LE Rise of the Dovahkaal *Possible Spoilers*

[Greymane]

"No."

 

The word, so plainly spoken, swept through the chamber like a Thu'um. The great hall of Sky Haven Temple, already at silence, became still as a tomb. Assembled around the table, Blades both young and old traded looks. All but for Esbern who continued to stare at the armored figure standing at the end of the table, who had spoke that simple word.

 

"Dovahkiin," the old loremaster said slowly. "You cannot deny this. The dragon must be punished for what it has done. The crimes it has committed. The people it has killed-"

 

"Are long dead," the Dovahkiin answered, voice strong and quiet. "So long dead, not their names nor their names of their childrens, childrens, children are still remembered. If the aid he offered in saving our races not once, but twice now has not been enough, then the lonely exile he has endured for these long years surely is. I will not hunt him nor suffer him hunted by another."

 

"He's a monster!" Delphine snapped, the palm of her hand slapping upon the table top. The trio of younger Blades pulled back from the motion in reflex learned in hard lesson on the practice fields. "A murderer! There can be no redemption for what he had done!"

 

The Dovahkiin turned their head towards the glowering woman. "And have you never killed, in your work as a Blade? Are your hands so unsullied?"

 

"I have no shame," she answered, yet turned her eyes away from the calm and overwhelming gaze, focusing instead on the tip of the Dovahkiin's nose so as not to lose face. "What I've done, I did for the Empire. What you suggest now goes against it's interests and the tradition of the Blades. Our oath demands we destroy this beast."

 

"This beast has been my mentor, and my friend, and without him we would not even have the slender hope of stopping the World-Eater that we do now. He wishes only seclusion and perhaps to try and turn what remains of his kind away from their path of destruction. We should be allied with him, not talking of hunting him down like some wild bear."

 

Esbern sighed, deep and weary, as he leaned back in his chair. One could almost hear old joints strain and snap with the motion and he rubbed a shriveled hand across knuckles swollen with age. Of all the warriors, brave and worthy, who surrounded that table, only he would look and meet the Dovahkiins eyes. "I am sorry, Dragonborn, but we cannot accept this. The oath that bids us to slay the dragons is far older, deeper, and more binding than even our duty to the Emperor. The names of the dead may be long forgotten by the world, but we at least still remember that they were once alive. Who else will seek their justice but us?"

 

"I wish it were not so. I respect you a great deal, all of you," the Dovahkiin said, resting palms upon the table and looking up and down at Blades of old and the friends drawn into their ranks. "Anyone who would face creatures of legend armed with nothing but steel and courage deserve respect. But if this is truly your will, I cannot abide this choice."

 

Armor creaked as the Dovahkiin rose back up and cast a look around once more, forcing each in turn to lock gazes before releasing them to consider those words. "You will not harm Paarthurnax, lest you go through me first. Me and every ally I can raise. You will only take him with blood."

 

"Including mine," spoke a voice from the table, as one of the younger Blades abruptly rose. Lydia peeled the helmet from her head and began to unstrap the Akaviri blade from her hip. Delphine opened her mouth with a glare and started to rise, but Esbern caught her arm and drew her back down with a shake of his head.

 

"You are sure of this?" the Dovahkiin asked. There was no look or question to the other two new Blades as to why they had not risen as well. Their silence already answered.

 

"There is talk of oaths here," Lydia said. Her expression was dire, but resolute. She pulled the armor from her torso and laid it down with respect onto the table beside sword and helm. "Well, my oath as your Housecarl is older than any promise I made to Esbern. Where my Thane goes, I go. That is just the way of it."

 

"Then fetch your warmest cloak, my Housecarl, and come. For we go to the Throat of the World."

 

She hastened to do so and the Dovahkiin went to wait at the entry of the temple, trading one last look with Esbern. Both could see the regret in the other. Both could see that neither was willing to bend. They nodded to each other, two souls who had once been allies now keenly aware of how suddenly and drastically that had changed. Respectful opponents, facing one another across a field, before the Dovahkiin vanished into mist and darkness at the temple door.

