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Greetings from the Colovio-Niben House of Artorius.

    • 7 posts
    January 21, 2017 6:41 PM EST

    Hello,

    My name is Michael Way. I am a 21 year old English Literature student from Northern Ireland. My main interest in the Elder Scrolls began with Oblivion but I have since played every single prior and future game including the spin-offs.

    My history with TES is highly role-play and Imperial centric. Each of my main characters is a member of the Imperial house of Artorius, who live on the Eastern border of Anvil county. This is the family tree.

    Furthermore I creatively write within the Elder Scrolls universe, and am currently writing an account of the Imperial Festival of Lights.

    Also I have been known to work with concept artists on developing Imperial-lore based art. Myself and Discooccult over at Skywind, designed this reimagining of the Ebonheart Dragon Statue.

    My most current project, and the reason I joined this site, is my work on a play about Alessia. Here is the cover page.

    Expect to hear from me soon. But not too soon as I have a dissertation to write and three drama schools to audition for.

    Best wishes,

    Michael Way

    • 694 posts
    January 21, 2017 7:07 PM EST

    Welcome to the community, Mway! I'm thrilled you decided to join us! :D  You're a man of many talents, I see. :) Man, I gotta say, that family tree is IMPRESSIVE. 

    I didn't realize the scope of your work, but I'm stoked to see what you have in store for us! For your stories and play, you'll want to take a peek at The Story Corner group. All of their content is posted in the form of a Blog. Each creative work has its own Table of Contents so that readers can jump back and forth through the entries. If you have any questions, be sure to hit up the Host of The Story Corner, Sotek

    Also feel free to post any of your art in your very own gallery in the Art Group, or to the Community Photo Reel for even more visibility. ;)

    And lastly, if you want to discuss the finer points of Lore, write an article detailing a specific subject, or feel like answering some questions, check out the Lore group. 

    Happy to have you here, and welcome again!


    This post was edited by Edana at January 21, 2017 7:08 PM EST
    • 700 posts
    January 21, 2017 7:08 PM EST

    Welcome to the site, Michael. Glad to know you're partial to Imperials. Those are some damn impressive works, though. How far through the writing process are you on the play? 

    • 7 posts
    January 21, 2017 7:14 PM EST

    Edana, I should clarify that Discooccult was the artist, I merely supervised and concepted the ideas with him, from design to materials and symbolism etc. Thanks for welcoming me here.

    Legion, the play is roughly drafted in terms of a five act structure, and I have various ideas for costumes etc. but will need to work with a concept artist. Certain key scenes already have dialogue drafted, but there are preliminary first drafts to create a feel of character rather than completely adhere to narrative coherence and enjoyment as of yet. Included are two examples.

    • 694 posts
    January 21, 2017 7:49 PM EST

    Mway1 said:

    Edana, I should clarify that Discooccult was the artist, I merely supervised and concepted the ideas with him, from design to materials and symbolism etc. Thanks for welcoming me here.

    Ah, a fair distinction. :) Either way, I think you could definitely post it though!

    Actually as I'm reading these, thinking about it, you might check out the Roleplay group too. Especially for this family tree and to give background on some of your characters. A lot of times our writers will post the profiles there to give supporting context or use them as a summary document. The hosts there, AllSpark and Zonnonn, are great guys too. 

    • 1595 posts
    January 21, 2017 8:09 PM EST

    Mway, we need to make those pictures clicky for greater size as I want to study that geneology :D That dialogue between Pelly and The Singer is definitely something I would like to see more of - Celethelel killed his lover, stuff be personal now! That added dialogue between Mor and Pelinal is terrific! When she is ripe with child, indeed. Those horns are gonna smart on their way out, for sure :)

    Welcome, helluvah first post!

    • 7 posts
    January 21, 2017 9:33 PM EST

    Phil said:

    Mway, we need to make those pictures clicky for greater size as I want to study that geneology :D That dialogue between Pelly and The Singer is definitely something I would like to see more of - Celethelel killed his lover, stuff be personal now! That added dialogue between Mor and Pelinal is terrific! When she is ripe with child, indeed. Those horns are gonna smart on their way out, for sure :)

    Welcome, helluvah first post!

    Well aren't you in luck. Here is a brand new version I just rendered out and slightly edited after deciding my very old version looked naff! http://imgur.com/a/gWVNZ

    As I said, the dialogue is placeholder at the moment, but thank you for the feedback! 

    • 1595 posts
    January 21, 2017 9:49 PM EST

    Thank you Michael, I shall enjoy this :) Your attention to detail is incredible and I am thrilled by your passion for Imperial history and culture. That and you clearly enjoy the Song of Pelinal, my favourite book in TES lore. I agree with the sentiments expressed by Edana and Legion, very impressive stuff. I am sure no matter where you post, be it lore discussions on Nibenese and Colovian culture; in-depth roleplay profiles to showcase your characters; or the art group and photo albums to display the work you have been involved with, you will find a home here. I for one am stoked to see what you produce.

