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> The Saga of Joan of Arkay, A Morrowind Main Quest Story
Renee
post Jul 18 2021, 06:14 PM
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Each event is preceded by prophecy, but without the event, there is no hero.

In the waning years before the end of the third era of Tamriel, a prisoner was born on an uncertain day, from uncertain parents. To most, she was ignorant of the role she was to play in that country's coming history.


"They have taken you from the Cyrodiil prison, first by carriage, then by boat. To east and to Morrowind. Fear not, for you shall be watched. You shall be chosen... "

16th of Last Seed, 3rd Era, Year 427

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..."Wake up!"....

The lady from Cyrodiil squinted her eyes. Someone was peering at her through the gloom.

"Wake up!" said the voice. The voice of a Dunmer, for sure. "Why are you here?" asked the voice. "Are you with us?"

The smell of rotted wood permeated the air. The lady felt a gentle rocking as she got up off the floor. She wrinkled her face. Was she on a boat?

"That's right, stand up," said the voice. And now that she was standing, the lady could see she had been spoken to by a Dunmer. "You were dreaming," he said in a gravelly voice. "What's your name?"

"Joan. Of Cyrodiil," said she.

"Well, not even last night's storms could wake you," he replied. "I heard them say landfall was made last night." He was standing before her without a shirt on, Joan could see. "We've reached Morrowind, I'm sure and certain they will let us go."

"Who ... shall let us go?" Joan was bleary.

"Quiet. Here comes the guard."

An Imperial soldier was approaching from somewhere up deck. Joan could hear his footsteps clonking along. He made his way down a set of stairs on the far side of the boat, and toward the Dunmer and Joan.

"This is where you get off," said the Imperial with a regal sort of voice. "Now. Come with me."

Joan hesitated, trying to remember what happened. Why she was .... here ... on this boat. And not on the boat with the others. The others from Cyrodiil.

"You'd better do what they say," warned the Dunmer with no shirt.

"Hoy there," Joan called to the guard. "Have I been placed into some manner of custody?"

"You'd better do what they say," warned the Dunmer with no shirt, for the second time.

So Joan did. She followed the Imperial through the ship's dim lower hull. Noticed hammocks, crates, and barrels. She then walked cautiously up the ship's ladder, giving one last look back to the far alcove, where she'd awoken a few moments ago. Finally, she moved through the ship's mid-deck hold, which was brighter and a tad more pleasant than its lower section. Candles, and places to eat.

"Get yourself up on deck and lets keep this as civil as possible," the Imperial growled.

"Yessir," Joan answered. "Ehm. Perhaps this is a case of mistaken identity," she spoke to the Imperial, but didn't dare look at him. She said a quick prayer to superior powers before climbing upon the ship's upper deck.

mid-afternoon
Unsure what had happened, Joan was expecting she was about to walk from the ship's inside straight into some sort witch hunt. She'd walk on deck, and be surrounded by accusers, or some such. Because that's the way she felt, at the moment. Things were not right. She was in some sort of trouble, perhaps. Had to be mistaken identity, though. Had to be.

But this was not the case. Her fears would be allayed.

"This is where they want you," said a man, a Redguard, who was standing ondeck. "Head down to the dock and into the census office."

At this point, Joan noticed three things at once.

1). She was not under any sort of arrest. This was obvious, since she was not bound.

2). She was not about to be accused of anything.

3). She had made it to Vvardenfell.

Joan had boarded the wrong boat, for sure. But she had also successfully made it to her destination, somehow. The weather was balmy. She could see gigantic mushroom trees standing way off in the distance. Finally, the silt strider standing off to the side of whatever town she was in made this area no mistake. Only one place on Tamriel could support those types of flora.

"But what has happened to the others? Where are the rest of my priory?" she asked.

"Let's go," said the Redguard impatiently, ignoring her concerns. "Move it along."

She began to move off the boat. Onto a small bridge, which led to a dock, which led to a Tudor-styled building. So this was Vvardenfell, but the town she was in had Imperial influence. A second guard greeted her as she neared him. Unlike the others so far, he seemed pleasant, maybe even pleased to see Joan.