 

Delphine was not so sentimental, throwing a baneful glare at the Dovahkiin's back. "Well, what now? We placed our hopes the Dragonborn and they've betrayed us. We're more exposed than we've ever been."

 

"But stronger than we have in years," Esbern answered, sinking deep into the stone seat. Feeling smaller and more frail than ever before in the face of what was to come. "And not without resources."

 

"... so be it then. Every contact, every favor I'm still owed. Whatever I can get us, we will have," she turned to look at the two Blades who remained at the table, about to speak until Lydia came striding from the barracks dressed in her old armor and fastening on a heavy winter cloak. There was an exchange of glares, then both ignored the other. "The two of you, we need more recruits if we're going to face the Dragonborn. You've learned combat, now you'll learn discretion, and you'll go out and find them for us."

 

"I had hopped to keep busy fighting dragons," she said, her voice grown quiet and tight as she looked back over and watched Lydia vanish after the Dovahkiin. "Now instead, we have a war."

 

------

 

Forgive me my silly little fiction introduction. While I hardly expect anyone to take on a mod of the potential scope I'm about to suggest, I thought I would at least offer the idea to the board and perhaps someone could harvest pieces of it they liked.

 

The Dovahkaal, or Dragon Champions, would be a faction the player could choose to found themselves in answer to the controversial Blade's quest Paarthurnax. They would not initially carry that title, but be given it in time by others and come to wear it with pride. Splitting off from the Blades, the Dovahkiin could convince one (but only one) of their previous followers to come with them and they would embark upon a mission to safeguard the master of High Hrothgar against the machinations of the Blades and others, including independent dragon-hunters and the Thalmor. The Blades, in turn, will expand, carving out further strongholds among ruins and recruiting agents, assassins, and soldiers to employ in a shadow war against the Dovahkiin and their allies.

 

As leader of the Dovahkaal, the player would need to take steps to recruit new members and secure adequate supplies and support. The first step in that would be to gain allies in the town of Ivarstead, who in turn will clue you in to an old ruin hidden part way up the slope. With sufficient coin or charm, they can be convinced to clear away the rubble from the temple doors to grant access. Believed by the locals to be a precursor to High Hrothgar, it was in actuality a place known as Ice Fire Temple, the last stronghold of the Dragon Cult and now inhabited by by their restless spirits and draugr guardians. Clearing the temple will give the faction a stronghold which can be upgraded in the same fashion as a player home, but far more extensively. Entire new wings of the temple could be opened by clearing rubble and having repairs performed.

 

One of the Dovahkaal's first recruits, in a quest given by Paarthurnax, would be the dragoness Mallizvahdin, a friend of old killed by the Blades long after Alduin's defeat but risen again. Cornered by a band of self-styled dragon hunters (with hints dropped they were aimed at her by the Blades) and badly wounded with arrows poisoned with an ancient alchemical formula known as Wyrmbane (a poison dangerous not merely to dragons, but it would be learned the painful way, Dragonborn as well), after the player rescues her she would take up residence in Ice Fire Temple and serve assistant while her wounds healed. After a brief quest to get local leaders in Ivarstead to accept the notion of a dragon near by, she would be were stronghold upgrades are bought and hand out most of the faction quests.

 

As with the Blades, players would recruit from followers new members to the Dovahkaal. Membership is larger, though limited by space available in Ice Fire Temple (sections must be cleared before more followers can be recruited). Each named recruit would also spawn with them two Dovahkaal Warriors who would wander and guard the temple or Ivarstead near by. New random encounters would spring up, such as assassins employed by the Blades disguised as typical farmers driven out by dragon-attack, Blade hunters battling a dragon, young warriors on their way to Ice Fire Temple to join, and, extremely rarely and only after completion of certain number of faction quests, non-hostile dragons who seek the Dovahkaal's protection. These dragons would take up wing around the Throat of the World, similar to Odahviing. Each one so recruited becomes a 'sponsor' to mortal recruit, granting them their Dovahkaal armor (whatever that may be) and schooling them in the Voice, allowing them over time to master a few basic Shouts.

 

The culmination of the Dovahkaal quest line would be a prolonged and open assault upon the Blades stronghold, each of which is taken over and placed under the command of a named follower and their dragon-sponsor, until finally Sky Haven Temple itself is assaulted and the Dovahkiin must confront their old followers and the last true Blades, Esbern and Delphine.