    I have taken the liberty of posting the newer picture from your link here and making it clickable. Please let me know if that offends and I will take it down ;)

    • 7 posts
    January 22, 2017 10:56 AM EST

    No problem! I just don't know how to make pictures clickable!

    Also one last thing, together with a friend we did some Imperial West Navy designs based on TESA Redguard. I remade all visible flags from the game and he redrew the sailors and marines.

    Admiralty Standard:

    West Navy Jack:

    West Navy Standard:

    West Navy Marines Penant:

    I have since lost my friend's original files of his soldiers, but here is a mockup of the three of them composited together with one of my flags:

    Credit: Jacob Winslow AKA Saivryn

    • 1595 posts
    January 23, 2017 5:17 AM EST

    Those are sweet! You definitely need an album to showcase the work you've been involved in. The Workshop team and I threw together a little how-to on clickable images and creating an album, addressing how to share pictures to the photo-reel on the main page, if it helps.

    I have been looking at your family tree, very impressive detail there. Is Flavia Scaeva the origin of the Colovian bloodline? I am going by surname and assuming that the latin-sounding names are Nibenese, while the harsher sounding names are Colovian. Or maybe Kayd Metat is the start of the Colovian line, assuming your interpretation on the spread of cultural names is the same as mine, which is totally cool if not. Would like to hear your thought process on how the Colovio-Niben House of Artorius was established, especially in such a tumultuous era when east and west Cyrodiil weren't particulary close. There's one hell of a story there and I am all ears :)

     


    This post was edited by Paws at January 23, 2017 5:18 AM EST
    • 367 posts
    January 30, 2017 3:06 PM EST

    Awwwooo Mway1

    (Don’t worry, it’s a friendly howl).

     

    Edana spoke to me about what sort of writing you have put together and the project you are working on. I have to say, what I’ve seen so far, I’m impressed.

     

    Allow me to extend a friendly paw; I’m Sotek, Argonian; Werewolf; Member of T.S.C. (The Story Corner); and also the Host of T.S.C.

    I say I’m a host lastly because I always try to be a Host of T.S.C. when I have to be and a member whenever I can be. This doesn’t mean to say I take my hosting duties lightly, it means we have a loose, friendly and welcoming group for all likeminded writers regardless to their abilities.  It’s a group which I hope you will join.

     

    Now I understand you’ve some immense work planned and you have some put together already. Whether you have a fully finished project or it’s a WIP (Work In Progress), it doesn’t matter. We’ve a place somewhere here for your pieces.

    (Great job on the family tree btw, makes mine look amateurish. Well I am an armature after all. Everything I have learned about writing I’ve learned in TSC and Tamriel Vault.

     

    Edana asked me for a few suggestions as to how you could show your work in TV. I have some ideas to help you with the distribution of your work within Tamriel Vault and yet a way to keep it all together. From what I’ve seen, I feel your best approach would be to follow the route I took.

     

    Now you have a lot of work and some of it is work in progress but what I recommend is this.

     

    Create an RP Profile. (Role Play)… RP Group Sotek's RP Profile

    This would be in the RP group. It is ideal for Character backgrounds, Character traits, Family Tree’s ect. You can add pictures and all sorts to it.

     

     Art Gallery

    Now I don’t have one explicitly for my story but given the amount of effort and response with your art (and of your friends) a Gallery would be a worthwhile addition to your project. It’s a place where you can add all the different banners, pictures ect which you use. May I also suggest that with the Gallery, you include a small ‘step by step’ demonstration to how you create such pieces. I for one love to see a piece slowly come together from a blank page to the finished article.

     

    A T.o.C. (Table of Contents) Sotek's ToC

    This is created by making a Blog and it will be the key to everything for you. Your ToC will act as a central hub for all your project work from the RP Profile, story chapters, a Gallery of your art and banners, and everything else related to your project.  You can add links to each of the various sections so from here a member or site visitor could move effortlessly around the whole site via links to each of your pieces. This is why the ToC is so important.

     

    Now you might have a few pieces which you are still working one. WiP's. We've a group in Tamriel Vault which is dedicated for members who are working on pieces. We call it The Workshop

    I’ve added a few links to this PM so you can have a look around the site at these sections I’ve mentioned. Now I always use my work as examples so don’t go adding likes to them just because I’ve added them here. Most don’t realize why but the reason I use my own work as an example is so that I can tell the member who I linked them to exactly how I did it. There’s nothing worse than saying, ‘Take a look at this as an example but don’t ask me how it was done’. That’s no help to anyone.

     

    Remember, every different group here has at least one Host. Hosts are always happy and willing to help so don’t struggle by yourself. If you want to, we've a whole pack of members and we've all been there at some point or other looking at the site for the first time and we've all wondered what to do and how to do things here so even ask if it's a member; always Howl for help if you need it.

