I appreciated what I gained from the first reading. I look forward to reading more.

[Keanumoreira]

Very interesting. I will need to read this again but I appreciated what I gained from the first reading. I look forward to reading more.

 

Thank you Maharg67 for the positive feedback. The thought actually came to me about a year ago but I never did write it down until now. I just hope the garden will like it.

[Keanumoreira]

Nine A.M, the 8th of Hearthfire, the year of Zenithar, Era four of 436

 

It has been over two years since my first entry, and Orgith isn’t making things easier. I’m sick of listening to him complain and insult me just because he is the mage of our clan which therefore grants him leadership. So what if I am intelligent, so what if I can read and write; that automatically makes me an outsider? The others are already beginning to question my motives and look at me as if I am a stranger to them. I can’t believe they are considering to kick me out of the cave, after all the centuries we’ve lived together and after all I’ve done for them. Who gathers the food, who cleans the cave, who nurtures the new goblin offspring? Me, and this is how they repay me?

 

But perhaps they’re not too far off; after all, I harbor a very strange ability. Ever since I can remember, I’ve done things most goblins can’t such as solve problems and move away from immediate danger. I’ve learned when food has gone rotten and how to perform various stages of Alchemy that the others are just beginning to tackle. And that’s when my mother explained it to me.

 

“Yori.” She said to me in our native tongue, “You are intelligent, you are smart like me, we can think for ourselves and find numerous ways out of troubling situations. You have a gift my son, one that is very rare amongst our people; never let them take that away from you.”

 

“Is that why Daddy left?” She looked down to me with her brown eyes, keeping back the rush of tears behind them.

 

“Yes.” She sighed, “He left because he didn’t want you; he wasn’t the man I thought he was. But Yori, no matter how bad things get, no matter how rough the clan treats you because of your gift, know that what you have is far greater than anything you could have received. And because of it you don’t have to remain in the recesses of this damp and cold cave, out there is an entire world for you to explore where your mind isn’t bound by a disapproving family. Out there is where you really belong Yori, not stuck here with those who don’t love you.”

 

“So why didn’t you leave?”

 

“Oh my son, there are so many hardships you will learn when you are old enough to understand. Know for now that things are harder than they appear to be. But one thing is certain, I love you with all my heart, and even if we didn’t share the gift, I still would.”

 

“I love you too mother.” I hugged her as if it were my first; soothing the early abuse the other goblins gave me.

 

As the years went by, things gradually grew worse as simple name calling resorted to physical violence, but there was so much my mother could do. In Goblin society, each goblin is given a name which represents how important they are. The names range from Aklosh, meaning the sky which applies to the mage, to Ralak, meaning dirt which was given to me and my mother. We are at the bottom of the social ladder, which meant my mom couldn’t argue or disagree with anyone because they were all higher than us. All we could do was put up with the torment we were given, and the worst torture of all didn’t come from those around me, but from nature herself.

 

After living with my mother for one hundred and fifty years, which compared to human life expectancy is only forty years, she began to grow very ill. One night, on her deathbed, she summoned me to her side as she took her final breaths.

 

“Yori...my son.” She said very weakly as I kneeled to her, “Things are not looking so good; I don’t think I’m going to make it through the night.”

 

“But mother!”

 

“Shhhh, shhhh. It’s okay, you’re better off without me.”

 

“Mother...”

 

“Listen to me....Yori, your opportunity to leave is growing ever stronger, and with my death, the window to freedom will finally begin to emerge. I die in satisfaction, knowing that because so, my son won’t hesitate to leave me behind in search of a better life. Because of this, my soul will rest easy.” She coughed very heavily; blood dripped from her lips. “My time is growing short, I can feel death taking my hand and so you must take this.”

 

“What is it?” I asked as she placed it in my hands, “This is a locket that acts like a soul gem; I want you to use it...”

 

“On you? No, no mother I can’t...I...I can’t!”

 

“Yes...yes you can. Please, please use it.” She took me by the hand, as she rose the other one with the locket just over her heart, “Take it once I shut my eyes, that way, I can be with you forever until the deed is done. Hurry...as my dying wish.” Her hands slipped and fell to the ground as her eyes rolled back.

 

Reluctantly, I activated the locket and captured her escaping soul, watching as a white wind swirled within. Once the exchange was completed, I heard my name echo from the voice of my mother as I wore the locket around my neck, her soul trapped within.

 

For many days, I remained secluded from the world, fasting, refusing to sleep, denying the urge to urinate, all to find myself while I studied the words of my deceased mother. I was very young then; one hundred and fifty is only fourteen in human years, and I was undergoing rapid changes I couldn’t understand. Hormones made feelings appear strange, hair grew in uncomfortable places, and fatigue became rampant. But every time a problem rose, I would gaze down at the locket and tighten my hand around it, and each time I would do so, these bouts of strength would rush through me. Mother always knew what to say...