"You finally arrived but our records don't show from where," he said.

"Cyrodiil. Cheydinhal, as a fact of matter. I am Joan from Cheydinhal."

"Great," the guard said in his pleasant voice. "I'm sure you'll fit right in. Now follow me up to the office."

Joan did so, slowly. If the others did not make it, did this mean her quest within Vvardenfell would not be granted?

"Head on in," said the guard, and so Joan of Cheydinhal did so. It was not as though she really had any choice in the matter.

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Joan of Arkay Chargen Sheet

Joan in Seyda Neen

This post has been edited by Renee: Oct 6 2021, 12:46 AM
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macole
post Dec 3 2022, 06:33 PM
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Battles with a hunger, skeletons, bonelords, various other undead, and the dreaded rat will certainly tax your supplies. The wise Morrowind adventurer always carries a, Intervention scroll, just in case.


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SubRosa
post Dec 4 2022, 01:55 AM
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Leaving the End of the World sounds like a good idea on general principles.

Uh oh, paralyzed by a critter. I am guessing a Hunger maybe?

Joanie wisely retreats and trades space for time to recover and buff herself up.

Round Two! Fight!

The armiger summons an ancestor ghost for a rat? Talk about overkill. But since she is Bouyant, at least she floats...

Ulyne meets the fate of all who have more sand than sense. Joanie is wise - methinks - to withdraw once more and prepare for round two, just as she did against the Hunger.


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Acadian
post Dec 4 2022, 09:55 PM
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The good news is that the weather is pleasant and free of ash storms. And that Joan has truly mastered her waterwalking spell. The bad news is. . . well, everything else. Hungry daedra, incompetent help and formidable foes.

Ulyne must have been young. After all, there are bold warriors and there are old warriors. . . but there are no old bold warriors. Joan is blessed with the good sense and self-awareness to perhaps become an old warrior some day.

It will be interesting to see if Joan returns to Vas and, if so, what kind of arrangements she makes to help ensure success.


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WellTemperedClavier
post Dec 7 2022, 02:12 AM
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Dang, Joan's been in Morrowind for close to a year now! How time flies when you're trudging through ash.

I know I've commented on this before, but I still love how you incorporate all of the game's oddities, like NPCs not reacting to a monster in their midst, or using canned dialogue. It adds to the feel of being in a very strange place.

Likewise, marching around the islands means walk on water of some kind is invaluable. I'd forgotten this until I tried playing a character who didn't have any trained alteration. Swimming is not fun. Slaughterfish are even less fun.

Plenty in Morrowind will tell you to retreat from a fight that's above your level, and Joan's clever enough to act on that. The Armiger either wasn't, or didn't have time to. But dedicated crusader that she is, I suspect Joan's only going to get stronger and come back to finish the job.

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Renee
post Dec 11 2022, 03:23 PM
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Hello, how is everyone doing this Xmas season? santaclaus.gif Today's story will probably be the last one for a while, as I'm going to be needing to take a break as the holidays get nearer. sad.gif santa.gif dry.gif

Chances are I'll continue writing Joan's tale silently, because I'm currently too addicted to Morrowind to just give it up! Not just with Joanie, but also I've still been gaming with two others: Ana Khannda (dark elf archer doing Thieves Guild and Hlaalu) and my new Nordic gal, Fay Daway. She'll probably mostly stick to Mages Guild, maybe I'll put some mod-added quests in for her.

Thanks you all, and here's the final Joan of 2022. cake.gif Have some cake.


@WellTemperedClavier: Yes, well in Earth time I've been gaming with Joan since spring of 2021, in her world it's been about half a year. smile.gif Last Seed (when the game begins) is August, I think. And now she's up to Sun's Dawn, which is February. Yup, almost half a year.

Thanks, and yea, that habit of "what they say/do is what goes into the story" sort of goes back to the very first table gaming. I recently learned that when Gary Gygax and his pals began gaming, they'd use figureines. Whatever the figureine had in their hands is what they'd use in-game. So if a knight-figure visually had a halberd, this is what he'd carry as Gary would roll with him in the game. I'm pretty sure that's how me pals in high school also approached it. I think that's where that comes from The NPC says or does this, and so this is what goes into the story, that is.

