About this image

The lightning effect itself appears very subtle in this image, as lightning is, well, quite fast, and I only captured the end of it. I am hoping to upload a short video soon that will better capture this unique atmosphere.

In creating the skies for the world of Arkan, I initially wanted to present something that felt alien. It was very important to me that it was done right because the Sky-Realm was a huge part of the lore. The atmosphere itself is actually described as being 'an unnatural creation created to support the natural'. Indeed, all life on Arkan hinges upon this volatile shield of light cast by the Sunspire! And it just wouldn't do to go with a boring old blue sky with white clouds. Too tranquil! Too familiar! Too safe! So I used the sky texture from Mania in the Shivering Isles and covered it with 'vanilla' Tamriel clouds before modifying the colors to look more eclectic. Today, I went a step further by adding lightning effects. Two new custom thunder sound effects were added to the mod tonight, specially designed to play a few seconds after the lightning, so it's more realistic. Note that these lightning storms up in the clouds are always happening above the world of Arkan, rain or shine. I felt the best way to convey this idea of 'illusion of sanctuary' would be through the constant presence of sporadic electricity. I have also added some ambient 'chime' wind effects to further the effect of a magically charged world.

I hope to release some proper video footage of this fantastic phenomenon soon enough!