 

When I became the age I am now, roughly 20 in human years, it had been over one hundred years since I lost my mother, and to receive some closure, I decided to visit her grave last month. After she died, I snuck us both out in the middle of the night to bury her somewhere in the forest where the others wouldn’t find her, and I knew the perfect place. In Cyrodiil, I live in the west near the city of Chorrol. It is a mining city which flourishes off of the riches it digs up, becoming the supplier of jewels and capital to most of the empire, and near this city, I found a hill that none of the other Goblins would dare go to. They called it Devils rise because it overlooked the Imperial City, which is the capital of Imperialia and the “center” of Elaria. It was a magnificent view with fields of flowers stretching on endlessly, with the sun setting at just the right angle when I would visit in the afternoons or a peaceful climb to a new day in the mornings when it arrived. At that time, it was just the presence of Uni which is a planet caught in our own planets orbit making it a moon; in full glow along with the stars that circled it.

 

After lying down by her grave, I looked up to the stars and wondered what else was out there. When most people think of Tamriel, they only think of the planet Nirn, the home of Elaria where we all live, but there’s more to it. Technology still has a lot to accomplish; I mean the humans still haven’t developed ships that can enter the oceans leaving most of Nirn unexplored. Who knows if other lands exist beyond Elaria, who knows if other worlds provide the same life as ours? Such mysteries came to mind as I continued to study life as an orphan. Things seemed bad, but it was all about to change.

 

With the hours waning, and my eyes growing heavy, I decided it was time to return home before any suspicion arose. Later that day, the entire clan ceased their normal duties and began dressing up in leather armor.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

“Beat it Yori!” One of the clan members said hostility, pushing me to the ground and laughing. “We don’t need small man for big raid.”

 

“A raid! Raiding what?”

 

“What else? The white men.”

 

“You mean the humans?” He glared at me as I insulted his intelligence, picking me up by the chest and throwing me across the room. “Yori want to be smart! Yori big head, Yori unimportant...Yori die!”

 

“ENOUGH!” The voice rumbled throughout the cave, bringing everything to an immediate standstill.

 

“What going on?” It was Orgith, the clan master. “Well?”

 

“This meat insult my...my…”

 

“Intelligence?” I answered for him,

 

“See! See! He think he smart, he like white man, he must be burned!” Orgith looked down at me in rage, lifting me into the air with a telekinesis spell.

 

“Yori, why you act such way, why you stupid?”

 

“Stupid! You’re calling me stupid!” The crowd gasped before my words; Orgith wasn’t pleased.

 

“You think you so smart, you think you words are better? If you so smart, why you not have family?” My blood boiled as he smiled at my anger, but intelligence would win the day.

 

“I know I’m smart, I know I have a gift.” I argued, “And just because your jealous doesn’t mean you can treat me any different. Tatlock, Joharve, Nicto!” The spell reversed, giving me control over the clan master.

 

“Yori! Yori put me to ground now!"

 

“Oh I’m awfully sorry Orgith, I seemed to have forgotten the reverse spell.” I teased as I spun him in place.

 

“You die Yori! You hear? You die for this!”

 

“Wrong answer. Until you learn some respect, you’re not getting down, no matter how good of a mage you are. Farewell.”

 

“YORI! YORI RELEASE ME AT ONCE!” I turned to face the crowd who backed away in fear as I walked up to them, smiling in glory as I passed them.

 

“Oh...and one more thing.” The crowd turned around as I paused, “This raid isn’t going to happen. Unless you want to end up like Orgith, I suggest you relinquish your weapons.” They scratched their heads in confusion as they looked at each other.

 

“(Sigh) Give them to me!” Everyone instantly threw their things to my feet, dispersing as they continued their daily routines.

 

After holding the cave hostage for three days, I decided it was time to free Orgith, but not without a price.

 

“So Orgith, how have you been?” He showed me his teeth as he lashed out at me,

 

“Get me to ground! Get me to ground or so help me...”

 

“I would love to Orgith, really I would, but first you’re going to have to pay.”

 

“Gah! I pay nothing, you get no price.”

 

“Very well, I guess I’ll have to leave you here forever...” I started to leave before he finally cracked,

 

“Okay! Okay...what Yori want?”

 

“Simple...the mage status.”

 

“What! Yori mad, Yori lost brain!”

 

“I’m not joking Orgith, give me your title or I will banish you once I do.”

 

“Forget it, Orgith say nothing, Orgith no agree. Orgith will die first…”

 

“If that’s the way you want it, then fine. Clan members, take him to the Great Forest far from here and dispose of him, he is no longer welcome here.” The clan did as they were told as I reversed the spell, removing his robe, staff, and jewels, and placing them before me.

