Song of Pelinal II

An Examination of 'The Song of Pelinal, Volume 2'

Boy those two just keep at it don't they?

In the first Volume we are treated to a summary of who Pelinal was as a person and symbol. From Volume 2 onward we start learning about him as a historical figure, and tracing his timeline.

The song of Pelinal volume 2, in its entirety: 

"[And then] Perrif spoke to the Handmaiden again, eyes to the Heavens which had not known kindness since the beginning of elven rule, and she spoke as a mortal, whose kindle is beloved by the Gods for its strength-in-weakness, a humility that can burn with metaphor and yet break [easily and] always, always doomed to end in death (and this is why those who let their souls burn anyway are beloved of the Dragon and His Kin), and she said: "And this thing I have thought of, I have named it, and I call it freedom. Which I think is just another word for Shezarr Who Goes Missing... [You] made the first rain at his sundering [and that] is what I ask now for our alien masters... [that] we might sunder them fully and repay their cruelty [by] dispersing them to drown in the Topal. Morihaus, your son, mighty and snorting, gore-horned, winged, when next he flies down, let him bring us anger." ... [And then] Kyne granted Perrif another symbol, a diamond soaked red with the blood of elves, [whose] facets could [un-sector and form] into a man whose every angle could cut her jailers and a name: PELIN-EL [which is] "The Star-Made Knight" [and he] was arrayed in armor [from the future time]. And he walked into the jungles of Cyrod already killing, Morihaus stamping at his side froth-bloody and bellowing from excitement because the Pelinal was come... [and Pelinal] came to Perrif's camp of rebels holding a sword and mace, both encrusted with the smashed viscera of elven faces, feathers and magic beads, which were the markings of the Ayleidoon, stuck to the redness that hung from his weapons, and he lifted them, saying: "These were their eastern chieftains, no longer full of their talking."

In this volume we see the first appearance of Pelinal, as (maybe?) ushered in by the prayers of Alessia.

Alessia

"[And then] Perrif spoke to the Handmaiden again, eyes to the Heavens which had not known kindness since the beginning of elven rule," 

Perrif, as previously discussed, is another name for Alessia, most likely her original name. The Handmaiden referred to here is most likely Mara, who in Nordic religion is traditionally considered to be the handmaiden to Kyne*. With "which had not known kindness since the beginning of elven rule," we are introduced to the concept that the men of Cyrodiil are a subject race, ruled over by the Ayleids, and that this is not a happy situation for the humans.

"and she spoke as a mortal, whose kindle is beloved by the Gods for its strength-in-weakness, a humility that can burn with metaphor and yet break [easily and] always, always doomed to end in death (and this is why those who let their souls burn anyway are beloved of the Dragon and His Kin)"

A depiction of Pelinal Whitestrake

This is telling us that the dragon god (who is/represents time) has a fondness for mortals, who are naturally doomed to perish, but who choose to chew up their time anyway in grand pursuits. Grand pursuits such as, for example, overthrowing an empire and winning freedom for your people. 

" and she said: "And this thing I have thought of, I have named it, and I call it freedom. Which I think is just another word for Shezarr Who Goes Missing..."

Alessia conflates the concept of freedom with Lorkhan (here referred to as Shezarr). She is not wrong in this assertion, as Lorkhan is the architect of Nirn, which is the only part of existence where an entity can truly experience self-determination, freedom. "Shezarr Who Goes Missing" refers to the Cyrodilic concept of Lorkhan, a god who has, well, gone missing. This can only refer to what must have been the apparent absence of Lorkhan after having had his heart torn out and his body sundered. 

"[You] made the first rain at his sundering [and that] is what I ask now for our alien masters... [that] we might sunder them fully and repay their cruelty [by] dispersing them to drown in the Topal."