In Laprima's tale, and also with my Fallout gal Vicious, it's just a higher-evolved version. I still write mostly what they say, but a lot of time their words are from one of my homemade quests. Although I do also incorporate more imagination here and there. Got to, sometimes!

Yeah, slaughterfish suck! 🦈 And yes, she's going to finish the job, eventually she will. Daris's ass is grass.


@Acadian: it's too bad you never played Morrowind (right?) Then again, it is a very clunky game. It's very awkward to watch your character hit an enemy for instance, and nothing happened because really they missed. huh.gif I know you've played Baldur's Gate, but that's not really the same. In BG everything is turn-based. In Arena, Daggerfall, and Morrowind though, combat is real-time, yet it also behaves like an old turn-based game. If your character misses during BG, at least you pause the game, and strategize what to do next.

I get the feeling that Ulyne was young, yes. *nods* Probably slightly more experienced than Joan, but perhaps hadn't as much real-world experience. I feel sort of bad (and Joan really feels bad) about how that turned out. Been wondering how that could have been done better. Should have kept the Armiger solely in that initial room for instance, rather than telling her to follow.

Then again, those NPCs often do what they want, anyway. sad.gif Still though...


@SubRosaFlorens: That's an enjoyable phrase to write, right? "She turned and walked out of The End Of The World." bigsmile.gif Or walked into it.

I'm also glad you caught that, too. She summoned a ghost to fight a rat! Overkill for sure, but up against some bonelords, her Ancestral Ghost might as well been a paper hat.


@MacoleVampireHunter: Using Intervention scrolls, there's always that mixed feeling of "phew, gotten out of that situation", but also "GRRRRARARA!!!" Like, I just want to b34t some t00nz!

But yes, Joanie is always well-prepared, that's an ingrained habit for sure. smile.gif I wonder what would happen if Joan and Jandaga met. Joanie's based loosely on Joan of Arc; how would she react if coming upon the Psychedelic Warrior. ☮



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Renee
post Dec 11 2022, 05:13 PM
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Chapter XXXIX - The Calling of Arkay

31 Morning Star (Day 169) to 4 Sun's Dawn (Day 173)


During this time, Joan spends a couple days in Gnisis. She attempts to restock her supply of potions and rations, before giving up and heading off to Ald'ruhn. With over 300 gold in her possession, she's hoping to purchase at least ten potions of healing, magic-restoration, magical-resistance, paralyzation-curing, and so on.

Unfortunately, Gnisis does not have its own Mages Guild, nor is there any sort of magical shop to be found. The chaplain of Fort Darius sells a few items, but they're weaker stuff: potions sold for a bargain, or for cheap. The sort of libations one would quaff after a meager fight with an alit, perhaps.

If she were to be entirely honest though, the crusader from Cyrodiil had become impatient. She'd been bested by a lowlife patron of foulness who dwells within darkness, and now she's in a hurry to get back and defeat him. It took maybe a day for her to realize this, as she shopped and prayed within Gnisis. Once she sees the situation more clearly, she comes to the conclusion that it'd be bad strategy for her to quickly head back to the isle of Vas. Not every foe can be beaten right away. The necromancer known as Daris Adram lives remotely, with little chance of harming innocents. Vas's nearest main Sheogorad inhabitation, Joan notes, happens to be Dagon Fel, whose residents hadn't even heard of Daris. Perhaps it'd be better for her to wait a bit. Gather her wits, before rushing into a series of traps and bad decisions.

She forces herself to slow down. Makes some plans. She decides to walk to Ald'ruhn, where there'd at least be a Mages Guild to visit. She'd also be able to gather all the potions and medicines she could carry, and mostly for free.

Still, Joan finds herself overcome with guilt concerning the death of Ulyne Henim, the Tribunal Armiger she'd literally just met. Henim had been waiting outside of Vas when Joan arrived. They had sparred a bit, comparing each other's fighting styles. They even practiced their methods of warfare on a rabid rat, before stalking into the tower, defeating that skeleton.