    Look forwards to seeing you in TSC

    Sotek Loyal Hound of Hircine

     

     

    • 7 posts
    May 14, 2017 12:20 PM EDT

    Hi everyone,

    I justed wanted to let you know that I have two exams left and then that's my degree over, so I'll be back soon to write the play. I'm thinking of working through my writing process as a video series. I'll also properly rely to these previous two posts ASAP (Sorry Phil and Sotek)!

    See you all soon,

    Michael

    • 140 posts
    May 15, 2017 5:15 AM EDT

    Well, there's not much I can say that hasn't been said already, but you, sir, have some talent!

    I love the concept art, and that family tree is really impressive. Wonderful job on those!

    Hope you enjoy your time on here, Mway!

    • 1595 posts
    May 17, 2017 12:50 AM EDT

    Good luck in your exams, Michael :)

    • 7 posts
    May 22, 2017 9:03 AM EDT
    Have a teaser of something I shouldn't have done whilst revising for my Renaissance Drama exam! ????

    Akatosh: 
    Al-Esh, Mortal Queen and loved Saint, 
    I now give unto you this Crimson Gem, 
    Taken from elves and bestow’d upon men; 
    A blood-born symbol of our Covenant. 
    So long as heir of Dragon-blood can hear 
    Aetherial voice, bound to royal ear, 
    My fire, an emblem of your noble cause, 
    Shall hold fast Oblivion’s marbled jaws. 
    And so let cry the free man’s lofty roar, 
    Alessia is now your Emperor.
    • 694 posts
    May 26, 2017 10:16 AM EDT

    <3 

    Dangggg, Michael. I'm definitely glad you deciede to take a break from your exam! This is lovely. Looking forward to reading some more of this once you have time.

    • 64 posts
    May 26, 2017 10:40 AM EDT

    This is going to be great, I can feel it! Welcome to the blog! If you need help with decorating your homepage or other graffical design I have been known to create some material with PS from time to time, so feel free to send me a PM. Looking forward to reading this in the future.

    • 585 posts
    May 26, 2017 11:49 AM EDT

    Can't believe I hadn't seen this until now, dude this is amazing! You thought about posting any of it to the Roleplay group? It'd be the perfect place for this to go if you want to post it somewhere, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a host.

    • 64 posts
    May 26, 2017 12:18 PM EDT

    Zonnonn said:

    Can't believe I hadn't seen this until now, dude this is amazing! You thought about posting any of it to the Roleplay group? It'd be the perfect place for this to go if you want to post it somewhere, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a host.

    Hahaha Zonnonn, ofcourse you are. Then again, I would do the same ;) But yes it does fit in the RP group.


    This post was edited by BlueDremora at May 26, 2017 12:18 PM EDT
    • 1595 posts
    May 27, 2017 1:19 AM EDT

    That's a wondeful poem, Michael, I could read such praise of Al-Esh all day and not consider my time wasted :) 'Though she is gone to me, she remains bathed in stars, first Empress, Lady of Heaven, Queen-ut-Cyrod.

    • 7 posts
    May 30, 2017 1:29 PM EDT

    Time to respond en masse, I hereby present The Great Response Bill for the approval of the Elder Council.

    1) Paws. The Colvio-Niben line actually begins before Domitus Artorius. The family was originally Nibenese but fortunes brought them to Anvil where they settled down and embraced Colovian culture. This, in turn, meant that the burial rituals of the family began to take on the form of the Colovians, and became more Nordic in their derivation. Thus the Nibenese tradition of Ancestor Silks were abandoned and that great Nibenese example of a family tree lost to the aether.

    With Domitus, however, having had his soul shriven from his body by the scourge of Molag Bal, he began to place greater value on the Ancestor Moth as wardens of the soul as a form of prevention against necromancy. Therefore, generations after the family had abandoned their Nibenese traditions, Domitus Artorius received a Moth-burial and thus the Artorius Ancestor Silk was reconstituted. Every Artorius since has received the same funeral rites, no matter how far removed they consider themselves from religious or the Niben, they all guard their souls with Moth and Silk. (Trivia: I actually have Mottephobia and am terrified of Moths, but love their cultural significance in TES)

    2) Sotek. I would be grateful if you could show me around the site and help me organise my content. I look forward to working with you in the Story Corner and beyond. Woof Woof.

    3) Caesar. Thank you for your kind words, they mean the world to me.

    4) Edana. I seem to procrastinate best whenever I have exams to do, but I'm all free now.

    5) BlueDremora. I'm not sure about working with a Daedra ;) But I'd be more than happy to consider some of your designs, I'm actually taking some submissions to find a costume designer/set designer for my Alessia play.

    6) Zonnonn. I will eventually join the RP group :) but not until my play is all but done, the Artorius family is on the back burner until I am finished.

    7) Paws Part 2: Electric Boogaloo. Thank you, it's just a test with iambic pentameter and blank verse. In Shakespeare plays educated characters tend to speak in one of those whilst lower class people tend to speak in prose, just playing with my options.