Wow! Just epic! This is what I’ve been waiting for you to show me. Life on the tundra. Harsh and beautiful. Even the music and mood that it set was wonderful. And Mammoths! I’m so glad Aravi didn’t hunt them. She’s much better sticking with elk and crab (and bandits).

I note that the animation for running in sneak mode looks great! And boxing with mud crabs. Lol.

Ah, fur armor! Very nice. The tundra outside Whiterun is still my favorite area, especially on a misty, rainy day. Aravi’s first hunt is very easy to relate to. Did I hit it? Where did it go? Why does this heather have to be so tall? That elk stole my arrow!!

Wow, she got so close to the mammoth! That was neat. Khajiit claws are a great weapon! She punched two wolves!

Nice to see Aravi make friends with Amren. I like him.

This video was so fun to watch. Aravi just exploring her world. Now she can choose between magical allies with her new spell tomes, if she wants. The Ring of the Minor Squire is still Jensa’s best ring. I’m pleased that Aravi is getting a boost to her protection.

@SubRosa: No mammoths! I’m fairly certain that attacking a mammoth would be a quick way to end up dead at this point.

Mubcrabs? In an Elder Scrolls game? Never! I think the larger ones are supposed to be male and the smaller ones female. It could be the other way around, or it could be their age too.

After you asked about H2H I had to use it every now and then. It’s got some neat animations when you kill a human with it. Thanks SubRosa!

@mALX: lol, Aravi’s getting a bit better at hunting. She’s been getting bow practice. Aravi gets attacked fairly often as she travels but she wanted to create some armor and cook some food for a journey. Thanks mALX!

@Acadian: I thought you would like that video. Aravi’s going to stick to hunting things her own size. If you can do that in a world of dragons… lol.

I really like the sneaking animations in Skyrim. Thanks Acadian!

@Grits: Yep, fur armor. She wanted something comfortable.
She finally got a deer! Oh and the plants and grass in my game are larger than normal. I have a mod going that makes them larger.

I don’t know about other races, but H2H is quite fun with a Khajiit! She takes down some bandits with her claws later on.

Aravi is quite a bit farther ahead in her game, and she’s still wearing that ring. Thanks Grits!

#######################

Aravi considered what she wanted to do next. She decided that she wanted to learn more about magic, so she set out for Winterhold. She got side tracked on her way however and ended up closer to Dawnstar as the day faded to dusk.

TIME: 5:13

#######################
To introduce the next quest Aravi gets involved in, I decided to try writing out her experience:

Aravi woke when she heard the stomping boots of a town guard in the main room of the inn followed by the slam of the front door. Without any doors to separate the bedrooms from the main room, cold air blew unhindered to where she was trying to sleep. She pulled the blankets tighter around herself as she felt the cool air drift over her exposed face.

When she could fight wakefulness no longer, she sat up and put her padded feet on the cold wood floor. After a stretch, a yawn, and a quick brushing with her fingers to straighten her sleep mussed fur, she walked into the main room of the inn rubbing her eyes. She was still groggy from her late arrival last night. Whatever time it was, she felt like she needed a couple more hours in bed.

The inn had only three other people in it. The innkeeper stood in his usual spot behind the counter. The noisy guard that woke her sat at the counter on a barstool. An empty bowl sat in front of him while he drank from a flagon. She glared at him and then turned her attention to the last person. It was the Dunmer priest she saw the night before. He was sitting alone near the fire looking into the flames.

She went to the counter and bought some food for the journey to Winterhold. As she paid, she noticed large bags under the innkeeper’s eyes. At the sight, Aravi remembered the exchange between the miners and the priest the night before. She grimaced. She’s had plenty of experience with nightmares herself. These weren’t related to vampires, were they? Her curiosity was now wide awake and demanding to be satisfied. She walked over to the priest and sat next to him.

He kept his dark red eyes on the flames and asked absently, “And what might you need?”

“What’s wrong with everyone around here?”