 

“Put down! Put down now! I your ruler, you follow me!”

 

“No we don’t.” One of the members responded, “We follow Yori, he much kinder, he much more forgiving… Orgith must leave.”

 

“You pay Yori, you pay for this! I return, and you pay, I swear it!” He declared as he struggled to get free,

 

“I’m sure you will. Goodbye!” I waved, placing the robe on my body and the staff in my hand, taking up the title of the mage, and redirected the clan where I wanted to.

 

Mothers dream would be fulfilled after all.

 

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/7241/1405016-goblin_super.jpg

[species5478]

Nice read. You're growing as a writer. Keep it up.

[Keanumoreira]

Nice read. You're growing as a writer. Keep it up.

 

Thank you species, your compliments make me stronger. :happy:

[Keanumoreira]

3:45 A.M, the 9th of Hearthfire, the year of Zenithar, Era four of 436

 

The frozen wind of the Icy night shuddered all of the heat from the cave complex without a source of sufficient insulation, its Siberian touch breaking the hold of lethargy one experiences when lured into sleeps seduction. Back to reality was more of a bittersweet reunion...

 

"It was a dream..." I rubbed my eyes furiously, rising from the floor to deflate my sudden rush of adrenaline that prevented me further sleep. "But it seemed so...so..so lifelike." I slowly pulled myself together as I paced the floor of my room, taking my time to gather my thoughts, "Orgith..." My teeth gritted almost simultaneously as I placed the letters together into the single word.

 

He still held power, rallied the clans, and spread his propaganda proudly; I had to relax before I would let my temper get the best of me.

 

Feeling a bit impatient for time to soothe me, I ignored the brutal bite of the temperature and headed towards the moonlight shimmering through the cave door, pushing it open slowly.

 

Creak....

 

I bit my tongue as it echoed down the caves corridors. If I wasn't careful, I would awake the entire clan, and that was one angry mob of Neanderthals you didn't want to challenge.

 

Creak....

 

It wasn't quite as loud as before, but this door wasn't to be trusted with your life. I emerged into the open world and began heading South through the Great Forest until I reached the Gold Road, one of the most economical supports of Imperialia. Waiting for a group of late night merchants to pass through, I crossed the road and continued on even further until I reached my destination...

 

By the looks of it, the fields of grass and the eyes of the swaying trees wouldn't mean anything special in particular would occupy residence here. You would be wrong.

 

"My Renaissance..." The came back to me as I neared a series of seemingly, average rocks, lifting them one by one. My Renaissance was the term I used whenever I thought of my secret stash, which was a hiding place for all the books, scrolls, pottery, clothing, jewelry, and potions I had acquired as I explored the borders of the Great Forest encompassing the tribe. I was careful to keep this stash secret; if any of the Goblins were to discover how attached to human history and their counterparts I was, it would mean decapitation, or in severe cases, the destruction or eternal imprisonment of the accused soul, with the staff of the mage as the anchor of this dark ritual.

 

Pushing aside the last of the guardian bolders to reveal a small, yet convenient hole underneath, I pulled out my stash and dusted them clean, placing them under designated groups. I recounted over the collection to be absolutely positive that everything was in order, one of the many obsessions I held on to since it was rare to find Earthly materials worthy of keeping.

 

Counting them over, everything appeared to be in order, "Eight books, thirteen scrolls, five potions, two pieces of clothing, six pieces of pottery, and ten pieces of jewelry. Yep, everything is accounted for. What to observe today?" This was a more common dilemma then one would think, since every visit to the stash demanded a hard decision since time was limited. "Reading." I thought it over, "Yes reading. So it shall be." It had been decided.

 

Placing everything else into the hole, and choosing amongst the books from the ones I've already read, and the the next one that most caught my fascination, I focused my choosing to a new world to explore with the eyes.

 

Realities of the Princes.

 

The entitlement of the book welcomed my mind to ponder its point, but before I could decide what that point would be, something began to rustle from afar.

 

It wasn't the wind since no gale down drafted this night; rather it was the classic rustling of the bushes where it would either be a friendly encounter or the complete opposite.

 

What I was to discover was something far more consequential.

 

http://www.imperial-library.info/bestiaries/oblivion_large_goblinskirmisher-1.jpg

[Keanumoreira]

Picture misplacement; please continue.

[species5478]

I bit my tongue as it echoed down the caves corridors. If I wasn't careful, I would awake the entire clan, and that was one angry mob of Neanderthals you didn't want to challenge.

-Keanumoreira

 

That's just classic! This sentence was half tension, half joke; a well written chapter. Keep it up.

[Maharg67]

Very excellent. I enjoy your use of a goblin misfit as a major character and your design of goblin society. Have read but fully intend to read again.

 

Graham, alias Maharg67.