Joan's incredibly saddened by this. She feels regret. What could have been done to prevent the Armiger's death? Was she at least partially responsible for Henim's demise?

Maybe it's the fact that things were going so well, at first. Several others had been lost at Joan's side over the past few months: two Imperial guards, one Imperial archer, Jub the orc adventurer, and finally, the Argonian she'd met in Molag Amur, who'd been stranded by that ash storm. All of these folks had willingly followed her, unknowing their fates were soon to come. But for some reason, the crusader cannot get her latest fallen companion out of her mind.

"...And Ulyne, though she attacked with valiance, apparently had not the forethought to temper her assault within the tower, for the menaces of Vas were too great for the both of us to besiege," Joan confessed at one point to Chaplain Ogrul, Fort Darius's priest. "I... found myself choosing to spare myself. Perhaps was this the way of the coward?" she asked the priest, facing the truth head on. "Perhaps. But, it was my presence of mind that one must also divert oneself at such times. To fight another day, as the saying goes."

"Your actions show promise," Ogrul answered, apparently unsure of what to say. Not all big, burly orcs command battlefields, after all. Some of them maintain shrines for the Imperials. Or run their own bookstores. But, maybe due to the average orc's upbringing within Orismer culture (in which such traits as aggression and intimidation are often preferred), sensitive words aren't as likely. "Fight well!"

"I wish to," Joan admitted. "'Tis why I am in such a frenzy to make my return. I feel I must avenge the falling of my short-lived comrade."

Every wager of warfare, when he or she took up whichever oath or cause or calling was placed upon their shoulders, also knew that one of the outcomes of such a cause could possibly be their ultimate demise. When it came to combat, the phrase 'every man for himself' often did apply. Sure, it was pertinent for armies and factions to fight together, to assist one another. But ultimately, each individual also claimed his or her own responsibility, when it came to mistakes and mishaps, such as what just occurred up in Vas. In some cases, things did not go as planned.

Perhaps it was due to this way of thinking that Joan did not experience much remorse when her earlier travelers had lost their lives. The guards she'd persuaded to leave their posts, they'd come with her knowing (it was assumed) they could someday meet their fates. Same went for the orc she'd hired just outside of Molag Mar. He had joined for typical reasons: eager to find gold, adventure, and fame. Yet he'd also fallen, despite referencing all his past accomplishments.

Joan had called for the final rites of each of them, hoping to send them off into the afterlife with dignity. It was the best she could do, considering her faith. But that was all. These others had joined her, they'd fought by her side, they'd eventually succumbed to final destinies. And Joan Marie, former acolyte of Arkay's temple in Cheydinhal? - In each case, she had moved on.

For some reason, the death of Ulyne Henim is different. For some reason, the need for contemplation concerning Ulyne's death is great, is in fact necessary.


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She walks from Gnisis to Ald'ruhn, weather fair and sun shining bright, Joan finds herself musing upon the role of the Gods in her daily life. As a youngster she'd not really put much absolute thought into making these sorts of choices. You hurt yourself, whether through lost love or the sting of a bee? - You called for Mara. You felt you needed redemption or justice of some kind; perhaps somebody had wronged you? - You hoped for intervention from Julianos, perhaps. You wished to perform well as you traded a shipment of cockles? - That would be Zenithar. Overall, the presence of each of these Aedra had permeated Joan's life in small ways during her upbringing; perhaps a night's dream here, a daily set of inspirations there.

But now, as she walks upon the road to Ald'ruhn, hoping to find a signpost that'll guide her there without drama, but finding herself momentarily lost! once again, Joan understands that it's Arkay who's become the most prominent deity of her daily life.

Arkay, son of Akatosh. 'Lord of the Wheel of Life', 'God of the Circle of Life and Death'. Arkay's domain includes funerals, last rites, and many of the very things the crusader happens to be participating in on a near-daily basis.