The sundering refers to the Sundering of Lorkhan, but the first rain is open to interpretation. Here it would seem Perrif is talking to Kyne, which would infer she is talking through Mara** to Kyne, or perhaps asking Mara to intercede with Kyne. Assuming this, Perrif may be referring to an act by Kyne who is associated with nature, relating to the punishment of Lorkhan. Perhaps Kyne manifested to weep for him, perhaps the first rain is quite literal, and the first ever rain on Tamriel occurred after Lorkhan had his Heart plucked out. Or perhaps it is both at the same time, Kyne who is nature weeping for Lorkhan by raining. If so, are further instances of rain a reflection of this? Perhaps Kyne remembers and weeps yet for her lost brother. 

The talk of sundering and casting into the Topal (This is a bay to the south of Cyrodiil) draws a direct line between the revenge she wishes to reap on the followers of Auri-El***, and the acts undertaken by that god, who slew Lorkhan and cast his heart far away into the sea. (Where it formed Red Mountain and the isle of Vvardenfell). 

Alessia and Morihaus

"Morihaus, your son, mighty and snorting, gore-horned, winged, when next he flies down, let him bring us anger.

Morihaus absolutely deserves an entire post to himself, maybe two. For now, think of him as firstly, Alessia's consort, and secondly a demigod Minotaur.

"[And then] Kyne granted Perrif another symbol, a diamond soaked red with the blood of elves, [whose] facets could [un-sector and form] into a man whose every angle could cut her jailers and a name: PELIN-EL [which is] "The Star-Made Knight" [and he] was arrayed in armor [from the future time]."

A Diamond soaked red with blood is something we've definitely seen elsewhere... It might just be that this red diamond Perrif was given is the very same that forms the heart of the Chim-el Adabal. Certainly the connections between Lorkhan and Pelinal are constant and unmistakably intentional. "[whose] facets could [un-sector and form] into a man whose every angle could cut her jailers" Suggests that Pelinal's first appearance was as a gem which subsequently transformed into the walking death-of-elves we know and love. This also supports the artificial human theory, and time and time again we'll see allusions to this throughout the song. "and a name: PELIN-EL [which is] "The Star-Made Knight"" Pelin-El is specifically an elvish name. If we take 'El' to mean 'star' or 'star-made' this might lend us some insight into another elvish name, 'Auri-El' who is associated with the sun. It is of note that the stars in Mundus are holes in the firmament through which Aetherius shines and brings magic into the world. So the term "Star-Made" could mean something created from magic. Finally; " [and he] was arrayed in armor [from the future time]." pretty much unambiguously says "This guy is from the future in some way shape or form". 

"And he walked into the jungles of Cyrod already killing, Morihaus stamping at his side froth-bloody and bellowing from excitement because the Pelinal was come... [and Pelinal] came to Perrif's camp of rebels holding a sword and mace, both encrusted with the smashed viscera of elven faces, feathers and magic beads, which were the markings of the Ayleidoon, stuck to the redness that hung from his weapons, and he lifted them, saying: "These were their eastern chieftains, no longer full of their talking."

And just like that, Pelinal is ready to go. Indeed, without so much as a word Pelinal seems to know what his task is and sets-to with a will. We can only assume this rapid springing into action is either an inherent drive to kill mer and aid men, or the result of fore-knowledge of his task. Again, perhaps both at the same time.  "Morihaus stamping at his side froth-bloody and bellowing from excitement because the Pelinal was come..." Morihaus and Pelinal are showed to have an easy familiarity throughout the tales of their adventures, and the reaction of Morihaus would imply that right from the get go he knows who Pelinal is and what he is about. Finally, Pelinal makes his first introduction to the fledgling rebels in considerable style, stepping straight from obscurity into legend.

Pelinal maintains a level head

Whew, that about does it for Volume two! As you can see there is a lot to draw from this series of texts, they really do serve as the best guide to Pelinal we have.

Footnotes:

* More commonly referred to these days as Kynareth.

** In a not dissimilar way that in certain Christian traditions a petitioner might pray to Mary the mother of Jesus as opposed to directly to the god, asking her to intercede on your behalf. 