The priest pulled his gaze from the fire and met her eyes. “The entire town is being plagued by horrible nightmares. They’re in serious danger. And I’m afraid there is little I can do about it.”

Aravi frowned. This sounded much different from the story he told the miners last night. With her own nightmares in mind she asked, “How are these nightmares endangering the town?”

“Those dreams are not just visions. They are a footprint left by the daedric lord Vaermina as she drains these people of their memories.”

Aravi instantly tensed at the mention of a daedric lord. She looked at the priest’s face. With a feeling of dread, she knew what he was about to ask her.

“I need to return to the source of the problem, to Nightcaller temple. Perhaps you would be willing to assist me in that regard.”

“What do you mean ‘return?’”

“I’ve already said too much. If anyone overhears what we are saying, it could start a panic. I would simply ask that you trust me, and help me end Dawnstar’s nightmares.”

Aravi looked away from him and closed her eyes. Conflict raged inside of her. She could not trust him on his word, she knew nothing about him and he was a Dunmer! Especially because he was a Dunmer! She knew it was unfair, but she could never trust them. Whenever she saw one, her mind’s eye presented her with an image of the cruel face of her slave master in Morrowind. Even though that was many years ago, she had never liked or trusted a Dunmer in her life.

Just as she was unwilling to trust the Dunmer, she was also unwilling to abandon the town to Vaermina. If she walked away from these people, who would help them? She had decided long ago that her conscience was out to get her killed. The thought brought a small short lived smile to her face. She couldn’t leave Dawnstar without knowing she at least tried.