"Arkay..." the crusader from Cheydinhal muses as she walks along, lost in thought. Pondering the path before her. Conclusions begin to be drawn. She can almost sense the bearded man portrayed upon the stained-glass windows of her hometown chapel, walking along with her. Looking over her. Guiding her notions, directing her towards the fate of others past, and others future. Joan ponders and wonders...

But now is not the time.

"Youuu s'wit!!!"

As a nearby brigand comes clambering down from one side (brandishing his polearm to threatening effect), and a nix hound comes bounding from another (thinking the two-legged female-person striding nearby will make a nice afternoon meal before sundown), Joan Marie the Crusader from Cheydinhal grabs for her magical mace.

- Crash! Bang! Smash! -

Pretty soon the fight will be over. No doubt Joan'll be the victor. While somewhere unseen, the Lord of the Wheel of Life shall claim yet one more.


~ The End, Season Two, Year 2022~


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SubRosa
post Dec 12 2022, 11:58 AM
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Joan licks her wounds, mourns fallen comrades, and begins preparations anew.

I liked Joan's self-reflection through this dark night of the soul, and how of all the Divines, she now turns to Arkay. Now we see the first hints of how she will eventually gain her title "of Arkay".

Crash! Boom! Bam! Joan sends Arkay another soul for the wheel. That was a nice ending.


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Acadian
post Dec 12 2022, 09:41 PM
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No, I never did play Morrowind. I started TES with Oblivion in 2007 and quickly joined the BethSoft forums where I learned from all the Morrowelitists that Morrowind the the Three’s gift to gaming and that Oblivion was a dumbed down inferior excuse for a game. Well. . . I was actively playing Oblivion and thought it was a great game. So, naturally, I discounted the Morrowelitists completely. laugh.gif

I loved Joan’s reflections upon those who followed and trusted her but did not return. They were all qualified to make their own choices. I assume a Tribuanal Armiger is not without significant training to bear that title. What seems different in the loss of Ulyne though is that the fatal encounter did not ultimately result in victory. That Joan retreated rather than face the same fate as Ulyne. Such things are good to ponder but I am confident that Joan’s more measured and prudent approach to battles is the wise path. That does not lesson one’s grief for fallen comrades though.

Buffy empathizes well with Joan regarding finding the right ‘fit’ when it comes to a Divine patron. Arkay does indeed seem a good fit for Joan. I like how you punctuate that at the very end with an attack along the road.


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SubRosa
post Dec 12 2022, 10:59 PM
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QUOTE(Acadian @ Dec 12 2022, 03:41 PM) *

No, I never did play Morrowind. I started TES with Oblivion in 2007 and quickly joined the BethSoft forums where I learned from all the Morrowelitists that Morrowind the the Three’s gift to gaming and that Oblivion was a dumbed down inferior excuse for a game. Well. . . I was actively playing Oblivion and thought it was a great game. So, naturally, I discounted the Morrowelitists completely. laugh.gif

I had the same arc with Oblivion and Morrowind. I did eventually buy Morrowind when it was on sale however, just to see what it was like. I was not impressed. It is no accident that now whenever I get a hankering to travel to Vvardenfell, I do so via Morroblivion.


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WellTemperedClavier
post Dec 13 2022, 02:05 AM
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You know, it's funny: I actually ended up doing the quest in Vas.

It's surprisingly hard given it's the first quest in its chain, though maybe they assume you've already done some FG quests in Balmora. I couldn't keep Ulyne alive, either, though I didn't exactly feel guilty about it--she charged so far ahead, that there was no way for me to keep her alive.

But this is an interesting moment of introspection for Joan. Her quest on Vvardenfell gave her a certain level of forward momentum, but you can only do that for so long before it catches up with you and you have to actually think about things. She knew combat was part of her vocation, but she might not have reckoned with how it'd affect her farther down the line.

Also interesting how her focus on the Divines changes. Polytheism feels pretty abstract to me, but her development does make sense. Different gods might appeal more at different stages of life.

As for feeling better, the chaplain did his best but his Morrowind-style dialogue just isn't well-suited for consolation, alas.
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