*** In this age, mer worship of Auri-El was commonplace. 

Reckon there's something I've missed? Like clarification on something? Let me know in the comments below and stay tuned for part three! 

The Nature of Daedra and Nirn

The Nature of Daedra and Nirn

Hircine the Hunter, calling the hunt on the blood moon

A question often posed is "Why do the Daedra want so much to do with Tamriel/Nirn anyway?" And the answer, I think, may be quite simple. Nirn represents change, the unexpected, the uncontrolled. The Daedra, in choosing not to become directly involved with the creation of Mundus and instead stepping to one side have retained a greater deal of autonomy* than those who fully gave of themselves, the Aedra. But this autonomy comes at a price. Whilst each Daedric Prince maintains a realm of their own, these realms cannot surprise or confound them, not truly. 

Daedric Prince Azura, slightly miffed at the betrayal of the Tribunal

A Daedra's realm is more than just a space they have set aside and created in, it is a reflection of their own minds and natures. In a sense, a realm of Oblivion is a Daedra, an ultimate expression of ego. As such, a Daedric Prince can no more be surprised by the events of their realms than they can of their own minds. Even things such as the Greymarch in the Shivering Isles are not unexpected to the ruling prince. Sheogorath knows how the pattern goes, it is as predictable an event, to him, as anything else in his realm. Likewise with Clavicus Vile and Umbra or Barnabus. Here the Daedric prince has split his mind into pieces and given those pieces free reign, possibly in an attempt to usher in an element of unpredictability. 

Sheogorath, holding an important discussion

The Daedra may attempt to alleviate this boredom by bringing mortals or the souls of mortals into their realm, but here too they are somewhat thwarted. A Daedra can only claim a mortal if they give themselves to the Daedra, in one form or another. Thus, Hircine claims those stricken with Lycanthropy, Sheogorath those with madness and so on. Nirn, however, remains the only place the Daedric Princes have access to where things completely outside of their control may be found and may interact with one another. However, the Daedra are barred from simply taking over Nirn by a couple of things. Firstly, the Aedric Covenant, signified by the Chim el-Adabal** which physically bars the Daedra from setting foot in Nirn, and secondly by the loss of autonomy the conquest of Nirn would entail. To fully hold sway over Nirn, a Daedra would have to weave themselves into the metaphysical structure of Nirn, as the Aedra did, which would change both Nirn and the Daedric Prince irrevocably in the process. 

Jyggalag, in his singular appearance

But all this leads to a very obvious question: "If it is so difficult for a Daedra to meddle with Nirn, why are so many Daedra meddling with Nirn all the time?"

This comes down to a matter of degrees. The Daedric Princes do not impose their will on those who do not first involve themselves in the affairs of the relevant Daedra. As Sheogorath explains when you ask him about the door to the Shivering Isles in Cyrodiil, it is an invitation, not a threat. The princes invite mortals to approach them, make deals and offer service to them in exchange for boons. In so touching a Daedric Prince, you allow them greater sway over you. Take the town of Border Watch*** where Sheogorath rains flaming dogs upon the villagers. Sheogorath cannot simply bring about the K'Sharra Prophecy† on his own, he first needs to usher things to a point where he can directly interfere through the use of a helpful mortal.

There is more than a touch of the Lovecraftian in Hermaeus Mora

So, although some Daedra by their very nature must strive to conquer Nirn, generally speaking none of them would like it very much if they actually succeeded. The Daedra relish the change and unpredictability of Nirn, but wish to maintain autonomy from it. 

Footnotes:

* Which may be a bit of a double-edged sword, as the Daedra are pretty inherently bound by their own natures.

** More commonly known as the Amulet of Kings

*** A town in TESIV, Oblivion

† Which originated from a Khajiit who was probably at least a little bit mad to begin with. Long term planning from Sheogorath perhaps? 

