Aravi in Skyrim, her video story Options

[SubRosa]

And now Aravi learns just how scummy Markarth is. The City Guard, the Silverbloods, and the Forsworn, all mixed up into a steaming cesspool of murder and corruption.

Borkul the Beast. Now there is a catchy name. Got to love those old fashioned orcs.

And there is Madanach. He and Thonar Silverblood make quite the pair of scum.

Of the pics, I liked In the ferns best. The others were good, but I just loved that one of Aravi being sneaky.

[Acadian]

How did I know Aravi was going to end up visiting that mine? I figured she’d slip in with her blades though, not get tossed in there only wearing a short dress! Yikes! You could tell she was thinking of Kharjo when she agreed to ‘go peacefully’. I feel for her – some of those dialogue choices make you want to say, ‘None of the above!’

Great screens and thanks for sharing! I love how the one of Aravi sneaking through the ferns looks almost like Blackwood near Leyawiin.

[mALX]

These screens are all wonderful, I can't pick a favorite among them! The vid - Holy Cow what a quest! Scary, you kind of don't know what you should be answering sometimes! I'll bet she didn't fight her arrest because of Kharjo too, I guess she couldn't sneak by the guard to get in, lol.

The AI really bothers me in scenes like the one with Madanach, it feels so unnatural that he doesn't look up from his writing while talking. I understand not getting up in your face like they did in Oblivion, just wish they had added head tracking for conversations.

Well, this vid is like reading a story that is a cliffhanger, not sure what is going to happen to Aravi! Awesome Update!

[Grits]

Argh, with Kharjo’s life also at risk she was trapped into going peacefully. Being told she was a slave and would never see the sun again must have been impossibly crushing for Aravi. As soon as she made the choice of Kharjo’s safety over her own, she was taken away for life.

Wow, Aravi persuaded the Beast! Madanach is quite a character. The choices he offers are bad or worse. But I don’t see Aravi giving up and mining ore until she barfs ingots, or whatever it was that the charming orc hostess said. What a gripping quest! I can’t wait to see how Aravi handles her predicament!


Aiming is lovely, but Ferns takes the prize! I love the way she’s sneaking with the swords. That looks like a great spot for a picnic! After the violence, of course.

[King Coin]

@SubRosa: There isn’t a side that you could even try to justify. All of them are scum.

Borkul has some really funny dialog if you ask him what he’s in for I hear. Aravi quite frankly didn’t want to know what any of them did. She could guess just fine. When I saw those ferns I knew I needed a screen of Aravi in them. Thanks SubRosa!

@Acadian: This is definitely not how Aravi imagined this turning out. Kharjo is the only reason she went, otherwise she would have fought to the death to stay out. She wasn’t taking Kharjo with her though.

You are right about the ferns; it kind of does look that way. Thanks Acadian!

@mALX: Absolutely right about her reason of going with the guards. She could not sneak past the guards, it was difficult to see because she wasn’t able to get close, but Eltrys was murdered by the guards. Glad you like the screens! Thanks mALX!

@Grits: You are so right! That was crushing for her to go to the mine like that; it is too close to her experiences as a slave. If Kharjo wasn’t there, she would have fought to the death to stay out, but she wasn’t going to drag Kharjo with her. They would have been killed and she wasn’t going to make that decision for him.

I think that’s Jerric talking with the comment about picnics. Thanks Grits!

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Aravi talks to the man Madanach, the King in Rags, told her to. Later, she manages to find some skooma and exchange it for a weapon…

9:41

Madanach’s note

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Screens:
A new armor combo. Opinions?

This way

Sunset

[mALX]

Pretty armor, the green matches her eyes? Lol. "This Way" is my fave screen, really cute facial expression Aravi has here!

Aravi's indecision about what to do had me laughing, she kept going back and forth to them but backing out of conversations, lol. GAAAH! She killed him without getting that Awesome armor first! Urk! LOVE this update!

[Grits]

Oh my gosh! Aravi’s answer to Braig was perfect, though I’m sure she didn’t want to talk about it. And she sure didn’t want to tell him about Kharjo.

A Khajiit does not need a little shiv! Good grief, that guy’s name is “Duach”? Er, I’m sure he doesn’t pronounce it that way.

Aravi made the only choice that she could. What a relief that she is strong enough to take Madanach down. Now whatever she has to face in the dark and wearing rags, at least she doesn’t have guilt and shame on her conscience. What a great video! Her character came through so well!


Screens: I’ll admit that at first (a year ago) I loathed the glass armor. Then I noticed all of the colors in the glass weapons. Then DovahKen made Erik wear glass armor (because it was THE BEST), and I noticed how beautiful the light looks in the green glass, and how the gold metal looks quite sturdy up close. So I give Aravi’s new armor a big thumbs up! I especially like the Elven helm with it. That helm shows off her face very nicely.

