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.
Heartfire, 2nd, 4E 8234
Got a night's sleep and went to see Halda; she was putting the finishing touches on my new armor. It looks really nice. Well-crafted but not flashy and bulky like the Keeper armor. Inconspicuous by comparison - it looks rugged and good for traveling.
After trying it on, I got some breakfast and made sure I had everything else I would need before taking the Myrad to the coast. After I met up with Jespar, we hiked up to the Aged Man's manor. The place is massive. Didn't bother trying to gain entrance, though. We have to wait for nightfall. Arantheal gave us an artifact to catch the guy's attention, but we don't want him to greet us at the door, ascertain the value of the amulet, pay for it, and shoo us off. If we come knocking at nightfall, he'll likely offer us a room to stay for the night, leaving the dealing for the morning. That gives us an opportunity to slip out when everyone's asleep and properly find what we're looking for. Sounds like I'll have to change into something quiet, though.
Jespar and I are just passing the time right now. Not much else to do. We found an outcropping of rocks that gives us good shelter from the rain. I asked him about his travels. He's been all over the place. Even went to Myar-Aranath. Explains why he's so good with the sword. I also asked him about his scar. He got it from a pair of Arazalean women who seduced him and promptly beat the piss out of him for stealing some ancient relic of theirs. They left him unconscious with nothing - not even his clothes. Harsh, but we both had a good laugh about it.
He asked me about my burn too. I told him the story - I've told it often enough. Also added in some stuff about my exploits in the streets of Ostian. Nothing special compared to what I've done here, but back then I was a weakling, and I still survived. You know that feeling when you go up against an enemy and draw your makeshift iron shank and they come at you with their Shadow Steel dagger? I've had that feeling plenty of times, and I'm still alive. I didn't have skill, or power. I had to improvise, think on my feet. That's something I've been doing less of, and I'm not sure if that's good or bad.
After I regaled him with my tales from Nehrim, he said he was curious about my skill. Considering we had nothing better to do, I decided to indulge him and called up Blutgang, while he drew his weapons: a tough little parrying dagger and a well cared-for longsword, belonging to that lass he knew a while back. I used a neat little spell that put a bit of a defensive barrier around our skin, turning our flesh hard like iron, and we went at it for a bit.
And I'll give the bastard this: he's really bloody fast. He moves insanely quickly. I'm actually not used to fighting fast-movers like that. Had to change up my fighting style to compensate, figure out how to use Blutgang's weight to my advantage. It took less time than either of us anticipated, and I held my own a bit better after that. He also knows how to use that parrying dagger expertly. It honestly felt like he was holding back quite a bit during our sparring matches. As they went on, it even seemed like he was... teaching me? I don't know. He's better than I am. I can tell that with ease. But I'm a quick learner.
Anyways, the sun's setting. Most of the day was spent talking, sparring, reading, or just napping. Nothing too excessive, but I think I'm picking up some new tricks. Now to see what this mythical Aged Man is like.
I hate this place. The atmosphere it gives off is just... unsettling. We were greeted by a servant when we rang. He was waiting for us, I think; invited us in and told us that we'd deal in the morning, and until then we could make ourselves comfortable. Took us to a prepared room and everything. Even had a meal ready for us. I don't like this. I really don't like this. We're passing time at the moment. I told Jespar about the Keeper trial and all the mindfuckery there. But I want to get out of here as soon as possible. I expect we'll have our opportunity pretty soon. Let's make this fast.So... where to start? First off, the Aged Man's manor is really unnerving. I already talked about that earlier, but it needs reiterating. Us walking around just felt... wrong. We could hear his music flowing through the walls and I swear it almost felt like it was... watching us. I know that sounds weird and a bit crazy, but I don't know how else to describe it. I hardly saw the point of sneaking around. It just felt like everyone in the manor knew of our presence, our... stumbling.
Anyways, despite that, we came across a secret passage. Or rather, I did. Accidentally triggered a floor plate and got whisked away, leaving Jespar behind. Ended up in this long passageway where I came across this woman. She was encased in... something, like she was frozen. But I could talk to her. If I were to guess, she's the Aged Man's... wife? Companion? Something like that. I didn't ask him. I could write loads about the Aged Man alone, but I'll save that for a bit later.
So I keep going and activate another floor panel which takes me down to a chamber where I finally find the Word of the Dead. I bring the dead Pyrean in and use the Word, and then go into the mind of the corpse. It was... surreal. I felt like I was there, but at the same time I... didn't...? It's strange trying to describe it. But basically, the guy fled a civil war. Apparently some member of his faction betrayed them. Possibly driven by the ones responsible for the Cycle? He tried to get his family out but some of this other faction's men attacked, and killed them all.
But before all that, there were a few things I want to make note of: first and foremost, I found the scroll we needed and memorized the glyphs as best I could. They kind of stuck in my mind moreso than a lot of other things, which made it a bit easier to draw them when I got back. But the second thing is also important. The Pyreans mentioned these beings: the High Ones. I think these are the ones responsible for the Cycle. Which means we finally have a name for our enemy: the High Ones.
So after the Pyrean died, I came to in the manor. Apparently the Aged Man's servant was the Aged Man himself. What a twist. We talked a bit, and then he teleported me out of his mansion. Then he kind of... teleported his mansion. I'm not making that up. The entire place literally vanished. I found Jespar outside, and recapped with him. He teleported back to Ark but I want to have a look around. Might see if the Myrad keeper has any work for me.
But before I go to sleep, I want to talk about this Aged Man. His name was, or still is, Gajus. The way he talks, it seems like he's familiar with everything that's going to happen. Like he knows everything about the Cycle itself. He was really cryptic. I felt like he knew more about me than I knew about myself. I asked him why he wouldn't come in and tell everyone about the Cycle if he's familiar with it, and he simply told me that I'd understand in time. I have no idea what to make of that.
He was prideful, though. I feel that's worth noting. The phrase to open the door to his sanctum was "Pride was my fall". I don't know what to make of him, but there's something... more to him. Who knows how old he really is? Who knows how powerful he really is? And who knows how much he really knows about this Cycle and these High Ones? Something tells me I'll never be able to answer those questions. But I think it's clear that he's far, far different from anything else in this world.
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.