Got any questions? A favourite Daedric Prince? Let me know in the comments below!

Great Houses of Morrowind: An Overview

Great Houses of Morrowind: An Overview

The canals of the city of Vivec

Some time after the Chimer* followed the prophet Veloth to Resdayn,** the formerly nomadic tribes begun to settle down permanently. From these settled groups of tribes arose the more formalised House structure that now dominates Dunmer society. Great Houses function as immense families that operate politically, economically and philosophically as imposing and (generally) unified forces. Morrowind is de facto ruled by a Grand Council of the most powerful Great Houses. 

A House Father of Redoran

In the events of TESIII, set in the third era, Morrowind is ruled by Houses Dres, Hlaalu, Indoril, Redoran and Telvanni. However, in the fourth era House Hlaalu lost status as a great house, becoming supplanted on the Grand Council by House Sadras. One other former Great House is worthy of an in-depth examination, and that is House Dagoth, up to the events of 4E 427*** referred to as the "sixth house". Over the coming months we will be taking a more in-depth look at each of these Great Houses. But for now, a brief taste of what each house is about.

A murky swamp, with a moody Silt-Strider

House Dres: The treacherous and traditionalist slavers that control the food bowl of the Dunmer culture.

A Hlaalu Noble

House Hlaalu: The ruthlessly mercantile house of traders. Very open to the advance of the Septim Empire and the avenues for profit it opens. 

Indoril Ordinators on duty

House Indoril : The staunchly traditional defenders of the faith, from whence came Nerevar Moon-and-Star.

Redoran Warriors

House Redoran: Duty, Gravity, and Piety. They don't just say it, they live it. From Redoran spring the warriors and soldiers of Morrowind. 

A young Telvanni mage collecting ingredients

House Telvanni: the mysteriously aloof mage-lords. Telvanni are extremely isolationist, not caring who claims what, provided they have enough sense to stay out of the way.

A noble of House Dagoth

House Dagoth: The disgraced house, family of the Sharmat, Dagoth Ur. 

A young adventurer setting out from the city of Vivec

Sadly we don't know anything about House Sadras at all. Their ascendancy does, however, confirm that there are more houses in Morrowind than the great five. House culture is filled with lots of smaller Houses, lacking in the power of the Great Houses, but no less rich in tradition and history.

Footnotes:

* The race of mer who would latterly become the Dunmer

** The land more commonly known as the province of Morrowind

*** The year the Nerevarine came to Vvardenfell. Following which, House Dagoth was destroyed. 

Did you know that for a brief period the Dwemer of Resdayn were referred to by the Chimer as House Dwemer? Have a Great House you'd particularly like to start examining first? Let me know in the comments! 

Song of Pelinal I

An Examination of 'The Song of Pelinal'

Pelinal fighting Umaril the Unfeathered

Pelinal is a fairly well known part of history, and possibly the most well known part of the Alessian Slave Rebellion. His story is, in a word, cool as hell. So I thought a good way to start examining that character is to have a look at the most authoritative in-game record of Pelinal, The Song of Pelinal.

Here, in its entirety, is the first volume of The Song of Pelinal, complete with editor's note:

"[Editor's Note: Volumes 1-6 are taken from the so-called Reman Manuscript located in the Imperial Library. It is a transcription of older fragments collected by an unknown scholar of the early Second Era. Beyond this, little is known of the original sources of these fragments, some of which appear to be from the same period (perhaps even from the same manuscript). But, as no scholarly consensus yet exists on dating these six fragments, no opinions will be offered here.]