She was going to have to trust him… to an extent. She will go with him, but she will watch him.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. Fighting the image of the slaver, she took a deep breath. “I- I’ll trust you.”

~~~

Erandur regarded the Khajiit beside him. He saw how she struggled to answer him. She turned away from him, tail drooped, ears lowered. The hope that he had felt moments before dimmed. This Khajiit had shown an interest in the town when most people fled. He needed help if he was going to stop Vaermina’s influence from destroying everyone in Dawnstar. He tried to not let his disappointment show as he waited for her answer.

“I- I’ll trust you.”
He could have jumped when she finally answered. He kept his emotions in check however and said, “Wonderful! Our Lady Mara will be quite pleased.”

He didn’t want to give the Khajiit opportunity to reconsider however. He offered his hand, “I’m Erandur, priest to Lady Mara.”

The Khajiit took his hand only after the briefest hesitation. “Aravi.”

“The Nightcaller Temple is only a short walk from Dawnstar. Come, we must hurry. I promise to answer all of your questions. Follow me.”

This post has been edited by King Coin: Jan 11 2012, 12:15 AM

That scene of Aravi walking down the icy road with the group of Khajiit was awesome !!

HOLY CRAP !!! Is that the HHH Cup Bar and Grill or something?

I was afraid that busty woman in the tavern would be tumbled down by the gravity when she tried to walk! Talk about some awkward movements !!

Really not sure what Bethesda was thinking with the arms not moving on the NPC's, it kind of looks like a Seinfeld episode I saw once with Raquel Welsh.


***
This story is Awesome !!! To be able to read Aravi's thoughts that she couldn't express in the vids - pure gold!! Cyrodiil Khajiit may not have the memories of being slaves in Dunmer Strongholds, that was an insight into Aravi's past we may never have gotten otherwise - Excellent, Awesome Write, and great lead-in to where she is headed next !!!

I love the story that you wrote to go with this video! Like mALX said, it’s so great to hear her thoughts and learn some of her background. Aravi knows about nightmares. I’m not surprised that her conscience wouldn’t let her walk away from the people of Dawnstar.

In the video, I also love that she got to travel a bit with the Khajiit. It was a little sad when she watched them walk away. What a beautiful night sky as she walked into Dawnstar. It was so bright, the moons were casting shadows.

Whoa, Karita. Now we know that Sigrid of Kvatch had children, and they moved to Skyrim.

Aha! When the Dunmer priest Erandur asked Aravi what troubled her, now we know what she was thinking about! I'm so glad you wrote this for her!!

When that guy said "take a look" and grabbed his rear, I thought he was going to drop his pants!

Then that woman in the tavern. What on earth did they do to people's breasts in this game? Hers stuck out farther than she was tall. I see the audience that Bethesda is trying to appeal to...

So people are having nightmares? I smell a quest!

Let's see, return with you to Vaermina's what, temple? The emphasis being on return. Maybe instead of trusting him, she should just kill him, then kill everyone at that temple? Let Alduin sort them out.

So this fella is a priest of Mara? A Dunmer? An odd calling for a race best known for worshiping Daedra. But maybe after they found out the Tribunal was lying to them for all those centuries, and that they had stolen their wannabe god powers from the worst enemy the elves have ever had, that gave the surviving Dunmer a different view on cosmology.

And some tantalizing hints about Aravi's past. She was a slave? I thought in the time of Skyrim, slavery was a done deal? After all, Morrowind had long since been destroyed and the crater left behind conquered by the Argonians.



nits:
She had decided long ago that her continence
I am sure you meant conscience.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jan 10 2012, 11:53 PM

The vid was wonderful! I really enjoyed the open feel you impart to the tundra and the blowing snow. As Grits said, it was neat and bittersweet to travel with the other Khajiit for a time. It was also nice hearing the voices that Bethesda gave to Khajiit this time.

Your narrative was fabulous! You lavished plenty of rich detail, yet kept things moving nicely. Writing in third person definitely suits storytelling for Aravi. How neat (not for her) that you drew out her history with vampires from Cyrodiil.

Well done!

Well, I found evidence from when Aravi was slave. Here she is. My latest Morrowind character - Prytania - found her in Aharunartus and set her free.

@mALX: I left out most of the travel but I had to include that last bit of her walking down the road.

Aravi gave that bard a second glance even, she wasn’t sure if she was totally covered at first. Lol.

One of the reasons I decided to write out the segment was so that I could work in her thoughts. Thank you!

@Grits: She was tempted to follow the other Khajiit. She has her own destination in mind though. They headed west and she needs to go east.

Sigrid!

I’m glad you enjoyed the story. It was nerve wracking posting it. Videos are so much easier to make than writing is. Thank you Grits!

@SubRosa: I think someone screwed up when they made that white mining shirt for female characters. None of the other clothing sets or armor has breasts that large.

Outright kill the priest? Aravi wouldn’t do that unless he does something that warrants a sword in the chest.

Aravi’s timeline doesn’t follow Bethesda’s. All the events in between TES 4 and 5 have passed, but Aravi is not 200 years old, nor was she trapped for 200 years in magic or something. Aravi was in Morrowind before I met her (in TES 3). I do not know if she was born there, or if she was taken there. She was a slave there however and had an opportunity to escape which she took.

Thanks for pointing out that issue. I edited many times and I obviously didn’t catch that. Thank you SubRosa!

~~~
Edit:

You found her! Prytania gets credit for setting Aravi free and starting her journey to Cyrodiil. Thanks for the screen, I never knew what she looked like in Morrowind. I just found her name in the wiki.

@Acadian: The northern area of Skyrim is like that tundra. I have a video (that I haven’t decided if I’m going to upload or not) that shows more of the northern tundra. It’s a traveling video though so I don’t know if it’s going to make it on this thread or not.

Oh I’m glad you finally got to hear the Khajiit voices. I really like the voice they chose for the male Khajiit.

Thank you Acadian! Glad you liked the story I put up.

#####################

Aravi goes into Nightcaller Temple with Erandur.

TIME: 11:23

#####################


Just so nobody misses SubRosa's post above:



This post has been edited by King Coin: Jan 13 2012, 04:58 PM

I love seeing how Aravi looked in Morrowind!! Now I'm tempted to pull out my Morrowind game and run to the Bitter Coast to save Shivani !!!

