Selection #1: A conversation with Lerelius, if you sided with the rebels in the Civil War and won.
- Lerelius: So you are the famed Stormblade, then? Congratulations. I wasn’t sure the Stormcloaks could actually pull this off.
- P: Oh, shut up, Imperial.
- Lerelius (Nord): Sigh… So much for hoping you were a real hero who thought for herself/himself. Just another Nord whose hot head’s boiled away her/his brains.
- P: I do think for myself.
- Lerelius: Truly? What a surprise! Tell me, why did you fight that war? What did you gain?
- P: I don’t need brains to kill bad guys.
- Lerelius: I suppose not. But you may need them to determine who the bad guys actually are.
- P: I made my choice. I do not regret it.
- Lerelius: Good. Mortal lives are too short to spend mired in regret.
- P: My heart tells me that, not my mind.
- Lerelius: Sigh. Most reasonable people’s hearts tell them not to kill people.
- P: I doubt that is how brains work.
- Lerelius: It is if the fire is hot enough. Dreadful mess and an even worse smell.
- P: I do think for myself.
- Lerelius (Imperial): My dear, do I need to fetch you a mirror? Clearly not all of us are worthy of such treatment as you gave our dear General Tullius and his lackeys.
- P: The Empire betrayed me.
- Lerelius: Laugh. Remind me to stay on your good side, Stormblade.
- P: I don’t know who you are or what you want.
- Lerelius: My apologies. I am Lerelius Venorian. I am among Solitude’s elite. I merely came to offer my congratulations.
- P: Tullius deserved what he got.
- Lerelius: Perhaps he did. Perhaps he did not. He was not the Empire. He was simply a man trying to do the right thing. No different from you. War is cruel like that.
- P: I know that, but I don’t know if I can trust you.
- Lerelius: My dear, you just won a war. Surely you know that you can’t trust anyone.
- P: The Empire betrayed me.
- Lerelius (Nord): Sigh… So much for hoping you were a real hero who thought for herself/himself. Just another Nord whose hot head’s boiled away her/his brains.
- P: Oh, shut up, Imperial.
Selection #2: A conversation with Taurecalmo outside a ruin that has become a battlefield for the Civil War.
- P: What can we expect here, Taurecalmo?
- Taurecalmo (Imperial): Stormcloaks. They must be desperate, too. Ransacking the tombs of their ancestors to retrieve a crown. And not even in a traditional manner. They’re crazed fanatics. Basically cultists. Expect that.
- P: Traditional manner?
- Taurecalmo: It would have been peaceful. And led by Ulfric. I don’t think he has the fearlessness that wearing the Crown traditionally requires. Ulfric is likely hidden away in his palace in Windhelm. I don’t like Galmar, but I cannot deny that he is the braver and more involved leader.
- P: Traditional manner?
- Taurecalmo (Stormcloak): Imperials. But I’d watch your friends here, too. Anything that would drive a Nord to defile the graves of their honored ancestors is also likely to make them not think straight. People are going to die here.
- Taurecalmo (Imperial): Stormcloaks. They must be desperate, too. Ransacking the tombs of their ancestors to retrieve a crown. And not even in a traditional manner. They’re crazed fanatics. Basically cultists. Expect that.
Selection #3: A conversation with Laren.
- P: What do you make of Boethiah’s request?
- Laren: Do I like it? No. Why in Oblivion would I? That said, if we’re going to get to the bottom of this cult and cut it off at the source… We need to go through with this.
- P: WHAT?! You want me to kill someone?!
- Laren: For the greater good of Skyrim? Yes. I’m a soldier, not a priest. Death is sometimes the only solution to a problem. I’d prefer we not kill an innocent, though. If you can convince some criminal or rebel to come here, that would be ideal, but if not… I’ll do it. If my death can stop this foul cult, so be it.
- P: WHAT?! You want me to kill someone?!
- Laren: Do I like it? No. Why in Oblivion would I? That said, if we’re going to get to the bottom of this cult and cut it off at the source… We need to go through with this.
Selection #4: A confrontation between Sarulndil and Lu’ah Al-Skaven, who was widowed by his mentor in a previous war.
Saru: I avenged your husband, fool. The man who killed him is dead by my hands. This continued vengeance against those who have nothing to do with what happened in the Imperial City is pointless. Pull yourself together.
Lu’ah: The war continues, Thalmor scum!
Saru: Then help us finish it.
Lu’ah: Help the Thalmor? Are you mad?
Saru: I may wear the uniform, but I do not serve the Dominion. My brother is dead because of this war, just as your husband is. I want an end. Raising another army will not finish this.
Lu’ah: This is a war, fool. My army will be stronger than yours. Diplomacy has no place here.
Saru: Your army is fragile. Your cause and memory will die with you. See reason.
Lu’ah: I… I want my husband back, you bastard.
Saru: I know. You’ll see him one day. But turning to necromancy spits on everything he stood for. Honor him. Come with us.
Lu’ah: I… You’re right… Tuwhacca forgive me.
Selection #5: Idle dialogue from mod followers while wandering Skyrim.
Sathyr, on Docks: The sound of the sea is a romantic thing, I think. Constant, calming, and can kill you if you’re not careful.
Aima, in Blackreach: It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Sometimes the loveliest things are born of darkness and decay. Do not forget that when you see the parts of this world you have considered ugly.
Selection #6: Shari’s advice.
Shari: There’s no way to avoid pain. It’s the only thing you can ever count on. Make pain your bitch.
Selection #7: A conversation with Glooga.
- P: Aren’t you a priest of Mara? Don’t you have to be more of a pacifist?