That he took the name "Pelinal" was passing strange, no matter his later sobriquets, which were many. That was an Elvish name, and Pelinal was a scourge on that race, and not much given to irony. Pelinal was much too grim for that; even in youth he wore white hair, and trouble followed him. Perhaps his enemies named Pelinal of their own in their tongue, but that is doubtful, for it means "glorious knight", and he was neither to them. Certainly, many others added to that name during his days in Tamriel: he was Pelinal the Whitestrake because of his left hand, made of a killing light; he was Pelinal the Bloody, for he [drank] it in victory; he was Pelinal Insurgent, because he gave the crusades a face; he was Pelinal In Triumph, as the words eventually became synonymous, and men-at-arms gave thanks to the Eight when they saw his banner coming through war; he was Pelinal the Blamer, for he was quick to admonish those allies of his that favored tactics that ran counter to his, that is, sword-theory; and he was Pelinal the Third, though whether this was because some said he was a god guiser, who had incarnated twice before already, or that, simpler, he was the third vision given to Perrif, anon Alessia, in her prayers of liberation before he walked among the quarters of rebellion, is unknown."

Pelinal, or perhaps someone wearing his armour

Now, let's break this down.

"That he took the name "Pelinal" was passing strange, no matter his later sobriquets, which were many. That was an Elvish name.."
"...Perhaps his enemies named Pelinal of their own in their tongue, but that is doubtful, for it means "glorious knight", and he was neither to them..."

Pelinal is a derivation of Pelin-El (As we will hear in volume 2). This naming convention suggests that Pelinal has intrinsic ties to the mer of mundus. This does not, however, mean that he has to like it. Or them. As evidenced by:

"That was an Elvish name, and Pelinal was a scourge on that race, and not much given to irony."

This tells us both that Pelinal really does not like the elves (and believe me, we will be hearing rather a lot about Pelinal's views on our pointy eared friends) and also that he is a very serious fellow.

"Pelinal was much too grim for that; even in youth he wore white hair, and trouble followed him."

From this we can infer that the natural colour of Pelinal's hair is white. This again makes mention of the inherently serious nature of the man. The trouble also points to the arrogance and aggressively confrontational character of Pelinal that will continue to colour this narrative and inform the story of his life. Pelinal does not play well with others in general. We then go on to learn much about the role Pelinal played through the following listing of his titles:

"Certainly, many others added to that name during his days in Tamriel: he was Pelinal the Whitestrake because of his left hand, made of a killing light;"

At this point it bears mentioning that Pelinal is almost certainly a time travelling robot sent from the future.* Well, probably not a robot in the sense that if you opened him up you'd see whirring cogs, but robot in the sense of an artificial life. The left hand of killing light we are quite sure refers not to a usage of magic, but to some manner of laser based weaponry integrated into his being. 

"he was Pelinal the Bloody, for he [drank] it in victory;"

Now here's a happy chappy!

Pretty straightforward, Pelinal drank the blood of his slaughtered foes. Whether this is for some manner of sustenance or simply for sheer intimidation is unknown. 

"he was Pelinal Insurgent, because he gave the crusades a face;"

It is possible that, although Pelinal is undoubtedly a central figure to the Alessian Slave Rebellion, the details of his story and the deeds of other heroes may have become blurred, with some achievements of other heroes being attributed to an already powerful figure, both in might and in myth. This also holds with a recurring theme of certain things being "eaten" conceptually by other things, and being absorbed into the eater. 

"he was Pelinal In Triumph, as the words eventually became synonymous, and men-at-arms gave thanks to the Eight when they saw his banner coming through war;"

Pelinal was very good at fighting, and very good at tactics too.

"he was Pelinal the Blamer, for he was quick to admonish those allies of his that favored tactics that ran counter to his, that is, sword-theory;"

Having said that, the tactics Pelinal favoured weren't big on finicky stuff like magic. Pelinal liked to wade in and smash things. Direct confrontation, that's the ticket!

"and he was Pelinal the Third, though whether this was because some said he was a god guiser, who had incarnated twice before already, or that, simpler, he was the third vision given to Perrif, anon Alessia, in her prayers of liberation before he walked among the quarters of rebellion, is unknown."