Erandur gives me the creeps, priest or not. Maybe it is the out of place Cockney accent, really not sure. But he seems to fight well, always a good thing when escorting an NPC, lol.

Great Vid !!!

Oh, how neat to see Aravi in Morrowind! Good job, Prytania!

Argh, spiders! I like Aravi’s Khajiit shortcut down the stairs. I also like Aravi’s armor upgrade. J’Shanji is still using leather. I think it’s a good look for Khajiit.

“Once we get inside, all will become clear,” says the Dunmer. That wasn’t very reassuring. It’s a good thing Erandur had that shrine to Mara set up near the entry. He definitely has “dark past” written all over him. This is one of my favorite quests, for its weirdness and uncertainty. Erandur has all of the information, and Aravi has to put herself completely in his power or abandon the people of Dawnstar. “I’ll watch over you,” he says. How courageous of Aravi to even consider doing this!

I look at the title, and keep thinking Nightcrawler Temple. That is what I get for reading all those X-Men comics. Not to mention Lucien Lacroix from Forever Knight.

Spiders, why did it have to be spiders... What did they shoot Aravi with at the start? Do they have a spider-shout?

That priest of mara is pretty darn good in a fight!

Just before they went inside, and Aravi pulled out both swords, it felt like a John Woo movie. Chow Yun Aravi!

So it is a temple of Mara then? Or at least it was. Now that makes it more interesting. It is a very neat story behind the entire quest too. Plus the Skull of Corruption! Funny, I don't remember it doing any of that in Oblivion... The temple itself looks very creepy inside.

So Erandur fesses up. I knew there was something shady about him. Still, it looks like he means to make things right. Is it just me, or does it seem like his voice keeps changing. One moment he seems to have a normal accent, then the next he sounds like a Cockney.

What is a River Betty? Is that fish? Or a fishing lure?

I guess now it is bottom's up!

I loved this! It was like an exciting movie from start to finish. The snowy hike, then a very very creepy dungeon. Some neat fights and magic effects. *sigh* Wouldn’t you know it that ol’ Erandur would be ‘ineligible’ somehow so he couldn’t drink the torpor and the task would fall to you know who.

Wow, this was good! Brilliant filmwork, KC!

@mALX: I really liked seeing Aravi in Morrowind. I’m glad SubRosa posted it.

He’s kind of odd but he seems to be alright… The shrine he set up works after all. So he couldn’t be too bad… right?

Thanks mALX!

@Grits: Yep, I figured a Khajiit would just jump that small drop. Aravi switches from armor types based on what she expects to be doing. She wears fur just for traveling because it is comfortable. Before going into a dungeon or something like that, she usually changes into something that has more protection.

This is definitely one of my favorite quests. It was tough for Aravi to do it, but in the end she put herself in his power. Just imagine the guts it takes to drink that torpor? She has no idea what’s in it! Thanks Grits!

@SubRosa: Those spider can actually spit their venom, which thankfully doesn’t do nearly the damage it does if they manage to bite you.

Shereadied her weapons because she didn’t know what to expect just inside. I do feel it was a touch dramatic though. It reminded me of this scene in Halo: Reach.

His voice does change for some reason. River Betty is a fish. It’s used as an alchemy ingredient. Thanks SubRosa!

@Acadian: Of course Aravi would have to drink the unknown and assumed to be not a poison liquid! Glad you enjoyed it. One thing in Erandur’s favor is that he did set up a shrine to Mara and it is blessed. Thanks Acadian!

######################

Aravi drinks the torpor.

TIME: 9:32

The torpor was neat.

I love the orc. "I'll show you what a real orc can do!" And Aravi shows him how a real hamburger is cooked!

The confrontation with the priests of Vaermina was excellent. So Erandur is Casimir? I am not surprised. It explains how he was able to escape, and how he knows so much about everything.

Those shocks spells remind me of Star Wars, and the Emperor. Very neat!