- Glooga: Sometimes the only path to peace is to kill that which threatens it. I do not fear the blood on my hands, so long as it was taken to protect the innocent.
Selection #8: A conversation with Naeduin.
Naeduin: It disgusts—no—saddens me to see poor fools kneel at the shrines of gods who will never hear them, and certainly will never intervene in a time of need. The Divines have saved no one. Kindly Men and Mer have. Daedra have. Perhaps Akatosh still lives, but he is the only Aedra who seems to give half a damn about Nirn… And yet his son would eat it, unfettered by his supposedly caring father.
Selection #9: Ri’khar after facing a truly terrifying villain at your side.
Ri’khar: Ri’khar thought good and evil were lies meant to control us, but now he has seen the face of true evil, and knows it is real. True good may not exist, but Khajiit hopes we may all try to find it. No sacrifices. No Oblivion Gates. No lies. Compassion when we can, and death when we cannot.
Selection #10: The Daedric Prince of knowledge if you attempt to destroy one of his eldritch books.
Hermaeus Mora: Dragonborn. Knowledge is not something that can be destroyed. Even that which the world forgets, I cannot. You hold artifacts that cannot be destroyed. Only moved. Do not waste your time.
Selection #11: A conversation with Cade.
- P: Weren’t the Alessians the good guys? Fighting evil Daedric cultist elves?
- Cade: They changed. They had this uh… monkey prophet? Marukh. And he said he talked to Alessia’s ghost and came up with all these rules that basically boiled down to “kill all elves, even if they don’t serve daedra.” And then the Alessians went—pun intended—ape-shit.
- P: People seriously decided to try genocide on the words of a monkey?
- Cade: If people are set in hatred of what’s different, it doesn’t matter how dumb a source their orders are from.
- P: People seriously decided to try genocide on the words of a monkey?
- Cade: They changed. They had this uh… monkey prophet? Marukh. And he said he talked to Alessia’s ghost and came up with all these rules that basically boiled down to “kill all elves, even if they don’t serve daedra.” And then the Alessians went—pun intended—ape-shit.
Selection #12: Nenmaire confronts the player.
Nenmaire: How is someone who defies their fate worse than the bastard who writes it?
Selection #13: From book 3 of my fantasy series, narrated by Vito, the bastard son of Lenora and Alister, confronting his mother.
“Darkness is truth.” My mother ran a hand in a halo around her head, changing herself into a light guardian once more. “Light is only an illusion. And we must destroy all illusions in order to destroy the Prophecy.”
Selection #14: From book 1 of my fantasy series, narrated by Tristan as he and Lamorak meet an elder vampire while seeking a cure for Lamorak’s vampirism.
A robed figure descended onto one of the rock balconies across the cavern from us. They floated down to our level, skimming the surface of the water effortlessly. Lamorak pulled his crucifix from his shirt and gripped it so tightly that it began to burn through his glove. An odd glow radiated from the figure, and I felt drawn to them. I shut my eyes and pulled myself close to Lamorak. His breath approached hyperventilation. I hooked the lantern on my belt and pressed my hand to his heart to cast a protective spell on the both of us. Even after spending so much time close to Lamorak, it still was odd to feel no heartbeat within his chest.
I returned my gaze to the robed figure, now floating only a little ways off from us. They lifted their arms as they spoke in a deep voice, the darkness of their hood directed towards Lamorak. “Feast, and be merry, my child, for you have found a home that will keep you safe forever.” Lamorak flinched and held the crucifix out in front of us shakily, still not able to speak. The figure recoiled. “In the name of our Lord, please put that crucifix away!” The figure shrieked.
“Do not speak of Him, demon!” Lamorak said, a bit meekly.
The figure sighed and lowered their hood, revealing a middle-aged man with pale skin and graying, dark brown hair. “And yet you hold the symbol of His suffering at the hands of the corrupt.” Lamorak shifted uncomfortably, and I gave his hand a squeeze. “Do you not see, my child, the death and destruction caused not by Him, but by the Church would disappoint Our Lord? Was it not the Pharisees who put him to death? And the common sinners whom He befriended? Are we to love our neighbors despite their differences? Or are we to slaughter them for it?”
Selection #15: Some deep quotes by Alister from my fantasy series.
Alister Quote: “Life will always be messy, my love. Survival, though rarely a thing of glory or joy, is still a victory.”
Alister Quote: “If you will not listen to reason, perhaps you will listen to folly.”
Selection #16: From book 2 of my fantasy series, narrated by Isaebail, exiled Norse princess, current French queen, and prophesized “Princess of Styx,” confronting Charon with her demigod friend, Benoit on their way into the Underworld.
A small boat approached, rowed by a cloaked and hooded figure. It docked next to the two of us. “Those who enter here are supposed to be dead,” It rasped.
Benoit let go of my waist and handed me the lantern. “We make our own rules, ferryman,” He hissed. He leapt onto the boat and reached into the figure’s chest. It made a horrible hissing noise as its hood fell, revealing a largely rotted out corpse. One bulging, bloodshot eye remained. The other socket was filled with black fire. He lifted the creature up by its dry, withered heart and threw it into the water. It scrambled to get back into the boat, panic filling its remaining eye. I looked to the shadows in the water. Take him. I thought. The shadows wrapped around the ferryman and dragged him down into the depths. I shuddered a little. So I did have some sort of control over this place… Just like in my other journeys.
“Come, Princess of Styx, your chariot awaits,” Benoit bowed his head a little and extended a hand.
I took his hand and stepped onto the boat with him. “That’s Queen, to you.”
Benoit inhaled sharply. “I’d be careful throwing that around here. The forces here are not too keen on having their authority questioned.”