The god guiser part refers to Pelinal being a Shezarrine, or reincarnation of Shor/Lorkhan. As to the third vision of Perrif (it is noteworthy that Alessia is a corruption of "Al-Esh" or High Highness, and was thus originally a title rather than a name) Alessia is known to have prayed to the Aedra, and specifically (probably) Akatosh for salvation from the slavery of men in Cyrodiil. As Akatosh is the dragon god of time, it is not impossible that he gave her a glimpse into the future where exactly the hero her cause needed might be found. 

A moody picture of a Silt-Strider, because I very much enjoy moody pictures of Silt-Striders.

So there we have it, an examination of the first part of The Song of Pelinal! You can see that this simply must be broken down into parts, and even then I worry this post may be a little too wordy. 

Footnotes:

* Or, at least, so Michael Kirkbride tells us, and as he wrote The Song of Pelinal, we can be pretty certain he'd know. 

Have any questions? Think there's something I missed? Have an amusing anecdote about forcing the Nights of the Nine to dance to 'What is Love'? Let me know in the comments below!

Unofficial Elderscrolls Roleplaying Game

Unofficial Elderscrolls Roleplaying Game

The view from inside an Ashlander camp

It is probably inevitable that any popular and enjoyable fantasy world will sooner or later gather interest from more traditional gamers. So, too, it is with TES. The Unofficial Elderscrolls Roleplaying Game, or UESRPG for short, is a collaborative fan effort to create a traditional pen and paper system to allow tabletop gamers to frolic about the landscapes of Tamriel and weave their own, original stories. As this is an unofficial system, and no official system exists, this game is entirely free. 

Just imagine, this could be you

I have previously run a short campaign with this system, and my group found that the system (not quite a finished product) was fun, albeit not the simplest to use. Combat tends to heavily favour the party with the most actions to spend in any given round of fighting, and there are a few kinks to work out. I would recommend this to anyone with a group that both wishes to explore the TES setting, and has a fairly relaxed selection of players, as some ad hoc rule tweaking and system changes are fairly inevitable, and neither will mix well with rules lawyers or "that guy". 

If you really wanted, you could even play as a party of lesser Daedra...

A link to my hosted version of the current core rulebook can be found here, or the blog of the creative team with links to additional stuff can be found here. 

Got questions about the campaign I ran? Ideas for stuff you would like to see explored in a pnp version of TES? Small, beautifully crafted snuffboxes you'd like to brag about? Let the world know in the comments below!

An Empty Throne

An Empty Throne

The whalebone bridge guarded by Tsun that leads to the Hall of Valour

A question that cannot have escaped anyone reaching the penultimate stage of Skyrim's main quest is; where is Shor? Journeying to Sovngarde*, the Nordic and Atmoran warrior's afterlife, players will undoubtedly notice the rather large empty throne sitting inside the Hall of Valour**. There is one fairly realistic reason as to this, and several theories have been put forth as to an in-universe explanation. 

Dagoth Ur looks on in disbelief

We are fairly sure that the practical reason Shor is not present is that during the design process, objections were raised within the dev team that a god seated upon a throne looks awfully similar to real world religious iconography, and for reasons of sensitivity, the character was omitted altogether, with the excuse that "The glory of Shor would burn the eyes of the living" (or words to that effect), which would be nigh unprecedented, as in previous games players have had the opportunity to quite happily behold various forms of gods and chatted quite comfortably with manifestations of several of the Nine Divines.

This Alduin menaces with spikes of rock. All craftsnordship is of the highest quality

There are three prevalent theories that have been put forward by way of explanation for the empty throne:
1. Shor is dead, and thus cannot be present.
2. Shor and the Dragonborn are two parts of the same entity.

3. Shor just nipped off to the shops for a moment.

Pictured: Lorkhan not looking so hot

Shor is dead:

This theory hinges on three things. One, that Shor is another name for Lorkhan, two, that Lorkhan was killed by the other gods, and three, that dead things no longer exist/have agency. Now, the story of Lorkhan is the topic of another post, quite possibly several other posts, but suffice to say, Shor is at the very least an aspect of Lorkhan, and Lorkhan has been made just about as dead as he can be made. This theory runs into a couple of problems. Firstly, that as Sovngarde is an afterlife, it would make good and proper sense for a dead god to be meandering about the place. What is death to a god, after all, but sitting in a different room? 

