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Tales of Wulver - The Mad Priest of Arkay - Epilogue
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23 comments
All in all, it was a very nice and exciting story with interesting interactions between the actors and it was a lot of fun reading it.
You designed Wulver's character quite complex. A complexity that is very difficult to accommodate in such a short story. So I think that every story here is part of a larger story that already reaches the dimension of a book. A kind of adventure collection in which every story here could be a chapter of this book. A chapter from "Tales of Wulver". Since you introduced a new potential enemy for Wulver and his team in the epilogue, I hope that more chapters from "Tales of Wulver" will follow.
So far his time line is in order. Thalmor prison story, his life goes on and vampires try to take over the guild (this story I mention only - I haven't published it), then the mad priest of arkay story. What would come next would most likely to continuing the cultist theme in some way but of course is dependent on my mood.
I have been building a lot of lore on Wulver so aye he is rather complex. Trying to keep some mystery to him and reveal little bits here and there :)
Salissa is totally wicked witching it up with her scrying, just when you thought the Thalmor were the most nefarious group in Skyrim.
Hm..a new player has joined the field...she looks like she's trouble. Big trouble. Specially with the news of a Molag Bal cult spreading.
Wulver is a half-breed of sorts (its more complicated than that really but its the easiest way to reference it). Part chaos part mortal. In Skyrim that would equate to part Daedra part human ... although one thing I have made explicit is that he isn't Daedra. His "patron" is something else of chaos. But when he adapts to a world his body automatically does its best to "fit-in" hence a Daedric like look, as that was the closest to his actual look. Regardless he can die but doubtful from old age ... not that he has had a chance to put it to the test. He can be sent back somewhere else but sometimes to the same place. Depends on fickle chaos :) But I try not to get that deep in his stories as that is more of a broader concept of him*.
Me and Nat were talking about Greater Daedra and wasn't sure if that was even a TES concept or something you created in your stories (Despair) that sounded so real we assumed it was. She did find, in ESO lore, a reference to a Greater Daedra called Hollowjack ... so seems they used it at least once. I mention it to say Salissa is not a GD. She is more like a powerful lesser Daedra, a Dark Seducer. I wanted her close in power scale to Wulver and the rest versus a god like enemy. She swore a loyalty oath to Molag and if she pleases him he will reward her with a power boost (she has set her eyes on becoming a greater daedra). A small spoiler but not directly related to the story itself - more a little insight into who Salissa is.
Glad you enjoyed it and thank you for the comment!
* Outside of story context Wulver is an over-arching character I play in other games like Pathfinder, DAO, Pillars of Eternity, etc. Hence his planeswalking ability. Another aspect is when you die in a game you reload and "come back" which in some manner is my way of looking at that as being reborn and sent back to finish a job before moving on to another world. That being said its more just a mental thing in my head I like to play around with. For the most part I consider Wulver's main worlds to be Skyrim and Pathfinder right now as that is where I am playing him the most. Although a version of him is busy being a Grey Warden in DAO at the moment...
For the very first time I've tried to make a man
I wish I could say I made Salissa but I did not. I used a follower mod for her. That being said I have made one or two female characters for stories. My main thing is I don't have a lot of female mods for making them.
I will be very curious to see what you come up with for a male character
Looks like that despite Isran’s usual welcome, Florentius would still incredibly warn welcome from his dear friend Sorine who might feel much more for him than just friendship. It is wonderful respite for poor Florentius who has suffered in captivity. Everyone who took part in his rescue will finally get a bit of rest before taking on a path of adventure again.
Dannee sure would feel shaken that she missed this rescue mission and vampires of Skyrim should beware, she won’t let them rest after they tried to kill Sofie and Nelthas. And Sofie herself is filled with questions about Wulver, their friendship and his trust of her is very heartwarming and he revealed another piece of his mystery – the fact that he lived many lives for he probably needs to learn something or experience something and he did not before… still there are many mysterious about Wulver and it is very curious, but Sofie won’t press him to reveal more, if she senses he is not ready to talk about it. Arkay vision that he directed to Wulver telling him of that new cult was very ominous, yet future can change, so there is a hope to stop that cult before forming.
And so the secret of who was behind recent schemes of the Thalmor was revealed – it is one of Daedra – Salissa. From appearance she is ether Dark Seducer or she might be one of Xivkyn – A Daedra hybrid of Dremora and Xivilai. Xivkyn Daedra were created by Molag Bal to get a new capable and cunning servants. In any case Salissa seemed to more of cold and rational type unlike Elenwen and many vampires. Salissa rightly guessed of why vampires and the Thalmor have failed – because of their incredible arrogance that became their downfall. Her plans towards Thrynn made me shiver… I hope she will never get her hands on him. She seemed to be very intrigued by Wulver while dismissing Nelthas as getting soft and Sofie as just Dragonborn brat, so she also has sense of arrogance but not as much as those fallen vampires and the Thalmor. Salissa seemed to have her hands full with organizing this new cult, so dealing with daring adventurers might not be her biggest concern… I am very intrigued of continuation of how Wulver adventures will continue!
This was fantastic tale, thank you very much for sharing your awesome work!
I think my next post may be more one of the cult recruiting. Maybe one of their flyers that indicates what they are about what they promise to those who join. They will start showing up a bit more around Skyrim. I have started to work on the name of the new religion, how they persuade people to join, some of their creed, etc.,. Could easily be a community thing of other writers want to mention the cult in passing in their own stories.
I am sure it will be of concern to Dannee, as well as the increased vampire activity. I don't think she is the type to take attacks against her family laying down. The Thieves Guild is already on high alert to watch out for vampires and cultists - so at least they are forewarned, as are the Dawnguard. Although the cult will be doing its best to discredit both the Dawnguard (painting them as little more than bandits pretending to do good, similar to the Silverhand) and those who worship Arkay. They give the promise of earthly rewards and power and immortality for those who earn it - versus accepting poverty in a mortal life and then the fake promise of peace offered by Arkay, which they say is just the end of the soul.
Salissa is arrogant but not over-confident and she, unlike vampires and the thalmor, sees value in any soul (even if only for power and food) regardless of race or creed. She understands diversity brings strength. She is also very aware of her own position in the hierarchy of power and has learned to never under-estimate her enemies or her allies (not many of those). She will be much more dangerous as she will be cautious. She would much prefer to seduce someone to her cause (cult) then resort to violence as well. Right now her focus is on spreading the word of the cult and making it appear not only legitimate but also appealing to the masses of Skyrim and beyond. With all the tension of the civil war and lost hope many folks will be eager to turn to something that promises easy answers and solutions. That is the Daedra way after all - why work hard all your life to earn some nebulous reward when you can take short-cuts to get everything you want quickly and it only costs you your soul - which is of little use when you are currently suffering in life (of course Salissa will sell it in a much more appealing manner).
Anyhow more to come! Thank you for your support and I hope Sofie and Nelthas get some rest for a bit.