[huntsman2310]

I. Love. Your introduction.

 

That actually has me interested in this.

 

I know there are other mods that have set out to do what you are doing, but man, I think you'll blow them all away.

 

If you want to look at some resources I intend to release as soon as they are finished, I'll post a link.

[tekhead001]

Amazing idea, and excellent writing in the intro.

 

I suggested (and am working on in my own unskilled manner) an alternate ending to that same quest, one in which the Dohvakiin offers the remaining Blades a choice: Either Paarthurnax pays his debt to humanity via community service helping the Blades rebuild as their new Loremaster (elevating Esbern to Grand Master), or the Dohvakiin leaves, taking his power and support with him. Without the Dragonborn, the Blades are inefectual. They are two, maybe four at most, have no income, no forges, no recruiting, no way of permanently harming dragons, and no way of actually stopping the Dragonborn if he decides to kill them all himself.

 

Paarthurnax is ancient. He knows almost all Thu'ums, and is likely to have mastered several other forms of magic as well. It's possible he knows secrets of the Dwemer lost in the dust of eons, and powers never recorded by mortal hands. Paarthurnax has spent centuries teaching restraint and wisdom. While he wouldn't be so careless as to teach mortal dragonslayers and assassins/spies the secrets of Fire Breath or Storm Call, I could see him teaching the more subtle and less flagrantly offensive Thu'ums like Aura Whisper, Whirlwind Sprint, Elemental Fury, Throw Voice, etc.

 

I even tried to run a quest thread on 4chan/tg/ about this idea, but nobody paid attention. Odd considering the huge Elder Scrolls fanbase there.

[muttiniraq]

By far one of the best ideas that I have read in a long time.

 

The loose thread that begins if you do not wish to kill that dragon is annoying, nor is it satisfying that you have no further interaction after the completion of the main quest. It should not be inconceivable that you would not only run across him in Skyrim, but also have close interaction in his efforts as the Dragonborn.

[yota71]

Very interesting, one of the best idea that i have read, the blade are useless, and they order around, i am already with Paarthurnax i just need a mod to destroy or take to reason the blades

[kibblesticks]

Kudos for the great idea. I very much hope this gets made. Great writing skills by the way :thumbsup:

[Keiros7]

Now this is what I love - intriguing quest mods. We definitely need more of these.

 

The only big here problem is voice actors. Especially for existing NPC's like Delphine and Esbern.

[ChromeWarriorXIII]

1. I love the intro

2. I love the idea. I never killed Paarthurnax because I thought he didn't deserve it. I'd love to be able to actually fight against the Blades though. I can only imagine how much time this would take though. I'd be more than willing to help test it, as well as help with stuff like writing, and lend my voice to any new NPCs (or I can try to imitate some current ones, that would take some time to learn them though).

[gremtack]

this is a very very good idea an as such has my endorsment.

[SinderionsBones]

You may have well been putting elegant words to my own last encounter with the blades on my main skyrim toon. I couldn't believe it. What were they talking about? Kill paarthurnax? they must be joking, there must be a way around this, is this a bug. I guess not... well, bye bye skyhaven temple, have fun without the dragonborn...

 

There are several mods that enable you to do both quest lines, one, I think, is called Paarthurnax fix. If that's all someone is after.

 

Now this is what I love - intriguing quest mods. We definitely need more of these.

 

The only big here problem is voice actors. Especially for existing NPC's like Delphine and Esbern.

 

 

Check out the bottom of this page: http://www.creationkit.com/Adding_Voice_Intermediate_Tutorial

 

I put my tutorial up there and like within two days some people tagged a few volunteer voice acting sites on the bottom.

 

 

I would volunteer to do a mod this cool, but I have a nasty habit. I get the mod all ready(script, quest element summaries, rough timetables etc), design, and create most of the mod(interiors/exteriors, NPCs), then getting bored halfway through inputting the quests and voice, leaving it unfinished. I have three such projects at the moment lol. I would consider contributing though.

Edited March 12, 2012 by SinderionsBones