Oblivion's Edge, An Elder Scrolls Fan-Fiction Options

[Zalphon]

Prologue

Five hundred years after the Oblivion Crisis...

Many years ago, the Champion of Cyrodiil stopped the daedra from invading. The hordes of infernal dremora and vicious daedroth. When he left Mankar Camaron's Paradise, people viewed him as a hero. However, he had become much darker.

He then went to the Shivering Isles in search of power. When he returned, any traces of humanity had left him. In his demented rage, he slaughtered the Blades, and began a crusade of crimes. However, an Argonian assassin stopped him.

After that, the Argonian and his Khajiiti companion came to the ruins of Morrowind to regain their thoughts. For after they killed the Champion, their long-lost Dunmeri friend arrived in a new-found body of a lich. They killed him and ever sense held a deep sense of remorse.

For some time they stayed in the blackened remnants of the Dunmeri homeland, but left. The despair that filled their hearts from seeing the remains of where they met their friend caused them to leave. They were never seen again.

There is rumor in the streets of the Imperial City of a daedric cult with the power to weaken, or even destroy the seal from our world and theirs. The Champion of Cyrodiil rose up before, I must rise up now. After the Mede empire fell, a daedra-worshipper conquered Tamriel.

When I was a squire, they taught me the skills of swordplay, ettiquette, archery, and restoration. Now I guess I'll have to put my skills to the test. I must walk in his footsteps, but I must remember the teachings of the Dunmer, the Argonian, and the Khajiit.

The time is near, I must stop time from repeating itself...

[Captain Hammer]

There's more to the whole plot coupon thing.

The best allegory that I can give is the Knights of the Nine expansion. Two different quests, similar rewards, but two very different procedures. Kynareth and Julianos. And Julianos is the far more enjoyable quest.

spoiler
For Kynareth, all one has to do is A) show up at a shrine, B) head over to a grove, C) not fight back as a bear attacks you, or simply use the Crusader's Helm Calm spell on the beast, and D) head into the grotto to grab the boots. That is literally the entire walkthrough for that quest.

For Julianos and the Shield of the Crusader? It's a long, highly intricate dungeon crawl. The place is teeming with invading conjurers that you have to put down, and the whole place is a maze. You have to proceed carefully, avoiding the dart traps while optionally leading your enemies into them. There are areas that are connected but not directly passable, meaning an enemy alerts to you, then runs off and shows up behind you while you're busy dealing with her two buddies. Getting past the actual puzzles requires concerted effort, repeat attempts, and a logic-elimination game that could be found on the LSAT. An actual walkthrough for the whole thing is an entire story post in and of itself for a KotN fanfic. And it is far more enjoyable for that. When you grab the shield, you feel that you've actually accomplished something. It's one part relief that the ordeal is over, one part regret that it was so much fun and that playing through it again requires a reload, or a new game, one part satisfaction that you were better than the challenge.
/spoiler

That's what good narrative is. It's the difference between the Odyssey, and somebody saying "Odysseus spent nine years trying to get home. First he hit the Cyclopes' island, then he visited Circe, then he made a quick trip to the underworld where he learned about the suitors, then he got shipwrecked and spent half a decade with Calypso, then he finally got home and killed the suitors in his own hall."

My above quote is worse than the SparkNotes version. Homer would take multiple nights to sing that tale (it was originally performed as poetry, set to background music).

My method will be forgotten until the next time a literature professor points out the importance of narrative to her class. I know that what I am saying has been said before, but just not to me or anybody I've talked with. It won't be recorded for history, despite existing at multiple points in time. Homer might not have actually existed. But 4 billion people have heard of Odysseus and the Odyssey.

This post has been edited by Captain Hammer: Jul 9 2010, 05:02 AM