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Tenebrous' Tamriel Travels #1

  • Member
    November 18, 2017
    "Razberry." Snort and chortle :D So WilderKing arc is next. One of my favourite questlines of the entire game. Can't wait to relive through Rahzam's eyes!
  • Member
    November 24, 2017

    The rebellious tribe of Bosmer that worship this "Wilderking" believe that their deity can control the forest. Not in the usual Aedric passive way, either; direct control, like a divine Grass-type Pokemon or something. How exactly, if at all, they interweave this with the rest of the Bosmeri pantheon (particularly Y'ffre) is unknown, though it wouldn't surprise me to see that they've forsaken the other gods for Wilderking. They live in a quaint village called Bramblebreach, so the next task is to head on over there. Which I did... After the requisite drink-buying for the Undaunted buddies at Marbruk.

     

    "Hey, let's spike the Queen's wine with hard Bosmeri drugs! That'll piss off the royals." -Rahzam-do

     

    Once I finished wondering how Ayrenn would respond to vivid hallucinations, I met with the very frustrated Khajiit knight assigned to Bramblebreach. He's frustrated because the Bosmer are trolls, basically. That said, by ES troll standards, they're nice, and definitely very cheery folk, as evidenced by random dancing.

     

    Now watch me whip, now watch me nae-nae! (I'm so, so sorry, please end me now.)

     

    The trollish treethane (hooray for alliteration!) tells you that, to meet with the Wilderking (because unlike Aedra and Divines, he actually meets people a la Tribunal), you have to go slaughter some enroaching Wood Orcs. Sure, whatever, that's the kind of thing Rahzam does on lunch break in dungeons. Note the seemingly-random Altmer mage that runs by, and talk to her; while she's unassuming enough that I forgot her role in the story (and subsequently, there are no screenshots of poor Arianas), she is immensely important in this questline. Also, she's pretty swell. Her and her surly assistant (?) point you to magic trees that can disguise you. I didn't bother, because murder is fun.

     

    Once the Worcs are felled, you can finally meet the Wilderking! He's surprisingly nice for a god, and his armor kicks ass. He tells you that, if he is to align himself and his "court" to the Dominion, you need to prove that you share enemies. He's nice enough to help out with the battle, though. Battle against what, you ask? Well, a vision of your past, an enemy long vanquished, one you, in all probability, completely forgot about. Advisor Norion.

     

    Be more specific. We've killed hundreds of- oh, wait, I remember you. Jerk.

     

    Once the illusionary Norion (who fights completely differently from the Tanzelwil encounter) is vanquished, the Wilderking muses on how not everyone in the Veiled Heritance may be bad guys, despite everything in the game pointing to that assumption. He takes particular note of a young, powerful mage, who we've happened to run by. Yep, Arianas is Heritance. Hoo boy.

     

     

    So, having learned that, the Wilderking happily says he'll learn more about her as she goes to murder him. So yeah, Wilderking is kinda nutty. He sends you to meet with a Spinner in the forest, which leads to one of the trippiest quests in ESO. But that's later; for now, we've completed the quest! Make sure to stick by, though; the Khajiit knight has some funny stuff to say.

     

    Madness? This. Is. Spart- er, Valenwood!

     

    That's all for this post! Thanks for reading.

  • Member
    November 24, 2017

    "you have to go slaughter some enroaching Wood Orcs..." There's that thing you can wear as a disguise, Kollopi Essence. You know, I kept that and put it in the bank as I just enjoyed the effect so much :D

    The Bosmer = Trolls is spot on. But have you seen the thones the treethanes sit on? Now that is a chair!

    Image result for trolls

    Gutted no pic of Arianas. She's hot!

    So yeah, Wilderking is kinda nutty. He sends you to meet with a Spinner in the forest, which leads to one of the trippiest quests in ESO.

    Yep! I'm sure we'll see a pic or two of Arianas going forward as we embark on the mentalism :D

  • Member
    December 5, 2017

    Upon arrival at the Spinner's Cottage, the site of the next quest, you'll see that it's... Well, rather underwhelming, being a ruined Altmer house with a nutty Spinner squatting there. How exactly one can be a Spinner while worshipping Wilderking rather than Y'ffre is unexplained, though this bloke certainly has the illusion powers of his post. Using these powers, we'll be altering Arianas' memories. Or altering actual reality, it's a bit ambiguous. This is actually pretty spooky, though the Spinner at least clearly has his reservations. He also refuses to begin until you ask nicely.

     

     

    After that, and after sitting by the fire so the Spinner hypnotizes you (?) into the story, we're off to a maybe-illusory Silatar, a small island in the Summerset Isles.

     

    Wrong, like Rahzam in a thong. Hey, I can do poetry!

     

    There, we discover two things about Arianas: She has frankly amazing nature magic, and her childhood sucked because of it, mostly because of her asshat mother and doormat father. 

     

    Of course not. Fear leads to the Dark Side.

     

    Then, have a friendly race with Arianas, before Bosmer raiders show up and loot her farm. Go and slaughter them all, have another chat with Ari, then speak to the Spinner.

     

     

    After a few more scenes, you'll have to attend a party... A Veiled Heritance party! Though we do get some fancy clothes, nobody objects to Rahzam's Khajiit-ness.

     

    I'm, too sexy for this party...

     

    Run around, talking to Ari and various Heritance people, including Estre herself and some dude from Mathiisen. Everyone is talking about Ari's special powers... And those of Andur, her "assistant". Unfortunately, while Ari's loyalties are divided, Andur's are not, and so we must fight him. He apparently dies, though seeing how he shows up later and the whole ambiguity of this quest, it's rather murky. Anyhoo, Andur was torturing a Bosmer, and you have to convince Ari not to do the same.