I loved Vaermina talking to Aravi, and telling her to kill Erandur and take the skull. "Strike him down, and take your father's place at my side!" Ooops, Star Wars again. Like Luke though, we always knew that Aravi would never do that.

Erandur would make a good companion. He is handy in a fight! But I could never take that voice of his going all over the place.

How could mere men bring down such a beast? Because they didn't silly. A woman did it of course!

Woo hoo, dual flurry next?

You captured the weirdness and confusion of the Dreamstride very well. Even in first-person it was definitely Aravi letting nothing stop her, unlike some people who unnecessarily get drawn into the fight between orc invaders and daedra worshippers.

Vaermina did not know who she was dealing with! I like how Aravi showed concern for Erandur. He seemed quite lonely walking away like that. Then out into the Dawnstar night. Hopefully everyone is getting some sleep, thanks to Aravi!

Neat! Plenty of action here!

I knew Aravi wouldn’t fall for Vaermina’s trickery.

The little flame in her hand when she had her fire spell readied was kewl!

How could mere men bring down such a beast? Like SubRosa, I was struck by the inaccuracy here, but based on race, not sex. A man did not bring it down. Nor did a mer. A Khajiit did.

This vid left me speechless! I just kept thinking, "Holy Cow!" through the battles, that was Awesome !! WHEW !! Really glad Aravi didn't believe Vaermina. Her voice was so sweet at first - then all of a sudden she's saying to take it for yourself and commanding you - uh, yuh. Ok, that was a big clue to me that she was lying. Of course the first was that she is a Daedric Lord, lol.

I have to agree with SubRosa, that Cockney accent is very out of place in Skyrim (I would think). And since he lied to the people of Dawnstar and more or less lied to the player - I doubt I could trust him to watch my back, lol.

Great Vid, this one had me completely shocked by the magnitude of the fighting !! Kind of makes me want to do the quest except for having to hear Erandur all over again, lol.

@SubRosa: That orc was a real challenge. I edited out most of the fight in the interest of keeping things moving along, but Aravi had to use some health potions (which is something I’ve been trying to avoid. They feel too much like cheating).

The very first time I played that quest, Erandur very nearly was killed. I thought it was Mara at first warning Aravi of Erandur’s intentions.

Both you and Acadian make excellent points about the last comment by the guard, I had similar thoughts. I’m not sure why that last bit made it into the video, but I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thank you!

@Grits: Dual Flurry next!

Who would get drawn into the fights with the orcs anyways?

Aravi does feel bad for him. He’s going to be very lonely with his shrine in that old ruin. He and Aravi just killed his best friends, so that Dawnstar would live. Still, he’s a Dunmer and Aravi wouldn’t be comfortable traveling with him everywhere. Thanks Grits!

@Acadian: Yep, Aravi would have had a hard time killing him before he actually did anything. When she realized it was Vaermina, it was then that she put away her swords.

I really enjoyed both your and SubRosa’s insights with the guard’s line. I had a similar though. It wasn’t a man, it was Aravi! Thank you!

@mALX: At first Aravi thought it was a warning from Mara! Then it became clear that it was a trick. That’s one of my favorite quests just because that part completely blew me away the first time I heard it.

I can understand his lie to Dawnstar, and his less than honest interactions with Aravi. Still, nobody likes to be treated like that. Thanks mALX!

#############################

Aravi arrives in Winterhold and quickly finds the College.

TIME: 9:01

Oh crap!! All that way only to be turned aside. Poor Aravi! Oh, and then the guards were not exactly encouraging with their remarks. I felt so bad for her walking down that empty, snowy road. That must be the loneliest walk in Skyrim.

The ice mage chose the wrong day to pick on her. Not so long ago she would have had Vilja yelling Stay away from my friend and then chatting about how the snow was colder in Solstheim or something. Here’s a hug for lonely, dejected Aravi!

Nice bow upgrade at Fort Kastav. She is awesome with her blades and bow. That college mage knows nothing about her!! Grrr.

Great video, KC! I'm ready to rally Aravi's friends and storm Winterhold for her.