This Way is my favorite, too.

[SubRosa]

I love how Braig says he's got digging to do, when he is just sitting there doing nothing...

Braig's story is very interesting, in more ways that one. He says the Jarl had his daughter killed. While the Empire's book Bear of Markarth claims that it was all Ulfric. Likewise, in his journal Thonar Silverblood says he kept the Jarl from killing Madanach. So it appears that Ulfric was not the one killing people after Markarth was retaken from the Forsworn, but rather Jarl Igmund (and seeing how the Forsworn killed his father, it is no surprise).

Now what will Aravi do? She has the shiv, will she kill Grisvar for Madanach, or will she kill Madanach? Looks like its going to be Madanach. Good on Aravi. Grisvar is by no means innocent, but that does not mean he deserves to be murdered by that madman either. Now time for Aravi to make a break for it!

I think the glass looks good on Aravi too. It is so much better than it was in Oblivion. I am with Grits. This Way was the best pic. It gives us a wonderful view of Aravi's face.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Nov 14 2012, 10:10 PM

[Acadian]

Vid – Braig’s dialog options for Aravi were a little better. They allowed nicely for her youth as a slave. Although it didn’t account for Kharjo waiting for her, she might well have chosen to keep that to herself anyway. The dialog did provide her some interesting and provocative options and Braig certainly told a tragic tale. Ever so much better than the dialog with that Madonach guy who didn’t even look up from his writings in the last vid.

So Madonach lets it be known there is a way out and gives Aravi a ‘test’. I see her first reaction is to ignore the task and try to find the way out on her own – no luck.

I was surprised to see her cast a spell! I figured the prison/mine would have their charges in ‘null iron’ manacles or such to prevent magic use.

So when she can’t find the way out on her own, she decides to take out Madonach himself instead of the Unlucky dude. Well-done as she puts that rude fellow to the claw! Based on his note, it looks like she just might get outta there!

Screens – I quite like the new armor. It looks stout enough to help protect Aravi when she gets in close with those dual short blades while still being quite stylish. The green is a nice shade and subtle enough that it works well. Nice! I quite agree that the OB glass armor looked horrendous, but this stuff looks great!

[King Coin]

@mALX: I liked her face in that screen too. Aravi was not at her best in the cave, it is too much like what she went through when she was younger. She was also faced with a choice of either killing the Unlucky guy or Madanach with basically her bare hands. What armor are you talking about? Thanks mALX!

@Grits: I didn’t like any of the available dialog when talking to Braig, so I edited what Aravi could say to something more appropriate. Glad you liked it! She thought of Kharjo, but she wasn’t telling anyone about him.

You are so right! When Aravi got her shiv, she just looked at it and used her claws instead. They were more effective than that little piece of crap. Thanks Grits!

@SubRosa: Braig is a typical person. “I’m busy!” …doing what?

Interesting. I don’t think I’ve read that book yet in game. Something like that doesn’t surprise me there are conflicting accounts. I bet it was the Jarl.

Aravi really didn’t want to kill either one of them, but with no choice I think she chose well. I wasn’t sure if she was going to have the whole mine after her when she killed Madanach.

I wasn’t sure on the glass armor. It’s more bulky but protects much better. It’ll probably be temporary. Thanks SubRosa!

@Acadian: As I said above, I did some editing to one of the dialog options so that I had something that fit Aravi. She chose to not talk of Kharjo.

Aravi really didn’t want to kill someone, but that’s how it turned out. She was expecting the entire cave to come after her at that point.

The glass armor really looks tough in my opinion. Glad you like the way it looks. Thanks Acadian!

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Aravi escapes prison and finds two people outside waiting for her.

4:54

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Screens! These were taken with a mod called Realistic Lighting. I think I’m going to remove it and go back to the previous mod I was using. This one offers better performance, but the other was much prettier in my opinion.

Shine

Blood

Trying some new textures. What do you think?

EDIT: With the older lighting settings:
Pink clouds

This post has been edited by King Coin: Nov 17 2012, 08:38 PM

[SubRosa]

If Aravi had walked back out into the rest of the mine, all the other prisoners would have attacked her. Neith found out the hard way...

So Aravi is free once more, and there is Thonar. Uh oh, here comes Retribution. I wonder if Aravi is going to get a big, fat bounty put on her head in a moment? Wow, It was only a bounty of 40. I was expecting a 1000. I do not blame Aravi. The city is a better place without that slimeball in it.

I see Aravi is in a hurry to leave Markarth. I do not blame her.

What does Ag Ved mean?

I am not really sure about the difference between the two lighting setting mods. I think the new pics looks good, lighting-wise. The pink clouds one was odd. I have never seen that kind of coloring in evening clouds.