     

    RIP AND TEAR- no, wait, don't.

     

    The quest ends with Ari realizing her folly, and then we're back in the Valenwood. The quest ends there, though with Ari and Andur headed towards Wilderking, we need to stop them. Will we succeed? Of course we will... But there's more twists on the way, believe me,

     

    That's all for this post! Thanks for reading.

  • Member
    December 6, 2017
    Awesome, I do so like this quest :) The Bosmer like their thematic reincarnations, don't they? The Silvenar, Green Lady, and the Wilderking are very similar in that each get mantled by a gifted mortal. I would hypothesise that, like those figures, the WilderKing represents an aspect or incarnation of the Green. So while veneration happens towards the Wilder Monarch, it's with an idea that he is a subgradient of Y'ffre. Been a while since I played, though. What I loved was the emotional content of the story. The Spinner here is working his mojo but it's a subtle alteration of reality. By befriending the pretty elf and giving her friendship and support in her memories, reality of the present is altered by simple virtue of that which she perceives as true dictates her reality. There is a commentary there, I think, an idea that who we are is shaped as we grow. The fatalism being that it's already preordained unless those who chose their own stars intervene. The majority of her song plays out the same, but a few notes altered here and there have changed the overall tone. Yet the magic aside, I was just enthralled by how the story was told and her vulnerability. Can't wait for more!
  • Member
    December 6, 2017

    Paws said: Awesome, I do so like this quest :) The Bosmer like their thematic reincarnations, don't they? The Silvenar, Green Lady, and the Wilderking are very similar in that each get mantled by a gifted mortal. I would hypothesise that, like those figures, the WilderKing represents an aspect or incarnation of the Green. So while veneration happens towards the Wilder Monarch, it's with an idea that he is a subgradient of Y'ffre. Been a while since I played, though. What I loved was the emotional content of the story. The Spinner here is working his mojo but it's a subtle alteration of reality. By befriending the pretty elf and giving her friendship and support in her memories, reality of the present is altered by simple virtue of that which she perceives as true dictates her reality. There is a commentary there, I think, an idea that who we are is shaped as we grow. The fatalism being that it's already preordained unless those who chose their own stars intervene. The majority of her song plays out the same, but a few notes altered here and there have changed the overall tone. Yet the magic aside, I was just enthralled by how the story was told and her vulnerability. Can't wait for more!

     

    Yeah, this whole Spinner shebang was very interesting from a philosophical standpoint. So many questions...

  • Member
    December 10, 2017

    Our final stop in the tale of the Wilderking is Greenheart, from where the divine dude rules over the Valenwood. However, Arianas and Andur are wrecking the place, and Wilderking has lost control of his Hollow guardians. Go find the guy, and talk to him; our messing with Arianas' memories has borne fruit, and now she's hesitant.

     

    Never gonna give you up, never gonna put you down...

     

    Go and murder you way through the imps and Hollow, chat with Wilderking again, then slaughter your way to Arianas. She tries to convince Andur to stop, which... Doesn't go well.

     

    Ain't nobody got time for that!

     

    Unfortunately, all my screenshots for this quest are mysteriously gone, so the rest will be text for this post. Go to Andur, and do battle with him. He isn't terribly difficult, if we're being honest here. Maybe it's because he uses a greatsword instead of his super-Destruction magics. Then, chat with Arianas, who realizes her destiny, and becomes the Wilderqueen! This unfortunately wipes her memories, though she still agrees to join the Dominion. So hooray for that. Our next stop is the town of Woodhearth, where Naemon paid a visit with the Staff of Magnus...

     

    That's all for this post! Thanks for reading.

  • Member
    December 15, 2017
    So that's it? No profound insights as to the nature of the Wildermonarchs down through the ages? This quest left more questions than it answered, leaving me wondering if these godlike beings were simply mortals with unique powers mantling a role each generation, or if they became avatars of the Green upon receiving and donning the mask, or even whether they were always avatars and destined to wear that mantle. In the end I figured it doesn't make much difference and thematically share a connection with the Silvenar and Green Lady in terms of how the process works. A little Bosmeri mystery, maybe.
  • Member
    December 15, 2017
    Still, I thought it was very cleverly done. Told as though it were a story inside a story and allowing the player to form an attachment to Arianas, I was reminded of the Spinners and how they represent their god, a being credited with stabilising the wild and formless of nature in the Dawn. It just somehow works for me that the Wilderqueen shares that control over the natural world as though she were just another note in an endless song or an actor on a stage who we got to know very well indeed. The wood elves like their ambiguity, don't they? There are elements reminiscent of Baan Dar in the mantling business.
  • Member
    December 15, 2017

    Paws said: So that's it? No profound insights as to the nature of the Wildermonarchs down through the ages? This quest left more questions than it answered, leaving me wondering if these godlike beings were simply mortals with unique powers mantling a role each generation, or if they became avatars of the Green upon receiving and donning the mask, or even whether they were always avatars and destined to wear that mantle. In the end I figured it doesn't make much difference and thematically share a connection with the Silvenar and Green Lady in terms of how the process works. A little Bosmeri mystery, maybe.

     

    Honestly, the loss of screenshots here demoralized me, so I probably didn't give the Wilderking quest the attention it deserved. Hopefully I won't suffer this again... Anyhoo, yeah, apotheosis in ES is always an interesting thing, and this is no exception.