I'm replaying Enderal, a total conversion for Skyrim. I found it well-made, with a gripping story, great characters, and excellent music. I got a whole bunch of mods for my next playthrough, and one adds in a journal one can write in to record thoughts, events, etc. I'll be keeping this journal up as I play, and I figured it would be fun to share it here.
Last Seed, 29th, 4E 8234
Stocked up on supplies and took a Myrad to the Northern Heartland. Sun hasn't risen yet. Everyone in the city's talking about the explosion at the harbor. The guards are a bit more wary, but I don't think they suspect me more than they suspect anyone else. Hopefully things cool down by the time I get back. Going to investigate a nearby Pyrean ruin before I find this "Lashiri". It's a job for some intellectual group looking for their tech. Probably pays well, which is why I'm giving it the time of day. That and it's on the way. Today's been really fruitful. First off, turns out "Lashiri" is actually "Lishari", and Lishari is pretty damned great. Foul-mouthed Nehrimese arcanist (read a note that called her a Skaragg. Might ask her about that if I get the chance, but when I look at her, I can kind of see it).
Anyways, I met her in the ruin, and she was in a bit of a bind. Mercenaries attacked the expedition and were trying to burn everything to the ground. Alice and I rushed through part of the ruin and saved everything we could. It was tough, but the rush was pretty exciting. We also saved Lishari's assistant (turns out he had sold them out to the mercenaries, but they left him to die in the fires). He 'ported out before I could confront him, and I didn't bother to stop him. Too focused on saving the important stuff.
Afterwards, Lishari performed the ritual on me (the one Firespark told me I could use to check my fever). It hurt a hell of a lot, which is apparently an anomaly, but regardless, my fever's not as prevalent as before, so that's good. It might not have been pretty or perfect, but it worked. Lishari also seemed excited about something, but said she'd have to keep it to herself until she got the go-ahead from Tealor Arantheal. Must be pretty important, then.
Once she left, I decided to sight-see a bit, clear out a few caves with Alice, and practice a few tricks. Came across another Myrad tower. The keeper there offered me a fair amount of coin to clear out a mill taken over by wild mages. They were tough and I took a few bad hits, but Alice pulled through and really tore through them. That wolf's getting powerful. Once I cleared out the mages, I collected my pay from the keeper and returned to Ark using the teleport rune I had placed in the market. Pretty convenient, actually. I'm having a bit of a rest to catch my breath before I dive back into the fray and talk to Firespark. The city’s still talking about the incident at the harbor, but the Holy Order says that whomever was responsible for the storm died conjuring it. Probably some mage who accidentally let loose some uncontrolled magic. Hopefully they believe that story as much as everyone else does. I’m glad that bit of buzz is dying down, because I expect the real excitement’s just beginning.
Hell on earth, I... I don't even know where to start this time. I don't really... I don't know. Right now I'm cooped up in the Fat Leor with every bottle of wine and brandy I've got. Shit, I just... don't know. I guess... from the top. I talked to Firespark. He gave me my pay courtesy of Lishari and then casually told me I'd be meeting with Tealor Arantheal. Tealor "Leader of the Holy Order and the most powerful man in Enderal" Arantheal. After taking a few minutes to, you know, compose myself, I walked across the Sun Temple and met him. I don't even really know how to describe the experience. I was meeting not just a war hero, but what amounts to a bloody mythical figure. When I came to Enderal I wanted to start a simple life. Less than two weeks in and I'm dining with the single most powerful man on the continent. And that fact doesn't even scratch the surface of the list of mindfucks I've gone through in the past hour.
He told me that my visions aren't just symptoms of madness or anything like that. He has them too. So do the Nehrimese arcanists. When he escaped imprisonment, the Nehrimese found him and took him in, but didn't kill him or throw him back in prison for some reason. He told Firespark about his dreams, and Firespark said he was having the same ones. That clued them into something. So they started digging. Figuretively, and literally. They started looking at the Pyreans, the civilization that came before us. And they noticed something.
The timeline of the fall of the Pyreans is similar to what's happening here. It sounds strange, and maybe a bit addled, but hear me out: the Pyreans dealt with a cataclysm like the Starfall which split Vyn. Then they had mythical, godlike rulers unite the world, like the Light-born. Then these rulers were overthrown, and chaos erupted (oh yeah, casual addition: the Light-born really are dead). Then the Pyreans just... vanished. Into thin air. Here's the kicker: this isn't the first time that's happened. Arantheal says there's evidence that there was a civilization before the Pyreans which suffered the same fate. And another before them. And on and on for who knows how long. It sounds insane. But he says that if we follow that pattern, our civilization's the next to disappear.
Now that bit's enough fucking madness for a whole room, but we're just getting started. Arantheal calls this whole thing "the Cycle". A civilization blooms, unites and flourishes under false gods, erupts into chaos when it loses them, and then just... vanishes. And we're next. But there are other signs as well. Other similarities. Other... "constants". Like the emissaries. That's what he calls them. Figures whose presence is a constant in the histories of all the civilizations before ours. Arantheal says he's one of them. And so am I.
The "Prophet". Or Prophetess, as it were. Extraordinary aptitude for learning, incredible power and an affinity for combat, and the ability to see into the future. Or rather, the past, which, due to its cyclical nature, might as well be our future. I'm an... emissary. Me. Cecilia Zirael. A nobody who stowed away from Ostian to try and start a new life here. What the fuck? What the fuck is this shit? I mean... I don't even really know how to... I'm trying to figure out the right words but I just can't. I don't know what the fuck is going on right now. I'm here for a couple of weeks and suddenly I'm some big damned hero? This shit doesn't make any sense! I'm just a nobody. I'm just a... nobody.
Just to wrap up this fucking mess, Arantheal explained that the cycle's coming to an end, and soon our civilization's going to go poof. The Pyreans called it "the Cleansing". What the fuck is up with all this cryptic talk? He told me that they'd need my help to stop it. My... help. Me. I just don't... I just don't understand. Sirius and I came here to be fucking farmers, or workers. I didn't come to Enderal to be some religious figurehead! I didn't come here to save the fucking world!
I need to sleep on this. I told Arantheal that I'd give him his answer after thinking about it. In the meantime, I'm going to get as drunk as I can and see if I get a fucking revelation or something. None of this makes any sense.
I... I wish Sirius were here. He'd know what to do.
Link to Enderal. It's important to note that the writing above is based almost entirely on the story created by an extraordinarily talented group of modders. Credit is due to them, not to me. I would also be remiss to not credit Arcones for the idea of using a parchment-looking background to add some flavor.