I think the new textures look good. Is that the snow leopard skin I saw on the Nexus? I was going to get that, until I saw it changed all Khajiit. I was hoping it was a standalone for an extra skin option.

[Acadian]

Vid- Glad to see Aravi out of that prison/mine place. She was one angry kitty and that came through loud and clear! A great night run through the country. Love the waterfalls and windmills! Uh oh, another dragon.

Screens- I love Aravi’s swords in ‘Blood’! The new Khajiit textures look nice; unless I’m mistaken, it makes her fur look a bit longer than previously? I’m horrible with lighting and graphics settings so can’t be of much help there unless the pictures are side by side of the same thing at the same time. I’m sure my lack of familiarity with Skyrim doesn’t help.

[mALX]

I Love "Shine!" That is so cool! And "Pink Clouds" is Awesome too! The new textures are pretty!

ROFL !! Aravi takes her reward, then kills Thonar anyway - man was he ever loaded in loot! Love how after the guard tells her she will be arrested, nothing happens (I didn't even hear any money leave her inventory) - and then she runs like a banshee! Lol.

What is that amazingly gorgeous cloak she is wearing? I love it! Awesome Update!!

This post has been edited by mALX: Nov 18 2012, 05:30 AM

[Grits]

Well that’s the best 40 gold that Aravi has ever spent! I was afraid they were going to take her back into the mine when the guard came up to collect the fine! Even though she sprinted away until she ran out of breath, Aravi’s exit from Markarth was relatively peaceful with Madanach and Silver-Blood dead. There was a huge battle when Denelle got out. It was traumatic.

I was just thinking how beautiful the night sky looked, and then the dragon popped up! Good idea to go back and get a room. Whew, I’m glad this quest is behind her. I was very engaged which means I was stressed for her! That must have been the biggest relief for her to find Kharjo waiting, pretty much the first thing she saw on the outside.


For the screens, I’m not sure about the light settings either. It just looks like it might be a little cloudy in these pictures. I love the new fur and pattern with the exception of whatever is going on with Aravi’s left hand and tail. I’m guessing that she’s still bloody from the fight before the previous screen, maybe? What is that shine, is that Stendarr’s Aura? That’s beautiful! I love the pink clouds. That one is definitely my favorite. It looks like Aravi is searching for a way down to that Word Wall, as if it is calling to her. And the light does shine nicely on her armor.

[King Coin]

@SubRosa: Good to know about the mine, the first thing she wanted to do was get out anyways.

I was shocked she wasn’t charged with murder, but what the hell?

Ag Ved is ‘burn black’ in the dragon language.

I’ve already gotten rid of the other mod. Realistic Lighting it is called. This other mod just looks prettier to me. I’ve seen clouds like that and they are gorgeous. It’s when the sun’s going down and some of the reddish pink light is shining off of the bottoms.

Those textures are the CBBE standard Khajiit textures. You’ll see the snow leopard ones in a second. Thanks SubRosa!

@Acadian: That mine was just too close to some of her experiences of slavery and she will not let someone do that to her. Markarth has a very pretty area, but this whole experience has soured it for her. The ebony weapons and armor are very well done in my opinion. Those textures do make her fur look longer, which I kind of like. Thanks Acadian!

@mALX: ‘Shine’ depicts a spell added in Dawnguard. Anything undead is damaged if they are close to you with that going.

Damn right she’s going to kill Thonar! He thinks a ring is going to make everything better? Cloaks are added by cloaks of skyrim mod. Aravi really got off easy for killing Thonar, I guess they didn’t really like him either! Thanks mALX!

@Grits: I don’t know how the hell Aravi got away with that with only 40 bounty. She completely intended to keep going until she hit Rorikstead, but then the dragon. Back to the city.

Those are blood textures on her hand and tail; this was right after the ‘blood’ screen shot. The rest of the blood was on her armor, so it came off when the armor did. Stendarr’s Aura it is! The new lighting mod would not have done the pink clouds, and the old settings are also partially responsible for how good her armor looks in that last one. Thanks Grits!

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Before leaving Markarth, a guard mentions news of a group of vampire hunters calling themselves the Dawnguard.

7:37

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Screens!

Another dawn

Cold lake

Deep waters

Making tracks

The Khajiit leopard texture

[SubRosa]

Was that the original voice actor for the guards? Or was that a new one trying to imitate it? He did not sound quite right.

I hope the cab driver did not sing the entire way!

At least her housecarl did not give her lip when she walked into her house! I was waiting to hear Aravi saying "I own you!"

Wow, a dragon inside the city. That is interesting to see. I guess that happens a lot when you fast travel places. Oooh, Aravi rended it. Now come the two swords. This should not take much longer...