Secondly, every bit of evidence we have points to Shor being very much a contemporary presence. Dead heroes in the Hall of Valour tell us that Shor is usually about, and we have documented evidence of Shor interacting with a dead warrior. From "Sovngarde: A Reexamination" - Jastal, Bereditte: 

"...correspondence between one Felga Four-Fingers, a medium of some note, and the ghost of a Nord warrior named Rolf the Large... ...For death was the entrance to Sovngarde. So he was told by Shor himself, who greeted Rolf the Large as a brother, and personally handed him a leg of roast mutton and the hand of a comely wench." 
Sadly, I cannot find much merit in this theory.

A depiction of Shor, note the gaping wound where his heart has been removed

Shor and the Dragonborn are two parts of the same entity:
This theory is undeniably the most compelling of the three. This relies on the concept of the Dragonborn being a Shezarrine. This is a rather in-depth concept and is assuredly a topic for another time, but in a nutshell, a Shezarrine is a person who fills a certain role, and eventually becomes a part of Lorkhan. As Shor is/is an aspect of Lorkhan, entering Sovngarde whilst Shor is present would be like walking into a room only to discover that you are already inside sitting down and happily munching on a scone. Simply put, you cannot see Shor in the Hall of Valour, because in a way, you are Shor. Now, the Dragonborn being a Shezarrine is a matter of some debate, so it cannot be said with absolute certainty that this is the case, but this is probably the most fleshed out and likely theory we have.

Lorkhan (almost) whole

Shor just isn't around:
This theory is fairly self explanatory. Whether for the official explanation given or other reasons, Shor just isn't around at the moment. Maybe he had an errand to run? Whilst this theory doesn't really have any flaws, it can't be said to have much to commend it either.

Which theory do you think is most likely? Do you have a theory of your own or one I've neglected to mention? Did you see a Mudcrab the other day? Let me know in the comments below!

Footnotes:

*The afterlife for heroic Nords, undeniably based upon the Norse afterlife of Valhalla

**Hall of Valour is, intentionally or no, a play on Valhöll, the original spelling of Valhalla, the Hall of the Slain.

Mod Spotlight: Enderal

Mod Spotlight: Enderal

Enderal is filled with intricately designed scenery such as this

A total conversion mod for Skyrim, Enderal is the latest masterpiece from German modding team SureAI. Following in the footsteps of Nehrim: At Fate's Edge (A total conversion mod for Oblivion), Enderal picks up a few years after the events of the previous mod in a different land, with an extremely devout society reacting to increasingly prolific rumours that the gods have all been killed. 

The delightful view from the grand temple courtyard

SureAI has a real talent for world building both conceptually and physically, with stunningly detailed and charming visuals that burst with character and demand to be explored. The sound design, gameplay and visuals all live up to the standard set by Nehrim, and once again SureAI has made a mod with the Skyrim engine that puts the base game to shame and makes for a truly amazing experience.

Streets of the grimy undercity

Having said that, what Enderal offers comes at a price: If your system struggles with Skyrim, you have no chance of running Enderal comfortably. This mod has a lot to deliver, and demands a lot out of your computer in return with the system requirements putting this on par with AAA releases. The voice acting for this mod is most certainly worth noting, as evidenced in this trailer from SureAI:

Enderal uses a considerable amount of new resources and coding changes, and as such is not available from the Steam Workshop. However, SureAI provides a handy installer which takes care of all the nitty gritty quite handily, so even the laziest of gamers can be up and running with little to no effort.

You can get Enderal here. 

Any questions, opinions, or dissertations on the importance of dental hygiene? Let me know in the comments below!