Aravi stands there devouring the soul of the dragon she just slew, and Brynjolf asks her to join the Thieves Guild. While in the background we hear the Madesi: "Beautiful baubles and gleaming gemstones over here!" I just love this game. All we need now is for a guard to say "My cousin is out hunting dragons, and get stuck here!"

And poor, shy Aravi runs for it, rather than bask in the glory. Only to get the guards hassling her for shouting!

I liked Another Dawn best of all the pics. I love the sunrises and sunsets in this game. The snow leopard texture looks neat. But I am so used to Aravi the other way, that it just does not seem like our kitty.

[Acadian]

Vid: Ooh! A new group of vampire hunters! All kinds of implications for Aravi. Thanks for showing us carriage travel – that looks neat.

What an exciting dragon fight at Riften. You could really feel Aravi's frustration as she tried to set up shots only to have the damn dragon fly out of her firing lane, over her head, or out of sight. By landing, the dragon made a big mistake I see.

And the forecast is for a cloudy night. Oh, wait a minute. Thanks to our shouting Khajiit, looks like it’ll be a clear night filled with stars.

Screens: Those are some great outdoors shots! I really like the cold lake and the forest around naked Aravi. And of course all those lights in the night sky are gorgeous. I like Aravi with her new leopard spots!

[mALX]

Love those new Khajiit textures! I'm torn between "Cold Lake" and "Making Tracks" - that was funny, trying to slip by unnoticed and have a trail anyone could follow left behind, lol.

Yeah, Dawnguard! Now I finally get to see what it is like from the Dawnguard side instead of the Vampire side! WOO HOO! The town gathering after Aravi killed that dragon was funny - but boy do you know your way around Riften, and in the dark + running even!

Got to say, my favorite scene in the movie is the guard seeking her out after she saved the town and telling her that her shouting is making everyone nervous! That had me rolling, and KNEW before she did it that Aravi would have to bellow one out after that, ROFL !!! LOVED this update !!!

[Grits]

Woo hoo, Dawnguard! Giving the Necklace of Disease Immunity to Kharjo was such a great Aravi moment. She’s not going to let him suffer the way she did.

Oh wow, that dragon was beautiful! That was a really neat Shout it was using. Wow, Dragonrend really works! I love how Brynjolf takes immediate credit and then tries to recruit Aravi again. I’m sure she is still not impressed with him. Another very Aravi moment when everyone gathered around to gawk and she fled. It was a relief to see Balimund still on his feet.

The nerve of that guard! If the Dragonborn wants a starry night, she gets a starry night! And the guards should be grateful that they didn’t see a werewolf under those moons!


It’s hard to pick between Dawn and Cold Lake, since they both have glorious skies, mountains, and Aravi. The reflections in the lake are so pretty. Between the title and the blood on her armor I wondered if Aravi was debating a swim, and then there she is in the next picture. The leopard spots look awesome. I’m used to them already. Also the trees and water look particularly lush and inviting in that picture. Making Tracks gave me a much needed grin. Look at the stride length! She’s awesome.

[King Coin]

@SubRosa: I thought the guard sounded different too.

I’m not 100% sure, but I think dragons appearing in cities was from a mod. The dragon I know for sure isn’t vanilla. Aravi destroys everything so fast with her dual swords I’ve considered leveling her two handed weapons for a change.

Those NPCs are so stupid! I would have loved that line from a guard!

I think the textures are very pretty, the only gripe I have is that I would prefer the fur to look longer like the previous textures. Thanks SubRosa!

@Acadian: Fighting a dragon in the open is so much easier than in the town as you saw. It was almost impossible to shoot. Aravi’s shout ‘Dragon Rend’ forces a dragon out of the sky and that’s how she was able to get it into sword reach.

I had to show my favorite weather changing shout. Aravi likes the stars too. Glad you like the screens, there is a pond near where the leopard spots screen was taken and she spent lots of time there. Thanks Acadian!

@mALX: It did occur to me that the muffle spell should make it pretty easy to see you, never does though. It’s magic!

Aravi had a mild panic attack at the crowd forming and staring at her. She thought about leaving the city but then she remembered that lower part. Perfect to get away.

Aravi wanted some stars dammit! Thanks mALX!

@Grits: If Kharjo’s coming along for Dawnguard, he’s going to be safe. If only she had an amulet like that in Cyrodiil, her story would be very different. Everyone staring at her after the dragon fight was just a little bit too much.

That guard was getting nervous of Aravi!

I didn’t notice the stride length in that screen shot, wow she really is moving! Glad you like the spots so much. Skyrim has excellent scenery, I absolutely love taking screen shots with the mountains in the background. And Aravi loves a good swim! Thanks Grits!

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Aravi travels the Rift and finds the Dawnguard Fort.

6:22

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Screens!
This may be shocking…
Aravi in a little black dress

She has an audience

Lining up a shot

Frozen waterfall

Shadows and light